Dealing with Depression

We all know what it’s like to feel down. Some of us even know what it feels like to live with depression, or, as it’s sometimes called, ‘the black dog’. Indeed, statistics show that 1 in 4 people per year in the UK will experience a mental health problem. As Christians, living in this fallen and broken world, we too know what it is like to struggle with depression.  Despite what some popular teachers might say, Christians are not always going to be the happiest people in the world – we are just as susceptible to depression as everyone else.

Dealing with Depression is a short and helpful book that explains the symptoms, the emotions that people can experience, and some of the practicalities surrounding depression. This book is not a self-help book, but rather a short introduction to the topic designed to help both the person suffering with depression and those who want to care for loved ones.

The authors offer both straightforward explanations and practical advice for those seeking to care for people who struggle with mental health. As Christians we want to be as equipped and informed as possible to help people who struggle with depression. This book gives some good advice on how to ‘walk with people’, as well as suggesting things to say and things not to say. Depression can often make you feel as if you are alone and our desire as Christians should be to support, care for and walk with our fellow brothers and sisters in Jesus.

When reading the book, and the short testimonies in it, I was struck by how many people said that time with friends and family was such a help to them. This was quite a challenge because I had to question how much I ‘walk with’ people I know who have mental health problems.

When was the last time we met with someone just to listen and spend some quality time with them?

Spending time with someone and reading the bible with them, filling their minds with gospel truths, building them up in their knowledge of the character of God and pointing them to the magnificence of God’s Grace is vital.

Not only does this book give practical insights into depression but interwoven throughout are testimonies of people who have both experienced depression and cared for loved ones as they have lived with depression. Often the misconception is that there aren’t many who have suffered with depression but the truth is that there are so many Christians, both well-known and not so well-known, who have struggled and have been very open about their experiences.

I thank God for the people who have opened up about their experiences of depression to help those who suffer and those who care for others, without their help and insights we would be less informed and less able to ‘walk with’ and to love our brothers and sisters who struggle.
If you have depression, if you have a friend or family member with depression or if you want to be able to care for people in a more informed way then pick up this book and have a read.

Rating 4/5

How seriously do we take sin…

This week I have had the privilege of spending the best hours of my day thinking through the book of Joel, and particularly the first chapter. When it comes to the minor prophets, from my own experience, not many Christians feel like they are on comfortable ground, often thinking that they can be obscure and strange. However, if we are to learn from the entirety of God’s word and if we truly believe that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16) then we also need to think about the minor prophets.

The first chapter of the book of Joel tells the tale of our human hearts and calls us to wake up to the seriousness of our sin. Too often I have heard people say that they are willingly and knowingly going to sin because “Jesus will forgive me anyway”, that is a seriously slippery slope to be on. Jesus calls his followers to a radical way of living where you ‘cut off’ what causes you to sin (Matthew 18:8-9). I think that we are in danger of people too comfortable with sin.

Joel chapter one calls a sinful people to wake up and realise their sin, to stop trying to escape the reality and seriousness of their actions, and whilst there are many differences, this is such a relevant message for the church to hear today.

How often do we play with sin, thinking that we are stronger than our fallen nature and that we can poke the snake without being bitten? As Christians our desire should be to live lives that glorify God, lives that point people to see that we are different and we serve God not our own hearts desires.

But we can’t stop there…

Yes, we must recognise the seriousness of sin but we also need to see the greatness of our saviour! As a Christian I believe that Jesus took my punishment on the cross, that he bore the wrath of God so that I could be declared free from my deserved punishment. Jesus bore the whole punishment for my sins, and that was costly.

I wonder how our attitude to sin would change if we took time each day to consider the cost that Jesus paid on the cross, would it make us want to sin less and love Jesus more? I think it would!

And how often do we pray for the Spirit’s help to transform our hearts and actions to be more like Jesus?

The book of Joel is a gem and I am looking forward to our short sermon series on it.

Let’s not run away from the difficult parts of the Bible, but let’s wrestle with them, learn from them and challenge each other as we grow together through reading them.

God’s Word is challenging, and I have been challenged by Joel 1 to ask myself how seriously I take my sin.

If I’m honest I don’t take it seriously enough, in my preparation for preaching Joel 1 I have been challenged to see the damage that my sin has caused but I’ve also been blown away by the grace of God for sending His son so that a sinner like me could be forgiven.

Strength for the weary

Derek Thomas is becoming one of my favourite authors because of his ability to simplify core doctrinal truths into bite size chunks that are accessible and easy to read.

In Strength for the weary Thomas takes the second half of Isaiah and touches on some of the key themes and explains the context in an uncomplicated way. Thomas speaks on some of the amazing truths that are packed into the book of Isaiah and brings them out for the reader to see God in all of His glory. Thomas finds that balance between teaching people well and making it as easy to read as possible.

Isaiah is a huge book which can sometimes be daunting for people to read in their own devotional times with God, but Isaiah is packed full of great truths about the character of God, the way He deals with His people and His commitment to them.

Strength for the weary is a helpful book because it addresses the fact that often times Christians are hurting and weary, often we can find it difficult as we journey through life wrestling with the Bible and thinking through the role that God should be playing in our lives. This book was a helpful reminder of who I am as a person and who God is. So often I can focus on my situation and question God’s plan but this book is full of truths about God’s comfort and care for His people.

This book is not a commentary on the latter chapters of Isaiah and it also doesn’t deal with every passage (It’s only 141 pages!) but I was slightly disappointed that chapter 58 wasn’t discussed in more detail. Having spent some time on the topic of fasting (which is the topic of Psalm 58) I must say that some of the applications linking fasting to believers today was lacking in this book. This was slightly disappointing because fasting has become a somewhat ‘forgotten discipline’ among many Christians today, and fasting can help people rely on God in their times of weariness. However, I do understand that not every topic could be discussed, nor could every passage be studied in depth.

The final chapter of the book was particularly helpful as it has a discussion on the New Heavens and the New Earth and the teachings on that glorious future from Isaiah’s perspective.

If you want a book which will give you a big picture view of God and his relationship with His covenant people, if you want a book which will unpack the deep theology of Isaiah and if you want a book that will encourage you through your own times of weariness pick up this short book and have a read.

Rating 4/5

How Does God Treat His Friends?

Ever since I can remember Job has been one of my favourite books in the Bible. I have read it numerous times, studied it, listened to many sermon series on it and read a number of books and commentaries on it. However, after each reading I was still left with questions, and I know that I am not the only one.

When people suffer often I have heard people pointing them towards the book of Job, this can be helpful but it can also bring up more questions.

So when I came across another book on Job that I hadn’t read yet, it was a must. I devoured Fyall’s book in 2 days and loved every second of it.

How does God treat His friends? is a small book that is packed with understanding and has so much scholarly work behind it that it is unreal.

Fyall has done a great job at opening up the book of Job and making us accessible and understandable to people.

I found some of my questions answered, some more questions planted and some great insights gained from this small book.

One of the things that Fyall does really well is being he book of Job alive. He explains the characteristics of the speeches of Job’s friends, he speaks to the difficult questions of God and suffering, he speaks at length about Satan’s involvement in suffering and applies Job really well.

Fyall draws the readers attention to the gospel of Mark to help the reader apply the book of Job through the person of Jesus.

If you want to understand Job, want to think through suffering and God’s role in it, or if you’re looking to learn more about wisdom literature that also looks at the historical context of the time, read this book.

There are so many books on Job that are ok, but I must say that this was really was a delight to read. The book is short but packed with powerful truths, the book is full of helpful insights on ancient culture, literature yet it is not academic.

Rating 4/5