Is my focus on others' non-service ruining my gladness?

“Serve the LORD with gladness.”

The thought crossed my mind as I thought thoughts on my early morning walk three days ago. (I bristle sometimes at the complaining service God’s people render to Him sometimes.)

“Serve the LORD with gladness,” came the verse piece plopping into my critical thoughts. Made me think that my bristling criticisms had a ready, worthy target in the very organ generating them.

Serve the Lord with gladness (Psalm 100:2)

“Serve the LORD with gladness,” the brief cascade of Scriptures began.

Because “God loveth a cheerful giver” was the next verse fragment.

Because we are both tasked and privileged to do whatever we do “heartily, as to the Lord.”

Because “it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”

Because we each have our own calling in which to be faithful and what another person does for Jesus and His church is…well, “What is that to thee? Follow thou me.” Continue reading

I'll point you in the right direction for hope and peace!

In the course of working on Sunrise Bible 906 Lesson 7 this morning, I came across something I wrote quite a while ago:

The Psalmist knew about depression and discouragement. In Psalm 42:5 he wrote, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me?” Depression and discouragement go beyond feelings, which are often fleeting. These Dreadful D’s are a state of being, a condition of the soul.

That is so important to understand about human nature. Depression especially is far more than mere feelings. Continue reading

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