Suicide? Why?

  You may have had a loved one who committed suicide or maybe you have tried to do this yourself. When we are sane, and of a sound mine, we may wonder why we would have done such a thing.

   It is easy for people to be tempted to end one's life. We get discouraged. We don't see any fruit in our lives. If we are tired or  have PMS, the temptations could even be stronger. Why do we have this though?

   As you probably know already, when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, the whole human race was plunged into darkness and sin. Since we are born in the world of darkness, we don't really know what it's like to be in the world of light. But when we come to know the Lord, the lights come on. We see a lot more clearly, but still, we only see as if we were looking through a dark glass at the light, compared to the day when we really will see things clearly (in the next life).

       Sometimes, people commit suicide to punish those left behind. Sometimes, people end their lives because they never got what they really wanted in life, and that is their response to that fact. But there are times when people end their lives without even considering what it will do to others, and they do this simply because they are discouraged. They are looking at their world through tired eyes, or eyes that can only see a glimpse of the light, if even that.

   Occasionally, those who are believers in Jesus Christ, and who have been walking with the Lord, kill themselves. I heard of one pastor who was so discouraged that he ended his life. It's an easy temptation for all of us to have, especially when we put our hope in things instead of God.

  What are some ways that suicides can be prevented though? It is easy for us to tell ourselves to keep our guards up. We should do that, but sometimes we get distracted and unintentionally we put them down. The Bible tells us several times to 'remember' or 'do not forget' what God has done for us. But because we are fickle and forgetful, we do forget. We get distracted and set our eyes on something else, even good things. We constantly need others to remind us and bring to our remembrance the evidences of God's grace in our lives.

       Take for example, the pastor above who killed himself. He was distracted because the number of people who were in his church congregation went down. He felt like a failure. Take a parent who has children and she wants each one to know the Lord so that when they are adults, they will be serving Him instead of living for the things of the world. When the children grow up, a few of them decide that they would rather go the way of the world. The parent is discouraged. She might listen to the lies of the devil telling her of what a failure she is, instead of listening to the voice of truth which would inform her that fruit sometimes takes a long time before it is evident.

   Suicides can happen to young teenagers as well as older people. It can be done by males and females. No one is exempt from this kind of temptation.

  We can help each other in the body of Christ, by building good relationships with others in the church. We need people who will love us and whom we can turn to in our dark hours. Conversely, we should be available to others when they go through hard times.

   The Bible talks a lot about the love of Christ. A lot of Christians do not want to talk about the love of God because they are afraid that this concept will keep many people from repenting from their sins and trusting in the Lord. They believe that lost people will use the love of God as an excuse for not repenting and turning to God, for if God really loves them as much as people have told them, then He will not send anyone to hell. People have a hard time reconciling God's judgment and God's love. But it was because of God's love, that He provided a way of escape for us. Not just so we could go to heaven when we die, but so we could also be delivered from sin, which so easily entangles and deceives us.

  When we truly learn to love God, we will love other people. We will learn to love ugly people, mean people, tired people, old people, children, black, white, Hispanic, retarded, handicapped, and people with a host of other traits.

  We will be ready to sacrifice for others. We will become good friends with people when we truly love them. We will serve them even when it is not convenient. We will live and give whatever we have so that others can be successful.

  I believe that when a church can make application of the verses which tell us how we should relate to one another, there will be less temptation to commit suicide.

  I would encourage people to talk, and not hide their difficulties and challenges. When people are humble enough to be open with us, let's embrace them, no matter how bizarre their stories could sound to us. It is not time for preaching or correction when people open up to us. We need to provide a context for people to feel safe around us. We need to show the love of Christ when we minister to others, especially the downtrodden and broken-hearted. If we don't, there will be many Christian casualties, and we will be forever asking the question of why our loved one ended his or her life. Let's be proactive when it comes to this one.

Just remember, everyone is inside the tunnel at some point
in his or her life. There is always a light at the end, but it
may not be visible until you are near the end of the tunnel.
Photo made by: TORUŃ DAILY PHOTO

Everyone of us will be inside the dark tunnel, sometime in our lives, maybe even several times, or for a long period of time. There is always a light at the end, though the tunnel may be long and very dark. This is why we need each other. It is hard for us to see when it is dark, but others can see for us until we get to the end. 

Helping Those Who Struggle With Same Sex Attraction

  This issue is on my heart for a number of reasons. I think there is a lot of confusion about Christianity, the Bible, homosexuality, tolerance, acceptance, and a host of other things which end up relating to same sex attraction issues.

 I don't want to make a lengthy article on this, but I came across this book, written by a man who struggles with same sex attraction, and how he is working through the issues in his own life. He is lining up his life with what Scripture says and not twisting things around to make the Scriptures say something they don't want to say.

   What does God actually think about same sex attraction? Is there help for a person who wants to live their lives out for God's glory, yet struggles with this issue?

  I know there are those who will not even read this blog page, but will make assumptions about it before they even click on the link. I am sorry for those people, because they have a filter over their eyes and are only going to see what they want to see. But, God has something in mind that all of us can learn from, in understanding the issue of same sex attraction in light of what God's word says to us. And there is hope.

   I have not read this book yet, but I did read part of it online, and read the amazon reviews, which seemed very helpful. I would like to contrast this one with Mel White's book called, Stranger At The Gate, which is basically about his struggle with being a Christian and being gay at the same time. There are differences in these two books and the main one I see is simply that I don't see an active, living understanding of the Gospel in Mel White's book. I did not see a time when he tells of his conversion. He does not address sin correctly from what I can tell. Mel White came from a religious home, being raised with certain convictions. For example, his family did not believe it was right for Christians to go to movies or drink. There was a list of things Mel was no allowed to do when he was growing up. But God's word does not address going to movies or dances as being necessarily sinful. The activities we do that are sinful are the actions carried out by our selfish hearts. Sure, we can go to movies and do it with sinful motives. Mel's family did not talk about heart issues that have to be dealt with. Nor did I see a clear correlation of Jesus' death as it pertains to our sin. I personally do not see Mel White's book as a book on the Gospel, or even covering the Gospel message, which applies to all of us, not just homosexuals.

    Mel White's conclusion brings about a lot of questions concerning his understanding of the character of God. Is God not all wise or not all knowing? Why would God condemn something in the Old Testament, and even in the New Testament yet, because of science advances we have today, those supposedly trump over God's word, as if God didn't know that people were going to struggle with same sex attraction issues in the 21st Century. So, what Mel White is really saying is that God was not all knowing, and that science is more valid than the Bible. Something is terribly wrong with that picture.

   But that is the issue that our whole culture faces today. When Eve was tempted in the Garden of Eden, the devil had one question he asked, and he asked the question in order to put doubt in Eve's mind about the goodness of God and whether God was trustworthy or not. The devil poses the same questions to us. 'Did God really say..'?' is what he would ask us today as well. Many think God doesn't know what He is doing and do not want to trust Him. Many want to control their own lives instead of letting God control their lives.

   The other issue is 'entitlement'. As Americans, mainly, we think God owes us something. We expect God to pour out His blessings on us and give us what we want, instead of what we need. This understanding has crept into the church as well. Many come to Christ, not necessarily to be cleansed from sin, but rather, to be able to go to heaven (or avoid hell) when they die. They are not interested in a relationship with Jesus Christ, and they think they can twist God's arm to make Him do what they want Him to do for them.

   What are some things God tells us though? He tells us to forsake our sins. He tells us to carry our crosses (that means to live for God's purposes and glory instead of our own, even though it will be hard at times). He tells us to repent and believe. He tells us to flee youthful lusts. He tells us to love Him above our families. He tells us to live holy lives. He tells us to crucify our flesh. He tells us to live lives worthy of His call. Sounds like this doesn't allow for any kind of sin, selfishness, autonomy or entitlement, to me.

   From what I have read about in this book, it looks really helpful. It has recommendations from people I trust, so, I will also recommend it to you. At least look at what is available to read on amazon.com and see if you would find it helpful as well. I think you will be well pleased.

Are You Discouraged?

  You are walking with the Lord. Things are going fairly well. You are even beginning to experience the blessings of some of the fruits of your labor. Then something goes really wrong. What are you going to do?

   The tendency for many of us is to assume that somehow we got away from God and now we are failures. But the truth of the matter is that while we walk with God and enjoy His blessings, He allows us to go through challenging times, which could be an assortment of different things that have gone wrong.

   In the Bible, it tells about when Jesus was baptized. After He was baptized, the Holy Spirit came down upon Him and God the Father announced that He was pleased with His Son. Right after that though, Jesus was driven into the wilderness to be tested. Of course, He passed the test and returned to regular life after the time of testing was over.

  I remember a time when I was on the 'mountain top' so to speak. God was so very real to me, and it seemed like He was working in my heart and answering prayers, etc. Many wonderful things were happening, but we moved to another city and couldn't find a good church. We had a hard time finding good fellowship and never fit in anywhere. I knew in my heart that we were not going to stay there or even find the church we were to be part of in that city, but regardless of that, I ended up being very depressed.

  We stayed in that house for 15 months. God seemed so far away from us, yet I do remember having a dream, and in that dream God showed me that He wanted us to move to that city. Whatever God was going to do in our lives, was going to require us to move away, which I was totally reluctant to do, until  God showed me that it was what He wanted us to do.

  While we lived in this other city, I remember wanting to do Bible clubs for kids that I had been doing up until that point. As we were moving, I made sure all my material I had collected came with me and I continued to add to that collection, because I wanted to have a Bible club that would reach many children with the Gospel. But God had other plans.

   I brought the subject up to people in a church we were attending at that time. A woman was going to be my helper. But in my heart, I knew God was telling me that there would be no Bible club. How disappointing! In spite of what I felt God impressing on my heart, I tried hard to start a Bible club. The other lady who was supposed to be my helper disappeared, and when the Bible club was supposed to start, no one showed up. Was I a failure, or was God doing a work in my heart that I would even see until years later?

  The Bible club never panned out, and I went for counseling somewhere in this new town. Everything seemed to be going in reverse. Was I reading God in a wrong way, or was I just misinformed? Maybe I was a complete failure and God kicked me out of His kingdom? Where was God anyway? I thought I had a lot of faith in Him but I didn't sense His nearness anymore. What was wrong?

   After a while of this discouragement, my husband decided to move us back to the town we were originally part of. We already knew the church we were going to be part of, and that is why we were moving back.

   We were on our way to moving back and I remember thinking to myself, 'why does it seem that I can't do anything in ministry? Why has God put me somewhere far away? Of course, the question always comes up which asks 'what did I do wrong?'

  I did get an answer. It came in the word, 'wait'. Wait was not part of my active vocabulary though. We, as Americans, are not taught to wait for things. We are so busy doing things and can't wait for answers. That is why we are so impatient. We are pragmatic. We are very practical, and we are very impatient at the same time. We reason within ourselves that we only have so much time on earth and we have to get done whatever it is that we want to do for God, right now. As usual though, God has other plans. His ways are higher than ours and many times they do not make sense to us, mainly because we are impatient and pragmatic.

  "But God, don't You want me to serve You?" I felt like my life was a waste. What I didn't know was that I was pregnant with my first child. What I didn't know was that this was going to be the beginning of a new adventure that God had for me. It was not an exalting adventure, but it would be one that would change my life and help me to become more like Christ.

  Marriage and children have a way of sanctifying us. Now it was time for me to learn sanctification. Jesus says that He prunes the vine and those who are on this vine are those who belong to Him. Pruning is not a fun experience. Being in the wilderness is not a fun experience. We want to stay on the mountain top, and we don't like pruning shears on us! God will use spouses and children to do that kind of work in our hearts.

   Yes, God does want us to serve Him, and if we are faithful to Him, we will find ourselves in ministry, one day. Our ministry could be to our children, or to those we don't even know yet. But we have to go through the process of sanctification first, before God places us in ministry. For some, the process will seem hard and unending, but what we don't realize is that there will be good fruit that will come out of it, one day. We might not see any fruit for a long time, but we are not to become discouraged in that. We are to be faithful to God, whether we are on a mountain top, or in the valley or wilderness.

   God does the heart work while we are in the wilderness. We will go through times of testing. Will we be faithful, or will we be discouraged and want to quit?

   The ministry God has for us might not look like what we are expecting, but when God is in it, He will bring the results in His timing. We must wait upon Him and learn wisdom during that time. We must be growing spiritually by feeding upon His word. We need to draw close to God. Our faith in Him will develop as we learn who He is, and we learn who He is by spending time in His word.

  Whatever ministry we have, it will only come out of our relationship with God. We cannot give away what we don't have. The more we have received from God, the more we will be able to give away, and the stronger our ministry will become. And the only way to receive from God is to be abiding in Christ.

   We had our baby, and then a couple more, then we home schooled them and learned what life was really all about. I failed many times as a parent and teacher, but God was able to do way more than what I could have ever done anyway. I feel like I have learned some things as a parent that have helped to shape me into the person God wants me to be. The main ministry I had was to my family, but now it can be extended to others.

   The word 'ministry' really means to serve. We are to serve those in our families. We are to serve our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to serve our neighbors. We are to serve the lost. We use the gifts God has given us, whether they are spectacular or mundane. We use them with humility and grace. We use them to serve others with so they can be successful.

   Your 'ministry' might not look like what you imagined, but if you are in God's will, what you are doing to serve Him and others is valid. You might not see the fruit of it today, or tomorrow. You might only see the fruit when you get to the other side.

   Do not be weary in well doing. Whether it is home schooling, changing diapers, working at the top level of a career, or picking up trash off the streets, if you know God and are serving Him, He will make your efforts productive. Do not listen to the lies of the Enemy of our souls. He would want you to believe you are a terrible parent or spouse. He wants you to give up, but don't. With the power of God in your life, you can stay with it. Be faithful with what God wants you to do, and you will be grateful for all of what He has given you to do, one day.