MINISTRY NOTES

Week of December 6, 2009

Hi Everyone,

Thank you. A few weeks ago I asked for prayer to run stronger. Recently when I finished a Marathon, I discovered that in the last few miles, I was passing people. God was answering prayer in a way I didn't expect. I have never been strong enough to pass others in the last few miles. I thank you for your prayers and most of all I thank God as I am learning how to run stronger.

Marriage Workshop Moment

To refresh what you have learned in our Workshop or entice you to experience our Workshop

"Remember, all marriages can be better, if you use what you learned."

Protect your relationship by anticipating problems. It is unrealistic to not expect some problems. Onetime I had a man that just insisted that they never had any problems and never had any disagreements in their marriage. As we practiced the Speaker Listener Technique together (I insisted) they discovered the reason he thought they never had any problems or disagreements was that he never let her talkJ. Once she was enabled to talk by using the SLT, he was actually happier. You can also protect your relationship by taking responsibility for your own behavior. Edit out negative responses. Jesus teaches us in Luke 6:31 (TLB) to "Treat others as you want them to treat you." This should definitely apply to your spouse. Because two become one, when you build up your spouse you are also building up your self and your marriage. In a cartoon a woman asked her husband, "what do you think about renewing our wedding vows?' He responded, "Let me think it over, when do they expire?" Your vows are for life. They never expire.

The Better Half

"When your partner won't support your efforts to make your marriage better"

Without your spouse's support to improve your marriage, you can still pray daily for God's will to be done in each of your lives and your marriage ("all things are possible with God", Mark 10:27 NIV). Much of what is mention above can still be done. You can take responsibility for your own behavior, anticipative problems, edit out negative responses and treat your spouse, the same way you would want them to treat you.

Understanding the Message:

What I share in the message is what I believe God wants me to share. All the direct quotes from God are highlighted in royal purple. Of course the words of Jesus are in red. Rather than follow some made up doctrine, remember that Jesus said that every thing He said (Jn 12:49) and everything He did (Jn 14:31) comes from God. All teachings and all opinions should be supported by what we learn from God or Jesus.

Message:

Overcoming Depression

As we enter the Christmas season, we are aware that it can be a time of depression or holiday blues for many people. As people are aware of depression and many of the surface factors that can cause it, it is good to deal with the factors, such as stress, grief, etc.. There are many ways that people in the mental health industry can help, especially on a superficial level. As they use prescriptions or words of guidance to help people overcome depression, some of the help may be only temporary. Unfortunately many people in the mental health field do not know our maker personally and some don't even believe He exists. In many areas of our society, if you are having major problems, service people consult the manufacturer or maker

Some depression and even suicide can be traced to demons. You do not have to make an office visit to find out. In your private time when everything is quite, say firmly, "In the "name" of Jesus I command every demon in and around me to shut up, leave and don't come back.1" If you detect spiritual movement, keep repeating the statement until you feel no movement. Yes, Jesus only had to say it once but He is the Son of God. Some of you will think, "Surely I have no problems with demons". If that is true then it will do no harm to check. Demons need to be reminded regularly that Jesus is in charge. This is one of the ways I pray daily for all of you who receive Ministry Notes. After all evil presence is eliminated, "ask" God to fill you again with His Holy Spirit2. Whether it is the first time to receive the Holy Spirit or you have received it before, you cannot have too much Holy Spirit. It is important to not risk being spiritually empty3.

Another way you can overcome a down feeling is by praising God. If you are so down "that they would have to jack you up to bury you", read Psalm 103 out loud, which is a list of praises from King David. You can develop your own praise list. During a quite time with no distractions, starting with the earliest age you remember, make a list of everything wonderful that God has done for you as you remember each year or each period in your life. At the same time make a second, separate list of everything bad that anyone has ever done to you or has mistreated you or bad experiences or sad memories, etc.. It is good to ask God to remind you of what should be on both lists. We will call the second list the down list. When you finish the down list set it to one side and you will use it later. At this point just spend time praising God, especially from your praise list.

A Freeing Exercise

Another way to overcome depression could be called a freeing exercise. As you start, it is good to relax and take deep breaths. As you slowly fill your lungs completely, remember that when God created us it was the breathing of air into our bodies that started life4. Continuing to take slow deep breaths, it is awesome to realize this conscious activity of breathing will continue even when we are asleep. Our maker did a fantastic job. If you fall asleep during this exercise, just praise God that you are being free temporarily from the concerns of this world. Next, as you continue to focus on God, take time to talk to God using the prayer He encourages8 us to "pray" through His son Jesus5 (also found at the bottom of Ministry Notes). If you time how long it takes you to pray the prayer, most people finish in less than a minute. We can all benefit in spending more than a minute with God in prayer. Although there is not enough space in our Ministry Notes to include it, please be strongly encouraged to click here to learn how to more fully develop the prayer Jesus told us to pray.

As you continue to focus on taking deep relaxing breaths, visualize Jesus with your mind's eye standing there with His hands out stretched like He is waiting for you to hand Him something. Using the down list you created earlier, one at a time mentally hand each item on the list to Jesus. As you do this, visualize Jesus turning and handing it to God. Then say, "thank You God for taking this from me, in Jesus name." If the subject involves the need for forgiveness say, "I forgive ___(mention a name)___ for this situation _____, with Your help God, thank You God for taking this from me, in Jesus' name." Jesus tells us to "…Give … to God what is God's."…6. As we remember this was an illustration about paying taxes, I was not comfortable using this scripture in this situation, because it implies that bad things are God's. As I complained to God, He asked me, "Do you claim ownership of your unforgiveness and bad experiences and want to hold on to them?" I responded, "No". Then God said to me, "In reality, everything belongs to Me". As you discover freedom with this exercise, remember Jesus says, "if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed"7.

Let's pray,

"God we love YOU. Thank YOU for taking everything that we need to get rid of. Help us when we are reminded of what we have turned over to YOU, to resist the temptation to take it back. Thank YOU for setting us free, in Jesus name, amen."

1. Mark 16:17

2. Luke 11:13

3. Luke 11:24-26

4. Genesis 2:7

5. Matthew 6:9-13

6. Mark 12:17(NIV)

7. John 8:36

8. John 12:49

Reminder: In your daily prayers, be sure to include the prayer Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9-13. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. May Your kingdom come, May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen. Please be strongly encouraged to click here to learn how to more fully develop the prayer Jesus told us to pray.

Also, remember that Jesus teaches us to love God and others in Mark 12:29-31 "the Lord our God… is one... Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…Love your neighbor as yourself."