Where does your satisfaction lie? My husband reminded me lately that my satisfaction needs to come solely from God. Both of us come from a broken world with broken people who hurt each other and can’t love each other perfectly. We try the best we can in our humanness, but only God can give me […]
Last week I shared the story of a fall I’d recently taken–a fall into discouragement–and the way God’s Word in II Corinthians helped me back onto my feet, parallel to the iconic “Why do we fall?” moment from the movie Batman Begins. We also saw two reasons behind why we as believers (and humans) fall […]
Last week we looked at the context for Jeremiah’s letter to the Jewish captives and God’s message to them in Jeremiah 29: stop panicking, pick up your hammer, and make yourself at home. In other words, don’t fight what is part of God’s plan for good. But God had another message to give to His […]
One of the things I’ve noticed in the almost-five months since my move, more than ever before in my life, is the juxtaposition life can offer of hard and good at the same time. Some weeks ago I was talking about it with my mom, and she said (in paraphrase, since I don’t remember her […]
I hope you’ve been as blessed as I have looking at these chapters from D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s book Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure. After reviewing general considerations, fear and faith, feelings, and trials, this week we’re going to look at Chapters 17 and 18, God’s Chastening and In God’s Gymnasium. God’s Chastening The key […]
After looking at fear and faith from Lloyd-Jones’ book Spiritual Depression, this week we’re going to look at Chapter 8: Feelings. The key verse for this chapter is II Timothy 1:6–“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands”–which Lloyd-Jones ties into […]
Last week I introduced you to D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s book Spiritual Depression and brought out the main points from his first chapter, “General Consideration.” This week we’re going to look at some immensely relevant ideas from Chapter 7, on fear, and Chapter 10, on faith. What Do You Fear? Coming after a chapter on regrets […]
I’m so excited to begin a new series this week! Have you ever heard of the book Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones? A friend recommended it to me last year, so I bought a copy and read my way slowly through it, marking the pages and taking additional notes. Oh […]
Thank you, Jasmine, for sharing your story with us! Tell us about yourself! I’m an Aussie, and I live around 1.5 hours’ north of Sydney, New South Wales, with my husband of nearly eight years, Dave (he’s a champion!). I’m originally a clinically-trained psychologist, but right now I’m working as an author of Christian fantasy […]
Last week we looked at the last third of Lamentations 3 and some general takeaways for those of us in chronic illness: staying faithful to God and trusting in Him during a trial. This last week of our study I want to park on the big theme of the whole chapter and the book: waiting […]
The Valley