Why do I need Crossroads of Life? Take this simple quiz

Why do I need Crossroads of Life?

Take this simple quiz

If you answer yes to any of these, you need Crossroads of Life.

1.    You struggle making even simple decisions.

2.    You are currently seeking a lifetime relationship.

3.    You are looking for a place to worship.

4.    Every decision seems to turn out bad.

5.    You have a sincere desire to study God’s word.

6.    You are unclear about what the purpose of the church.

7.    You are involved in the occult.

8.    You are contemplating retirement.

9.    Struggle with financial issues.

10.  You don’t believe the Scriptures are relevant to everyday life.

11.  Your marriage is struggling and out of harmony.

12.  You consistently make bad choices in relationships.

13.  Elections are so mind-boggling that you avoid them.

14.  You’re not satisfied with your place of worship.

15.  You feel worse after attending a church service than before.

16.  You feel stagnant in your Christian walk and not growing.

17.  You argue with your spouse over even the simplistic decision.

18.  You were never taught how to make decisions.

19.  You want to pass good decision-making skills to your children and grandchildren.

20.  You’re not sure if the person you’re involved with is right for you.

21.  You shop on impulse.

22.  You have questions as to whether the teachings at your place of worship are correct.

23.  You question about the validity of tithes and offerings.

24.  You struggle with which political party’s side God is on.

25.  You struggle with hearing God’s voice.

26.  Prayer is a struggle for you.

27.  You don’t know if God wants you to prosper or be successful.

28.  Asking critical questions is foreign to you.

29.  You become emotional when faced with even simple decisions.

30.  You can’t distinguish between a want and a sincere need.

31.  You are a compulsive shopper.

32.  You are a compulsive, impulsive shopper.

33.  You don’t know where to go to for sound advice.

34.  Your significant other has anger and abuse issues.

35.  You feel abused by your church and pastor.

Why do I need Crossroads of Life?

Why do I need Crossroads of Life?

That's a question I often hear, to which I have listed are several reasons:

1.    We live in a fallen world plagued with opportunities for failure, however, because our God loves us and desires for us to prosper and be successful, read Joshua 1:6-9, He has outlined principles in his book, the Bible, to insure our success and prosperity, and I'm not talking about the "name it and claim it message" we so often her about. It has been said that there are over 800 principles on finances alone in the Book of Books.

2.     Because of our fallen world, many of us simply don't know how to make sound decisions. This can have devastating and perpetual affects. We tend to make decisions by habit expecting different results. Someone has called this insanity.

3.     Life is short. Some of life's decisions don't come with the luxury of being able to fully recover, especially in the latter years of our lives.

4.     Many of life's decisions don't have to do with morality, but many do. Most are related either directly or indirectly.

5.    Most of us have never been taught how to make good decisions. Therefore we are often unaware of the pitfalls lying in ambush for us.

6.    Emotions play an integral part in decision-making, whether we realize it or not. We get emotional when purchasing a car, home, or clothes. Our heart skips a beat or more every time we meet a "good looking person", male or female, and we plunge into the unchartered waters of matrimony simply because we're lonely. No one is exempt from making bad decisions, emotional or otherwise.

7.    Crossroads of Life is full of useful tools to assist the reader in making great decisions. It is beneficial for all ages, for teaching younger generations, as well as changing bad decision--making skills of the aged adults.

8.    We often choose a place of worship based on the premise that "if it was good enough for great, great, great grandma and grandpa, it’s good enough for me" mentality. Crossroads of Life gives you tools to select your house of worship.

9.    Contrary to what many believe, Life does come with a book of instructions--the Bible. If you pay heed to your doctor or dentist's instructions, why not listen to the Creator of Heaven and Earth? He wrote the instruction book for life, whether it be relationships, financial, worship, moral, ethical, it's all in there, so why ignore God's instruction book--the Bible!

Purchase a copy now--TODAY! You'll never regret it!

Available in paperback, hardcover and ebook, Westbow Press; Barnes & Noble; Amazon.com; or your favorite book store can order it.

When you have read the book, I'd appreciate it if you would log onto Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and www.crossroadsoflife/richardgodfrey/westbowpress and write a review. That will help others know of the great help and benefits you received from the book.

An Exercise in Futility

                                                     An Exercise in Futility
Isaiah 26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth on thee."
I have had so much feedback on the series I recently wrote on depression that, once again, I find it necessary to add to it.
To those who do not know Christ as their Lord and Savior, the remedies proclaimed in the four part series may become an exercise in futility. Why? Because, while claiming to keep their minds on the Lord, on the one hand, in actually they are attempting to resolve their issues without the guidance from the Lord. They, in fact, really do not trust the Lord God, but are trusting themselves while uttering lip service to God.
I have found many in this predicament making statements like, "I can't come to church, because I've got a live to live, things to do". Yet, all the while they are laying claim to "belief" in Christ.
The latter part of verse 3 states that the person actually trusts the Lord. It is the trust in the Lord that brings peace to the weary and frustrated mind.
Does this mean that God will not and cannot give them peace? According to the context of the verse--YES! Mere human endeavors alone ultimately prove to be an exercise in futility because our finite minds are only designed to handle a limited capacity. The human physic is ultimately designed to trust in God, who can handle, quite literally, any and all problems of stress.
The ultimate results of focusing on our problems is the heaping of more and more frustration, thus exasperating the futility.
To those who may be caught up in this vicious cycle--God is calling you to peace. Though He may allow you to suffer a while--yet He is waiting with open arms to receive, heal and deliver you.
Yes, I have even found Christians caught between this proverbial "rock and hard place" knowing they are saved, all the while trusting themselves instead of resting in the loving arms of their Savior. In the mean time suffering anxiety attacks caused by focusing of their problems instead of the Lord.
Matthew 11:28-30 "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart; and ye shall find rest in your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Trusting in the Lord implies waiting for His directives, then acting upon them This is taught in Crossroads of Life.

Political Footballs

                                                         Political Footballs
Here we are in the midst of another election year with candidates squirming and scheming for every vote, as usual. This year, however, the proverbial football has to do with gay rights or civil unions or whatever else it may be termed. From the religious right comes a loud, distinct cry of hatred toward those involved in the gay community. The opposite side of the fence wants to legalize the gay movement to perpetuate and endorse their lifestyle. Seemingly, both sides lay claim to Biblical accuracy.
However, as a Christian minister, I simply cannot remain silent, for I see both sides taking Scriptures out of context in order to advance their agenda.
Isaiah 28:10 "For precept  must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little." KJV
Basically Isaiah is saying that no matter what the subject matter it must be in context. To take something out of it's context and place it arbitrarily in another is heresy.
It's like writing four different letters to four different people, then composing a letter, made up of quotes from the other four, and bringing it before a court of law proclaiming your standing. Of course what you said is true--to a point--the fifth letter, though quoted statements were true in their original context, yet when merged into one document it becomes false and misleading. So also is the current political football.
So, what does the Scripture really say about the topic at hand?
Romans 1:21-32 is the famous passage quoted by both the Christian and gay communities.
The Christian camp vehemently asserts that God hates those with same sex attractions, while the other camp defends their position with the same amount of tenacity.
Speaking strictly from a Scriptural perspective: God hates the sin but loves the sinner. I'll say it again: God hates the sin, but loves the sinner. This is most clearly made evident in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Again in Romans 5:8 "But God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
God did not wait until we stopped sinning--NO! He saved us while we were still sinning, then began the lifelong transformation into the image of Christ.
One of my late Pastors used to say, "You can't clean a fish until you first catch it." How utterly true! At yet many Christians would have nothing to do with the gay community until they get "saved". How many of us got freed from sin before we got saved? It is this very point that those of the same sex persuasion will have little or nothing to do with Christians.

Throughout history there have been outcasts of one sort or another. Not too long ago a divorcee was considered the scourge of humanity and women everywhere would almost put their husbands in shackles to keep them from the evil divorced women. Churches even banned them. In Jesus' day the lepers were the social outcasts. They even had their own communities to "live" in and were prohibited from associating with the healthy. That is until Jesus came and actually touched them with his love and healed them. Why? Because he hated the disease, but loved the person. In those days leprosy was a type of sin, which only God could cure. Today, is not the same sex orientation as the scourge of leprosy and divorce?
I therefore pose this question to you; If only God can forgive sin--which of your sins do you NOT want God to forgive?

Biblical Rx for Depression

Part 2

A

s noted in part 1 depression is called the spirit of heaviness in Isaiah 61:3. In Part 1 I emphasized negative thinking and sin as causes for depression of the spirit of heaviness, however there are other causes as well.

Mark 2:27 “And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath:”

Sabbath simply means rest. It was originally introduced in Genesis 2:2-3 “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he rested from all his work which God created and made.”

It is here that we discover God’s divine pattern for man, even before the fall, was that man should rest even as God himself had rested [not that God needed or needs rest]. It shows a love for the one [man] created in His own image, for no other creature, created by God, was created in the image of God, had a day designated especially for rest—only man.

Sabbath is also a day of worshipping the Lord. So, even though we don’t go to work [whatever that means to the individual] if we neglect our worship, we can also become depressed.

We live in a very fast paced society where it is easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of trying to make ends meet, which, in turn, eventually causes our bodies to stress out for lack of rest [violating God’s Sabbath divine pattern]. The fatigued body, in turn effects the mind, which is also fatigued from lack of proper rest, causing burn-out and burn-up, as well as affecting our rationalizing skills, which eventually leads to depression or what Isaiah 61:3 calls the spirit of heaviness. All the while our bodies are stressed from lack of rest, plus most likely we heap insult to injury by improper eating [see how leaven leavens the lump?], [leaven here is not sin but simply getting sucked up in the “rat race” without realizing it.] And yet we keep pushing ourselves more and more all the while getting more and more depressed.

The danger of depression, if left unchecked, can and will eventually lead to mental, physical, and emotional maladies, yes, even in Christians.

Psalm 127:1-2 “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for he giveth his beloved sleep.”

 Here we discover that our depression also robs us of our sleep, that precious commodity bestowed upon us by divine decree for our own good, has been taken away to further deepen the spirit of heaviness. Vicious cycle isn’t it?

Miscellaneous Causes

Eating disorders, worry, and medical conditions are among other causes for depression, and vice versa, sometimes depression may come simply because we can’t have our own way about something [it then becomes a method of control], however it is not my intent to delve into the myriad of causes. Suffice it to say that we serve a God that knows no bounds of healing, nor is He restricted by any other from displaying his awesome power. Simply trust Him!

Rx

S0, you say, ‘Now that you’ve managed to bury me deeper in depression, What’s the answer?’ I don’t believe in leaving folks without hope and in worse condition than I found them, I believe Scriptures have all we need to be victorious over-comers in all that besieges us.

RX: Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

I wish I could but snap my fingers, or kiss your skinned elbow and all the pain would instantly go away much like it did when Mommy or Daddy used to do. But, it simply does not work that way, though we wish and pray it would. It takes hard work on your part, because God wants to build up your faith in Him once again. Oh, to be sure He has the wherewithal to speak all your pain away—but He chooses not to as He knows you’d never learn, but would soon be back in the same old predicament, doing the same old things, thinking the same old negative thoughts, repeating the same old sin as before [we’re all creatures of habit and addictions].

As Psalm 127:1-2 and Isaiah 26:3 state, we are doing the exact opposite.

·         We are trying to build and keep [protect] our house instead of allowing the Lord to do his job.

·         Our minds are focused on making money, solving life’s problems, paying bills et cetra instead of focusing on the l Lord, thus robbing us of our peace.

Isn’t that just like us? I don’t know how many times I’ve found myself in the exact same situation time and again.

RX: 2Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience or Christ.”

Remember in Part 1we were admonished to cast off vain imaginations [thoughts] and replace them with Godly or Christ like thoughts? All actions, by necessity, begin with a thought, for thought begets action or behavior not vice versa. Therefore, whether we change the actual thoughts or listen to uplifting Christian music or messages we can begin to change our actions, in this case turn depression away.

Also Isaiah 61:3b tells us to praise Him for all he has done. This will drive the spirit of heaviness from us just like David played for King Saul and drove the evil spirit from him.

RX: James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Because those negative thoughts will relentlessly attack numerous times it is vital that we don’t give up, but continue to resist until we have the victory! While Jesus was being tempted, after his baptism in Matthew 4:1-11, he was tempted, as recorded three times before Satan left. However, we must understand that Jesus was tempted every day of his life, but continued to resist until the final victory at Calvary. So also must we resist until He calls us home!

Rx: prayer: there are so many passages admonishing us to pray without ceasing, for it is a hallmark of faith to continue to pray until we see the victory. In Acts 12 Peter was put in prison by King Herod for his faith in Christ, however, the church (vs.5) prayed without ceasing for him until God dispatched an angel to set him free. He will do the same for you and me no matter our malady. Read Acts 12: 1-17.

Rx: listen to what your body is telling you. Many times it will SCREAM for rest. Many times it will SCREAM for a proper diet.

To be sure, resisting is not easy, to the contrary it can in and of itself be very fatiguing, if we fail to keep our minds stayed on Him and not our cares.

Warning!

O

bedience to God’s word can become addictive if adhered to as prescribed in His word—only without the negative side effects! If you experience relief, unspeakable joy, boundless energy, renewed appetite for life, zeal, nights of restful sleep, self-control, happiness, gentleness, renewed faith in God, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, abounding love for yourself and others, longsuffering, or any other such Godly traits---by all means PLEASE notify your pastor or minister immediately, especially if you experience one or more of the above symptoms simultaneously!! It may very well be good for your spiritual health, body, mind and emotions! This in turn is extremely contagious, so never use caution!

Faith Building Practice and Review

1.    What is the Bible term for depression?

2.    Who is subject to depression?

3.    Are any exempt from depression?

4.    What is Gods remedy for depression?

5.    Have you ever been depressed?

6.    Have you ever listened to what your body is telling you?

7.    If not, why not?

8.    Start doing it now.

9.    What is the “vicious cycle” that follows when deprived of rest?

10. Name at least five causes for depression.

11. Can you name any more? Do so here.

12. List the five Rx’s for depression.

13. Start practicing them now.

14. How long are we to pray for deliverance?

15. How long have you been praying/

16. Enlist others to pray for you and don’t give up, your life may depend on it!

17. Please take heed to the warning.