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Depression, Sin, Sorrow and Sadness Don't Give the Devil a Ride, Because He Might want to Drive.

On television today there are continually advertisements promoting the benefits of mood altering drugs for people suffering from depression, bi-polar, mood swings, etc. They show a sad person suddenly transformed into a happy person simply by taking a little pill. Instantly all of their problems seem to be solved. What is not shown is the answer to the question “is there a legitimate cause for the sadness that has befallen a person.”

For example: Lets say that we have a financially successful attorney who is having an affair with his secretary and is depressed because when his wife finds out and divorces him he will lose much of his wealth. The question is, should this condition be treated with a pill?

Another example: We have a financial counselor who is engaged in a Ponzi scheme with his clients money. It will soon become unraveled because of the financial conditions in the United States and he will lose all of his money and go to jail. He is depressed. Will a pill help him solve his problems?

While these examples may seem a bit extreme you should easily be able to see that treating the symptoms of a problem is not always the best answer. In many cases the root of the problem must be solved first, and then the symptoms will gradually dissipate by themselves.

A person who gets up every morning and beats their head against a cement wall for thirty minutes and then calls the doctor and says; “Doctor, I have a headache again,” is not going to find relief even with stronger medication than aspirin.

The point is that all sin causes stress. Stress leads to anxiety and fear of the future. Fear of the future leads to sorrow and depression. Is all depression caused by this scenario? Of course not. But, This is the first place one should look before using chemical means to treat the symptoms. Another problem is that many people combine prescription drugs with alcohol and other illegal drugs. A little prescription Oxycodone, some booze, a dash of cocaine and then smoking a little marijuana to blend it all together. This is a cocktail that will lead to real reasons for depression.

Prov 20:1 Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

Prov 23:29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
Prov 23:30 Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
Prov 23:31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly!
Prov 23:32 In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.
Prov 23:33 Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things.
Prov 23:34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging.
Prov 23:35 "They hit me," you will say, "but I'm not hurt! They beat me, but I don't feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?"

The first thing you need to do if you are depressed is quit drinking alcohol, quit taking illicit drugs and quit smoking.

You might say "smoking?" What does that have to do with anything? Well, nicotine is a drug too, albeit a mild one. It picks you up and then lets you down, until you light up another one. I know. I smoked four packs a day for many years. I couldn't afford it now though. Not only that, we (our bodies) are God's temple, and we need to treat it as such.

1 Cor 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
1 Cor 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

It goes without saying that alcohol and drugs definitly cause mood swings. That in fact is their only purpose. A person trying to get their life straightened out does not need mood swings. They need a steady, stable lifestyle.

Like the old Baptist said: "Smoking may not send you to hell, but if you plan on going to heaven, why do you want to smell like you have been to hell when you get to the pearly gates?"

This (quitting booze, illegal drugs and smoking) will help clear your head so you can do the rest of what you need to do. It is difficlt to make any kind of progress in anything without being clear minded. It will also give you more money which is a cheerful thought already.

God has given us a conscience to make us feel bad when we sin. If we sin continually, we continually feel bad. Why has God done this? Does he want us to feel bad all of the time? No, of course not. He wants us to change our behaviour so we feel good. When we hit our finger with a hammer, it hurts. It hurts so we can learn, be careful with that hammer next time or we could really damage our finger. So, pain can be a good thing when it teaches us to do things sensibly so as to avoid worse pain or dismemberment in the future.

2Cor. 7:10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

Godly sorrow leads to repentance which leads to salvation. We don’t want to stifle that with drugs or alcohol. That could lead to a worse condition.

Who wants to go through a horrible life on earth, only to be faced with a worse fate afterwards, hell? It’s bad enough if you have a good life on earth and then are faced with hell at the end of it, who in the world wants to go through hell twice? Once on earth and then for all eternity afterwards. Doesn’t that seem like a stupid thing to do? Suffer all through this life only to face something even worse after death. I don’t know about you but that would certainly be enough to make me depressed, pills or no pills.

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Luke 16:19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
Luke 16:20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores
Luke 16:21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
Luke 16:22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.
Luke 16:23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
Luke 16:24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
Luke 16:25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
Luke 16:26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

The rich man at least had some good times to remember as he spends eternity apart from God. But what about Lazarus? What if he had went to hell after death? What would he have to remember that was good? Nothing. How sad that would have been. No one should go through hell in this life, and then have it even worse in the next life, and no one has to. The choice is theirs. There is a healthy kind of fear that one should have and that is the fear of God. But, when we achieve perfect love we have no need of fear.

Luke 12:4 "And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
Luke 12:5 "But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

That is the first point for those who are depressed or sad. At least make sure that better days are coming. Even if you go through life like the beggar in the parable above, at the very least make sure you are saved. At least, if nothing else, you can look forward with joy to the long term future. Why suffer twice, in this life and in the life to come? If you have not settled your eternal destiny yet then go right to the very end of this lesson right now and take care of that first. Then come back to this point and continue reading.

Prov. 15:24 The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.

Be one of the wise and depart (don’t just depart, don’t go there at all) from hell in the future.

Psa. 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

Some may say, “well, I’m not committing adultery, I’m not stealing, I have no reason to be so sad.” Well, look a little closer. You may not be committing grievous sin continually, but are you following God’s plan for your life? Are you living up to your full potential? Perhaps you are sad because you have God given gifts and talents and are not using them.

1 Cor 3:11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 3:12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,
1 Cor 3:13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.
1 Cor 3:14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.
1 Cor 3:15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

There are sins of omission as well as sins of commission. What that means is that on the one hand some sins are things that we do that we shouldn’t do. On the other hand there are things that we should be doing but are not doing. Either case can cause depression. Why? Because God wants us to achieve our full potential. He wants us to receive maximum rewards in his kingdom. He wants your mansion in heaven to be a great one. Therefore, if we are not living up to our full potential he chastens us to prod us along to greater heights. If we fight against his persuasion we cause ourselves problems and sadness. We are not going to worry too much about the sins of omission in this study, that is for those very strong in the faith. We will concentrate on the sins of comission. We need to deal with those first.

Rev. 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Heb. 12:7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
Heb. 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Job 5:17 “Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

Prov. 3:11 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
Prov. 3:12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Prov. 3:13 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding,
Prov. 3:14 for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.

OK, now what do we do? We see what the Lord’s word says so we have to test ourselves and see where we fit into the program. When we know that then we can move forward and begin to correct some of our problems and get rid of sadness sorrow and depression. Even if we don’t fully overcome it in this life, at least we will be on the road to it, and that road leads to heaven for all eternity. That’s something to be happy about even if we are sad.

So, the first thing we need to check for in our lives is sins of commission, things that we are doing that are against God’s will. These may be causing us heartache. We also need to check for things we may have done in the past that we feel guilty for, these could be causing us problems. Perhaps someone has had an abortion years ago and now feels bad about it. Perhaps many bad things were done in ones youth. Perhaps we stole from people or hurt a lot of peoples feelings out of just plain meanness.

Most people are willing to forgive our past sins if we are truly sorry for them, and God certainly is. That is the whole purpose of Jesus Christ’s first coming, to save us from our sins.

Matt. 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Rom. 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

The very first step is to make sure that the promises of God apply to you. If you are not saved, the rest of this lesson will be a total waste of your time. You have to get the sin and salvation issue settled first, then everything else can come into play. If you need more information on how to be saved go to the very end of this lesson. You will find out how to make sure you are saved there.

Now, continue on only if you are sure that your sins are all forgiven, past, present and future. That should be a big burden off of you right there and make you happier already. If you just came to Christ for the first time then you have passed from death unto life and all things have become new. You will see the change in your thoughts from this day forward. Nothing will ever be the same.

John 5:24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

2Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

So, now we need to examine the sin issue more closely to see if it is sin that is causing you problems. We will begin with the fifth commandment and go through the tenth because they pertain to our dealings with our fellow man. A lot of our problems occur here. After that we will deal with the first four that pertain more to our relationship with God. Then with the two that Jesus gave.

The Ten Commandments

5. Deut. 5:16 “Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

God commands children to obey their parents, and promises a longer life for doing so. It was just in the news this week where four high school students died in a car accident while rushing to get home with the car because they were late for an 11 PM curfew. If they had been careful to allow enough time to get home safely with out going 90 in a 25 mph zone they would not have lost their lives. This was a tragedy that could have been prevented so easily. While not all disobedience to parents leads to death, it does lead to strife in the home. Most parents only want the best for their children.

Parents are not perfect, they make mistakes. But, even with the mistakes that parents make the children will be better off in the long run by obeying them than in going their own way. A parent may make a few mistakes, but a child will make almost everything they do a mistake. A totally inexperienced person will have many failures before they get the hang of doing something. You don’t have an inexperienced diamond cutter practice with large precious stones. They practice with things of little value first, until a high level of skill is achieved.

No matter how dumb you think your parents are, they are smarter than you are. Even if they were not, which is true in Jesus’ case, you still need to obey them until you are an adult supporting yourself because this is God’s law. When you can move out and support yourself with no help from them, then you can do what you want as long as you are following God’s will of course, but if you live in your parents house you are required by God to obey them.

Luke 2:51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
Luke 2:52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Jesus was smarter at one year old than any person in the world. He did not need to obey his parents because they were smarter than himself, but he obeyed them to fulfill all righteousness. In the same way he was baptized by John the Baptist, not because he needed it to be saved, he was perfect, but because he wanted to set a perfect example for us on how important it is to live according to the Word of God.

Matt. 3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.
Matt. 3:14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Matt. 3:15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

If you are a child and haven’t been obeying your parents then you need to fix that. If you are an adult and have a bad relationship with your parents due to your past sins, then you need to fix that. Get your relationship with your parents restored and healed if they are still alive and that is still possible. Even if you are 50 years old you need to do this if you can. It will take a lot of stress off of your life to get that issue satisfactorily settled before your parents pass on.

6. Deut. 5:17 “You shall not murder.

This is pretty simple. I surely hope you are not killing people, or planning on it. If you are reading this in prison, you may have already committed this crime. There is forgiveness available. King David was a murderer and God forgave him, he will forgive you also if you truly repent.

But, not only is the actual act of murdering someone a sin, Jesus expanded the definition to include the desire to do so and more.

Matt. 5:21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’
Matt. 5:22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Matt. 5:23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
Matt. 5:24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

We have to be careful not to hold a grudge against not only our physical brothers and sisters, but against anyone. Hate is a terrible stress maker. If we hate someone we are hurting ourselves worse than we are them. We are causing ourselves stress. You might say, well this person deserves to be hated, they are a completely stupid idiot and they should be shot and then hung with an old rope. Well, all of that may be true. But Jesus said that we should pray for our enemies. No matter how bad they are do you really want them to spend eternity in hell? If they are as bad as you say, that’s where they are going. How much better if they repent and live a productive and useful life.

1John 3:15 Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.
1John 4:20 If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

So, to keep the sixth commandment the way Jesus explains it, we are not to hate anyone, but to pray for their salvation no matter how evil they are. Even Hitler should have been prayed for until he committed suicide and went to hell. Until then there was hope that he could be saved and have ended world war two earlier and saved many lives.

Very often, it is other sin that causes murder. In today’s newspaper the story is related that a 19 year old girl murdered an 18 year old girl over an ongoing feud over a mutual boyfriend.

From “The St. Petersburg Times” “Countless times this past year police say, the victim and suspect in the case have been at odds over their on again, off again boyfriend, a 19 year old who dated both of them and fathered a child with a third woman, It wasn’t a love triangle according to the police captain, it was a love hexagon.”

The lessons are apparent here. Sin and immorality, caused jealously, which resulted in murder. Now, one person is dead and probably in hell, one is going to jail and will probably be depressed, a third, the one with the child will probably wind up on welfare, and that’s enough to make anyone depressed. The young man doesn’t seem to be too responsible and will probably wind up in more trouble down the road.

Rom. 13:13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

Jealousy leads to murder. In the case above it sounds like the young man who was the cause of the trouble wasn’t worth it. All the girls should have dumped him.

Mark 7:21 For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,

One sin leads to another, as the scripture above indicates. Immorality also leads to unwanted pregnancy which leads to abortion which is also murder. Most abortion would be unnecessary (not that any actually is) if it was not for sin. If there was no unwed pregnancy, there would be no unwed abortion. If there was no adultery there would be no need to destroy a child who was fathered in an adulterous relationship to prevent that relationship from being discovered. If there was no rape there would be no abortion necessary for that situation. Even in the case of rape the mother could choose to have the child and give it up for adoption if she did not want to keep it. The rapist under old testament law would be executed. No more problems from him forever. The only way out for a rapist in the old testament was for the girl to agree to marry him with the stipulation that he could never divorce her and he would support her and the child in good fashion for the rest of her life.

While on this subject I want to touch on one more thing. Many are the pleas for money to help starving children in Africa or some other place. Mothers are shown with small starving disfigured children surrounded by flies. Now mind you, I’m not blaming the children here, it’s not their fault, but where are the fathers? According to the bible if a man does not provide for his own family, he is worse than an unbeliever.

1Tim. 5:8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

No one should ever father or mother a child if they are not prepared to feed and clothe that child. Unless every starving child pictured was conceived by rape then the mothers are equally at fault. They are enabling the men to become absentee fathers to starving children.

No man should father a child and no woman should allow herself to become pregnant if they are not both prepared to feed and clothe the child. A man who has no job and no prospects of getting one should not get married until he does, unless he is independently wealthy. A woman should not permit a man to take liberties with her until he has married her and is ready to support both her and possible children. This would virtually end pictures of starving children and pleas for money, again, except in the case of rape. This is not an endorsement of birth control, this is a case for abstinence, as the bible requires.

7. Deut. 5:18 “You shall not commit adultery.

This command covers all immorality, not just adultery. The new testament explains it clearly. I can’t do a better job than what God did through Paul, so I’ll just let you read it for yourself. This will be a long and important subject. The following verses are not ten percent of what is in the bible about it. It must be important if God saw fit to give us so much information about it.

I will give you one little clue though before we start. In the bible physical unfaithfulness also represents spiritual adultery, worshipping idols. This topic is the way God shows how He feels when we turn our backs on him in a way human beings can understand. When we reject God he feels like a man or woman whose spouse has been unfaithful.

1Cor. 6:9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
1Cor. 6:10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
1Cor. 6:11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1Cor. 6:13 “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food”—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

1Cor. 6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!
1Cor. 6:16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”
1Cor. 6:17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
1Cor. 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
1Cor. 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
1Cor. 6:20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Lev. 20:10 “‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

Matt. 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’
Matt. 5:28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Adultery and immorality is all described in the bible by the use of the Greek word Pornea, from which we get the word porn or pornography. All sexual sin is included in the eighth commandment. The Greek word "pornea" is normally translated in the King James Version of the Bible as "fornication."

I once showed a Catholic friend the definition of sexual sin from the old testament in the bible. His reply was after reading it, “This can’t be the bible, this is the devils bible or some fake bible, God wouldn’t put such things as this in the bible.” He thought it was too explicit to be in the bible. But, God wanted us to explicitly know what sin was, not to have to guess. I’m going to present it here for your perusal. But, remember, the new testament standard is even higher, Jesus said that if one even thinks about doing such things with the intent to do so if the opportunity presents itself, that is the same or as bad as breaking the law. Of course, fleeting thoughts and temptations may pass through anyones mind at any time, but we have the power to decide what thoughts we dwell on and what thoughts we push out of our mind. The Holy Spirit gives us that power.

1Cor. 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.

2Tim. 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

We have the power to avoid doing the things listed below, and need to do so to receive God’s blessing and rid ourselves of stress and feelings of guilt sorrow and depression. Sexual sin may very well be a great contributor to the mental health issues of today. Our television shows make sin seem normal, but sin leads to death, not just physical death but spiritual death also, this is to die unsaved and spend eternity in hell.

Lev. 18:1 The LORD said to Moses,
Lev. 18:2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the LORD your God.
Lev. 18:3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.
Lev. 18:4 You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God.
Lev. 18:5 Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD.

Lev. 18:6 “ ‘No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.
Lev. 18:7 “ ‘Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her.
Lev. 18:8 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; that would dishonor your father.
Lev. 18:9 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.
Lev. 18:10 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; that would dishonor you.
Lev. 18:11 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.
Lev. 18:12 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.
Lev. 18:13 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative.
Lev. 18:14 “ ‘Do not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.
Lev. 18:15 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her.
Lev. 18:16 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would dishonor your brother.
Lev. 18:17 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.
Lev. 18:18 “ ‘Do not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.
Lev. 18:19 “ ‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.
Lev. 18:20 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.

Lev. 18:22 “ ‘Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
Lev. 18:23 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.
Lev. 18:24 “ ‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled.
Lev. 18:25 Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.
Lev. 18:26 But you must keep my decrees and my laws.

Lev. 18:30 Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the LORD your God.’”

The verses above are pretty much self explanatory. If you have a reasonable command of the english language you should be able to understand it. Basicaly, every kind of sexual contact is forbidden except within the confines of marriage between a man and a woman. It's pretty simple, really.

More Scriptures Concerning Adultery

Prov. 6:32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.

Jer. 23:14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.

Even the priests were committing adultery in old testament times, just like many of our ministers and church leaders are doing today.

Hos. 4:14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.

It is the men’s responsibility to provide the leadership and the example for his wife and children. The men set such a bad example for the women that God practically absolved the women from punishment for their sins, at least in this life. Do you see something similar occurring today. Look no farther than the Church or Washington D.C. for a lot of bad examples.

Gal. 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

2Pet. 2:14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

The real point is that any sexual sin will cause trouble. If you commit adultery and get caught you will have stress and maybe divorce, which causes more stress. Even if you violate God’s laws and don’t get caught by mankind, God knows it and your conscience knows it. You may have been doing some of the things listed above and not even knew it was considered wrong by the Lord. No problem, just quit. God forgives what we have done in ignorance.

Some young men may argue and say, I'm OK in this department. I only have sex with single girls who are not listed in Leviticus as being unavailable. Well, that shows you are thinking anyway, your mind is clearing up fast. But, that argument does not hold water, at least not with God. In the mind of God, in his foreknowlege, everyone belongs to someone already. they belong to whoever they will eventually marry in the future. Single people are committing adultery in advance when they have sex with each other unless they eventually marry each other. You may say, thats crazy. What about people who never get married. Men and women who never marry belong to the Lord. They should remain perpetual virgins. I'm not going to go into it all here, but that is what the bible teaches. Read it from cover to cover and see for yourself.

Then read the book of Tobit in the Catholic bible. Then you will get the picture. Note: even if Tobit is not a biblical book, the teaching on marriage in it is in agreement with the protestant bible and it teaches it in a very beautiful way. In a nutshell a particular young woman was intended for a certain young man. Seven other men tried to marry her but all died before the marriage could be connsumated so she could marry her one true love.

We have spent a lot of time on sexual sin because it is rampant today. Our nation has become so degenerate that even people with a Christian upbringing do not believe it is possible to live without constant sin. Recently during our presidential campaign one of the vice presidential (no pun intended) candidates daughters revealed that she was pregnant and she was unwed. The boyfriend broke up with her immediately after the election was over and joined the talk show circuit revealing the most intimate details of their relationship. The young lady was quoted as saying. "abstinance in not an option today." The sad part is that young people today do not even believe it is possible to have control over ones own will, as Paul says we do. When I was growing up and in Sunday School one of our creeds stated that it was our duty to "live a chaste and decent life." Now, very few even know what that means, let alone believe that it is possible to do if they did understand what it meant.

1 Cor 7:36 If anyone thinks he is acting improperly toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if she is getting along in years and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married.
1 Cor 7:37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin--this man also does the right thing.
1 Cor 7:38 So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does even better.

You cannot hardly watch TV or drive down the road without being exposed to it. The young lady was right about one thing. You would almost have to go out in the woods and live alone to escape from being tempted with evil in the United States today. We have become like Sodom and Gommorah and do not even realize it because our consciences are like flesh that was seared with a hot iron.

1 Tim 4:2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

This is not to say that God will not forgive us if we sin after we are saved, but very often he will not bail us out of our problems we cause ourselves as easily as he did the first time. A person who has a drinking problem and gets saved and God delivers them from it instantly, if they go back to it intentionally after that, that have a very hard road to hoe to quit again. If you are involved in sin, quit, and don’t ever go back to it. That will give you a much more stress free and depression free life. Many people cause their own problems after they get saved by disobedience, and then blame God for it. Don’t be one of them. Proverbs has some good advice for young men.

Prov. 5:3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
Prov. 5:4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
Prov. 5:5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

Prov. 7:1 My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.

Prov. 7:5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
Prov. 7:6 For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,
Prov. 7:7 And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,
Prov. 7:8 Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
Prov. 7:9 In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
Prov. 7:10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.
Prov. 7:11 (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:
Prov. 7:12 Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)
Prov. 7:13 So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,
Prov. 7:14 I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.
Prov. 7:15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
Prov. 7:16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.
Prov. 7:17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
Prov. 7:18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.
Prov. 7:19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:
Prov. 7:20 He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.
Prov. 7:21 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
Prov. 7:22 He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
Prov. 7:23 Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
Prov. 7:24 Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
Prov. 7:25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
Prov. 7:26 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
Prov. 7:27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

Prov. 9:17 Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
Prov. 9:18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

Prov. 13:15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.

The way of the transgressor is hard. No wonder they are depressed. Avoid all sins of the flesh and avoid much grief. If you are involved in such things it is no wonder you are depressed. You should be until you repent.

8. Deut. 5:19 “You shall not steal.

Just more sensible civil law. I remember the days when you didn’t have to lock the doors to your house or your car. No one would steal your stuff. Try that now. How nice it would be if people were honest. That’s how God intended it to be.

Eph. 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

1Tim. 6:8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Heb. 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

There is a lot more to stealing than just smash and grab theft. Adultery is actually stealing another mans wife. Coveting usually comes before stealing and is the tenth commandment. If you never covet, but are happy with whatever God has given you, you will never even want to steal. Don’t covet and then you won’t steal. Very simple. If you don’t steal and don’t get in trouble with the law over it, you won’t have to be depressed sitting in jail or even depressed sitting at home wondering and stressed out over whether or not you are going to get caught.

9. Deut. 5:20 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

Prov. 19:22 …better to be poor than a liar.

John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

This concerns perjury and lying. When you tell a lie you have to tell more to cover it up later. Better just to tell the truth right away and get it over with. Lying causes stress because sooner or later the lies will be found out, even if not in this life then in the next. Lying is of the devil and he is the father of it. Satan deceived Eve in the garden with the first lie ever told to humankind. We have been paying for it ever since.

Num. 32:23 “But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the LORD; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.

When you sin, you can be sure that someday your sin will find you out. This causes stress and stress causes depression. Do you want less stress? Then quit lying.

10. Deut. 5:21 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

This is for our thoughts. We should not even desire to steal or somehow cheat our neighbor out of any of his goods that God has blessed him with. Now if our neighbor has a beautiful new car, there is nothing wrong with going out and buying a similar car, if we can afford it. We just can’t steal his.

Coveting is more than that. Coveting is also figuring out how to defraud old people (or anyone) out of their retirement savings or goods, and stealing the homes and inheritance of widows and orphans. I live in Florida. It is standard procedure to cheat everyone out of everything you can. It is almost the law that you have to do it. We live in a twisted and evil society. Everyone wants everyone else’s stuff.

The First Four Commandments

The first four commandments concern our duties and relationship to God.

1. Deut. 5:7 “You shall have no other gods before me.

This is fairly simple, just like the answer Jesus gave to Satan. “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shalt thou serve.” It’s not rocket science.

Luke 4:5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.
Luke 4:6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.
Luke 4:7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours.”
Luke 4:8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’’”

Worshipping false God’s only leads down the road of sadness. They are deaf, dumb and blind idols. Satan and his angels are living beings and are false gods to some, but their eventual fate is the Lake of Fire. They cannot even save themselves, so what could they possibly do for you?

Matt. 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

We are not to even learn about the ways of the heathen or their gods. It will only serve to lead us astray.

Jer. 10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen,

We should not even learn about Allah, Buddha, the Hindu's or any other false religion. Foreigners visiting here should of course have freedom to worship as they please, but our culture and our holidays and our school calendars should not change to please unbelievers.

2. Deut. 5:8 & 9 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them;

Going right along with the first commandment, almost as a continuation of it, we are not to worship idols of gold, silver, wood stone or any other material. This is simple; we are to worship only the invisible God, Yahweh.

3. Deut. 5:11 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

Another easy one. We are not to swear falsely using God’s name, (as in court) or use his name loosely in casual talk. We are to reverence the name of the Lord. This includes the name of both the Father and the Son. Some unbelievers say the name “Jesus Christ” more than most Christians, but in a cursing derogatory way.

4. Deut. 5:12-14 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do.

This was practiced to a large degree years ago, although everything was shut down on Sunday instead of on the Sabbath. However, God still blessed us, perhaps for at least trying, even if we weren’t doing it exactly right. The Sabbath day is actually from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.

Businesses used to be closed on Sunday, giving everyone a day of rest. Everyone had a mental health day. Families could get together and spend quality time. Even the television was off of the air from Saturday at midnight until Monday morning. Only the test pattern was on the screen. There was no Sunday afternoon football or sports. Most people went to church on Sunday; it was the only place open.

According to God’s law even the king’s servants were to have the day off to rest and worship. The Sabbath day of rest was a blessing from God, not a hardship. It is only greed that ended it. The desire for profit seven days a week. Now almost everything is open on Sundays. How can people go to church when they are working? How can people get away from stress when they work seven days a week? This is a part of Satan’s plan, to make people so stressed out they go crazy and commit horrible acts of violence, murdering their families, and by keeping them away from church on Sunday they fail to learn the word of God. This is a cause of depression, not having proper rest and relaxation and time for fellowship with God and family. Even God rested after all of his work of creation. Not that he needed it, but as an example for us. If God rested, so should we. One day of rest would go a long way toward helping us all with our problems. We all need a "mental health day" once a week.

Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Gen 2:3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

Restoring one day when business is shut down, except for hospitals and emergency services, (Jesus verified that was OK) would go a long way toward making our country more God fearing and sane. Satan has us running around chasing our tails seven days a week until we are driven mad. It’s time to get back to doing things God’s way. It would save billions in medical costs if people could just get some rest. And while we are doing it we may as well do it right, shut it all down on the real Sabbath day, from Friday evening to Saturday evening. Shut it all down. Rest. Go to Church. Spend time with your family. Is that such a bad thing to do one day a week?

Even if you can't practice having the real Sabbath day off right now because of your job or other committments, try to spend at least one day a week, whatever day you have off, just resting around the house, maybe do a little yard work, a little gardening, something you enjoy. Nothing strenuous. Relax, read the Word for at least a half hour that day. Just sit on the boat and float, don't even fish hard. Don't go shopping and running around doing errands all day. You will be surprised at how much better you feel. I know it is difficult in today's fast paced go, go, go, all the time society, but it is a whole lot less costly than doctor bills and in a lot of cases works much better. Learn to relax and enjoy one slow paced day every week. It will pay you great dividends in the long run. God implemented it, it is absolutely the right thing to do. No doubt about it.

Now, are all of these laws really necessary some Christians may ask? Well, Jesus in a sense said no, these are not necessary if you follow the two.

Matt. 22:36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Matt. 22:37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
Matt. 22:38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
Matt. 22:39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Matt. 22:40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

If we could follow the two commandments, we would automatically be following the ten. We would follow the first four commandments because we loved the Lord with all of our hearts and would do what he says, and we would follow the rest because of our love for our fellow man. That is not just a new testament command by the way.

Deu 6:5 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Lev 19:18 ... but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Think about it. If we loved our neighbor as our self, we would not kill him, rob him, steal from him, lie about him, commit adultery with his wife, or figure out a way to get his goods. If you can follow the two commandments, you don’t need the ten. But, our society needs the ten because we have never reached the point of spiritual maturity where we can follow God’s law in our hearts and minds without specific written instructions.

Deut. 5:22 These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

Along with these commandments we have to add a couple more from the new testament. These are not really new commands but more like explanations of the others.

Fellowship

Heb. 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

If you want to get out of depression and be a strong Christian you need fellowship with strong Christians. You will become like those you hang out with. If you hang out with the wise you will become wise. If you hang with drunkards you will probably become one. If your best friends are rich people, you will learn how to make money. If you want to be happy, hang out with happy people. Choose friends who always look on the bright side of things. Don’t hang out with someone who is always negative. You don’t need that. You need a good example of a happy, joyous and free Christian. Find someone like that you really admire and learn as much from them as you can. Find someone you want to be like and fellowship with them. Find a whole group of them if you can.

1 Cor 15:33 Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."

Prov 13:20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.

My grandfather always said, if you want to be rich, take advice from a rich man not a poor one. If the poor one really knew how to be rich he would be. If you want to be happy don’t hang out with unhappy people. Avoid them like the plague, at least until you can be a good example to them, and even then be careful. Don’t let them bring you back down. If you hang out with losers, you will most likely be a loser yourself.

Tithing

Ouch! Now we are getting to a difficult subject, money. You don’t have to tithe if you can follow Jesus command to love the Lord with all of your heart, soul and mind. At least you won’t have to keep track of it. You will automatically give a lot more than ten percent. If you know you are giving more than ten percent without even thinking about it then just skip this section.

Matt. 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Luke 11:42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

Tithing, like the ten commandments is only for people who are unable to follow God’s will without a set of written instructions. If you can’t do God’s will without a detailed job description, then practice the ten commandments, fellowship rules, and tithing until you can be led by the Holy Spirit to do them all automatically. Jesus verified that the Pharisees were doing right by tithing. He said they should continue to tithe, but should also practice the two which they were not doing, justice and love. This is the equivalent of loving the Lord with all their hearts and their neighbor as themselves.

Mat 6:19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
Mat 6:20 "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Mat 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

You might say, "what in the world does tithing and laying up treasure in heaven have to do with depression and mental health?" Good question, and Jesus answered it. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and mind will be also. If your mind is on heavenly things you won't be so concerned and depressed about earthly things. If you know you have a bright and glorious and happy future you won't dwell so much on the sadness of today. You may say "why thats just a trick, just mental gymnastics to keep one from thinking about their problems." In a sense, yes it is. You are correct. But, it is a true exercise in mental gymnastics, because God's word really is true, and your really do have a great future ahead of you, if you are in Christ. We have the power, if we are in Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit to control what we think about. Thinking about good things will make our life happier. The bible commands us to think about good things.

Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

1 Cor 2:9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"--

John 14:2 "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
John 14:3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

We have great things to think about, our future home in heaven with Jesus Christ and all the good things that he has prepared for us.

So, if you are certain that you are doing all of these things and are still depressed then there may be a few more areas to clean up. Have you righted all wrongs from the past as far as is possible?

Rom. 12:18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Have you patched things up with everyone you have been at odds with and are not on good terms with? Have you paid back everyone you stole from? Have you gotten every bit of sin out of your life as much as is humanly possible? Lets look at the reaction of a newly converted man named Zacchaeus. He was a greedy crooked tax collector who after his coversion repented and corrected his past wrongs. Jesus commended him for it. He is an example to us of what we should do after conversion. Following his (Zacchaeus) example will relieve us of a lot of stress.

Luke 19:2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.
Luke 19:3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd.
Luke 19:4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
Luke 19:5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
Luke 19:6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
Luke 19:7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’”
Luke 19:8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
Luke 19:9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

If you have not restored all stolen property you possess to its rightful owner you need to do so as soon as possible. Get that cursed stuff off of your house and porn along with it. Throw every ungodly item you have out of the house. You need to make restitution and make sure that at the very least you are not the one at fault from being at peace with every person in the world. They may hate you, but you cannot hate them.

Matt. 5:44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Luke 6:27 “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

If after all of this you are still depressed you may need medical attention. This study is not intended to discourage you from seeking or continuing medical help for your condition. What it seeks to do is find the cause of the condition if it is a spiritual lack of something. The doctor may treat the symptoms with medicines, but to really fix the problem the root cause must be uncovered. You may need to pray that God will give the doctor wisdom in treating your condition. Get some elders from the church to pray with you about it. Make sure they are happy elders, not some old grouchy ones.

If you have met every condition outlined so far from God’s word and do not have any relief there is one more thing it could be. Perhaps the Lord is allowing Satan to test you to the very limit of your faith, in order for you to lay up much treasure in heaven.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

1Cor. 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

If so you need to read the entire book of Job and see how he held up under extreme conditions. Following the test he was blessed with twice as much as he had before. This would only be the case if you have lost everything, money, children, health and all of your friends and family have turned against you. If this is the case no one can blame you for being depressed. Even Job wished he had never been born when his trial occurred.

Job 3:1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
Job 3:2 He said:
Job 3:3 “May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, ‘A boy is born!’
Job 3:8 May those who curse days curse that day,
Job 3:10 Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.

Even Job’s wife turned on him. She told him to “curse God and die.” What she meant was, curse God and commit suicide. Job responded to her with wisdom.

Job 2:9 His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
Job 2:10 He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

She had no faith Job could ever be a worthwhile person again, but God had other ideas. God can restore anyone to health, wealth and happiness or get them to that position for the first time in their life. Yes, even you, and me!

Job 42:12 The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.
Job 42:13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters.
Job 42:15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.
Job 42:16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.
Job 42:17 And so he died, old and full of years.

The worst case scenario is that we would be allowed to suffer like Job, but even he was restored to health, given a new family, and received double the wealth that he had previously attained. Not only that but now we do not live as long as Job. Seventy or eighty years is the norm. So, we don't have as long to suffer even if we, like the beggar, don't get relief in this life.

(Psa 90:10 NIV) The length of our days is seventy years-- or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

It will all be over soon enough and then there will be joy and gladness for all eternity. If nothing else can cheer you up, think on that. Eternity, forever, with the Lord in joy and happiness. It is coming soon!

Is. 51:11 Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

Jer. 31:13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

Rev. 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Salvation

This site would not be complete without a simple explanation of Salvation.

Very briefly, everyone who ever has or will ever make it into God’s Kingdom will have been saved by faith in the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Many before his first coming never knew is name as Jesus Christ. They only knew and believed by faith that God Would someday send a Redeemer, a Messiah, a Christ, to save them from both spiritual and physical problems. They had Faith in an unknown un-named Jesus Christ. The promise of a Saviour began in Genesis right after mans fall into sin and salvation by faith in this promise has been available from the time of Adam and Eve onward up until This promised Messiah, Saviour and Redeemer was revealed as Jesus Christ about 2000 years ago.

We no longer have the option of just believing in some un-named coming redeemer for salvation. This option vanishes for every person the moment they hear, read or have the Gospel presented to them in some manner. From that point on they must make a choice. This is so because Jesus said;

(John 10:24-29 NCV) The Jews gathered around him and said, "How long will you make us wonder about you? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered, "I told you already, but you did not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name show who I am. But you don't believe, because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never die, and no one can steal them out of my hand. My Father gave my sheep to me. He is greater than all, and no person can steal my sheep out of my Father's hand.

Since Jesus returned to Heaven whenever anyone hears the Gospel the Holy Spirit is there to open the minds and hearts of those who are hearing it to the fact that it is the truth. Anyone who rejects the Gospel upon having it presented to it simply show that they are not willing to accept the truth and be saved.

You can be saved right now, in the next few moments by simply praying sincerely to God the Father and to Jesus Christ the simple prayer below.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; I know I am a sinner. Please come into my life and save me and forgive me all of my sins and make me into the kind of person you want me to be. I’m trusting only in Jesus Christ for my salvation and I ask this prayer in his name. Thank You Lord for Saving me, Amen.

That's all there is to it. Now tell someone about it. Read your Bible. Get Baptized. Discover your Spiritual Gifts and Talents. Find a good church and volunteer to serve in some manner according to your gifts and talents.

You may ask, How do I find a good church. That's easy. Find one where people are being saved or at least an invitation is given for salvation through Jesus Christ in every service and you will be in a good church.

(John 7:14-17 NCV) When the feast was about half over, Jesus went to the Temple and began to teach. The Jews were amazed and said, "This man has never studied in school. How did he learn so much?" Jesus answered, "The things I teach are not my own, but they come from him who sent me. If people choose to do what God wants, they will know that my teaching comes from God and not from me.

If you begin to serve the Lord and do his will you will understand more and more with certainty the truth of teaching and doctrines of Jesus Christ. If you ever doubt your salvation, refer to the verse below, and remember, God cannot lie, it is true, and will always be true if you meet the qualifications in the verse below.

(Rom 10:9 NKJV) that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

(Titus 1:2 NKJV) in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,

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