Cave of Despair

Once you accept Jesus Christ as Savior your life will become a cakewalk. All your prayers will be answered, situations will always go your way, and relationships will always be peaceful. Heaven begins at the point of your surrender, or so a lot of modern theology would have you believe. They teach that if you are a faithful child of God you should never experience depression. Or anxiety. Or fear. 

I can only suppose that those holding this foolish (trying to watch my language here) opinion have never read their Bibles. Because here is a brief list of faith-filled men of God who suffered bouts of depression, fear, worry and anxiety: Moses, Job, Elijah, David, Jonah. 

How's that for a short list of men who experienced the fear of the present and despondence for the future? 

Jackie Mitchell strikes out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig

Note: For this week's blog I yield to one of the greatest sports writer of our generation, Joe Posnanski. Hey, don't just take my word for it, check out his story about Jackie Mitchell (A Chattanooga girl!) below . . . 

A few years ago, our daughter Elizabeth rather suddenly grew interested in the story of Jackie Mitchell. She had not expressed interest in baseball at all up to that point. When we took her to ballgames, as I’ve written before, she would bring a book and so lose herself in it that when I would try to point out something on the field, she would briefly look at me a bit bewildered, as if she had totally forgotten that we were at a baseball game.

But then, one day a few years ago, maybe when she was 12 or 13, she became fascinated with the story of Mitchell, the girl who struck out Babe Ruth.

If We Forget The Past, We Are Doomed To Repeat It

In the movie, Judgment At Nuremberg (1961), the Chief Judge in the movie, played by Spencer Tracy, delivers one of the most powerful speeches recorded on film. In this scene from the movie, Tracy's character is delivering the final judgement of the four German judges on trial for atrocities committed during the time of the Third Reich (1933 - 1945). 

Under extreme duress to let these men off with probation or light sentences due to the crisis with Russia over the ruling of Germany in 1949, the judge's ruling is fraught with diplomatic and political repercussions for all the parties involved. Yet, this judge, sums up the duty of the court and its responsibilities, to deliver a ruling, despite the outside pressure, and to properly judge the actions of these four men and their injustice toward their fellow man.

Greatest Hits of the Bible

For those of us old enough to remember record albums was there a better treat than to find one that didn't have a bad song on either side? Usually the only way that would happen would be on a "Greatest Hits" compilation but even then you're weren't guaranteed to hear awesome songs on both sides.

If I'm being honest the same thing can be true when I read the Bible. The book of Numbers is not as relatable to me as the book of Luke. (Note: I realize that all scripture is God breathed and suitable for teaching, and that all scripture is truth, but I'm simply referring to my own personal experience of being able to relate to certain books of the Bible above others.)

Now if you'll permit me, I'd like to segue into one of my favorite books of the Bible, the Book of Philippians, a greatest hits collection that doesn't disappoint in its four wisdom-packed chapters.