The Dark Battle with Depression: February 27th Devotional

The Dark Battle with Depression

Psalm 143:4

February 27th Devotional

      On this day in 1854, the renowned German composer and pianist Robert Schumann attempted to take his life by jumping off a bridge into the freezing water of the Rhine River.  Schumann was considered by many to be one of the most gifted musicians of the Romantic era.  His pieces are still regarded as some of the most remarkable ever created.  Despite Schumann’s gifting he still suffered greatly from depression.  Robert first started to battle depression in 1833 and it continued to assault his mental and spiritual life for over twenty years.  Days before his suicide attempt Schumann started to go into an elongated, unending period of depression.  He was unable to sleep and his wife, Clara, who was six months pregnant with their eighth child at the time was unable to console him.  On the morning of February 27th, he rushed from the house leaving his jacket and boots behind.  The city streets of Düsseldorf were crowded with Mardi Gras revelers as he jumped into the icy cold water of the Rhine.  It was a very public spectacle.  A group of unnamed boatmen rescued Robert from the water but his life was forever changed.  He was committed to an insane asylum and is forbidden to communicate with his wife.  Before being taken away to be treated he asked that a doctor give a carnation to his wife.  She kept the carnation, pressed it into a book, and kept it for decades.  Despite non-stop treatment, Robert was unable to find victory over his depression.  Tragically after two years of care, Robert Schumann succumbed and died at the age of 46.  He left a wife alone with eight children, the youngest of which was never able to meet his father.  His wife was naturally distraught.  She would remain single for the next forty years, suffering from her own sorrows and agonies, and would forever miss the love of her life.  His wife was also extremely gifted musically and would go on tour to share the gift of his music with thousands of others.

      No one is exempt from suffering through seasons of depression.  Even the most seasoned believer goes through seasons of drought.  Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers would often be assaulted by long periods of depression that would keep him out of the pulpit.  There is no inoculation against being depressed.  The Bible mentions great people who went through seasons of darkness.  In Psalm 143:4 David wrote, “Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; my heart is appalled within me.”  We aren’t sure of the exact context of David’s writing but many believers that David wrote this was hiding from King Saul in the caves of En Gedi.  It was there that David was left alone, fearful, and depressed.  David began to question God’s faithfulness, to question God’s power, and to question God’s presence.  Depression does that from time to time.  The internal struggle with mental illness can cause us to question God.  David found aid as he conversed with God.  His situation didn’t change but his heart attitude did.  Sometimes can cause a misalignment spiritually in our life, praying to God though helps to realign our life spiritually.  Depression at times can be overbearing and can cause a believer shame.  We don’t like to admit it.  We treat it like leprosy.  But depression doesn’t attack the weak, it attacks all.  Spiritually you need to get into the Word and prayer.   Maybe you even need to see a medical doctor to be treated with medication or counseling.  Depression is not something we should ever make light of.  We need proper physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional help.  Don’t ignore it, friend.  Get to God, get some help. 

The 359 Year Apology: February 26th Devotional

The 359-Year Apology

Ephesians 4:32

February 26th Devotional

      On this day in 1616, a Roman Catholic inquisition delivered an injunction against Galileo Galilei demanding that he recant his belief that the planets and earth revolved around the sun. Galileo was born near Pisa in 1569. This father was a prominent musician and musical theorist. At a young age, Galileo wanted to pursue a life in the priesthood but his father convinced him to attend the University of Pisa to study medicine. He thrived on learning but despised the study of medicine. He later changed his major to math and philosophy. Tragically he had to drop out for a season because he lacked the finances to finish his degree. Finally, years later he returned to the university to graduate and start teaching. He taught for decades. Early in the year 1610 he began to use the newly invented telescope to study the stars. He was not the inventor of the telescope, but he was the perfecter of the instrument. It was primarily used to survey land and battles, but Galileo was the first to use it to seriously study the stars. His telescope magnified x30 and allowed him to clearly see the surface of the moon along with the moons of other planets. During his study, he started to notice the phases of these moons and planets. His theory was that the planets and earth revolved around the sun (heliocentrism). He published his findings in 1610 in an article called “The Starry Messenger.” That teaching was fairly revolutionary at the time and was considered to be a damnable doctrine in the eyes of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Inquisition at the time was a type of court system that examined doctrinal matters. They said Galileo’s findings were foolish and blasphemous, though they allowed him to continue to study so long as he did not officially hold to the position, nor defend it. But he could not ignore the scientific facts and published an article in 1632 openly promoting his position. The Catholic church, under the leadership of Pope Urban VIII quickly called him to Rome for a trial in 1633. The frail, aged 69-year-old was shown the tools that the church would torture him with unless he recanted. He officially agreed to plead guilty to receive a lighter punishment. The original punishment was life in prison but was later communicated to house arrest for the rest of his life. He was forbidden to see his friends nor to publish during that time. It was also during this time that he went completely blind. He remained under house arrest until he died, eight years later in 1642. The Roman Catholic Church officially overturned their decision….in 1992. It only took 359 years to say they were sorry.

      Can you fathom holding a grudge for 359 years? Especially a grudge when you were clearly wrong. It seems petty and foolish. But before we judge the Catholic Church for their overdue apology, let us examine our own lives. Have we ever harbored feelings of unforgiveness or refused to ask someone for forgiveness? Have we ever wanted to be angry at someone instead of letting things go? How often has a root of bitterness overtaken our life spiritually simply because we have an overdue apology to grant? Or how often have we drunk of the poison of bitterness in hopes that it would destroy the other person, but instead finding out that it only destroys us? How many human relationships have we harmed and tarnished because we have refused to forgive or seek forgiveness? Paul encouraged the believers in Ephesus to “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:32).” Highlight that part of forgiving one another. We need to carry about the fruit of forgiveness in our lives. Forgiving those who trespass against us and saying we are sorry to those we trespass against. Forgiving and asking for forgiveness are not easy things to do, to be honest, they aren’t hard things to do either, they are the right things to do. Who do we need to seek out for restored fellowship? Don’t delay. We don’t have 359 years to say we are sorry. Far too many people have said sorry at a funeral when the time was time had already passed. Don’t live with regret, remorse, and shame. Do the right thing today. Forgive and ask for forgiveness.

Earthly Trinkets Vs. Heavenly Treasures: February 19th Devotional

      Earthly Trinkets Vs. Heavenly Treasures

Matthew 6:19-21

February 19th Devotional

      “Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks, I don’t care if I ever get back.”  Most of us are familiar with this jingle from an iconic American song about baseball and a famous snack, Cracker Jacks.  What is the big deal with Cracker Jacks and what happened on this day in history that includes them?  Cracker Jacks were simply a snack of popcorn, molasses, and peanuts.  The snack has been around for quite some time.  The Rueckheim brothers had been selling a type of popcorn snack since the 1870’s, until the recipe was perfected in 1893 and sold at the World’s Fair held in Chicago.  The name is rumored to have come from a customer who exclaimed that the product was “Cracker Jack” after tasting it.  The company soared with popularity.  In 1907 Jack Norworth, a famous singer and performer wrote the words of take me out to the ballgame, including the term Cracker Jacks in it.  Ironically Jack had never been to a ballgame and didn’t even know if Cracker Jacks were sold at games.  Nonetheless, the inadvertent advertisement caused the snack to become a household staple at nearly every ballpark.  Many years later the New York Yankees attempted to switch brands only to find an outrage from fans.  Cracker Jacks became famous for something else, prizes.  In 1910 the wax sealed packages included coupons.  The coupons were geared toward women.  They would be for sewing machines, dishware, and other goods for the home. This promotion lasted for about two years until the company introduced toy prizes for the first time on this day in 1913.  Some of the toys over the years have been baseball cards (some of them worth quite a bit of money), stickers, plastic figures, decoder rings, etc.  Prizes continued until 2016 when they were replaced with simple temporary tattoos and jokes. 

      I used to love Cracker Jacks as a child.  Actually, take that back, I don’t remember eating the snack, I remember opening the package for what I thought was the coolest toy ever.  Looking back I can’t remember a single Crack Jack toy that I pulled.  To be honest I probably lost them or broke them within the first few days.  The toys found in this sweet treat were not know for their longevity, they weren’t typically built to last, but nonetheless we desired those cheap trinkets just to have something we could say was our own.  We as humans do this in a similar way.  We collect the “Cracker Jack” toys of this world.  Things that won’t last, things that have monetary value but zero eternal benefit to us spiritually.  Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 6:19-21 when He said “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where you treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  I don’t think Jesus is necessarily condemning the things of this world (so long as they aren’t sinful).  God has created things for us on planet earth for our pleasure.  The problem becomes when we spend our entire life pursing those things.  It’s great to collect baseball cards, Legos, vintage toys, home décor, clothing, etc. It’s wise to have savings accounts and retirement accounts, but none of those treasures are going to last.  They are temporary trinkets for our journey around the sun.  God instead wants us to lay up treasures in heaven.  What does that mean?  It means to faithfully serve Jesus, to use our talents and gifts for His glory and the furtherance of the Gospel, it means living a humble life, it means loving others (even your enemies), it means sacrifice, it means praying and giving, it means forgiving.  Those treasures last.  They are not the cheap Cracker Jack trinkets found in a box, these are the treasures in heaven, won for Jesus.  These are the treasures that cannot be lost or stolen.  What are you laying up?  Earthly trinkets or heavenly treasure?

February 2023 Prayer Letter

  “Mobilizing the Church Through Short-term Mission Trips”

      For some people winter can be a slow-paced, boring season, but not in our house.  Noah and Titus have birthdays in the month of January.  We now have a 7-year-old and an 11-year-old!  Maggie is patiently waiting for her birthday later this month.  Tiffanie and I are extremely grateful for our three kids.  We have had the joy of watching them grow physically, spiritually, and academically.  They have crossed over the first half of the school year and so far, they all maintain a 4.0 on their report card.  Also, Noah has been cast as a main character in a play at the Apollo Theater near our home.  It’s been quite a busy family month.

      We have continued with a fruitful winter of preparing for mission trips.  Our year kicked off with presenting a trip to Waynesboro Grace to Southern West Virginia.  This group has started raising support and is excited to share Christ and make a Gospel-sized impact in Appalachia this summer.  We have also been meeting with Boonsboro Bible Church in regard to their Spring mission trip.  This trip is filled with new opportunities to share the Gospel.  This team will have a community outreach, light construction at a drug rehab center with a Biblical foundation, lead a lady's Bible study, provide basic life skills for ladies at the rehab center, provide lunch for the local teachers, host a community paint night in which a devotional will be shared, and lots more!  It’s going to be a GREAT trip filled with relational opportunities to make Christ known.  We have also started to present a trip for the Fellowship of Bible Churches to Western Maryland and Morgan County West Virginia!

      We did have to change our schedule in regard to our survey of Cortland New York. Our family battled illness and we are currently rescheduling the trip for the Spring season.  We have LOTS of exciting things coming up in the next few weeks.  A group of CiM missionaries is traveling to Welch WV to survey the area for future trips and ministry.  Our family will also be ministering the entire month of February with our friends at Locust Valley Bible Church.  We have a mission conference scheduled in March to Myrtle Beach and at the end of March we will be heading back down to Southern WV to take pictures and film video.  This media will be used to create promotional material for our website, social media, and to present to local churches.

     We had a huge praise to share with you.  A friend of ours from Locust Valley Bible Church donated a van to our family.  We are beyond thankful for this incredible gift of generosity.  This gift provides our family with more time to continue to save for a lower mileage and affordable van for the future.  Also please note that we will be changing our prayer letter updates.  We will be mailing out our letters bimonthly and emailing them monthly (unless you prefer a monthly letter in the mail).  Feel free to email us at mandtcim@gmail.com to let us know which way you prefer to receive your letters.  We do have a few Sundays free.  Let us know if you would like us to come in and share a mission update or share a message in the Word.  We are thankful for your prayers and gifts.  We are constantly amazed by your kindness and gracious spirit.  We couldn’t do this without you!

Gifts sent to:  P.O. Box 51519 Durham, NC 27717

Or give online via www.churchesinmissions.org      

Designate for Matt & Tiffanie Robinson         

mandtcim@gmail.com

CiM Missionaries visiting Southern WV

Success Over Setbacks: February 12th Devotional

Success Over Setbacks

Romans 5:3

February 12th Devotional

      On this day in 1915, the iconic hymn writer Fanny Crosby entered into glory at the age of 94.  Crosby is a household name in Christianity.  She composed over 8000 hymns and gospel songs.  She was hailed as the Queen of Gospel music.  Not only that but she was also an accomplished poet.  Crosby’s childhood was mired with tragedy and heartache.  At six weeks old Frances contracted a simple cold, but it caused an infection in her eyes.  The local doctor was out of town and another man masquerading as a doctor treated her with a  hot mustard poultice.  This treatment left Fanny blind for the rest of her life.  A few months later her dad passed away, leaving her mother to work many hours toiling as a maid just to make ends meet.  One would have assumed that the multitude of tragedies would have destroyed Fanny, but it was quite the opposite.  She was labeled as a happy child.  She was faithful to church and loved Jesus.  She had a passion for the Bible.  She had memorized the four Gospels, the Pentateuch, Proverbs, and countless other books of the Bible before she turned 15!  She attended a school in New York City for the blind.  She excelled while she was there.  She wrote countless poems which were considered masterpieces at her time.  But her greatest love started in 1864.  She started to pen hymns.  Her songs revolutionized church singing during that era.  Most songs were evangelistic in nature, pleading with people to come to Jesus Christ for salvation.  Writing thousands of hymns that are still used today seems like quite an accomplishment, but Fanny found her greatest satisfaction in working alongside the poor in New York City.  Fanny purposefully choose to live in a poor area of town so she could minister to hurting people in rescue missions.  She would regularly speak and serve the hardest of people in places like Hell’s Kitchen and ‘the tenderloin.’ Her song “Rescue the Perishing” was written while working alongside the lost living in the slums.  She continued to reach the perishing until her death in 1915.  

      Fanny didn’t allow the setbacks in her life to unravel the plans that God had set before her.  She even saw God’s providential hand in her blindness.  Fanny once said, “when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior.”  Think of that word setback for a moment.  It’s defined as a reversal of progress, or when your life goes much differently than you originally planned.  Each of us has experienced them multiple times in our life.  We’ve experienced setbacks when we didn’t get the raise we wanted, when we lost our job, when a tragedy strikes our homes, when we have an unexpected result at a doctor’s office, etc.  Setbacks are hard because they seemingly cause us to rearrange our life.  But what if our setbacks are only comebacks?  That setback isn’t meant to derail our faith, but instead, it should cause us to intensely follow after Christ.  The words of the Apostle Paul give us clear direction on how to navigate this area of life.  In Romans 5:3 and 5 Paul writes “we triumph even in our troubles, knowing that trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope….a hope which never disappoints us since God’s love floods our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.”  We can triumph over life’s setbacks knowing that God is in control and everything that comes our way can be viewed through eyes of hope.  Don’t allow the setbacks to set you back spiritually.  Instead, look at it and ask, what is God doing in the midst of this?

The Grip of God: February 6th Devotional

The Grip of God

Isaiah 41:13

February 6th Devotional

      On this day in 1971, astronaut Alan Shepard made space history.  Alan Shepard became a household name in 1961 when he became the first American in space.  Shepard was supposed to be the first person in space but the Russians just barely beat him because of flight cancelations.  His flight was a mere 15 minutes in comparison to Russia’s 108 minutes, and Shepard never actually entered orbit.  It took ten years for him to get another chance to go into space until he was finally put in command of the Apollo 14 mission, which almost didn’t happen because of the complications of the Apollo 13 mission.  Americans had already landed on the moon twice and Shepard was determined to do something that had never been done before.  Alan was an avid golfer and thought it would be a good mixture of pleasure and physics to hit a few balls on the moon.  He kept his plans totally secret.  He designed a custom-made club for his adventure.  It would be a normal 6-iron attached to a collapsible, telescopic tool that was used to collect moon rocks.  He hid the head of the club in his space suit and two golf balls in extra pair of socks.  He didn’t inform the other two crew members, Edgar Mitchell, and Stuart Roosa until after the rocket exited the earth’s atmosphere.  On this day Shepard hit two golf balls on the moon.  Hitting a golf ball on the moon proved to be extremely difficult because of the bulk of the spacesuit.  Alan shanked the first ball, only traveling about forty yards which earned him many jeers from the other  two astronauts, but the second ball was struck solidly and flew for what Shephard said: “for miles and miles.”  The ball actually probably traveled around 200 yards (600ish feet) but had a hangtime of around one minute.  The mission was a success and so was his interstellar golf game. 

      Shepard’s club now is at the USGA museum in New Jersey.  I’m not particularly good at golf on earth, for that matter I’m horrible at miniature golf.  I can’t imagine traveling to the moon would be any better.  Every good golfer learns a valuable lesson, how to grip the golf club.  Shepard struggled with that because of his suit.  The grip is how we hold onto the club.  Years ago Billy Graham was talking about the subject of someone having a grip on our life.  Billy said, “We will all grip something and we will all be gripped by something or someone.”  He’s absolutely right.  We are all gripped by something or someone.  For the believer, we can rest assured that we are gripped, and held closely by the Lord.  Isaiah 41:13 says “For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.'  The text provides the image that God is holding onto the children of Israel, even during a time of struggle and doubt, even in the face of hardship and disappointment.  In a chaotic, ever-changing world we can often doubt God’s grip on our life.  But friend, rest assured that God has not loosened His grip on you.  He is holding you close to Himself.  Don’t allow outward circumstances to cause you to question God’s grasp on your life.  He’s not letting go.  He might be asking you to let go of certain things in your life and to hold onto Him, but He is not letting go of you.

Persecution and Courage: February 5th Devotional

Persecution and Courage

Matthew 10:28

February 5th Devotional

      On this day in 1597, 26 Catholic missionaries to Japan were executed via crucifixion.  Originally Catholic missionaries were welcomed by the people of Japan, though Christianity was never looked upon favorably.  The original missionaries arrived roughly fifty years earlier.  The Japanese shogunate only allowed their existence with the hopes that their presence would build trade relations with Western Europe.  The faith grew as thousands came to know Christ.  This culture with zero knowledge of Christ quickly founded newly built churches sitting alongside ancient Buddhist Temples.  It didn’t take long for this position of tolerance to fade away.  Soon the Japanese Imperial government banned Christianity and demanded that those who refused to recant be executed.  The imperialist society of Japan considered Christianity as a threat to their way of life.  Many of those converted were Buddhist.  For many Japanese people, Buddhism was a vital part of their culture.  To leave Buddhism meant not being Japanese; it meant you were abandoning your culture.  Soon Christians were rounded up and murdered for their faith.  26 Catholic missionaries were rounded up in December 1596 by Japanese authorities.  They were tortured and physically beaten.  Many of them had their left ears cut off.  They were paraded for roughly 600 miles through the streets of multiple cities until they arrived at Nagasaki.  It was in Nagasaki that the 26 faithful missionaries were crucified on a hillside for everyone to see.  They were also impaled with lances.  The goal of the Japanese government was to exterminate Christianity from their shores forever.  One would think that the missionaries were terrified, but one missionary named Luis ran to the cross asking which one was his.  When he found out he hugged it with tears in his eyes.  Luis was unique.  Many believe that he was the youngest to die that day, probably around 12 years old.  He had an opportunity to recant, while most of the others were not given the option.  The young Luis refused the offer saying “for it is not reasonable to exchange a life that has no end for one that soon finishes.”  As the crosses were raised one priest, Paul Miki preached his final sermon, inviting the executioners to come to Christ.  The 26 sang before giving up their life with the words “paradise, paradise.”  

     For many of us, persecution is a foreign term.  We couldn’t envision suffering for Jesus, let alone the stark reality of martyrdom.  But for centuries the faith of our fathers endured through suffering and death, refusing to recant and quit on Jesus.  In all reality Christians around the world still suffer for their faith, some even pay the ultimate price.  What would happen if we would face that kind of persecution?  How should we respond?  Jesus gave us an image in Matthew 10:28.  Jesus gazed into the future knowing the anguish that His followers would one day face.  He said “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28).”  Jesus said to not submit to fear.  Not just a normal seemingly rational fear, but a fear of being killed simply because you are a Christ follower.  He gazes into our eyes and says “do not fear.”  One would imagine we would be granted with a license to fear at least in that situation, but even in this Jesus says, give not give in to fear.  HOW?!  We need to take our eyes off the persecutor and the suffering and put our eyes on Jesus.  Look to Him who goes through life’s valleys and hardships with us.  We can suffer faithfully because He faithfully suffered and paid the ultimate price for our redemption!