One of the questions consumers need to make is what companies are they going to support?  From what companies are they going to purchase goods and services?

There can be a lot of noise made, rightly so, about petitions to stop certain injustices.

But what about the companies we purchase food, drink, goods and services from?  Do we sign a petition and then turn around and purchase from the companies supporting the very things we just petitioned against?

This might be one of the meanings of lukewarm.   As an example, a person may be “hot” to sign a petition.  The same person may be “cold” when it comes to buying a product from a Christian company because it might cost a few bucks more than a corporate alternative, which corporation might be using slave labor.  Hot and cold make lukewarm.

Here is an article with an example of this kind of decision making.  A gold medalist decided to ditch a sponsor because of this.

I John 2:15 Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s. ¹⁷ The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever.

¹⁸ Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour. ¹⁹ They went out from us, but they didn’t belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us.

John 14: 29  Now I have told you before it happens so that when it happens, you may believe.³⁰ I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me.³¹ But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, even so I do. Arise, let’s go from here.

*Incidentally, if you do drink sugary energy drinks and want something better, here’s a short story.

Matthew 3:10 Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire.

To deal with a situation, you must lay the ax to the root.

When you are pulling a weed, you want to pull up the root. If you leave the root, the weed can grow again.

Likewise, when you are praying, you want to lay the ax to the root of the problem.

How do you do that?

The Bible teaches about prayer.

There are different forms of prayer.

You can get a concordance and study the scriptures connected to “prayer”, “pray”, “praying” and related scriptures.  Some Bibles link related scriptures to each other.  Other Bibles have scriptures listed by topic for study.

You can also learn about prayer from teachers or preachers who have gathered the scriptures or examples together in a book or sermon.

God will do nothing without prayer.

Why is that?

Psalm 115:16  The heavens are Yahweh’s heavens,
but he has given the earth to the children of men.

God gave the earth to Adam and told him to have dominion.

Genesis 1:28   God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Because of free will, God will not interfere with that dominion.  Through Jesus Christ, the Lord has restored the “tools” so to speak, to deal with things on the earth…the Name of Jesus, the Blood of Jesus, the promises of God.

James 1:5    But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. ⁷ For that man shouldn’t think that he will receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

It is necessary for mankind to learn to pray through the name of Jesus Christ, and receive God’s help.  God gave the earth to mankind.  He will help, but it is necessary for man to ask and do what is required to receive that help according to scriptural principles.

James 4:2  You lust, and don’t have. You murder and covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask. 

Mark 16:20   They went out, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.

And if you will read through the Bible, you will find that principle.  Man acts first in obedience to God’s Word, then it is seen “the Lord working with them”.

The blood of the lamb was put on the door lintels…and the Israelis were saved

Moses stretched the rod over the Red Sea…and the Red Sea parted

Elijah built an altar…and the fire of God came down

David used a slingshot…and defeated Goliath in the name of the Lord

The little boy gave the loaves and fishes to Jesus… and Jesus multipled them and fed the multitude

As you read recorded history in the Bible, you will see this principle.  Man acted first and then God acted.

When it was time for Jesus to come to earth, the angel was sent to ask the free will permission of Mary.

Luke 1: 26  Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”

²⁹ But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be. ³⁰ The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Jesus.’ ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”

³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”

³⁵ The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Behold, Elizabeth your relative also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. ³⁷ For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”

³⁸ Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.”

Then the angel departed from her.

Spending time learning what the Bible says about prayer in all its different forms is time well spent.

Matthew 7:7  “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.  ⁸ For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.

 

Matthew 11:28   “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Romans 2:4  Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

Psalm 16:11  You will show me the path of life.
    In your presence is fullness of joy.
In your right hand there are pleasures forever more.

Proverbs 3:17  Her ways are ways of pleasantness.
    All her paths are peace.

Psalm 1:1  Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked,
    nor stand on the path of sinners,
    nor sit in the seat of scoffers;
² but his delight is in Yahweh’s^[a] law.
    On his law he meditates day and night.
³ He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water,
    that produces its fruit in its season,
    whose leaf also does not wither.
    Whatever he does shall prosper.
⁴ The wicked are not so,
    but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
⁶ For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked shall perish.

Psalm 147:11  Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him,
    in those who hope in his loving kindness.

Zephaniah 3:17  Yahweh, your God, is among you, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing.

 

Because various people come to this site from various searches, here is a link to more information about current affairs.   This is for those of you who want dive deeper.  Save the link | site if it interests  you, as it probably won’t be repeated, at least often.

There are those who , “make things happen, watch things happen, or say, ‘What happened?'”.

If you dive deeper you can move from group #3 to group #1.  The more you know, the less you can be deceived by those who are trying to take over society.  “My people are destroyed by lack of knowledge.”

Minimally, you can learn some things to pray about, but perhaps the Lord would have you do more and engage more in some way.

Matthew 7:24  “Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock.²⁵ The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock.²⁶ Everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.²⁷ The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell—and its fall was great.”

²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching, ²⁹ for he taught them with authority, and not like the scribes.

From time to time there are specific questions and this is one.  What are the best Bible verses for depression?

A few will be listed but it is good to consider a larger picture.

First of all, is a person born again?  If there is no connection to God, if a person’s spirit has not been reborn, that can be part of the problem.

Next, if a person has been born again, are they reading the Bible, going to church, and growing in the Lord?  Being in the atmosphere of hearing Scriptural teaching preached regularly or regularly reading the Bible can help reveal the cause of a problem or a direction to take.

These things are mentioned because there can be many reasons for depression.  Ultimately, having fellowship with the Lord and seeking God about problems, opening the door to God, allows God into a situation to help.

This is a free will universe and God will not force himself into our worlds.

Matthew 7:7  Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.

Psalm 62:8  Trust in him at all times, you people.
Pour out your heart before him.
God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Sitting down with a Bible and reading and pausing when you are struck by a certain verse is a good time to ask God…why?  A key to a situation can be in the verses that you particularly notice or that “light up” to you.

Man (in the generic sense, man and woman, in English grammar “man” refers to mankind in general), man is created spirit, soul, and body and God can help us understand where a correction needs to be made.  But it starts with being born again, receiving the spirit of God on the inside, because the Holy Spirit will guide from within.  And that is the way to deal with all problems, not just depression.  Be born again.  Be led of the Spirit of God.

John 15:9  Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love.¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and remain in his love.¹¹ I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.

¹² “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Obedience to God, both in the written Word, and the written Word as applied to situations by the Holy Spirit, will bring joy.

Jesus likens life to a vine.  If there are no kinks in the vine, if the life of the vine pours out through the branches, then there is joy.

John 15:1  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.² Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.³ You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.⁴ Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.⁵ I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Even in secular settings, you will hear people talk about how they helped someone out and it was the best or happiest thing they ever did.  God is likened to a river of life.  When life flows out to help someone, it also flows back as fresh living water.

Isaiah 58:10  and if you pour out your soul to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted soul,
then your light will rise in darkness,
and your obscurity will be as the noonday;
¹¹ and Yahweh will guide you continually,
satisfy your soul in dry places,
and make your bones strong.
You will be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water
whose waters don’t fail.

Here are some other scriptures that may help with depression.  Nothing really substitutes for regular Bible reading and church going for there are many other scriptures as well.

Philippians 4:4   Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, “Rejoice!” ⁵ Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. ⁶ In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report: if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think about these things. ⁹ The things which you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: do these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

James 1:2   Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Psalm 30:5  For his anger is but for a moment.
    His favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may stay for the night,
    but joy comes in the morning.

Galatians 4:4  But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law, ⁵ that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as children. ⁶ And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” ⁷ So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Isaiah 9:6  For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.

Luke 2:1 Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. ² This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city. ⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; ⁵ to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant.

⁶ While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth. ⁷ She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn. ⁸ There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. ⁹ Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. ¹¹ For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.” ¹³ Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
on earth peace, good will toward men.”

¹⁵ When the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in the feeding trough. ¹⁷ When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child. ¹⁸ All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.

²¹ When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Jesus born in the fullness of time.  What if he had been born into today’s world?  (scroll down the article to read)  “What if, instead of being born into the Roman police state, Jesus had been born at this moment in time?”

Watch at YouTube.

A story of loss, redemption, tradition, progressivism, prayers answered.

Isaiah 9:6   For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Luke 1:31   Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Jesus.’