Depression is such a horrible sickness

Lately I have been struggling with depression. I saved this quote awhile ago. I believe it's from a Rick Warren Devotional. 

Depression is a nightmare. I want a life of meaning and purpose. I don't want to be depressed. Lord come heal me.

What exactly is a boundary?

1 Peter 1:6-7 (Continued)

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:6-7 NKJV

This is a continuation of the previous post on 1 peter. This time I will break down verse 7. 

If you would like to see the Greek letters, a comparison of versions, similar verses, or the strong's concordance then you can click here for the website I use.

ok so on to verse 7

Hina: in order that, so that
To: the
Dokimion: test, trial, what is genuine
Hymon: you, your
Tes: the
Pisteos: faith, belief, trust
Polytimoteron: of great value
Chrysiou: a golden ornament, gold
Tou: the
Apollymenou: destroy, lose, perishing
Dia: through, on account of
Pyros: fire, trials
De: but, on the other hand, and
Dokimazomenou: put to the test, prove, examine, be refined
Heurethe: find
Eis: into, in, among, for, till
Epainon: commendation, praise
Kai: and, even, also
Doxan: honor, renown, glory
Kai: and, even, also
Timen: a price, honor
En: in, on, among
Apokalypsei: unveiling, uncovering, revealing
Iesou: Jesus
Christou: anointed one, messiah, Christ

So that the test of your faith, of greater value than gold that perishes, though it is put to the test through fire, may be found to praise, glory, and honor in the revealing of Jesus Christ.

Test: establishes the reliability of something

Faith: complete trust

Perishes: complete destruction

Praise: approval

Glory: great beauty

Honor: high respect

Revealing: making known

So that the test of your trust in God, which has greater value than gold that is destroyed, though it is put to the test through fire, may be found approved, of great beauty and highly respected when Jesus is made known to the whole world. 

~ So, a test examines the reliability of something; whether it works and is real. God wants our faith to be real and to work so he puts us through tests. Our trust in God is even more valuable than Gold. But after we have gone through the test of fire and survived, we will find that we are approved by God, and that our trust in him is a beautiful thing and others will see it too. They will have a lot of respect for you as a person. At the end of time we will see Jesus as he really is. The whole world will. Every one that ever lived will know that Jesus is Lord. ~  

Just a little quote :)

The word "No"

The word "No"

To some it's a word that comes easy to them. Some abuse it. Some are afraid of it.

But according to Boundaries, the ability to use the word is essential to living a healthy, whole and peaceful life.

The word No means you won't allow certain things into your life.

For example: You may have a friend ask you to try drugs. You know that you don't want to do drugs for many reasons. But, if you are afraid say no then you have just allowed drugs into your life.

Not learning how to say no can very negatively affect you as a person. You cannot protect yourself from evil and harm if you cannot say no

_

There is a flip side to this though.

Some people abuse the word no. They aren't afraid to say no. They will say no to whatever they please. But, that comes at a cost. Saying no to someone in need. Saying no when its in your power to help someone. Saying no just because it gives you the "control". These are not from God. That is selfishness. God did not give us a voice so we could abuse it. He gave us these gifts so that we could do "the good things that he has prepared for us to do"

Personally, I am a mix of the two. I have a long way to go before I will feel satisfied with my character. But I take it a day at a time and I know that I must keep my eye on the goal and on Christ!

1 Peter 1:6-7

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ  -- 1 Peter 1:6-7 NKJV

Another thing I enjoy doing in my free time is looking up the original greek text and comparing that to the modern version of the bible. Its always interesting to see the result. Sometimes it gives you a better understanding of what the author intended to say. 

Here's the Greek: 

Ἐν ᾧ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, ὀλίγον ἄρτι, εἰ δέον ἐστίν, λυπηθέντες ἐν ποικίλοις πειρασμοῖς, ἵνα τὸ δοκίμιον ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως πολὺ τιμιώτερον χρυσίου τοῦ ἀπολλυμένου, διὰ πυρὸς δὲ δοκιμαζομένου, εὑρεθῇ εἰς ἔπαινον καὶ τιμὴν καὶ εἰς δόξαν ἐν ἀποκαλύψει Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ·

That is from the majority text and is transliterated as:

En ho agalliasthe oligon arti ei deon estin lypethentes en poikilois peirasmois hina to dokimion hymon tes pisteos polytimoteron chrysiou tou apollymenou dia pyros de dokimazomenou heurethe eis epainon kai doxan kai timen en apokalypsei lesou Christou

I'm going to break down verse 6 into detail.

En : In, on or among

Ho: Who, which, what, that

Agalliasthe: exult, you are full of joy

Oligon: small, brief, few

Arti: now, just now

Ei: If

Deon: necessary, inevitable

Estin: exist, you are

Lypethentes: pain, grieve, vex

En: In, on or among

Poikilois: various, different colors

Peirasmois: trial, testing, temptation

In which you are full of joy, briefly right now, if necessary you are pained by various trials.

In the dictionary:

Joy: feeling of great pleasure and happiness

Briefly: for a short time

Necessary: required to be done

Pained: hurt or troubled

Various: different kinds

Trials: A test of the qualities of someone

So We could take all that and determine that 1 Peter 1:6 means:

In which you are full of happiness, for a short time right now, if it needs to be done, you are troubled by different kinds of tests of your character

Side-note: Notice that they were full of happiness even though they were going through troubling tests? Also, the testing was only for a short time. Testing is meant to make you a better person not to make you so discouraged you fall apart. They had the strength of God to keep them happy. It also says if needed. Sometimes in order to grow as a person we need troubling things to happen to us. I wish it wasn't that way but it is. 

But the lesson is that God is always with you to give you happiness, God wants the very best for you and he's not afraid to put you through tests and troubling days to help you reach that. But, he's not a mean God, he only makes it last for a short time.

Stay tuned for verse 7 ;)

Insights from the book boundaries

I like to read and one of the books I am reading right now is Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. After I read a chapter I go back through and take notes.

This quote means that everyone has a daily workload to carry. Some people don't and are irresponsible. Some people carry others workloads in addition to their own. They are called codependents and enablers. But sometimes we legitimately need help. Our workload has become overwhelming. A burden. In these instances we should be willing to accept help. and vice versa. We should help those with burdens if we are able.