May 28, 2024 God Is Not Disappointed With You for Having Anxiety or DepressionTAYLOR JOY MURRAY  Lee en español "But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it." Mark 5:32 (NIV) Legs tucked up to my chest and hands wrapped around my knees, I willed myself to inhale. One. Two. Three. And then a long, shaky exhale. Sitting on the gray-tiled floor, I stared numbly at the sliver of light through the crack under the bathroom door. I was 18 and didn't yet have words for the air-sucking waves of anxiety that seemed to be swallowing me from the inside. That day, I felt alone in my struggle. But perhaps even more painful was how I pictured God looking down at me with disappointment. I imagine you've probably had your own version of a bathroom-floor moment. Especially if your story holds anxiety or depression ... can I lean in and gently tell you something? You are not the only one. I know what it's like to wake up to a daily inner battle that can be overwhelmingly unnoticed by others. A certain strength is required to endure the pain that lingers, particularly when it's unseen. Mark 5 tells the story of a woman who knew a similar kind of pain. This woman lived with an affliction that brought her 12 years of sorrow. Although her pain is described as physical, I often wonder if the emotional isolation she experienced was even more agonizing. According to the Law, she was ceremonially unclean, which would have greatly restricted both her religious and her social life (Leviticus 15:19; Mark 5:25). Mental health struggles can fuel a similar loneliness and sense of spiritual inadequacy, especially if we've been told these lasting struggles are somehow a reflection of our unfaithfulness or distrust in God. When pain of any kind makes us feel less like ourselves and less capable of engaging in relationships, we experience it as suffering. Prolonged pain can also become shame, a hidden hurt that says God might not love us after all. The woman in Mark 5 came to Jesus in a jostling crowd, likely trying not to be seen or found. How I resonate with her approach. Hearing that merely touching His cloak would heal her, she brushed her fingers against the hem of Jesus' garment before trying to escape back into anonymity. I'm always amazed at what the Gospel writer says Jesus did next. Sensing her touch, "Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it" (Mark 5:32). In Greek, the root word of the phrase translated as "looking around" implies purpose and resolve. What I love most about this story is Jesus' relentless pursuit of this hurting woman. He wouldn't let her not be found. The same is true for us. I want you to know that God is not disappointed with you for having anxiety or depression. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus didn't stand at a distance from the afflicted but consistently moved toward them with comfort and care. No part of you is too broken, lifeless or lost for our Good Shepherd to seek out, and He extends His goodness and love. Today, how might He be inviting you to allow yourself to be found? Dear God, help me to receive Your tender love today. In Jesus' Name, Amen. OUR FAVORITE THINGS May is Mental Health Awareness Month! Taylor Joy Murray's book, Stop Saying I'm Fine: Finding Stillness When Anxiety Screams, blends therapeutic insight with spiritual truth to help you dig beneath the surface of your anxiety. If you want to better understand where your anxiety comes from and why, or if you long to learn a different, more compassionate approach to engaging with your anxiety, this book is for you. ENGAGE Connect with Taylor on Instagram! And to learn more about Taylor and her books, podcast and other resources, check out her website. Download Taylor's free resource for you, "A Reflection Guide on Mark 5," which she created to help you experience God's presence in emotional pain. FOR DEEPER STUDY Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (NIV). In what areas of your life have you experienced prolonged pain? How have you envisioned God's posture or heart toward you in this area? We'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments. © 2024 by Taylor Joy Murray. All rights reserved. Proverbs 31 MinistriesP.O. Box 3189 Matthews, NC 28106 www.Proverbs31.org The post God Is Not Disappointed With You for Having Anxiety or Depression – Encouragement for Today – May 28, 2024 appeared first on GodUpdates.

1958 - French government of Prime Minister Pierre Pflimlin resigns; 200,000 demonstrate against Charles de Gaulle 1959 - Congressional Committee of Astronautics meets Project 7 astronauts 1959 - Johnson and Bart's musical "Lock Up Your Daughters" premieres in London 1973 - Indianapolis 500: Gordon Johncock wins first of his two Indy triumphs after rain halts the race at lap 133 1980 - 24th European Cup: Nottingham Forest beats Hamburg 1-0 at Madrid 1982 - Pope John Paul II is 1st reigning pope to visit Great Britain (Adrian IV was born in England, as Nicholas Breakspear) 1986 - Democratic Labor Party wins parliamentary election in Barbados 1997 - Wallace Berg, 42, is 4th American to scale Mt Everest for 3rd time 2002 - NHL Eastern Conference Final: Carolina Hurricanes beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 2 2018 - One million French smokers quit in one year after anti-smoking measures introduced according to Public Health France More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1037 - Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II removes "Constitutio the Feudis" 1941 - 1st night game at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C. (NY Yankees pip the Senators 6-5) 1979 - European Market accepts Greece as member 1986 - Democratic Labor Party wins parliamentary election in Barbados 1999 - Two Swedish police officers are murdered with their own fire arms by the bank robbers Jackie Arklöv and Tony Olsson after a dramatic car chase 2021 - Discovery of a mass grave with the remains of 215 children from Kamloops Indian Residential School announced by First Nation in British Columbia, Canada More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1883 - Clough Williams-Ellis, British architect known chiefly as the creator of the Italianate village of Portmeirion in North Wales, born in Gayton, Northamptonshire, England (d. 1978) 1912 - Herman Johannes, Indonesian scientist and politician (d. 1992) 1924 - Geoffrey Rippon, British MP, born in Penn, Buckinghamshire (d. 1997) 1940 - Hans Dulfer, Dutch funk and jazz-fusion tenor saxophonist, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands 1944 - Patricia Quinn, Lady Stephens, Northern-Irish actress, voice artist and singer (The Rocky Horror Picture Show), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland 1956 - Germaine Montenesdro, 2nd victim of NYC's Zodiac killer (survives) More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1672 - John Trevor, English politician (b. 1626) 1811 - Henry Dundas, British minister (b. 1742) 1849 - Anne Brontë, English novelist (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall), dies at 29 1962 - Jesse Crawford, American pianist, theatre organist for silent films, and recording artist, dies at 66 1996 - Buck Bundy, TV dog (Married with Children), dies at 13 2008 - Robert Justman, American television producer (b. 1926) More Famous Deaths »

And you thought Steel Panther were bad

I fear that in our complacency we are not engaging in the purposes for which Christ came. God’s intention here is to use us to bring about a saving knowledge to all those around us.

Keep pointing to him with your love in the way the Lord equips you. And know that is enough. You are enough. Simply because… you are his. I hope you will rest your heart and soul with me today in your priceless value and unconditional worth. Rest in the truth that you are enough in him.

The sentence “marital abuse is anti-gospel” isn’t particularly controversial. God points to marriage as the lived-out picture of Christ’s love for the people he’s redeemed (Eph. 5:22–33). A spouse exploiting the one he or she has promised to love and to cherish paints a diffrent picture than the one marriage is meant to display. But the anti-gospel nature of marital abuse is multilayered, stretching beyond the obvious. The book of Genesis, in particular, consistently juxtaposes marital abuse and the revelation of the gospel promise. God could have picked any number of sins to highlight at the beginning of his revelation, yet he consistently points us to how the exploitation of one’s spouse is antithetical to the promise of coming redemption. Beautiful Hope, Ominous Shadow Genesis 3 is dismal. Adam and Eve rupture the harmony all creation enjoyed, plunging themselves and the earth into ruin. Shame, guilt, alienation, and death become their lot. Then God meets them in their self-created misery and promises that one of the woman’s offspring will one day crush the Serpent’s offspring. Right after this ray of hope in the darkness, dark clouds loom over the husband and wife’s relationship. Marriage would now be haunted by self-seeking. God tells the woman, “Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you” (v. 16, CSB). The rest of Genesis is often depicted as a struggle between the woman’s offspring and the Serpent’s offspring. But it’s also an unfolding of the dire prediction that enmity would exist within the closest of human covenants. We don’t have to wait long before threats and oppression enter marriage. Cain’s murder of Abel headlines Genesis 4, but his descendant Lamech rounds out the chapter bragging before his wives that he’s far more violent than Cain. John Calvin commented that Lamech’s wives were “justly alarmed” on account of his boasts, and “when he saw his wives struck with terror, instead of becoming mild, he only sharpened and confirmed himself the more in cruelty.” Calvin’s reading implies Lamech’s wives must take care—lest Lamech end them like he did the young man who struck him (vv. 23–24). Covenant Salvation, Covenant Harm The ascendency of the Serpent’s seed over the woman’s seed appears complete by Genesis 6: “The wickedness of man was great in the earth, and . . . every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (v. 5). God destroys all humanity save one family. Noah and his kin depart the ark into a world washed clean of evil and hear the commands of Eden repeated: “Be fruitful and multiply” (1:28; 8:17). Through that multiplication would come the Savior, the One who’d crush the Serpent. Yet this harmony is again shattered by intimate trouble. Noah’s son Ham enters the tent of drunk and naked Noah. What exactly proceeds brings more questions than answers. But what’s clear is that some form of intimate violation occurred (cf. Lev. 18:7). Ham violates the Edenic one-flesh union, drawing out another manner in which discord and disorder have struck intimate human relationships. While Genesis 3:16 highlights the abuse that strikes marriage from within, Ham’s actions demonstrate that marital intimacy may also be harmed by outside abuse. The sad pattern holds as the gospel promise is clarified then followed by the specter of abuse. Promised Seed, Exploited Marriage In Genesis 12, God reveals himself to Abraham the idol worshiper and promises him that the One who’ll crush the Serpent’s head will be Abraham’s offspring. This promise is especially poignant for the still-childless Abraham. And once again, a restatement of the good news is followed in the next chapter by an incident of marital abuse. The sad pattern holds as the gospel promise is clarified then followed by the specter of abuse. Abraham and his wife, Sarah, are promised a child and then immediately travel to Egypt to escape a famine. There Abraham grows conspiratorial, convinced a local will kill him and take his wife. So he declares Sarah to be his sister and allows her to be taken from him and transferred to the royal harem. Immediately after receiving the gospel promise, Abraham forces his wife to submit to sexual exploitation. All to save his own skin. These actions threaten the promise because it’s through procreation that the promise was to advance. Sarah is spared only because of God’s kind intervention. This isn’t the only time Sarah was rescued from her husband’s willingness to subject her to exploitation. Genesis 15 sees the strongest clarification of the gospel promise yet. Then God later declares Abraham will have a child with Sarah within a year (18:10), and with that promise in hand, Abraham again passes off his wife as his sister, allowing her to be taken into King Abimelech’s harem (20:1–17). Once again, God intervenes. Abraham’s story brackets yet another awful example of abuse, with Lot offering his virgin daughters to a mob of would-be gang rapists in an attempt to prevent them from harming his male dinner guests (19:8). And in another grotesque account, these two daughters essentially rape their father by plying him with alcohol to the point he has no memory of their sexual encounter (vv. 30–38). Pattern on Repeat Isaac, the child promised to Abraham and Sarah, finally receives the gospel promise in Genesis 26:1–6. The very next story (vv. 7–11) finds him following his father’s example by exposing his wife to sexual exploitation to save his own life. The second half of Genesis follows the same pattern. Jacob, son of the promise, is deceived into marrying a woman he never wanted (Gen. 29:21–27). Later, his daughter is raped by a prince, and his sons use the covenant’s sign as a weapon to destroy the perpetrator’s entire community (Gen. 34:1–31). Reuben seduces Jacob’s concubine (Gen. 35:22), and he consequently forfeits the blessing of having the promised Savior come through his line (Gen. 49:3–4). Upright Joseph faces sexual harassment at the hands of a powerful official’s wife (Gen. 39:1–23) in Egypt—a nation whose king sits with a gold serpent perched on his crown. We see it again and again: the promise’s beauty side by side with abuse’s destruction. So What? Genesis consistently and repeatedly highlights marital (and other forms of intimate) abuse. These highlights follow along with the book’s advancing revelation of the gospel promise. Why is this the case, and what we can learn from it? 1. This pattern highlights the pernicious nature of intimate abuse. To be a manipulative abuser is to act in league with the Serpent, the one whose aim is to ruin humanity. Those who persist in manipulative and abusive behaviors without repentance demonstrate they’re “of [their] father the devil” because their “will is to do [their] father’s desires” (John 8:44). 2. Genesis’s pattern warns us to take marital abuse seriously as one of the most gospel-undermining and human-damaging forms of sin. When we see abuse within our congregations or in the lives of those we counsel, we should be moved to action. If we’re honest, the church hasn’t always taken abuse as seriously as the Scriptures show us we ought. To be a manipulative abuser is to act in league with the Serpent, the one whose aim is to ruin humanity. Revelations of this failure have often played out publicly, damaging our witness to the gospel’s truth and vitality. When Christian leaders defend abusers, hide claims of sexual abuse, or push abused spouses to quickly forgive and reconcile before enough time has passed for repentance to be tested as genuine, we’re in tacit alliance with the Serpent, supporting his destructive, anti-gospel mission. The great struggle in Genesis between the woman’s offspring and the Serpent’s offspring isn’t a calm and dignified war. It’s the battle between good and evil, a drama within which evil often appears to have the upper hand. And as the pattern of Genesis clearly shows, this battle often plays out in the most intimate human relationship.

I’m profoundly saddened by the passing of Randy Newman (1956–2024). When news of his death became public, it was touching to see how many people expressed their thankfulness for and appreciation of Randy’s ministry. Many knew him as an author or a senior fellow at the C. S. Lewis Institute; others were shaped by his teaching as a professor at Reformed Theological Seminary; still others enjoyed a deeper friendship marked by curiosity, encouragement, and laughter. I thank God I had the privilege to know Randy in each of these capacities. Curiosity My first exposure to Randy was through his book Questioning Evangelism (2003), where he modeled Jesus’s posture in using questions to draw out a questioner’s deeper concerns and objections to Christianity. Writing during the height of the New Atheism movement, Randy added a needed voice to the apologetics conversation—not by returning their strident rhetoric about Christian belief with his own sarcastic language but by asking questions. He was adept at turning a question designed to pin Christians down into an opportunity to have a substantial conversation, all because he saw that questions were a mirror of the questioner’s heart. Although Randy wrote the book on asking questions (which was republished in a third edition in 2023), his real strength was his ability to listen. Randy’s final book, Questioning Faith, was the product of insights he’d gathered from hundreds of conversations he had with new believers about how they came to faith. He was a present conversationalist whose gift was never asking a close-ended question. Randy would happily sit and listen to you as if you were the only other human on the planet. His ability to make you feel seen was a gift to many, and I’m confident that was what made him such a fruitful evangelist. His ability to make you feel seen was a gift to many, and I’m confident that was what made him such a fruitful evangelist. Encouragement Randy was the consummate encourager, and I became aware of this in perhaps one of the most unlikely environments: seminary. Many Christians lack confidence in sharing their faith and so taking a class on evangelism with an “expert evangelist” could be intimidating. Where he could have guilted or coerced his students to share their faith, Randy instead led with humility and courage: he would be the first to admit he had squandered evangelistic moments, but his joy in Christ would propel him (and us) to continually try and try again, resting in the truth of God’s sovereignty through—and even in spite of—our evangelistic giftings. One thing Randy would remind us of again and again in our class was that people who become Christians will often need dozens of interactions with the gospel and several relationships with followers of Jesus. Even if we feel our evangelistic skill is lacking, our friendship with nonbelievers is nonetheless vital in their lives. Conversion involves a change of heart, but it also coincides with a change of relationships, and God rarely brings about the former without the latter. So Randy encouraged us without ceasing to not view non-Christians as projects to complete but as people to love. Laughter For those who’ve read his books or heard him speak, one of the most memorable qualities about Randy was his laughter. Growing up in a Jewish family in New York, he inherited and developed a wry, witty sense of humor and an ability to laugh at himself and to point out the hilarity of the world around him. Randy once said to me that his favorite C. S. Lewis book was The Screwtape Letters, a work of satire Lewis wrote from the perspective of a senior demon writing to a younger demon about tempting humanity. Lewis recognized humor’s power to overcome evil and the Devil. Randy embodied what it looked like to have a levity of spirit that buoyed the soul amid despair, and he’d draw on humor not to distance himself from the world or from pain, or to shield a hidden wound, but to remind him and those around him of transcendence, of that consummate fulfillment of heaven that lies at the end of every longing and desire we have. His joy was the joy of heaven, and the time you spent with Randy made you long to possess that kind of joy for yourself. You knew that if you had what he had, you could face anything. My Friend, Randy It was a great privilege to know Randy as a student, a pastor, and a friend. I’ll miss our quarterly conversations about books we’re reading, what evangelistic conversations we’re having (and how to help one another have better conversations), and how Christ is shaping our lives, ministries, and relationships. His joy was the joy of heaven, and the time you spent with Randy made you long to possess that kind of joy for yourself. These “evangelistic accountability meetings,” as we sometimes called them, were particularly helpful. I’d ask for advice on how to talk to my retired Jewish neighbors at the dog park, and he’d ask for ideas about how to talk to the young people in the community college class he enrolled in as a way to meet nonbelievers. We’d debrief conversations, talk about the next steps we’d want to take in them, and then laugh about how people are never as predictable as we wish they’d be. We’d end with prayer and mutual encouragement—Randy encouraging me in my work as a pastor, and me praying for his continued health and stamina to keep writing, speaking, and spending his best efforts on his wife, children, and grandchildren. It was a great privilege to know Randy as a student, a pastor, and a friend. When we’d get together, I’d ask Randy what he was working on. “This and that,” he’d say, but then he’d describe a book idea that he said he’d probably never get to. He wanted to write a book about music and how it plays a role in evoking the longing for another world, the world we were all made to inhabit. And though Randy will never write that book, he’s now listening to and participating in the most glorious symphony there is, in an unending chorus with his Lord. Well done, Randy.

Dear publishers, Each year at The Gospel Coalition we review or spotlight more than 200 books, culminating with our annual book awards where we select winners in the following 11 categories: Popular Theology: Translates theological concepts for the average church member Cultural Apologetics: Investigates current events and cultural narratives to consider how they intersect with the truth, goodness, and beauty of the gospel Biblical Studies (Academic): Covers the academic disciplines related to New Testament, Old Testament, hermeneutics, and biblical theology Theological Studies (Academic): Focuses on academic exploration of disciplines related to systematic theology, philosophy, or ethics Ministry: Focuses on pastoral practice, evangelism, ecclesiology, and apologetic methods for the local church History & Biography: Explores events or individuals who have shaped our world Christian Living: Provides practical tools to encourage discipleship and sanctification in various areas of life Children’s (Picture Books): Aimed at early readers or prereaders and combines illustration and language to communicate deep truths about the Christian faith First-Time Author: Fits into any of the categories but is written by an author who hasn’t previously published a book Devotional Literature: Intended to be engaged incrementally as a means of encouraging discipleship Missions & the Global Church: Emphasizes the ongoing or historical work of God outside North America Per TGC’s foundation documents, we seek books that meet the following criteria: 1. offers gospel-centered argument and application; 2. includes faithful and foundational use of Scripture, both Old Testament and New Testament; 3. fosters spiritual discernment of contemporary trials and trends; and 4. encourages efforts to unite and renew the church. Books selected for an award will be featured at our 2025 TGC Conference in Indianapolis (April 22–24, 2025). (See the 2023 award winners.) Publishers can submit up to two books per category; they can also nominate the same book in multiple categories, though no book will be chosen in more than one category. Please notice that some categories have shifted this year. For example, we will not evaluate group or individual Bible study materials this year. We will only consider titles published between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024, and only titles published in the United States. The deadline for publisher nominations is Friday, July 5. There is a $50 entry fee for each title nominated (in each category). To help streamline this process, we’ve set up an online form that will allow each publisher to nominate books online and submit all payments at the same time. Entry fees are nonrefundable. (Note that you can only submit up to 10 books in each form, though you can submit multiple forms.) Once nominations are submitted on the form, please email a PDF of each title to BookAwards [AT] thegospelcoalition.org. (If the file size is too large, please send a link to Dropbox.) We may request physical copies of the books to facilitate the initial judging process. If your book is selected as a finalist, your publicist will be informed by Friday, August 23. Physical copies (even galleys or ARCs) will be requested for finalists. We will announce the winners near the end of the year.