Trinity Baptist Church

It has been well established that laughing is good for you, but what about crying?  It’s good for you, too!  As far as we know, human beings are the only creatures that shed tears.  The shortest verse in the Bible simply says, “Jesus wept.”  We can safely conclude that if Jesus cried, it’s okay for us to cry, too.

We know that stress is harmful, for the most part.  There is a good kind of stress (kind of like a good kind of cholesterol,) but there is a lot more bad than good, and the bad will do you in.  Crying is a stress reliever.   That’s why people feel better after they have had a good cry.  So, laugh all you can, but when your finished with laughing, cry a while.

Filed under: Uncategorized by Bro. Don - No Comments →

The Bible says, “A merry heart does good like a medicine.”

Dr. Lee Berk and fellow researcher Dr. Stanley Tan of Loma Linda University in California have been studying the effects of laughter on the immune system. To date their published studies have shown that laughing lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, increases muscle flexion, and boosts immune function by raising levels of infection-fighting T-cells, disease-fighting proteins called Gamma-interferon and B-cells, which produce disease-destroying antibodies. Laughter also triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers, and produces a general sense of well-being.

Isn’t it amazing how true scientific research always agrees with God’s word?  God knew all the time that laughing is good for you.  I would encourage you to look for humor in things.  A lot of things are knee-slapping funny!

Filed under: Uncategorized by Bro. Don - No Comments →

What if the doctor told you that you only had a short time to live?  How would you want to spend that time?  How you choose to spend your time reflects what’s truly important in your life.  Nobody but you can really say what’s important to you, but a generalization can be made as to what should be important to the born again believer.  Consider the list below:

1. A vibrant, healthy relationship with God should come first.  God said that we are to have no other gods before Him.  A god is anything that takes supreme priority in our life.

2. Family.  Only God should be given higher priority in our life than our family.  Nobody on their death bed says, “I wish I had spent more time at the office,” but they do say, “I wish I had spent more time with my family.”

3. Church.   The Christian in right relationship with God will want to build his schedule around church and church activities.  Family priority and church faithfulness cannot really be separated.  A good church will help families grow and remain strong.

4. Work.  Work and church have to be balanced, but work that has no time for church is not work that God is going to bless.  Work is not only necessary, but it is extremely important for our fulfillment.  Work may be public employment, or it may be carrying out the necessary duties to keep your home and family going.

5. Hobbies and everything else.  There is great value in meaningful hobbies and other activities.  They just have to be put in their proper priority slot.

Filed under: Uncategorized by Bro. Don - No Comments →

“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. What if they are a little course, and you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice. Up again, you shall never be so afraid of a tumble.”  -Ralph Waldo Emmerson.

People who are overly timid, timid to the point that they miss windows of opportunities that opened before them, have a flawed view of themselves.  They think people are watching their every move and gesture, looking for opportunities to criticize and devalue them.  The truth is, people just aren’t looking that closely.

It has been said that one of the greatest fears people have is the fear of public speaking.  Having been a public speaker for many years, I know first hand that when I speak, people are either interested, or not interested, in what I have to say, but they really aren’t all that interested in me, personally.  That’s not to say that people don’t care about the person speaking.  They may grow to love or despise the speaker, but it will be based on what he has to say 99% of the time.

Timidity is really a form of pride, and it is exceedingly sinful.  It is a manifestation of thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to think.  You are so concerned with self that you dare not make yourself vulnerable by speaking out.  Consider the following steps for overcoming timidity:

1. Learn to laugh at yourself, then forget it.  Everybody who ever speaks out will sooner or later make a blunder, or maybe a whole series of blunders.  So what?  Better to strike out than to have never got up to bat!

2. Concentrate on your message more than your manner.  Once you learn to relax and say it, you will say it far better.

3. Believe God’s word.  Second Timothy 1:7 says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear…”  That word fear is actually the word, “timidity.” (Look it up, if you don’t believe me.)  The reason God doesn’t want you to be timid is because He has given you the authority and responsibility to be His witness.

Filed under: Uncategorized by Bro. Don - No Comments →

Worry is the interest paid on trouble before it is due.” William Dwight Inge

Worry is disobedience to the word of God, Philippians 4:6.

Worry is defined as “a mental distress or agitation resulting from concern, usually for something impending or anticipated.”   Some people are worried that McCain is going to win the presidency, others are worried that Obama will win.  Many people are worried about the economic future.

Worry as a stressor is a direct source of headaches, insomnia, ulcers and other gastric distress, paranoia, generalized anxiety disorders, depression and phobias. Most stress experts believe that it is an indirect source of disorders involving the immune system, such as cancer. We can literally worry ourselves to death. For example when worry leads to depression and the depression becomes deep and unrelieved, our immune systems break down to the point where even a cold virus could become a killer.

We can choose not to worry, but to do so consistently requires the reprogramming of our mind.  Maybe that’s one of the reasons Romans 12:2 says, “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  Worry is a form of fear, and all fear, except reverential fear of God is soundly denounced in the Bible.  Consider the following steps for reprogramming your mind to overcome worry:

1. Know what the Bible says (this requires that you study it.)  You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (even from worry.)

2. Confess what the Bible declares.  Words have creative power, and what you say is powerful.  Say what God says!

3. Resolve to be fully persuaded concerning every promise of God.  If any one of God’s promises is not true, then none of them could be trusted.

4. Thank God for who He is and for what He has done.  Count your many blessings!

Filed under: Uncategorized by Bro. Don - No Comments →