St. John the Evangelist - Ancient Faith, Modern Relevance

On Tuesday, January 10, 2010, there was this strange thing. Aaaaa Ddddddddddd who runs the group for bipolar and depressed people invited this speaker. I'll just call her Mmmm. Mmmm and a few of her friends came over to where we usually meet and discuss things dealing with our various illnesses and conditions.

Well, Mmmm knew Aaaaa when she first came to our group. Mmmm endured many years of turmoil including drug use, bad relationships, hospitalization, and all sorts of horrible things. She spent so many years in therapy. She told us she had to try to improve herself but with her condition, she couldn't stay away from her horrible situation.

Only when she faced the almost end of her life, did Jesus Christ intervene. She surrendered to Him and He controlled her life from then on. Mmmm spoke to us about Jesus and how one can be saved by trusting in Him. She opened her Bible and quoted a few things.

She didn't start flipping through pages and spouting everything out as many good intentioned people try to do but don't really get to the deep kernel of the matter. Mmmm spoke plainly and simply to our group. As always, some people won't or don't want to hear such things. Three people rose from their seats and picked up their coats before walking out. Two couples left the big room where our group meets.

Still unswerved, Mmmm and her friends gave their testimony. Since Mmmm accepted Christ, her life has reached out to others in the same situation. She didn't worry about what people said about her or did to her because she stopped trying to please others. Mmmm only aimed to serve Christ. While others condemned her, she informed us she still used medicine to control herself emotionally. Her declaration gave me some hope.

Many Christian counselors, some I've went to, usually tell their clients that since they have the Holy Spirit, they don't need medicine to control their brain chemistry. I used to think I must have some unconfessed sin in my life because I used medicine for my emotions. With my problems, the counselors told me to stop living in the flesh and walk in the spirit by their prescribed methods. One told me if I wanted to keep seeing her again, I had to surrender all to Jesus. She gave the impression I had to be the one at fault. One young man spoke out in the middle of our circle. I'll just call him Jjjjj. He said that he took medicine and he never wanted to get off of it. His medicine helped him to survive. Even our group demands each other to keep on taking it or suffer torment.

Mmmm corrected him and said we should all take our medication. She said even if we accept Jesus, we must still live in a fallen world and our bodies fail us all the time. Jesus Christ saved us from our sins, but our bodies still fail. After her statement, she spoke of Christ coming to earth to save us from our sins. Reaching out to us, she invited us to ask Jesus into our lives. I sat right next to her and received this warmth and caring. It drew me to her. I wanted to sit next to her because of her inner warmth. She held up a stone which she carried around her all the time. That stone reminded us of the rock which we all hold onto either within our hands or within our minds.

I also keep thinking about Revelation where in Earth's final age, God gives us a rock with our new, glorified names on it. You can also find it in Genesis where God changes Abram's name into Abraham and Sarai's name into Sarah. God gives us new names which he calls us with in His new heavens and new earth.

As the four people left, Mmmm didn't seem so concerned. I remembered where in John 6, many people in the synagogue left after hearing Jesus speak. Few people would ever follow Jesus if He really told them what faced them in following Him. Only God brings them to Him. God knows who will accept Him and who won't. Jesus turns to see His disciples and he goes: "Do you also want to leave?" Simon Peter responds with: "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words to eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy one of God" (that comes from the New American Bible-the New Catholic Translation @1987 Thomas Nelson)

It seems so strange since I've been praying for these people for a long time.