Freedom is something that a lot of us take for granted. We can walk down the street and do what we want, when we want and we can say just about anything we want.

It wasn’t always like that. Our forefathers gained their freedom when they came to this country. Our ancestors fought for their freedom in wars. Our country once divided over freedom. Freedom is a privilege and something we think about this month because of Independence Day.

Our religious freedom, our political freedom, even our educational freedom isn’t what I’ve been thinking about but the freedom God has given each one of us – freedom from sin and the chains that bind us and keep us from becoming all He wants for us. Jesus went to the cross to give us that freedom.

Like Paul and Silas were imprisoned in a physical jail cell, some people are imprisoned in their own addictions, depression, and other diseases or problems. Like the Hebrew children probably said when stuttering Moses went to the Pharaoh, these people scoff at the thoughts of being released from their bondages.

I was one of those people. I was imprisoned for many years in depression.

Don’t tell me that your disease is worse…you don’t know what I lived with or how I felt.

Don’t say, “You don’t understand what I’m going through.”

You might be right. But there is One who does and He wants you to be free! The prison cells seem impossible to break open. I wonder what Paul and Silas said when their prison doors miraculously opened wide!

God wants the very best for His children. He doesn’t want them to be imprisoned in sickness or disease. He doesn’t want them addicted to sinful things such as sex, pornography, drugs, alcohol, etc. He wants what every Father wants – the BEST He can give His children! God wants you to be FREE! He isn’t the one who locked you in your prison. But He can be the One who releases you!

Depression is probably one of the worst diseases there is, and not because I suffered from it, but because people suffering from depression don’t have any physical reason for their suffering. I used to say that if I had been physically abused then it might have been easier because people could see the wounds and know why I was in pain. But depression doesn’t have any physical wounds, no actual scars, no reason for the suffering.

People suffering depression can usually hide it well too. They are usually embarrassed because they have convinced themselves that people won’t understand. And so they put on a momentary “happy face” for show. But deep down inside they are screaming.

Many Christians suffer from depression so don’t think because you have God on your side you are exempt from any troubles. Depression is a disease just as cancer is. As a Christian we can overcome and break free from the shackles that bind us, from the guilt and shame, from the financial burdens, family situations, or whatever the cause of your depression is.

How can we break free from the bondage?

Pray. When you feel like no one is there for you, know that God is. He will not leave you alone. Talk to Him about how you are feeling. He already knows but sometimes saying it aloud helps you overcome. Pray about why you are in the situation you are in. Did God want you to learn something? Is there someone else you can help? Everything happens for a reason and it’s usually that we are to learn something. What you are going through may be like training for the big race. It takes a lot of sweat and hard work to get our bodies in physical shape to run a marathon race, so it takes a lot of training for the big race of life. Read Hebrews 12.

If you feel you are too weary to pray, ask a friend to pray with you. Don’t expect that they will offer because they may feel you might not be ready to receive their prayers. Besides if they are a friend, they may already be praying for you.

Read the Word. There is comfort and encouragement in the Scripture. Be encouraged that you are not the only one going through this situation and that God has a plan and purpose for your life. Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my favorite verses:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Find a scripture you can hold on to. Print it out if you have to and put it everywhere you can see. It will be a reminder for you.

Many years ago when I had a miscarriage 1 Peter 1:6-7 (The Living Bible Version) really helped me get through that situation. “So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here. These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests gold and purifies it—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold; so if your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day of his return.”
I calligraphied it on a full sheet of paper and hung it everywhere. I even gave a copy to friends to help them.

Also try reading a different version of the Bible. If you are used to reading the King James version, try reading one of the more modern versions such as NIV or the NLT. I’ve been reading The Message lately. It puts the wording in 21st Century terminology. Recently I got a new Bible – a parallel version with NIV and The Message. I love reading the modern version in addition to the older one.

If you are not able to read then try one of those Bibles on CD. Just as your physical body needs food and water to survive so your spiritual body needs the Bread of Life and the Living Water to survive.

Praise. Just like Paul and Silas did in their prison cell, we need to praise God in all things. As they sang praise to God their prison doors flew open.

Sing some good praise songs. Singing always makes people feel better. If you really don’t fell like singing, listen to some good praise music. It won’t be long till you are singing along. One song I’ve been singing a lot lately is “He Set Me Free” by Lindell Cooley:

He set me free. Yes He set me free.
He broke the bonds of prison for me
I’m glory bound, My Jesus to see
For glory to God He set me free

Once like a bird In prison I dwelt
No freedom from my sorrow I felt
But Jesus came and listened to me
And glory to God He set me free

Now I am climbing higher each day
Darkness of night has drifted away
My feet are planted on higher ground
And glory to God I’m homeward bound

And another song my husband Lou has been singing lately – “I’m Free” by Bill Gaither:

I’m free from the fear of tomorrow
I’m free from the guilt of the past
For I’ve traded my shackles
For a glorious song
I’m free praise the Lord free at last

So long I had searched for life’s meaning
Enslaved by the world and my greed
Then the door of my prison was opened by love
For the ransom was paid I was freed

I’m free from the guilt that I carried
From the dull empty life I’m set free
For when I met Jesus He made me complete
He forgot the foolish man I used to be

Go to Church. Those of us suffering from depression want to be alone. But the best thing for us is to be around others that can encourage us and lift us up spiritually. The best place for this is in fellowship with a body of believers. The enemy would want you to think you should stay in bed or hide in your house. The dark dreary places we tend to stay in when we are depressed only make the depression worse. You need to step out into the Light!

Get Help. Don’t be ashamed to seek medical help. Doctors got their healing abilities from God Himself. You also might need some medication and that is okay too. Medicine was given by God for healing. Maybe you should consider seeing a counselor. Sometimes just talking to someone makes the problems seem smaller.

Think Positive. Sometimes healing comes just from having a new attitude. Mine did. My life changed when I finally said, “I’m not going to feel like that any more!” Believe me, I know it’s hard to get a new attitude when everything seems to be crashing in around you. But if you can, you will have accomplished the greatest victory in your life! It is an established fact that cancer survivors did so with a positive attitude. Having a reason to live is a proven way to fight any disease.

Give Your Problems to God. The most important thing you can do to break free from any bondage is to make Jesus Lord of your life. He wants to save you from your sins. He wants you to be free. God loves you so much that He sent His Son to the cross – just for you!

If you have never made Jesus Lord of your life or if you have strayed away from God, pray something like the prayer on the next page.

Please realize that this is not an instant cure for your illness but it sure helps you cope with it. Tomorrow you might have to get out of bed and start the list all over again. Or maybe, tomorrow will be a better day!

Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he would sit in the very back of the room. He would also be the first to leave after the class was over.

One day, Bro. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. After class, Bro. Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, “You think you’re pretty tough, don’t you?”

Steve’s answer was, “Yeah, I do.”

Then Brother Christianson asked, “How many push-ups can you do?”

Steve said, “I do about 200 every night.”

“200? That’s pretty good, Steve,” Brother Christianson said. “Do you think you could do 300?”

Steve replied, “I don’t know… I’ve never done 300 at a time.”

“Do you think you could?” again asked Brother Christianson.

“Well, I can try,” said Steve.

“Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it,” Brother Christianson said.

Steve said, “Well… I think I can… yeah, I can do it.”

Brother Christianson said, “Good! I need you to do this on Friday.”

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, Brother Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts. Now these weren’t the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited-it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend.

Bro. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, “Cynthia, do you want a donut?”

Cynthia said, “Yes.”

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, “Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?”

Steve said, “Sure,” and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Bro. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia’s desk.

Joe said, “Yes.” Bro. Christianson asked, “Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?” Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got donut.

And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut. And down the second aisle, till Bro. Christianson came to Scott.

Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When Bro. Christianson asked, “Scott do you want a donut?”

Scott’s reply was, “Well, can I do my own push-ups?”

Bro. Christianson said, “No, Steve has to do them.”

Then Scott said, “Well, I don’t want one then.”

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, “Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn’t want?”

Steve started to do ten pushups. Scott said, “HEY! I said I didn’t want one!”

Bro. Christianson said, “Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don’t want it.” And he put a donut on Scott’s desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow.

Bro. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.

Bro. Christianson asked Jenny, “Jenny, do you want a donut?”

Jenny said, “No.”

Then Bro. Christianson asked Steve, “Steve, would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn’t want?” Steve did ten, Jenny got a donut.

By now, the students were beginning to say “No” and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve was also having to really put forth a lot of effort to get these pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Bro. Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in a set because he couldn’t bear to watch all of Steve’s work for all of those uneaten donuts. So Robert began to watch Steve closely.

Bro. Christianson started down the fourth row.

During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the room. When Bro. Christianson realized this; he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Bro. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next.

Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Brother Christianson, “Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?”

Bro. Christianson thought for a moment, “Well, they’re your pushups. You can do them any way that you want.” And Bro. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, “NO! Don’t come in! Stay out!”

Jason didn’t know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, “No, let him come.”

Bro. Christianson said, “You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him.”

Steve said, “Yes, let him come in.”

Bro. Christianson said, “Okay, I’ll let you get Jason’s out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?”

“Yes.”

“Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?”

Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Bro. Christianson finished the fourth row, then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve’s arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Bro. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, “Linda, do you want a doughnut?

Linda said, very sadly, “No, thank you.”

Bro. Christianson asked Steve, “Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn’t want?”

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda.

Then Bro. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. “Susan, do you want a donut?”

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, “Bro. Christianson, can I help him?”

Bro. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, “No, he has to do it alone. Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?”

As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Brother Christianson turned to the room and said. “And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, plead to the Father, “Into thy hands I commend my spirit.” With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he collapsed on the cross and died. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten.”

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.

When the carpenter finished his work the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.” The carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then with a shock we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we’d do it much differently. But we cannot go back.

You are the carpenter. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. “Life is a do-it-yourself project,” someone has said. Your attitudes and the choices you make today, build the “house” you live in tomorrow. Build wisely!

Charles Plumb, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was a jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, “You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier KITTY HAWK. You were shot down!”

“How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb.

“I packed your parachute,” the man replied.

Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, “I guess it worked!”

Plumb assured him, “It sure did. If your chute hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Plumb couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, “I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: A white hat, a bib in the back, and bell bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said good morning, how are you, or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was ‘just’ a sailor.”

Plumb has since also considered the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn’t know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, “Who’s packing your parachute?” Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory. He needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety – six years later.

Plumb’s experience reminds us all to prepare ourselves to weather whatever storms lie ahead. As you go through this week, this month, this year . . . recognize people who pack your parachute!

He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.

As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag’s side door!

He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown.

The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, “What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That’s a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?”

The young boy was apologetic.

“Please, mister…please, I’m sorry but I didn’t know what else to do,” he pleaded. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop.”

With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car.

“It’s my brother,” he said. “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.”

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts.

A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.

“Thank you and may God bless you,” the grateful child told the stranger.

Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message:

“Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!”

God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don’t have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us.

This made me think of a message I heard one time on revival. The speaker said, “If you set a fire, people will come from all over to watch it burn!” How true that is! The neighbors sure came out to see what was going on at our house that day.

Now if we apply this to our spiritual fires then it would mean that people everywhere would know you are a Christian without having to say anything, like if you had a little flame hovering over your head just like the disciples did on the day of Pentecost. And people would also be drawn to you, to want to be with you, to watch your fire burn.

I’ll admit that I’ve watched my share of house fires. We used to go camping and would build a fire each night. I love to sit and watch a good fire burn; the flames are so mesmerizing. Some people have fireplaces in their homes because they like to watch the flames. As for me, I’d like to have a fireplace, but I’ll make do with candles. I hear they’re easier to clean up!

Yesterday was the Fourth of July and we had some fireworks leftover from last year that the kids wanted to set off. There were just some simple fireworks like sparklers. Well, our oldest son, Lance and his wife, Mandi came for dinner and they brought some more bigger fireworks and then friends, Gary and Evan came by with even bigger fireworks.

Typically we go to Renzie Park to watch the city’s fireworks display but it had been raining and we thought the fireworks might be canceled and we really didn’t feel like sitting in the wet grass. So instead we stayed home and set off our own fireworks display. We used the large cement area in front of the printing office where we were sure that we wouldn’t catch any grass on fire. The kids were way too excited to light the fuses and would light one right after another. It must have looked like our house was on fire again because some neighbors came by to watch. Every once in a while, the neighbors a few houses away would set off some huge ones that I know weren’t legal. But the kids would all run to the side of the house where they could get a good look. I will admit that I ran to the side of the house as well.

What is it that makes the kids want to light the fuses and set off the fireworks? Why are we so mesmerized by fire?

Fire has such power. It can be good and bad. Good, because it can provide heat and cook food. Bad because it can destroy buildings and towns and can even kill. Firemen will say that fire can look like it is alive because it has such power.

Can we harness that power for God?

Let’s remember to set our lives on fire for Jesus. Get yourself into the Word or listen to some good worship music. Spend some time in prayer. Then wait for others to come and watch us burn for Him! They will surely see that little flame of the Holy Spirit in your life!

If God could speak through an "ass" I'm sure He can speak through me and you!

The next time you feel like GOD can’t use you, just remember…

Now! No more excuses!
God can use you to your full potential . . . if you let Him!
Besides you aren’t the message, you are just the messenger.

It’s been a long time in coming but here is another great issue of The Well.

Thanks to the Lord providing a new high speed copier, we are able to begin producing “The Well” once again. We hope it will become the monthly publication it was meant to be.

Hopefully by the next issue you’ll get to read from some of our “old” regular authors as well. Please give us a little time to get back into a schedule.

If you are a writer or poet, please consider sending us your original work. We have published unsolicited material as we have room or the Lord leads. We don’t guarantee your piece will be used but if you don’t send it in it will never have a chance to be used. We are always looking for short stories (real or fiction), poetry, testimonies, etc.

You will also be seeing some advertisers in upcoming issues. For those of you who live farther away we will apologize ahead of time, but this publication started in McKeesport, PA and most of the copies are read by people in this general area. We are blessed that the publication has reached out to people in 34 other states and even to a few foreign countries. But God has provided a way for us to help finance the expenses of producing the booklet by using advertising. Trust me when I say that we don’t eliminate any stories because of the advertising. We are actually hoping to someday make The Well bigger. And with the added advertising income we might be able to make more pages in color.

If you are a business owner and would like information on advertising, please give us a call at 412-664-9355 to discuss the costs or visit our website at: www.thewellministries.org. We accept national companies as well as local.

Churches, please consider advertising your next spaghetti dinner or special concert. The Well reaches out to many churched and unchurched people.

Won’t you write to us and let us know what you think about the new look and whether you are glad to see The Well again.

Just remember one thing, all the proceeds of this ministry help us reach more people, sharing the Living Water and the love of God to a dry and thirsty world.

Blessings,
Kris

I saw Jesus last Sunday.
He was teaching a Bible class.
He didn’t talk real loud or use long words,
But you could tell He believed what He said.
For just a minute, He looked like my Sunday School teacher.
But it was Jesus,
I could tell by His loving voice.

I saw Jesus yesterday.
He was at the hospital visiting a friend who was sick.
They prayed together quietly.
For just a minute He looked like Brother Jones.
But it was Jesus,
I could tell by the tears in His eyes.

I saw Jesus this morning.
He was in my kitchen making my breakfast and fixing me a special lunch.
For just a minute He looked like my mom.
But it was Jesus,
I could feel the love from His heart.

I see Jesus everywhere,
Taking food to the sick,
Welcoming others to His home,
Being friendly to a newcomer and for just a minute
I think He’s someone I know.
But it’s always Jesus,
I can tell by the way He serves.

May someone see Jesus in you today.