It Is Written

Stressed Out

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Bradshaw (Host), David DeRose

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Series Code: IIW

Program Code: IIW001453A


01:30 [hopeful anthem]
01:49 JB: Thanks for joining me today. This is It Is Written,
01:52 and I'm John Bradshaw. I don't think it would take
01:55 a lot for me to convince you that stress is a major problem
02:00 in the world today. Most people are dealing
02:02 with more stress than they would like to deal with,
02:05 and many people are unaware just how much stress
02:08 is pressing down on their lives. So many people
02:11 at breaking point; so many people just not sure
02:13 how to deal with stress. Well, today you're going
02:18 to find out from a biblical perspective how you can deal
02:22 with stress. We're going to talk about what it is and a divine
02:25 prescription for turning things around and dealing with
02:29 the stress in your life. Now, I am just so glad
02:32 to be able to welcome a special guest.
02:34 Dr. David DeRose is not only a specialist
02:37 in internal medicine but also in preventive medicine.
02:41 He comes to us from Compass Health Consulting
02:44 in Northern California. Dr. DeRose, thanks for
02:46 joining me today. DD: It's exciting
02:47 to be with you, John. JB: I'm excited, because we're
02:49 talking about something that, well, I know it affects me.
02:52 And I don't mean to say I'm super stressed out;
02:55 but who isn't? There's a lot of stress today.
02:57 DD: I mean, you're exactly right.
02:58 All of us are affected by stress.
03:00 And if you look at the leading causes of death,
03:02 the leading causes of morbidity or suffering,
03:05 stress is on the list of just about all of those conditions.
03:08 JB: What's stress? DD: We tend to think,
03:11 when we're speaking in lay circles,
03:13 that stress is just anything that's painful,
03:16 anything that's difficult. But when we speak about it
03:18 medically we differentiate between what we call stressors
03:23 and the stress response. So a stressor, John,
03:25 is anything that comes at you mentally, emotionally,
03:29 physically. If they turn down the temperature in a building,
03:33 you can be stressed physically from the cold air.
03:38 JB: Amen. DD: So stress comes at us
03:40 in all these dimensions of our personhood.
03:42 Stress response is how we respond to those stressors.
03:47 There's a great story in the Gospel of Mark,
03:49 chapter 4, where Jesus is on a boat
03:53 crossing the Sea of Galilee. The disciples, some of them--
03:56 men who spent their lives on that sea--
03:58 are fearing for their lives. The stressor is a storm;
04:02 the stress response from those disciples: Lord, save us!
04:06 We're going to perish! JB: Except that there was
04:08 somebody on the boat who appeared as though He wasn't
04:12 very stressed at all. His stress response to those very same
04:16 stressors was really different. The disciples were fearing for
04:20 their lives; Jesus was--what? Sleeping?
04:23 DD: I love the Gospel of Mark, because when we're speaking
04:25 about stress it definitely impacts on relationships.
04:29 Mark to me is a very relational Gospel.
04:31 You look at the Gospel writer, John Mark.
04:33 And John Mark was this guy who was one of the superstars,
04:37 if you will, in the Early Church.
04:38 He was out there on the front lines.
04:40 He was out there on that first missionary journey with
04:42 Paul and Barnabas. But you know the story.
04:45 He bailed on them. JB: Yeah. Yeah,
04:46 he caused real stress. He caused a rift,
04:48 didn't he? That's his--
04:49 DD: --That's exactly right. So, Paul and Barnabas
04:52 no longer ministered together after that first journey,
04:54 and I can imagine John Mark walking into the church
04:57 after that. Can you imagine the synagogue,
04:59 if you will. JB: It's you!
05:01 You messed it up. We had these two great
05:03 missionaries out there. They've split because of you!
05:06 Can you imagine what John Mark carried?
05:08 DD: But when you read the end of the story,
05:10 Jesus kept appealing-- the Holy Spirit kept working
05:13 in John Mark's life. He later was called the
05:16 "very son of Peter." Peter uses that language for him, and Paul
05:21 even found him useful in his ministry,
05:23 in his later days. So it's a story
05:25 about someone who was touched by a Jesus,
05:28 by a Holy Spirit that keeps wooing us,
05:31 keeps working on us. And it just encourage me
05:34 that no matter what's happened in the past,
05:36 there's a bright future through Christ and His plans for us.
05:39 JB: Right. So it isn't that really we need
05:42 to be trying to get rid of all stress.
05:44 That's not even realistic, is it?
05:46 DD: In fact, let's use a different term for stressors.
05:50 Call it "challenge." JB: Okay. DD: We all know it.
05:53 Some of us, we thrive on a certain amount of challenge;
05:57 others, that amount of challenge is too much.
06:01 What is too much for one person
06:02 is optimal for another. And we've known this for years.
06:06 So, if we start using the word "challenge" for stressors.
06:10 A little bit of cold? I like it, when I'm going out to
06:12 exercise in the morning. If it's nice and comfortable,
06:15 nice and warm, I'm not as motivated to get
06:18 as good a workout, if you will.
06:20 JB: So, there's got to be an element here of people
06:23 figuring out what's right for them.
06:24 DD: That's right. JB: And that's okay?
06:26 It's okay if someone's stress, or challenge,
06:28 threshold is a little lower, and someone else's stress,
06:31 or challenge threshold, is a little higher.
06:33 That's okay? DD: It's perfectly okay,
06:35 but that's one of the challenges we have in community.
06:38 That's why we have-- I'll tell you about my uncle.
06:41 My uncle owned a restaurant. His strategy for dealing
06:45 with the stress of temperature was to unhook the thermostat
06:49 from the system, and then everyone could change
06:52 the dial just a little bit, and they felt like
06:55 they were helping themselves. 'Cause we all do
06:56 best at a little bit different physical stressor level,
07:01 emotional stressor level. Same with mental stressors.
07:04 JB: Yeah. How can we help a person
07:06 understand where they are in their challenge threshold?
07:10 Because there are some people who just figure that they're
07:12 weak. Or someone who thinks that that person there is a basket
07:14 case and just can't take much. It's okay then, is it, to be in
07:18 a different place? DD: It is.
07:20 But let me turn to a very familiar verse in the Gospel of
07:23 Mark. In chapter 1 of Mark we get a glimpse into Jesus'
07:28 devotional life. In Mark 1, verse 35, it says,
07:32 "Now in the morning, having risen"--
07:35 speaking of Jesus-- "a long while before daylight,
07:37 he went out and departed to a solitary place,
07:41 and there he prayed." John, the reason that verse
07:44 is so powerful to me: we look at Jesus in that
07:47 boat, sleeping. Jesus was focused on His
07:50 relationship with His Father. And if we have that connection,
07:54 if we have that divine connection,
07:56 our level-- our ability to handle stressors-- changes.
08:01 We're not just on our own; it's not just what I can handle,
08:04 but it's what God is calling me to handle that I can handle,
08:09 through His power. JB: God is the one who can
08:11 provide strength in every situation.
08:13 Even Jesus felt that that was the way
08:17 to approach life. He didn't go a day without
08:20 being connected to His Father. And that's how He was able to
08:23 sleep in the storm, is that right?
08:25 DD: That's key. Jesus was on a mission. In fact, some
08:28 people have gone so far to say it wasn't just Jesus' daily
08:33 devotional life that played into this, but Jesus knew where He
08:36 was in the prophetic timeline. In fact, in the very Gospel of
08:39 Mark Jesus refers to the book of Daniel.
08:42 JB: Yes, He does. Right after He was baptized,
08:44 Jesus says, "The time is fulfilled."
08:48 Oh, we've got to talk about that. All right. Okay, now
08:51 repeat that statement you made. Something that helped Jesus was
08:54 understanding where He was in the prophetic timeline.
08:57 DD: That's right. And it's interesting, too.
08:59 We're speaking about the book of Daniel. One of
09:01 Jesus' favorite ways to refer to Himself was the Son of Man.
09:04 And, this brings us back to the imagery of the book of Daniel
09:07 where the Son of Man is coming to the Father.
09:09 JB: Okay, powerful stuff. Let's pick it up
09:11 in just a moment. Stress, what it is,
09:13 what you can do about it, and how Jesus demonstrates--
09:16 how Jesus modeled-- how stress is best handled.
09:20 I'll be back with Dr. David DeRose
09:22 in just a moment.
09:24 [gentle harp music]
09:31 JB: The Bible is known for its power to transform
09:33 lives spiritually, but does it offer insight
09:37 for physical transformation as well?
09:40 Dr. David DeRose, a board-certified specialist
09:43 in both internal medicine and preventive medicine,
09:46 thinks it does. He shares his perspectives in
09:49 an eight-part series called "Healing Insights from the
09:52 Gospel of Mark." And now, as a special offer from
09:55 It Is Written, part one of that series is available to you
09:58 at no cost. All you need to do is call
10:02 (800) 253-3000 and ask for the free DVD called
10:07 "Healing Insights form the Gospel of Mark."
10:10 If the line is busy, please do try again.
10:13 You can write to It Is Written, P. O. Box 6, Chattanooga,
10:17 Tennessee, 37401, and we'll mail a free copy to
10:21 your address in North America. Again, our toll-free number is
10:25 (800) 253-3000, and you can find us online at ItIsWritten.com.
10:36 JB: Thanks for joining me today. This is It Is Written.
10:38 I'm John Bradshaw. Joining us both is
10:41 Dr. David DeRose, a physician who specializes
10:44 in internal medicine and preventive medicine.
10:47 He comes to us from Compass Health Consultants
10:49 in Northern California. Dr. DeRose,
10:52 as we talk about stress, let me ask you this.
10:54 Before we go and talk about Jesus
10:56 and the prophetic timeline, how many people--well,
11:01 how many of your patients-- are dealing with significant
11:04 amounts of stress? DD: Well, I'm sure if you
11:07 interviewed them coming into my office, most of them
11:09 would say they are. And for this very reason,
11:12 I don't measure their blood pressure when they first
11:14 walk into my office. I wait till we've talked
11:17 and interacted a while, and then check their pressure.
11:20 JB: Okay, now, you mentioned before.
11:21 We were talking about Jesus, in a very stressful situation.
11:26 There's a storm on a lake. The hardened fisherman,
11:29 who've lived on that lake, they're freaking out.
11:32 They're worried about-- they think they're going to die.
11:35 Jesus is sleeping. And He's sleeping because
11:39 He has trust in His heavenly Father.
11:41 You mentioned a moment ago that something else that
11:44 alleviated Jesus' stress level was that He understood
11:46 where He was in the prophetic timeline.
11:49 Explain that. DD: As you mentioned,
11:51 multiple times Jesus spoke about His time having come,
11:55 or my time is not yet here. JB: Yes.
11:57 DD: Jesus had this sense of timing,
11:59 and the book of Daniel-- that was apparently pivotal
12:03 in Jesus' understanding His own ministry--
12:05 speaks about some very definite timelines as far as
12:09 when Jesus' ministry would begin and when it would end.
12:13 JB: Okay. Let's walk through those timelines, a little bit.
12:16 Name one. Help me understand.
12:17 DD: Okay. So, Jesus' very baptism is prophesied,
12:21 the timing, in the book of Daniel.
12:24 In Daniel chapter 9 it speaks about the Messiah,
12:27 the Prince. Jesus was anointed--which was something
12:31 that was done in biblical times for priests and kings--
12:35 this anointing occurred at the time of His baptism.
12:38 If you actually study the prophecy of Daniel, chapter 9,
12:40 you would find that Jesus' ministry would stretch
12:43 3 1/2 years. Half a week. And so,
12:47 early in Jesus' ministry, as He is crossing the lake--
12:50 mindful of that prophetic timeline.
12:53 I can't tell you, John, what was in Jesus' mind,
12:56 but the evidence suggests that He was aware that His time
13:00 to die had not yet come. To me, what's interesting
13:03 on the subject of stress is beginning in about chapter 8 of
13:06 the Gospel of Mark, Jesus starts preparing His disciples for
13:13 that very event. JB: And they don't,
13:15 they don't get it. DD: No, they don't get it.
13:16 They don't get it. But He repeatedly does it.
13:18 He repeatedly speaks to them. What we know today,
13:21 just like we speak about vaccinations or inoculations--
13:24 and, that's a big controversy in medical circles today--
13:27 but Jesus, the evidence suggests
13:30 was inoculating His disciples in the area of stress.
13:33 We actually speak about it in medical circles. We call it
13:36 "stress inoculation." It's preparing people
13:39 for what's going to come so they can better handle it.
13:42 JB: How can people better handle stress?
13:47 That's a vast question, I mean a very broad question,
13:51 because there's the stress that comes from finance.
13:54 And there are ways that people can inoculate themselves
13:57 against financial stress. Stressors. There's the stress
14:01 that comes from illness, and my expectation is
14:05 that if you're not dealing with medical stress well,
14:09 you're just going to exacerbate a difficult medical situation.
14:13 Is that fair to say that? DD: No, it's definitely fair.
14:15 JB: Okay. So, the question I'm asking is very, very broad.
14:17 And maybe you can pick some one area and say here's,
14:20 in practical terms, how a person can help themselves
14:24 when stress comes. DD: Let's look at another
14:27 surprising text in the Gospel of Mark.
14:29 And the reason I'm so interested in this,
14:31 over the last several years, I've been walking through
14:34 the Gospel of Mark with groups of people,
14:36 looking at medical angles in this Gospel.
14:40 And what's interesting, in Mark 6, there's something
14:42 here that most people just take for granted,
14:44 but it is only Mark's Gospel that gives us this detail
14:48 about Jesus. In Mark 6, verse 3,
14:52 referring to Jesus when He's there in Nazareth.
14:55 It says, "Is this not the carpenter?"
14:59 Everybody says, well, we know
15:01 Jesus was a carpenter. This is the only place.
15:03 JB: The only place. DD: Where Jesus--and Matthew's
15:05 account of the same, it mentions Jesus
15:07 being the son of a carpenter. JB: Right.
15:09 DD: But here, Jesus is identified as "the carpenter."
15:11 What this has to do with stress, John, on a totally different
15:14 dimension that we haven't really spoken about,
15:17 is Jesus was engaged throughout much of His life in useful,
15:22 physical work. We know today that one of the most powerful
15:26 things to help mitigate the effects of stress is physical
15:29 activity. And probably the most powerful physical activity,
15:33 when it comes to stress relief, is activity
15:36 that engages us. Especially if it's something
15:38 useful that we're doing with our hands.
15:41 JB: Exercise is good for stress, right?
15:44 DD: Definitely. JB: Okay. So,
15:46 getting on a treadmill for 20, 25, 30 minutes.
15:48 Running around the block four or five times.
15:49 Riding my bicycle for 15 miles. That's really good.
15:53 DD: Well, it may be really good for you, but for some
15:55 of those patients that walk into my office,
15:58 riding the bike around the block may be so
16:00 physically stressful that they drop dead. If you're outside,
16:03 working in your garden. If you're mowing the lawn
16:07 with a push mower. If you're chopping wood.
16:10 Whatever you're doing physically not only engages your body,
16:15 but it engages your brain if you're doing useful labor.
16:18 Much more powerful when it comes to stress relief.
16:21 JB: The forms of exercise that are best for you
16:24 when you're dealing with stress are those forms of exercise
16:26 that engage your body and your mind.
16:29 DD: Exactly. JB: Okay. So I could be
16:31 riding my bike and all I'm thinking about
16:32 is I've got an assignment due, I've got a boss at work,
16:35 he's going to rip me today because I messed up
16:37 yesterday. However--
16:40 and I'm sure this is true too, if I was chopping wood-- but,
16:42 if I'm working in the garden, that's, I'm getting a workout
16:47 physically and mentally as well. DD: But don't miss this point:
16:51 Riding a bicycle around the block is much better than
16:54 riding the stationery bike, because you are engaged in your
16:58 surroundings; you're watching the traffic.
17:00 So even though those problems may be there,
17:02 you're not just stewing on them, as you're pedaling that bicycle
17:06 in your exercise room. JB: Okay. So, exercise that
17:09 engages the body and the mind, when it comes to stress,
17:13 that's best. DD: And we have Jesus' example.
17:15 And Jesus is really harkening back to the very program
17:19 He gave mankind in the beginning.
17:21 In Genesis 2, He gave Adam the job of
17:24 dressing and keeping the garden. JB: Is this just a bit
17:27 of a stretch, or do you think medically it is rock solid.
17:30 Jesus was a carpenter, so I guess,
17:33 I guess particularly in His day too, there was a lot of
17:35 hard physical activity going on. But we're not stretching it
17:39 here, are we. This is solid science.
17:42 DD: There is evidence, looking at this very point that
17:44 I'm mentioning and speaking about the benefits
17:46 of this type of approach. JB: Magnificent. Thank you.
17:48 Don't go away, we'll be right back with more on
17:50 stress and the Bible, and how God can help you deal with
17:54 stress in a way that's good for you physically, emotionally,
17:59 and spiritually. We'll be back with more
18:01 in just a moment. [peaceful string melody]
18:04 Every Word is a one-minute, Bible-based daily devotional
18:07 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed
18:09 especially for busy people like you.
18:12 Look for Every Word on selected networks, or watch it online
18:15 every day on our website, ItIsWritten.com.
18:21 [upbeat melody]
18:28 JB: Don't for a minute think that God doesn't hear
18:31 your prayer. In Daniel 8, Daniel receives
18:34 a vision that he didn't understand.
18:36 He prayed for understanding, and in verse 23 of chapter 9,
18:40 the angel says to Daniel, "At the beginning of your
18:42 supplications the command went out, and I have come to
18:45 tell you: When you started praying about this thing,
18:48 Daniel, I received instructions to come and help you.
18:50 Daniel, when you prayed, God heard you.
18:53 And he told me to come down here and help you."
18:55 It's interesting to wonder just how that all works, but what we
18:58 do know is that it does work. God notices when we pray.
19:02 He hears. No, we don't always get the
19:05 answers we want, and we don't always get the answers we want
19:07 when we want, but God notices and God hears.
19:11 If we know that, we can trust Him to do the right thing
19:13 at exactly the right time. I'm John Bradshaw for
19:16 It Is Written. Let's live today by Every Word.
19:18 [upbeat music]
19:22 JB: Thanks for joining me today on It Is Written.
19:24 I'm John Bradshaw, joined today by
19:26 Dr. David DeRose. We've been talking about stress.
19:29 We all deal with it, and it's not that stress is bad.
19:33 What we've learned, too, is there are differences
19:35 between stressors-- those things that are
19:38 challenges to us-- and our stress response.
19:42 DD: Right. JB: And there are ways that we
19:44 can respond to stress, or learn to deal with stress;
19:48 exercise that engages the body and the mind,
19:51 being very important. And that's an interesting
19:54 distinction between exercises merely that engages the body.
19:57 Devotional life; trusting in God.
20:00 Jesus was able to sleep in the storm,
20:02 the same storm that was causing His best friends to panic.
20:05 And Jesus was sleeping through. What are some other things,
20:09 Dr. DeRose, that help us deal with stress?
20:12 DD: Another powerful thing, that we're actually losing touch with
20:15 to some extent in our culture, is social connectedness.
20:19 Now, people say, well, we're more socially
20:21 connected than ever. I mean, you know, we've got
20:23 Twitter and Facebook, and we're sending text messages.
20:27 But how much time do we really spend with other people,
20:30 and how integrated are we socially.
20:32 This is a very powerful factor when it comes to
20:35 physical health and our ability to deal with stressors.
20:38 JB: Give me one example. DD: Okay, one of the
20:40 biggest studies, ongoing studies in the world, is the nurses'
20:43 health study, being coordinated by Harvard University.
20:46 Back in the '90s they started looking at
20:49 how connected the nurses were, and they looked at those who
20:53 developed cancer. Some 2800 women in this group,
20:57 between 1992 and 2002, had received the diagnosis
21:02 of breast cancer. They followed them over that
21:04 10-year period of time, and they looked at their
21:07 assessment of how socially connected they were.
21:10 Those who were socially isolated had over double the likelihood
21:15 of dying in a decade from the breast cancer, as those who were
21:18 socially connected. JB: Wow. So, it's important
21:20 to be socially connected. DD: Oh, no question.
21:22 JB: Now, we might even want to drill down a little bit
21:24 into that data, but the first thing is,
21:27 someone's watching and saying, yeah,
21:28 I have no friends, I go to the office,
21:30 I work in my cubicle, I don't interact with anybody.
21:32 What's a person to do, because clearly being
21:35 socially connected is good for your health?
21:38 DD: The thing I love about the Gospels is Jesus basically
21:42 keeps saying, over and over again,
21:44 there's a place for you in My family. The church has
21:49 room for everyone. And someone who feels socially isolated,
21:52 they said, well, I showed up at church and those people were--
21:55 JB: --unfriendly. DD: You got it.
21:57 But the point is, if they were unfriendly to you, they
22:01 might be unfriendly to someone else. You need to be there to be
22:03 a friend for someone else who shows up.
22:05 JB: That's right. Exactly right. It's someone
22:07 needs to be there, to be welcoming to the people who,
22:10 like you, are looking for a place to plug in.
22:12 DD: And the whole point is, Jesus kept showing it.
22:14 He reaches out to Levi Matthew, the publican.
22:18 I mean, this was a despised class.
22:21 By the way, on the subject of stress, we know that one of the
22:25 things that adds to our stress level is discrimination.
22:29 This has actually been shown in the medical
22:31 research literature. This connection, for example,
22:33 between poverty and poor health--part of it is explained
22:38 by the stress that comes from being discriminated against
22:43 because you don't have as much in the way of means.
22:47 Is the church, even if a local congregation
22:50 doesn't seem to have room for you,
22:51 Jesus is saying you have a place in My family.
22:54 Realize that, and act on it. We speak about
22:57 the Christian walk, and Jesus wants to walk beside us.
23:00 So I get my focus at the beginning of the day, and then
23:03 Jesus is walking beside me, even if I don't feel like He's
23:07 at my right hand, He is there to bless
23:09 and to guide. JB: Okay. So learning how to
23:12 dwell in the presence of God; learning to involve Christ
23:16 in your daily life from the beginning of the
23:18 day to the end of the day; recognizing His presence;
23:22 communing with Him in the Word of God; reading often;
23:25 accepting Him; connecting with Him.
23:27 Prayer, the importance of prayer and talking to God. And in faith
23:31 that says He is with me. He is with me everywhere I go;
23:34 He is with me at all times.
23:36 Okay. I wonder, social connectedness
23:40 and good health, that's such a powerful thing.
23:44 You mentioned the nurses' study. Where else can we look and say,
23:46 okay, here's an example of how being connected socially
23:51 really benefits a person? DD: A fascinating study,
23:54 looked at a cross section of the American population--
23:57 those with cardiovascular disease. So, disease of
24:00 the heart and blood vessels. Some 4- to 5,000 people--
24:03 again, this is designed to represent the whole U.S.
24:06 population--that's how these people were randomly chosen.
24:09 They found that those who were volunteering, were sharing their
24:13 time roughly about four hours a week, had a significantly
24:18 decreased risk of future cardiovascular events compared
24:23 to those who weren't socially engaged in a way of sharing.
24:27 JB: Jesus said something really profound. This is talking about
24:31 connecting with God, connecting with Him.
24:34 In Matthew 11, in verse 28. "Come unto me,
24:37 all ye that labor and heavy laden"--
24:41 He's addressing stress there; you who are bearing
24:45 difficult burdens-- "And I will give you rest."
24:51 So if you're laboring through life and things are really
24:53 pressing you down and weighing you down,
24:55 Jesus promises I will alleviate that burden.
24:58 DD: That's right. JB: That's a promise.
25:00 "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me."
25:02 Take MY yoke, and you know, the yoke
25:05 was that thing that connected a couple of oxen together so that
25:08 they could work. So He didn't say I'm going to relieve you
25:12 of all of the stressors in this life.
25:15 He said, as you confront them, yoke together with Me.
25:20 Face your burdens with Me. Deal with stress with Me.
25:26 "For I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest
25:31 unto your souls. For my yoke is easy,
25:35 and my burden is light." Isn't that something?
25:37 DD: Powerful. JB: Jesus says,
25:39 if you're burdened, if you're stressed, come to Me
25:42 and I will get you through. Thank God for that.
25:46 DD: Amen. JB: What a blessing to know that
25:49 no matter what situation you confront in the world,
25:51 in your life, in your day-to-day
25:53 challenges--and there can be so many, can't there?
25:56 Health challenges and difficulties with children
25:59 or parents, siblings, at work, finances, you name it.
26:03 These things can weigh us down, but Christ says there's a way
26:08 forward; there's a way through. And that's My way.
26:13 When you and I get together-- together,
26:17 and confront these issues together, with Jesus
26:21 there's a way through stress. A way out of stress--
26:25 is it fair to say that? DD: Well, I don't know
26:27 if we'll say out of stress, but it's a way not to be
26:30 overly stressed. JB: Not to be overwhelmed
26:32 by stress. My yoke is easy
26:35 and my burden is light. Words from the Bible that we can
26:38 take seriously today. [gentle harp music]
26:46 Dr. David De Rose, shares his perspectives
26:48 in an eight-part series called "Healing Insights
26:51 from the Gospel of Mark." As a special offer from
26:54 It Is Written, part one of that series
26:56 is available to you at no cost. All you need to do is call
27:01 (800) 253-3000 and ask for the free
27:05 DVD called "Healing Insights from the Gospel of Mark."
27:09 You can write to It Is Written, P. O. Box 6,
27:12 Chattanooga, TN 37401, and we'll mail a free copy
27:17 to your address in North America.
27:20 It Is Written is a faith-based ministry, and your support makes
27:23 it possible for us to share God's good news with the world.
27:26 Your tax-deductible gift can be sent to the address on your
27:29 screen, or through our website at ItIsWritten.com.
27:33 Thank you for your continued prayerful support.
27:36 Again, our toll-free number is (800) 253-3000, and our web
27:41 address is ItIsWritten.com.
27:46 [music]
27:50 JB: Dr. DeRose, thanks. Thanks for joining me today.
27:52 DD: It was a privilege, John. JB: We've got more to talk
27:54 about. Let's talk again. DD: Sounds good.
27:55 JB: I appreciate it. Before we go, let's take the
27:57 opportunity to pray, and pray that God will help us,
28:00 and us all, meet stress in the right way.
28:06 Let's pray together. ♪ [tender underscore] ♪
28:10 Our Father in heaven, we are thankful today
28:12 that we don't have to face the difficulties of this world
28:14 on our own, and that You have given to us tools, techniques,
28:17 things that we can do to alleviate the difficulties
28:20 of stress. We are not praying that You would remove all of the
28:24 stressors from our lives. Those things aren't all bad.
28:27 But some of us, we're dying under the weight
28:30 of stress. Some of us are being consumed, our spiritual
28:35 lives are falling apart because of external pressures.
28:40 I pray with thanks that in Christ there is hope.
28:44 I thank You that we have Christ's example,
28:48 and that His practice can be ours of being able
28:51 to confront stress in such a way that we are the better
28:54 for it and not the worse. Bless and keep us, please,
28:59 we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen.
29:15 JB: I'm grateful you've joined me today,
29:17 and I look forward to seeing you again next time.
29:19 Until then remember, It Is Written, man shall not
29:22 live by bread alone, but by every word
29:26 that proceeds from the mouth of God.
29:30 [hopeful orchestral music]


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Revised 2017-01-04