In our humanity we tend to forget that we have a God that although we are created to His image, He is not like us. He can be omnipresent, all powerful. He chooses to be loving, forgiving and merciful.
Our evil hearts should be very grateful that he doesn’t think and forgive like we do because we would be the first ones in trouble. Let’s Praise He who created it all and who loves us in spite of us.
Mental Health is one controversial subject in religious circles. Emotional disturbances are not necessarily visible and therefore sometimes not viewed as real health problems and the treatment of there or lack of thereof is not always addressed appropriately.
Emotional conditions are usually viewed in religious settings as a lack of faith, a lack of prayer or lack of surrendering to God. I don’t discount that there are times were a believer’s struggle are due to those things, but as with physical healing, I wouldn’t recommend a cancer patient to stop or not engage in treatment; I wouldn’t discourage someone struggling emotionally to do the same. Matthew 4:23 (MSG) states, “People brought anybody with an ailment, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Jesus healed them one and all”; which tells me that in God’s eyes they were all the same.
I think that sometimes believers fail to educate themselves in the nature of mental health conditions. A high percentage of mental health conditions are biological in nature. Just like diabetes, they are due to a chemical imbalance in the body, in this case; the brain, which is as much as an organ as the pancreas is. Just like diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer, most mental health conditions have a pre-disposition genetic component. It is true that a pre-disposition doesn’t mean that it will happen, just that the chances are higher. This has been proven with alcoholism and depression.
Can God heal people from these conditions? Absolutely, however that doesn’t mean that these struggles are not as real as physical ailments and they should be treated as such.
Some churches have a more open minded approach to these issues and have counseling programs available to their parishioners. There are many Christian programs (like Celebrate Recovery) and counselors out there that can not only understand the condition but also provide the spiritual support to the person dealing with these struggles.
In my opinion there are three major mental health conditions that are majorly misunderstood within the faith community. Those are: depression, anxiety and addictions. Absolutely keeping God first in anything in our lives is a most. At the same time if you or a loved one is struggling with emotional conditions do not be ashamed to seek professional help, or to encourage and support a loved one to seek it.
Guest Post by Joshua Bedford
The Motions
I don’t want to go through the motions
I don’t want to go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don’t want to spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything?
Instead of going through the motions
Song by Matthew West
That’s the problem with our world today. Most people who call themselves a Christian are simply going through the motions. They have said the prayer, they go to church, and they even read their Bible occasionally. The majority of “Christians” have become complacent in their walk with Christ.
In the song this post is named after, Matthew West makes a statement. This statement is that he does not want to be one who simply goes through the motions. He doesn’t want to only get through life, but excel during it. He wants the passion of God in him so he will not just “go through the motions.” He also says he does not want to spend the rest of his life wishing he had actually tried, instead of just “getting through it” or going through the motions.
We (Christians) should have this same mindset. We should strive to fulfill God’s will, and not simply try to get by with as little as possible. Christians should neither want to be lazy, and do as little as possible, nor just go through the motions and be pleased with what they are. We should not just do the same things weekly because it is comfortable for us. Be ready to step out of your comfort zone, out of the motions you normally do, and into something new or bigger that God has in store for you.
Include these things when you pray. Pray for the passion needed to want to strive toward accomplishing God’s Will. Pray for strength you need to carry out His Will and to use the passion given to you. Also pray for courage, so you will not fear using the strength God has given you. Last, but definitely not least among these, pray for wisdom, so you will be able to determine when and how to use the strength God has given to you.
Joshua Bedford is a 16 year old young man, and the owner of 1LightforGod.net. He studies web design, and enjoys building websites such as the one listed above. In his spare time he loves to read a good book, study God’s word, and write devotions.
Visit his website at http://1LightforGod.net
Read his devotions at http://1lightforGod.net/devotions
Find him on Facebook: Facebook.com/joshuabedford11
Follow him on Twitter: Twitter.com/joshuabedford
Also follow his website’s twitter: Twitter.com/1lightforgod
I heard one of the funniest stories the other day speaking to a friend. Her son walked into the living room and announced to his parents that as soon as he graduates High School he will move out of the house so that he can do whatever he wants, without supervision. Why is this so funny? Well, first of all because I think all of us when we were teens thought that we wanted to grow up very fast to get to the point of freedom where we would do as we please. In reality, we are all waiting for that moment. As we grow we discovered that that with freedom came responsibility and that it was easier to respond to our parents than to our new authorities: the government, our bosses, our creditors, our spouses and even our children.
Why it’s so easy to rebel at that age? I think ignorance takes us to think that we know better than our parents what’s best for us and we do that with God every single day. This conversation reminded me of the parable of the prodigal son. He asked for his inheritance while his father was living because he wanted to live his life his way. His father allowed him to and what he found was not freedom but bondage.
In the same way, God as a good father gives us freedom to live our lives, but gives us parameters, boundaries to protect us from getting in trouble. Just like my friend’s son, sometimes we think that we know better than our father, that our preferences and desires are a better follow and that at the end of the day we will be ok. Just like the son, we go outside our boundaries and find ourselves in trouble and we then wish that we could go back home.
The good news is that just like at the end of that story, God is always awaiting for us with open arms. We then discover that freedom is a great thing, but it’s more enjoyable when we live with within the protection of the boundaries set from God to us. Freedom is awesome and well enjoyed when used well.
By Tracy Ruckman
Some days are beautiful and sweet and precious – days you wished could last forever. Then there are days that you wish you could do over. Days filled with problems and worries you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemies (well, maybe some of us wouldn’t, ahem.) Days – seasons of life – that seem to last forever, or perhaps just won’t go away.
Our pasts are like that too. Past failures, past mistakes, past choices that should have never been made. Although some pasts may be pretty, and filled with wise decisions, others – like my own – need a good washing in an industrial-strength machine.
But you know what? Paul wrote that we all sin, so all our pasts are actually dirty. So how do we handle all the guilt, shame, disgust associated with our past lives? How do we live a life that reflects joy and peace, and God’s goodness and mercy?
We must let our pasts go.
Seriously. It’s that simple. Or that hard. But we can do all things through Christ, can’t we?
Paul says, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). We are to put the past behind us and put on the new self. Peter wrote about several qualities that we should have in our lives. He said, “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love” and said that if we didn’t have those things we were forgetting that we have been cleansed from our past sins. (2 Peter 1:5-9)
Yes, as Christians, we are indeed new creations in Christ – Jesus went to that cross willingly, so that we might be free from an eternal death. Free from our past stupidity. Free from all our sin. He died for us. For you. For me. Period. No qualifiers, no exceptions. It’s done.
That is the message of this Easter season and that is the message of HOPE that we need to share with the world.
It is also the reason for Hope Tour 2012. My publishing company, Write Integrity Press, wants to take HOPE out into the world this summer, in a grassroots effort to connect readers and writers in a unique and fun way. Our purpose is to give HOPE to everyone we encounter, all along our journey. This world is dark enough – it’s time to share some of the Light.
We need your help to make it possible though. The Hope Tour 2012campaign only has a few days left. Come on over and pledge a little or a pledge a lot to make this mission a reality. We appreciate your help, and hope to see you out on the road!
Bible verses taken from the New International Version.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Tracy’s book, Love Letters from the Heart, is
FREE on Kindle today!
From the back cover:
Friends, family, perhaps even strangers, have messages within their hearts they want to share with you, but never found the right time or the right place to speak them. Here, within these pages, you’ll find messages of hope, forgiveness, direction, and even prayers – written from caring, loving hearts directly to you and for you.
Know this – you are not forgotten or abandoned. You are not alone. You are loved – more than you can possibly imagine.
Who could love any of us that much? Turn the pages – we hope you’ll soon discover the answer.
Tracy Ruckman is owner and publisher of two independent publishing companies, Write Integrity Press and Pix-N-Pens Publishing. She lives in metro Atlanta, and in 2010, returned to school as a full-time college student. She’s already looking forward to graduation in 2014, when she will finally be able to breathe again.
About four years ago I decided that I wanted to adopt a dog. I visited several rescue places but I couldn’t find one that would just be the one I wanted to take home. One afternoon a rescue place had their dogs at a pet store and I went to check it out and there she was. I stood about five feet away and looked at her for like thirty minutes. River was her name. She was a black lab. She looked friendly and quiet. One of the rescue volunteers placed her on a leash for me to walk her around. It was obvious she had no leash training and that she was way stronger than me as it was her dragging me instead of me leading her. I immediately fell in love with her and took her home.
Before we left the rescue volunteer told me some of her history. River was two years old, had been severely abused physically and emotionally. She still had scabs on her body from the abuse, which meant they were still kind of recent. She had been poisoned at some point, so unless she trusted the person feeding her, she would not eat. She was very introverted.
Well, just as expected, when we made it home she just went into a corner. Instead of fighting her into her crate she would stay there day and night even when the door remained open. If any men would approach her she would hide behind me. The first five days she didn’t eat. I was going crazy worried that she would get sick. I called the vet and she said that it was going to be ok, but my heart was breaking. The only time she was a little lively was when I would walk her and it was because she wanted to run away. It was a funny sight to see me being dragged by her through the neighborhood.
I bought every toy and treat I could find. I read about abused dogs. I took her to the park to socialize with other dogs; she would stay in a corner and do nothing. She didn’t eat the treats, she didn’t play with the toys, and she ignored the other dogs.
After a few days I sat with her in the floor of the kitchen and she came to me. I grabbed a few bits of her food and offered them with my hand and she finally ate. I cried; my baby was finally eating. For the next few days she ate only out of my hand, and then slowly we transitioned to the floor until she finally made it to her bowl. At the park, it had been a “family” effort amongst the regulars to get her socialized, so she was petted and given more attention than any other dog. Slowly she started playing alone with the toys I would bring to the park and even approaching people.
Unfortunately River is no longer with me, but what made me think of her today was the fact that sometimes people have been severely hurt by life and when someone comes into their life to pour love into them, they don’t know how to receive it. We do that to God all the time who loved us to the point of giving us his only son to die for us. Sometimes those hurting people can’t believe something good has happened to them and are always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Be patient! Continue to pour your unconditional love into them, just like my River; 
they will slowly see that you really love them, than they are finally safe…that they are finally home!
Be blessed!
This song means so much to me probably because worship is such important in my life. It’s the best and strongest way to feel connected with God and it would be a total dream to see the world united in worship to the one and only Lord!
Happy Friday!
You need not expect to get your book right the first time. Go to work and revamp or rewrite it. God only exhibits his thunder and lightning at intervals, and so they always command attention. These are God’s adjectives. You thunder and lightning too much; the reader ceases to get under the bed, by and by. Mark Twain
I observed a man this morning in a suit trying to push a wagon of boxes. He was truly struggling to balance the load and pushing the cart. The boxes were empty by the way. It reminded me that the things we do, do not define who we are.
People have the tendency to place certain professions, jobs, tasks or qualities in a pedestal. The body has many members, and all of them have different functions, but none of them are less than the other. Look at your hand for a minute, if you lost one finger, any of them, you would miss it terribly and you would have to make major adjustments to go back to “normal function”. The same is with the way we are as a collective, everyone has a function to do and nobody is better or worse for the position they have been placed.
I used to work with a brilliant doctor. It was a delight to hear this man speak, full of knowledge and wisdom, but totally technologically challenged. He couldn’t operate his computer or his cell phone. If some of us in the office didn’t pull out his e-mails and voicemails, he would not be in the loop of the things that needed to be done. That didn’t make him less or didn’t make us more. We had different skills and functions to complete.
I also remember being a manager. I’m a pretty gadget and technically savvy person, but for some reason the fax machine at that office 
and I did not get along (anyone remembers the movie Office Space, yes that was my relationship with the fax machine). I tried to not bother others and do my own thing. When I would disappear for a while and my assistant knew that I was not in a meeting, she usually checked the copy room and there I was fighting the fax machine. She would take the papers from my hands and get the job done in fifteen seconds.
My dad used to say, someone needs to sell hot dogs on the corner of the street otherwise I wouldn’t have a place to buy it, and someone needs to pick up the garbage, otherwise it would pile up in our house.
So no matter what you’re doing today, don’t look at it with the eyes of the world that classifies tasks as better or worse. Look at your job as a gift from God to render a service that in the large scheme of things it’s just as important as the next one to keep things working the way they should.
Luke 13:30
indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”
Blessings.
I received this story in one of those chain e-mails that we all get. I rarely read
those, but this one really caught my attention and decided to share it with all of you. The author is unknown and may we all be coffee…
You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.
Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma the daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity…. boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its insides became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
Now think of this: Which am I?
Am I the carrot
that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg
that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or……
Am I like the coffee bean?
The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything… they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past . You can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
May we all be COFFEE!!!!!!
Naty Matos 