Tag: mental health

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Acts 2:1-13

Take a moment to read Acts 2:1-13 before reading the devotional below.

Acts 2 is such an amazing chapter in the Bible that we will spend three days working our way through it. Today we’ll focus on the first thirteen verses, in which the Holy Spirit arrives in dramatic fashion. As we engage with each passage daily, continue to ask yourself, “In what ways do God’s words in the Bible equip me for mental health and emotional freedom?”

Recall from yesterday’s post that the disciples and many of Jesus’ followers were holed up in a room in Jerusalem waiting for God’s signal. And in case you have ever worried that you are going to miss the sign from God you are waiting for, check out the Holy Spirit’s entrance here. Just as everyone who was visited by an angel in the Bible is pretty much freaked out, those in the room are quite confused by the sudden indoor windstorm. It might sound cool to us now, but read the story and you’ll see that the initial response was mass confusion and chaos. People come running, they can’t believe that they are hearing about the works of God in every language represented. Many are amazed, but some in the crowd of people who rushed towards the commotion have their doubts. And thus the supernatural visitation of the Holy Spirit is reduced to accusations of drunkenness.

If we exist as mere spectators drawn to an exciting scene, then we will miss him entirely. Supernatural encounters only make sense to those who want them. Looking for earthly explanations will always result in seemingly reasonable, but faulty, answers. You may believe in Jesus, but the Holy Spirit might just freak you out a bit. How safe do you feel in your rational mind? The more security we have in our intellect and rationality, the less likely we will recognize the Holy Spirit when he shows up. But when we have faith in the supernatural realm and seek the Spirit, our minds will expand to all that is really going on around us. And that is the place of true freedom.

Supernatural encounters only make sense to those who want them.

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Philippians 2:14-15

“Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”

Verse 14 may be the Bible verse I quote the most when talking to my children. It flows right off the tongue… “Do everything without complaining or arguing!” Isn’t it convenient how we often use the Bible as a defense mechanism designed to make others suit our own purposes? The Bible is great for correction, but maybe there should be a rule that you can only quote verses to others that you have fully mastered yourself. But I digress…

Turning the mirror back on myself, I want to soak in all the wisdom these verses have to offer me. At our church, we often say, “Everything means everything…” so in these verses I can’t turn the “everything” into “some things.” Do everything without complaining or arguing. Why? So that no one can criticize you. Wow. Imagine living a life in which no one can think of anything bad to say. That is the Spirit-led life.

Notice the contrast described in verse 15: innocent, bright-shining examples versus crooked and perverse people. My heart breaks that this is so far from the current state of the American church. Christians, instead of being known as examples of excellence and love, are often known for forcing their morals down other people’s throats. Is that really how we want to play this? Using the Bible and Jesus like I started off this post, bashing other people for stuff we aren’t so great at?

To humbly accept the path laid out for us and in doing so shining a light so bright the world notices. As a body. Not just me, all by myself, but all of us together. Sit with him today and let him remove the chains that trap you in complaints, arguing and pushing others to do things you yourself still fail at. Perhaps it is in that place that we can begin to understand freedom and become bringers of peace.

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Day 5 – 21 Days to Freedom

Galatians 5:11-12 (NLT)

“Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!”

Sometimes the Bible is inappropriate. Imagine sitting in church and the pastor says, “If you think that circumcision gets you closer to God, you should go all the way and chop your penis right off!” Oh yes, Paul did just say that. And you might be wondering how we got on this subject in the first place. Weren’t we on a nice track talking about emotional freedom and the Holy Spirit?

We’re still on track, and the message behind all the penis talk is simple: Go all in or don’t bother trying. As we see from verse 11, Paul and the other leaders of the early church were risking their lives on a daily basis. You don’t get much more “all in” than that kind of dedication. Paul gets frustrated with their petty and foolish thinking about rituals in order to get right with God. He challenges them on their hearts — if you really believed that circumcision was getting you closer to God then why wouldn’t you at least be wholehearted about it?

Here’s your freedom for today: emotional and spiritual freedom is found in living by the Spirit, not by doing a bunch of earthly steps to “prove” your devotion.

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Here’s your freedom for today: emotional and spiritual freedom is found in living by the Spirit, not by doing a bunch of earthly steps to “prove” your devotion. Anything you do out of pure conviction from the Spirit will be wholehearted. And it is when our hearts are whole that we find true freedom. What are you going after with your whole heart today?

It is when our hearts are whole that we find true freedom.

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Day 4 – 21 Days to Freedom

Galatians 5:7-10 (NLT)

“You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth?  It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you.”

Have you ever been doing pretty well in life, going along just fine until you suddenly get thrown off course? Maybe you thought, “I was doing so well! What happened??” If the Galatians were with us today they would feel your pain. They had received the good news about Jesus being the pathway to God and were off and running strong. But then they got distracted — swept up by fear and old ways of thinking. “What if we are supposed to keep following the law? What if Jesus is just part of the answer?”

Anytime we find ourselves with a Jesus plus _____________ scenario we are off track. For us, it might be Jesus plus self-reliance, or Jesus plus my bank account, or Jesus plus what others think of me. How quickly that wrong thinking disrupts our whole lives. And this passage assures us that our non-free thinking is not from God — he is the one who set us free in the first place!

Here’s your freedom for today: God is paying attention to you, making sure that you stay in the middle of his grace.

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Here’s your freedom for today: God is paying attention to you, making sure that you stay in the middle of his grace. The people and things that add to false thinking in your life are not on God’s favorites list… He wants you to be free and frankly he’s kind of mad at whatever robs you from living a free life. But notice that phrase, “he will keep you…” He is willing and able to protect your mind from the slavery to the “shoulds” and the “musts.” We just need to ask and trust that he will guide us in his grace as we turn to him daily.

God is willing and able to protect your mind from the slavery to the “shoulds” and the “musts.”

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Day 3 – 21 Days to Freedom

Galatians 5:5-6 (NLT)

“But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.”

When we get rid of the extra rules we’ve added on to our “good Christian” lives (see yesterday’s post), we enter into a new kind of living. Instead of rules we have a soft, moldable heart in which the Spirit can dwell. Basically the best thing to do to get close to God is turn into a mushy mess.

If rules can’t save us, and in fact make our lives so much worse, then we have to turn to something else to make our messed up lives right. The word “righteousness” means “to be made morally right or justified.” God has promised to make us right (so why do we keep trying so hard to do it ourselves??). The only actions that will ever matter are the ones we are invited by God to do. The prompting of the Spirit is the only motivation worth acting on. This is the “faith expressing itself in love” in verse 6. Literally nothing else matters.

Here’s your freedom for today: living in the Spirit gives us the emotional freedom to let God do the transforming.

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Here’s your freedom for today: living in the Spirit gives us the emotional freedom to let God do the transforming. All those things we grasp at to “fix” ourselves will never work. Circumcision didn’t work for the Jews, and dressing up for church won’t work for us. As we wait for God to deliver on his promise to make us right again, we can let go of all of our striving. So go ahead, pick something to let go of today. Find freedom in getting rid of at least one rule you are living by to try to be “good enough.” Feel free to post a comment to tell us what you are shaking off today so we can all be encouraged!

Find freedom in getting rid of at least one rule you are living by to try to be “good enough.”

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