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[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”white”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Special Edition” title_align=”separator_align_left”][vc_custom_heading text=”MENTAL HEALTH and the Chruch” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:30|text_align:left|color:%23822a14″][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_text_separator title=”Mental Health facilities are closing, nationwide due to funding and a lack of professional intere” color=”chino”][vc_single_image image=”9972″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_3d”][vc_custom_heading text=”Why did we need a system of LAWS ?” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:24|text_align:left|color:%23822a14″][vc_separator color=”white”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A broken relationship between God and man is known as “sin.” Before sin entered into the world, there was no need for a covenant. It was the results of sin that prompted the requirement of works, a notion of performing tasks to obtain justification of right standing with God. While works were not the Lord’s original plan for genuine relations; without the institution of the Law, man would have never found his way back to fellowship with our Heavenly Father. Because we were never designed to exist without God’s influence, the Lord gave His creation rules and ordinances (designated as Torah) to create patterns of faithful behavior and to obtain righteousness with God.

Adam’s sin (Gen 3:1 6) consisted of his yielding to the assaults of temptation and eating the forbidden fruit. It involved in it,
(1) the sin of unbelief, virtually making God a liar; and
(2) the guilt of disobedience to a positive command. By this sin, he became an apostate from God, a rebel in arms against his Creator. He lost the favor of God and communion with him; his whole nature became depraved, and he incurred the penalty involved in the covenant of works.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”9967″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_3d”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”The Cares of This World” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:24|text_align:left|color:%23822a14″][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text]Adam and Eve had nothing to worry about and not a care in the world. Tragically, the couple’s rebellion in the Garden released thoughts of the overshadowing weight of sin and shame. Their hearts that were once filled with joy and innocence were now infiltrated with thoughts of self-awareness, guilt, and blame. Likewise today, as in the Garden, our predominant concerns might sound like: “I have nothing to wear.” “What do we have to eat?” What do you mean, we have to dig a hole and wait for our food?” Furthermore, when we do not want to accept responsibility for our actions, couples are often found accusing one another: “That woman You gave me…” or, “Adam I can’t believe you put the whole thing on me!”, “Why didn’t you cover me?” Finally, shame and guilt consume them and the couple begins to feel alienated from their Heavenly Father: “I know God must hate our guts.”

What Adam and Eve didn’t realize was their rebellion empowered the kingdom of darkness. Immediately, all the cynical and territorial demonic agents left over from the fall of Lucifer wanted a pardon and amnesty with legal claims. Malevolent spirits insisted that they had equal rights because Adam and Eve had become like themselves, thus were now servants of the kingdom of darkness. To this day, demon spirits believe that whatever ground they conquer belongs to them. This is why a person coming to faith in Christ has to change sides and give their allegiance to Yeshua – the Son of Adonai, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In other words, our Lord and Savior has annihilated His enemies and has set all captives free by His victory on Calvary, and whoever wants peace in their hearts will have to possess the mind of Christ.
We have our confidence in Him: He Who is strong and Holy, He Who rules the whole world, He Who is the sovereign King. And, we know that the angels from Heaven above, down to the agents of the underworld are all subject to His Voice.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”What are you made of?” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:24|text_align:left|color:%23822a14″][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text]Nonetheless, when we are out of fellowship with our Creator, little problems become enormous dilemmas and can bring on different degrees of mental disorders. The human mind is similar to an automobile engine. If it continues operating without an oil change, the engine will lock up and that motor will be ruined. Likewise, without consistent management and maintenance of our thought patterns, we can get “stuck” and the enemy will sabotage our relationships with God. Renewing our minds through regular prayer time, communing with the Holy Spirit in worship, and daily reading the Word of God is like getting regular oil changes. Additionally, fellowship with Godly friends who sharpen your faith-walk will strengthen relations in the Lord.

(MSG)
3 What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, 4 including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! 5 God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.
6 I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. 7 Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.
1 Peter 1:3-7

Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled the prophetic words of the prophet Isaiah 61:1-3
1. He will come for the brokenhearted
2. To kick down the doors of those who are captives releasing them,
3. And, to turn mourning into blessing and praises.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”9976″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_3d”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”The Captive” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:24|text_align:left|color:%23822a14″][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text](CWSB Dictionary)
H616. אַסִּיר ’assiyr: A masculine noun depicting prisoners, captives (collective noun). In a highly theological usage, it refers to prisoners as those kings of earth and the host of heaven whom the Lord will gather into prison and eventually punish (Isa. 24:22). Equally significant is the spiritual liberation and rescue given to prisoners suffering spiritual captivity. The Servant of the Lord will bring them out, liberating them (Isa. 42:7).

Yeshua goes into battle with an anointing for the purpose of bringing out the אַסִּיר ’assiyr; the captive.

(NLT Study Bible Text,)
Good News for the Oppressed
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
for the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted
and to proclaim that captives will be released
and prisoners will be freed.
2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn
that the time of the Lord’s favor has come,
and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.
3 To all who mourn in Israel,
he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
that the Lord has planted for his own glory.
Isaiah 61:1-3

The Good News is that we have a great God, an incomparable King, Who is peerlessness – there is no one who is like Him or can be compared to Him! He is coming to fight the battle of Isaiah 61 on your behalf. The campaign (a military term) of Isaiah 61 is the spiritual liberation and divine victory for those with mental health concerns.
Our Heavenly Father has elevated the Name of our anointed warrior, Jesus Christ, and His Name is set above every psychological symptom that has a name. Therefore, a symptom that oppresses the human psyche is an enemy to the Son of God. Consequently, whoever calls on the name of “Yeshua,” gets the Father’s “Isaiah 61″ Prince of Peace to fight their battles.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”9979″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”right” style=”vc_box_shadow_3d”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Unseen battles on your behalf” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:24|text_align:left|color:%23822a14″][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text]A major part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit to every believer is to help the community of faith come to the realization of how hard the Lord will fight for us and the immense advantages for those who trust in what God says that He will do for His Church. The Holy Spirit will teach every child of God spiritual warfare and deliver them from the strongholds that bind or torment their minds. Because we believe the Lord’s promises, that Christ came to set the captives free, we must allow Adonai’s infinite plan to finish its course in our lives.
The word “Yeshua” is the Hebrew name for Jesus Christ of Nazareth. His Name carries the distinction “supremacy” over all the enemies of Christ’s Body.

(NLT Study Bible Text,)
“What are mere mortals that you should think about them,
or a son of man that you should care for him?
7 Yet you made them only a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.
8 You gave them authority over all things.”
Now when it says “all things,” it means nothing is left out. But we have not yet seen all things put under their authority. 9 What we do see is Jesus, who was given a position “a little lower than the angels”; and because he suffered death for us, he is now “crowned with glory and honor.” Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone.

The Son of God Became Human
10 God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.
Hebrews 2:6-10

Colossians 1:9-18 9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the LORD and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him, all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead so that in everything he might have the supremacy.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”9982″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_3d”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our Lord Yeshua wants His Body to be mentally healed and enjoying life to its fullest. Jesus reminded us that although the thief comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy; we must be assured that He came so that we can have life and that we might have it more abundantly (John 10:10 KJV). We will have trials in this life, but we must learn how to manage stress. No longer should you ignore those subtle symptoms of depression and anxiety. The truth is that if you remain in feelings of anguish and despair too long, it can hinder our perception of God’s love and faithfulness towards us. Sadly, sometimes when a person feels he or she is a perpetual victim, the individual will move away from the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance) and be enticed to do things as a form of self-medicating that are contrary to Godliness (adultery, fornication, hatred, strife, envying, drunkenness, etc.) As a result of Satan’s deception, the consequence of wrongdoing brings the believer into a deeper sadness and unless deliverance takes place, one can easily get caught up in a continual cycle of sinfulness and shamefulness.

Even when we may not fully understand God’s ways, we have to be persuaded of His character. God’s faithfulness will sustain us in any storm of life. Call out to Him when you are brokenhearted and He will make you whole again. Wholeness is important because a healthy mind produces a healthy body. Healthy bodies joined together can form a unified Body of Christ. A wholly emotional and spiritual Body of Christ creates God’s Holy Kingdom on the earth. Then, we can do All things through His Son, Christ Jesus, Who strengthens us.

The joy of the Lord is better than riches and gold, because who wants riches when one is sick unto death? And who can enjoy wealth when their minds are out of control? Our Messiah has given His faith community the power to pray for those who are struggling with oppressing agents from the kingdom of darkness. At the same time, Jesus gives us His peace and serenity to overcome the impacts of stress whether they arise from home and family issues, work responsibilities, school peer pressure, organizations/church/ministry needs, and or everyday life circumstances.

To help you get a better understanding of what a healthy mind looks like, we must first explain what exactly is mental health. It is different from physical health because it relates directly to our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.
(Note: It is a proven, scientific fact that a person’s childhood experiences have profound effects on how they relate to others in their adult associations, how they solve life problems, and how they make personal choices).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”9805″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_3d”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Over the course of your life, if you experience mental health problems, your thinking, mood, and behavior could be affected. Many factors contribute to mental health problems, including:
Biological factors, such as genes or brain chemistry
Life experiences, such as trauma or abuse
The family’s history of mental health problems
https://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health

The ‘Quiet’ Crisis In Mental Health Services
Paul S. Appelbaum
The failure of insurers and managed care organizations to reimburse providers of mental health services for the costs of care has led to a crisis in access to these services. Using the situation in Massachusetts as a case example, this paper explores the impact of this defunding. Unable to sustain continued losses, hospitals are closing psychiatric units, and outpatient services are contracting or closing altogether. The situation has been compounded by the withdrawal of many practitioners from managed care networks and cuts in public-sector mental health services. Unless purchasers demand effective coverage of mental health treatment, mental health services will likely continue to wither away.
https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.22.5.110

(NLT Study Bible Text,)
Psalm 38
A psalm of David, asking God to remember him.
1 O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your rage!
2 Your arrows have struck deep,
and your blows are crushing me.
3 Because of your anger, my whole body is sick;
my health is broken because of my sins.
4 My guilt overwhelms me—
it is a burden too heavy to bear.
5 My wounds fester and stink
because of my foolish sins.
6 I am bent over and racked with pain.
All day long I walk around filled with grief.
7 A raging fever burns within me,
and my health is broken.
8 I am exhausted and completely crushed.
My groans come from an anguished heart.
9 You know what I long for, Lord;
you hear my every sigh.
10 My heart beats wildly, my strength fails,
and I am going blind.
11 My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease.
Even my own family stands at a distance.
12 Meanwhile, my enemies lay traps to kill me.
Those who wish me harm make plans to ruin me.
All day long they plan their treachery.
13 But I am deaf to all their threats.
I am silent before them as one who cannot speak.
14 I choose to hear nothing,
and I make no reply.
15 For I am waiting for you, O Lord.
You must answer for me, O Lord my God.
16 I prayed, “Don’t let my enemies gloat over me
or rejoice at my downfall.”
17 I am on the verge of collapse,
facing constant pain.
18 But I confess my sins;
I am deeply sorry for what I have done.
19 I have many aggressive enemies;
they hate me without reason.
20 They repay me evil for good
and oppose me for pursuing good.
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord.
Do not stand at a distance, my God.
22 Come quickly to help me,
O Lord my savior.
Psalms 38

(The Jewish Study Bible Notes)
Ps. 38: A sinner prays for healing, a sign that his sins are forgiven. The psalm contains an extensive description of physical illness and mental anguish (see Pss. 6; 13; 22; 31). The list of ailments–which includes the entire body racked with pain, festering wounds, inability to stand erect, fever, dull eyes, lack of strength–sounds like a catalog of all possible maladies, suggesting that the illness is metaphoric; they are manifestations (perhaps physical) of sin. Burdened by his sins, the psalmist is in mental and physical anguish. Understood thus, the psalm is more a prayer for forgiveness (see esp. v. 19) than a prayer for healing.
38.2: Sickness was thought to be the punishment for sin. Cf. 6.2; the similarity suggests that either some psalmists copied from each other, or that psalmists used various stock phrases or verses.
38.3: The punishing illness is described as arrows sent by God (Job 6.4; 16.12-13).
38.4-6: Sin as the cause of the psalmist’s malady (Isa. 1.5-6). Most psalms of complaint lack confessions.
Psalms 38:1-4

(EBD)
Sin
is “any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God” (1 John 3 1 Chr 3:4 Rom 4:15), in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of the life, whether by omission or commission (Rom 6:12 -17; 7:524). It is “not a mere violation of the law of our constitution, nor of the system of things, but an offense against a personal lawgiver and moral governor who vindicates his law with penalties. The soul that sins is always conscious that his sin is (1) intrinsically vile and polluting, and (2) that it justly deserves punishment, and calls down the righteous wrath of God. Hence sin carries with it two inalienable characters, (1) ill-desert, guilt (reatus); and (2) pollution (macula).”, Hodge’s Outlines.
The moral character of a man’s actions is determined by the moral state of his heart. The disposition to sin, or the habit of the soul that leads to the sinful act, is itself also sin(Rom 6:12 -17; Gal 5:17; James 1:14, 15).
The origin of sin is a mystery and must forever remain such to us. It is plain that for some reason God has permitted sin to enter this world, and that is all we know. His permitting it, however, in no way makes God the author of sin.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]