Marja Bergen

author, mental health advocate, follower of Christ

Category: Christian support (page 6 of 16)

In fellowship with a stigmatized person

IN THE NAME OF JESUS More than anything, I’d like to help caregivers understand what it’s like to experience the pain caused by stigma—to get into the heart and mind of the sufferer. Only then will they know how important it is to fill their needs. But the one who wants to give care needs […]

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Good memories are made to share

LIVING ROOM Something I found in a blogpost from April 2011: My thoughts have been going back lately to the Good Friday service exactly five years ago in 2006 when my pastor invited me to read a bit from my not-yet-published A Firm Place to Stand. With the reading I shared some of the emotional battles I […]

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What can healing do?

What can happen when we – through Jesus – bring healing to people living with mental health challenges? Along with us, they will grow in faith. They will gain hope for a better future. They will be more confident, feeling better about themselves.. They will have the courage to try new things – to grow. […]

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As Jesus healed, so must we

People with mental health challenges live with the following: They are looked down on, They are not understood, Their truths not believed, They are shunned, rejected, excluded, They are made to feel ashamed, Their intellect is often underrated, Their opinions not respected. They are not taken seriously in the way well people are. This should […]

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In the name of Jesus – part 1

  HEALING THE WOUNDS OF STIGMA Help with our mental health has come from many areas of the secular world. The medical profession and mental health professionals help us deal with symptoms of our illness. We have medications. We’re taught coping skills. We have counselors to listen to our day-to-day problems. But none of these […]

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Joining God in his work

July 2017 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can […]

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Why do we need living room?

The devotional below shows why Living Room is such an important ministry. It’s a sample of the kind of messages people at Living Room hear. We are reassured of the great love and compassion of Jesus. We need this kind of reminder, because for many of us the world is not a friendly place.   And […]

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Where are you leading God?

FAITH-BASED SUPPORT GROUPS Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me,  for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.  Psalm 25:4-5   A wise person warned me today, “Listen to God and be guided by him, and do not be led astray by our […]

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Keeping the focus on Jesus

MENTAL HEALTH AND SPIRITUALITY SPEECH DELIVERED TO NEW LIFE COMMUNITY CHURCH,  JANUARY 29, 2023: In 1993, I answered God’s call to do all I could to build mental health awareness—a few years later focusing on the Church. I thought that if anyone could show the love of Christ, members of his Church could. They just […]

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The Gift of Compassion

MENTAL ILLNESS AND THE GIFTS IT OFFERS   Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians […]

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