Marja Bergen

author, mental health advocate, follower of Christ

Page 15 of 147

For those who worship others

  HIS LOVE IS FOR ALL His unconditional love is extended to all, and it is this love upon which the Open Door is founded. Everyone is welcome to enjoy it. Followers of Christ should be the first to rejoice in seeing their Lord’s love spread out to all who need it, even to those […]

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Caring humbly

A DEVOTIONAL – A patient on a mental health ward was having a hard time, not able to cope. The staff couldn’t meet her needs. As a result, she was placed in a seclusion room where she would have a chance to calm down and not hurt herself. The room was uncomfortable, only containing a […]

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As they saw him

At Open Door it is not necessary for participants to accept the divine nature of Jesus as the Son of God. They most need to hear about the man he was 2000 years ago during his ministry on earth. Simply the man who did and said wonderful things—the man who was kind and spent time […]

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Introducing Jesus to other faiths

THE CHALLENGE How can we introduce Jesus as the healer he is to nonbelieving faiths? Can Jesus heal those who do not believe in his divine nature—the Son of God? Some will think this is impossible unless they were converted to Christianity. I believe that it is possible. I follow Jesus and believe all the […]

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SPIRITUAL MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT

WHAT IS IT? Spiritual mental health support had its beginnings in 2006 when I founded the faith-based Living Room peer support ministry. This was at a time when the Christian Church knew very little about mental health and those with symptoms were often made to feel ashamed, told that there was a problem with their […]

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Caring – Jesus’ way

The following piece was written from the perspective of a person needing care. Have you ever needed care in the way this person did? How would you like to have someone like the Samaritan looking after you? Can you imagine how good it would be to have someone like him—someone so much like Jesus—taking care […]

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The immense value of peer support

MENTAL HEALTH AND THE CHURCH It’s wonderful how much work is being done to raise mental health awareness in the Church today. At the beginning of this century there was so much ignorance that individuals with mental health issues were leaving their churches because of the hurt inflicted on them by fellow Christians who told […]

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The immense value of peer support

FAITH-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT Christians and their churches in Canada have been learning about mental health—the various illnesses and how they present themselves in those who live with them. They learn to accept and support the individuals in their church who live with such challenges. They learn how to respond to their needs. But have […]

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Listening, caring, and compassion

CHRISTIAN SUPPORT – In her book Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, Joanna Weaver relates Robert Boyd Munger’s story about how he showed Christ around his house room by room. When they got to the drawing room they both liked it best and decided to meet and start every day together in this room. They […]

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Part 14 – He turned the world upside down

LIVING ROOM’S OPEN DOOR When we decide to follow Jesus, we are called to be like him. To do what he would do. To say the kinds of things that he would say. To love as he loved. But how could we possibly emulate a person as remarkable as Jesus? Many of us feel inferior […]

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