Mindfulness and Mental Health

When you hear the word mindfulness, what comes to mind? Perhaps it’s a yoga class, a monk in meditation, or one of the many apps designed to cultivate mindfulness. The concept has certainly gained popularity, but it’s more than just a buzzword—it’s a practice rooted in extensive research, consistently demonstrating its benefits for mental health. You’ll find mindfulness woven into meditation apps, self-help books, and therapeutic techniques, yet at its core, it’s simply about being fully present in the moment. Instead of dwelling on the past or anxiously anticipating the future, mindfulness invites us to focus intentionally on the here and now.

The Science Behind Mindfulness

Over the past few decades, researchers have explored the benefits of mindfulness on mental health, and the findings are consistently compelling. Studies have shown that mindfulness reduces stress, lowers symptoms of anxiety and depression, improves emotional regulation, and enhances overall well-being. One study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that mindfulness-based stress reduction was as effective as medication in treating anxiety disorders. Another study demonstrated that mindfulness meditation alters the brain, increasing activity in areas associated with emotional regulation and reducing activity in regions linked to stress.

Restoring the Heart of Marriage: Embracing God's Design for Lasting Love

In Mark 10:1-12, On a trip from Capernaum to Judea, Jesus is confronted by a group of religious leaders who ask him about the legality of divorce. They were trying to trap Jesus into agreeing with one side or the other of an issue that was controversial even then, either alienating the conservative party or the liberal party of the Religious Court. They wanted to trap him politically so he might possibly meet the same fate as John the Baptist--who criticized Herod's divorce and remarriage.

Hardness of Heart

Jesus skillfully identifies the reason Moses permitted divorce in the law—hardness of heart. This condition often undermines the trust, love, and respect essential for a healthy marriage. Hardness of heart leads to emotional disconnection, resentment, bitterness, shutting down, giving the silent treatment, self-justification, and spiritual drift. We must reflect on our own relationships and marriages, examining if there are grievances or unforgiveness in our hearts. Ask yourself: Are you holding onto bitterness towards your spouse? Take proactive steps to soften your heart through prayer, counseling, or open communication. God desires our hearts to be tender and loving, reflecting His love for us. As a result, we should practice kindness, address conflicts proactively, and take responsibility for our actions. Husbands, especially, lead in this effort. Let’s strive to overcome hardness and embrace healing in our marriages.

Faith overcoming unbelief

Mark 9:23-24 (NLT) "'What do you mean, ‘If I can’?' Jesus asked. 'Anything is possible if a person believes.' The father instantly cried out, 'I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!'"

In Mark 9:23-24, Jesus teaches us a powerful lesson about faith. When a father seeking healing for his son expresses doubt, Jesus responds with a bold statement: "Anything is possible if a person believes." This promise encourages us to exercise faith in God's power, even when we face seemingly insurmountable challenges.

The father's honest plea, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief," resonates with many of us. It acknowledges that while we have faith, we also struggle with doubts. This transparency is key to growing our faith. Jesus does not condemn the father's doubt; instead, He heals his son, demonstrating that God honors even imperfect faith.

A Simple Order for Daily Prayer

Opening Scripture Sentence

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

A faltering faith

Luke 7

A prophet with faltering faith
John the Baptist has a moment of faltering faith. He sent his disciples to ask Jesus directly—are you the one we should be looking for, of is there another? I am encouraged by his honesty to Jesus here.

John was called by God to baptize, saying “Repent of your sins because the Kingdom is near.” Thousands were coming to him to humble themselves and seek the Lord. His message was, if you humble yourself, God will exalt you; If you bow your head, God will lift it up again. But if you hold on in pride to your image or reputation, you will reap the consequences of it. As Luke’s story unfolds, you see some who did humble themselves and some who did not.

John himself baptizes and, in a sense, ordains Jesus for his public ministry. John witnesses the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus and the Father say, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” Why then would John’s faith waver? Matthew 11 tells us that John was in prison for preaching against King Herod’s immorality. (Herod was one who did not humble himself.)

An unexpected kingdom
John was preaching a gospel of repentance because he, along with all of Israel expected the Kingdom to arrive. Everyone expected a political movement that would cleanse Israel morally and restore Israel’s independence, drive out Rome, and restore the glory of Israel’s golden age under David.

Jesus was preaching a kingdom, but it was a different kind of kingdom. The kingdom Jesus was preaching is based on humility that takes hold in our hearts and radiates outward from there. But John was looking around and seeing the walls of a prison cell. Far from repenting, the King had him arrested. Rome, it seemed, was only consolidating power.

How does Jesus Answer?
How does Jesus answer John’s question? Jesus says, “Look at what’s happening—the blind are receiving sight, lepers are cleansed, the lame walk, the deaf hear, and the dead are being raised.” Jesus is referencing the promise of messiah in Isaiah. Jesus gently reminds John what the messiah’s ministry will look like.

Have you ever experienced a faltering faith? John the Baptist did, and Jesus says he was an example of the greatest of mankind. When our faith fails us, we are so quick to look inward, perhaps examining the fruit in our lives; perhaps looking for some sin to repent of to get things back on track. Perhaps we look around at our peers or at our circumstances and get cynical; fooled again, we might say.

Look at Jesus
We look inward or we look around, but in that moment, here is what Jesus says to us. He does not condemn you because your faith falters. He does not shame you for seeing that things are different from what you might have expected your life to look like. He also does not appeal to fear, calling you to look for positive fruits in your life to prove your faith is genuine. No. Jesus gently, kindly says, “Don’t look there, look at me.” What are the fruits of Jesus’s ministry? What is the fruit of Jesus’s life, Jesus’s character?

Jesus gently invites us to repent. He does not shame us for feeling angry, or sad, or afraid. He does not try to prevent us from feeling these things. He does not shame us for having a shaky faith. He just invites us to turn our focus from ourselves and onto him.

If we hold on to our pride—if we try to white-knuckle ourselves, and hold on tight, we will miss the kingdom of God. But if we simply humble ourselves, admit our frailty, our weakness—yes, even our sin—then Jesus will lift us right back up again. And even when the kingdom we receive doesn’t look like wealth and power, it may look like a powerful Roman centurion (vv. 1-10) who entrusts himself to the lowly Jewish preacher. It may look like a widow receiving her son again (vv. 11-17). It may look like a woman with a reputation being freed from shame (vv. 36-50). And it may look like a prophet of God getting his faith back.

What would it look like for you if you look at Jesus again today?