We are the One: Christianity and Mental Health with Travis Reinold

In this podcast, we'll answer the following questions so we can become more effective in prayer:

1) Does the Bible give us any instructions regarding how to pray?

2) If so, what does the Bible say?

3) How important is prayer?

4) And why do we sometimes feel that our prayers aren't being answered?

2020 has not been a normal year, so personally, I've found myself asking myself a lot of questions such as "What in the world is going on?" Is there any truth in "conspiracy theories?" In a world ruled by the Prince of Darkness, how do we have true discernment? And what effect does "going too far down the rabbit hole" have on our mental health and spiritual life?

Are we becoming too focused on COVID rules that we're causing God's children to stumble at church? How do we obey our governing authorities in the midst of this pandemic? And are COVID rules contributing towards a mental health crisis in America that is worse than the virus itself?

In this episode, Stefani and I talk about how crazy we can become with confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is related to an insecurity that causes us to gather evidence to support what we already want to believe. So, how do we avoid confirmation bias in our Christian lives? And how do we know when God is really speaking to us?

In this episode, we welcome back Stefani as she discusses how politics and information are impacting our mental health in the midst of an election year. She shares what she's hearing from patients in order to describe how we're all feeling.

There's nothing wrong with having strong political viewpoints or participating in politics, but often times politics can distract us and lead us to become more afraid and angry with one another. And perhaps, during COVID-19, Satan couldn't have scripted things any better. With social distancing rules and masks, we're all gravitating more towards our mobile devices where the enemy can influence us (both sides of the aisle) with more information that causes us to become angry or afraid.

As Christians, we believe that it's impossible to love one another without God. And even though we may hate evil and opposing ideologies, we're commanded to love all people unconditionally.

It's interesting that COVID-19 is a respiratory virus that impacts our ability to breathe and the Greek word for "Spirit" is also used for "breath" and "wind." While no one knows why God's allowing COVID-19 in America, perhaps he's reminding us to use the Holy Spirit rather than our flesh to have love, joy, and peace rather than fear and hatred towards one another.

Everyday, we're inundated with worldly viewpoints, so it's imperative that we refresh our thoughts with God's Word. Because while man looks at the outward appearance, God ultimately judges us based upon our thoughts.

And finally, Stefani and I discuss compassion. We never know another's full story, so it's impossible to judge others. Only God can judge. And God has a history of making greatness out of people that no one else wants.

This may be one of the most important podcasts on this show because the Christian life is impossible without the Holy Spirit. And if we're trying to accomplish the Christian life through our flesh then it can have significant mental health impacts.

In this podcast, we'll cover other problematic passages in order to reduce our anxiety and know the clear, simple gospel message.

How are you doing? How are your children doing? Are we causing feelings of withdrawal, sadness, anxiety, fatigue, depression, and fear within our children? If so, how will this affect them later in life? Are we teaching our children to be risk-averse? Are we sacrificing our children while talking about "sacrifice"? Are are we, as Christians, compromising and conforming to the world that makes decisions out of fear rather than faith? And what is the real virus? COVID-19 or fear?

Is God allowing COVID-19 in America in order to expose legalism within all of us? Please listen as we discuss real struggles and how legalism is extremely detrimental to our mental health.

Three reasons, I believe,

1) Legalism 2) Politics and 3) Lack of Love

You may think, no crap, nothing groundbreaking here. But sometimes, we see but we don't see. And perhaps we're not seeing something. And we're missing a tremendous opportunity for revival in churches across America.