BPC: Recent Episodes
Grace Moser
The journey through bipolar diagnosis and aligning it to what God says about it. Unscripted and real. It’s been a rollercoaster with indescribable peace throughout all circumstances.
My approach to this podcast has changed, and so the name will change soon too. I’m still Grace, a Christian ministering to those on a mental health journey, but I’m no longer referring to myself as a “Bipolar Christian” because my identity is not in a diagnosis, but it is in that I am a child of God. I look forward to posting more regularly in the coming weeks, and I hope to bless you with my little stories and point you to the perfect Healer, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of life: Jesus Christ.
How do we cope with stress and trauma? Do we call on our loving Father when we are wounded? Can He empathize? God’s word says He bore all of our suffering. Do we trust that Jesus will lead us in a blessed life and transform us day by day? Does His love or grace have a limit? Let’s call on the Lord and be saved; including from our own thoughts.
God’s word is living and active, and it never returns to him void. We must speak the truth outwardly, not just through service, but my mentioning Jesus Christ by name, and acknowledging Scripture as the only source of truth. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We must speak boldly so that others can hear about and experience that life in Christ. No more waiting! We must read the word, pray, listen to God, and SPEAK THE GOSPEL!
If we don’t bring our thoughts, prayers, and thanks to the Lord, it is easy to fall into a pit full of fears. My fear became paranoia, leading me from my home, to a hospital, then to a crisis house. It was one day in that house that I didn’t expect, when God confirmed in me my ministry. All I had been through helped me in that one moment to minister to another resident. God’s plan all along was for me to learn to be faithful in giving my thoughts to him, and for him to guard my heart and mind with Christ’s perfect peace.
We find peace at the feet of Jesus. We are drawn into His family. We are healed in His presence, and invited to take part in His victory over sin and death. I found myself in fellowship with believers I met in my dizzying hospitalization a couple of years ago. God drew near to me as I did to Him, and surrounded me with a network of family, in the people I least expected.
Living in a house with 13 people diagnosed with mental illness preventing them from working, initially, I was terrified. But finding a church, sharing Jesus in the house, and being diligent to read God’s word became second nature and so so crucial. It is in the quiet moments we need to dwell on God’s nearness, and at all times.
Jesus lived a perfectly righteous life, and we can’t apart from him. We must humbly kneel before our God and Father, obedient to the point of death, and enjoy making his name great. Our example for life is in Christ. May we be that example to the world, honoring his name as we bear it as children of God.
“Come to Me, all who are weary, and I will give you rest.” Jesus laid down his life and was obedient to the point of death on a cross. We must be found at Jesus’s feet. It is where we learn how to and why we live. Thrive on His living water (the Word) and Him, the bread of life. Let’s let Christ reign in our hearts, and watch what he does when we share His love and ministry to the world.
While hospitalized, I was pinned down by staff who administered a shot to calm my body, twice. On a third occasion, I was pinned down in a hospital while no one at all was touching me. What is that!? I still don’t know. But I’m so glad God never traps us. We have freedom to love or leave, but he is the safest place we can be. Let’s always run to him.
It is crucial to be in prayer and in the Word of God so that we are ready to wield off the lies and attacks of the enemy. Jesus’ purpose on this earth was to live a perfect life, allow the wrath of God to be taken on his shoulders, and bring us into glory with him by giving eternal life to us who could never have deserved it. If God sent his son to suffer and die, so must we die to our flesh, and be partakers of suffering with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We must be watchful and in prayer. Jesus is coming soon, and he has called each of us to listen, obey, repent, and endure as we share his Gospel. He is coming back soon!
We are not saved by our own works. God gives goals and gifts, but we still need His guidance to use them well. Old habits must be put to death, by the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us. We are given new desires, and our minds are renewed, preparing us to live according to the Spirit. God satisfies all we need, and by his power alone can we repent and know him.
I have not recorded a podcast in so long, but I finally found the time to make another episode. I pray that my words would clearly express a part of my personal journey to freedom via prayer, fellowship, the word of God, and sharing my faith. I hope that this encourages you to get back up by the grace of God — and don’t abuse it. I am convicted of this too. We all have a story of God’s work in our lives. What’s on a page in yours?
We crave the Holy Spirit. We read the Bible. We pray to God all of our thoughts. These are all good things. But let’s take time to focus on one phrase today: “speak Lord, your servant is listening.” He is working in our hearts, and He wants to share his peace and discipline so that we can live abundantly in Christ. But even as he works, we have to be ready and choose to listen. Praying our thoughts would be held captive to the obedience of Christ, and proclaim the message he had placed on our hearts: “Jesus loves you, forgives you, and wants you to spend eternity with him; let him save you!” And when did we first get that message? When we were listening to the Lord! And he still has so much more to say!!
God is so patient with us. As we learn to call out to him, and to act on his call for us, we change. We are made more like Christ each moment when we respond to his way of life with humble submission. He heals our bodies as he heals our souls. He alone can restore, and it is his intervention that makes our healing possible. Praise Jesus.
Jesus has placed a calling on our lives, and he reveals it to us as we are in his word and in prayer, but we still have the tendency to fall. Good news is that grace covers a multitude of sins, and God is patient with us. He knows when we’ll return and he knows what is next for us. We just need to be patient with him and trust that he is still at work within us, and he will not abandon his masterpiece.
Who God is shows who we are, and when we seek to live out the Christian lifestyle and don’t refill our souls with Scripture and prayer, we easily run dry. There is so much joy in following Christ, but we have to dwell with him before we can share him with others. His Gospel of peace is no small thing, and Jesus should be our focus in all things. Always.
Marriage is a picture of Christ drawing his bride, his church, to himself. When we stray from that model, things become corrupted and it hinders us from experiencing the full blessing of what marriage should look like. We need to cling closer to Jesus than to a human partner. He alone is where we find our true identity and perfect love that casts out all fear. We are his first, and thank God for giving us that perspective.
God speaks, even when we’re not ready to listen. Today I spent a lot of time away from submitting my thoughts and endeavors to God, and ignored the open space to sit at Jesus’ feet. I learned how to lay down burdens in an experience at work today, and I didn’t understand the hidden message until much later in the day, when my mind was centered back on Christ.
God is never distant. He is waiting for us to draw near, and He waits patiently. Prayer brings us closer to Him and allows our hearts to be open to the sacrificial Gospel of Jesus Christ. We need Scripture like we need food, and we need prayer to repair our souls.
There are so many distractions in the world, in our minds, even in our body. But we need the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and have dictation over our thoughts and our impulses. Jesus is the answer to all questions seeking truth, and it is His leadership that brings us life. We can live forever, without condemnation, if we accept Him into our heart...but if we choose to ignore him, he waits with longing for us to come back to him before it’s too late.
There is an eternal desire within us to be perfect, but only Christ could be that. He did not design us to find pride or identity in ourselves or our achievements. His plan is to show us love and give us the desire to love Him in return. And it is with a repentant heart that we can show the character of God to a lost and dying world. We have a personal and communal need to invest the gifts and talents God gives so that we may honor God and serve others. Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve. And that is the humble mindset He desires for us. That loving, humble service is where ministry begins. We must trust and obey our God, and watch Him work in and through us.
Being in the presence of God, through Christ Jesus’ work, is a place to find rest, strength, conviction, forgiveness, peace, and wisdom. We who have the Holy Spirit have God dwelling in our hearts, granting us access to God’s presence wherever we go. And we need Him, for love, for hope, for life. We need Him with us, every step of the way.
I almost took a handful of pills, but God got my attention. I was believing so many lies, that I sunk deeper into despair. I let go of the truth. I ignored hope. I followed fear. But God knew how to communicate with me in a way that was peaceable and gentle, bringing me back to life. I was running for so long, I forgot how to rest and trust in Him.
The Holy Spirit called me to writing and painting, and confirmed it by the words of an old friend. I was so excited, but I lost track of the truth when I failed to keep in contact with God and fellow believers. It is SO crucial to be in the Word and in prayer, because even in the church, little lies can sneak in and distract from the Word of Truth. Iron really does sharpen iron and it is a necessity to gather together and build each other up in Christ as we ourselves are built into the house of God.
Dating relationships became an addiction for me, and I was seeking love from men instead of from God. Even as I disobeyed, God was still teaching me what our relationship could and should be like, keeping in perspective what marriage is really a picture of: the union of Jesus to His church when He comes to take us home. And even now, we are the love of His life. He pursues us, and like a gentleman, He waits for our response.
God keeps our minds secure, our souls safe, and our bodies ready to praise Him. In this episode I share how my journey of “finding the right meds” began. Even with side effects, God granted me peace in a unique way despite my struggling. He grants peace and a sound mind, when we simply ask and receive from Him in prayer, and He deserves eternal gratitude for that, and so much more!
In this episode I point out that, even though the past may reveal some key points of growth and learning from God, we still have a testimony in today. He is with us in the present as well as the past and future. And if we are willing to listen, he is always speaking and revealing himself in our very thoughts. Talk to him, and see your whole life perspective change to realize that Christ is the reality that we live in. We just have to stop and pray to see it, moment by moment and day by day.
July 2016, I left my parents’ house in the middle of the night to hop on a plane. Not with a whole lot of rational thinking about safety or planning ahead. But God knew what I needed and he totally showed up, in a very interesting way.
Five years ago, I was hospitalized due to a poor decision at a friend’s house. But even though I was walking in sin, God did something amazing with the other patients around me.
I am convinced that there are spiritual and physical components to the highs and lows of bipolar disorder. And I’m living proof. Here is an intro to my story.
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app