I Am a Child of God
A pastor needs a pastor. A counselor needs a counselor. Perhaps that comes as a surprise to you, but it should not. As a son of Adam, I am cut out of the same bolt of fallen cloth that you
Continue reading“Your testimonies also are my delight; they are my counselors.” – Psalm 119:24
Blood-Bought Worshippers
Tonight, as we prepare our hearts to join other believers in corporate worship tomorrow, let’s take a moment to consciously reflect on the price that God required—and Jesus paid—to redeem us from the slave-market of sin and bring us into
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RESOURCES: Depression & Spiritual Discouragement
Here’s another recommended Resource List as you minister grace and truth. There are many more list links in the right-hand margin of this homepage. BOOKS & MINI-BOOKS A Lifting Up for the Downcast (old Puritan classic by William Bridge) A
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RESOURCES: Cutting & Self-Harm
Here’s another recommended Resource List as you minister grace and truth. There are many more list links in the right-hand margin of this homepage. BOOKS/BOOKLETS Breaking the Addictive Cycle: Deadly Obsessions of Simple Pleasures? (David Powlison) Cutting: A Healing Response
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RESOURCES: Conflicts
Here’s another recommended Resource List as you minister grace and truth. There are many more list links in the right-hand margin of this homepage. BOOKS/BOOKLETS Communication and Conflict Resolution (Stuart Scott) Family Feuds (Tim Lane) HELP! I’m in a Conflict (Ernie
Continue readingLament the Stubbornness of Your Will
Stubbornness is one of the chief causes of immaturity. This manifestation of a prideful heart causes one to stiffen his or her neck, cover their ears when God graciously brings instruction or rebuke, and thereby refuse to listen to the
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RESOURCES: Addiction, Avoidance, & Habitual Sin
Many solid resources address the issue of habits of avoidance and spiritual enslavement. Here are just a few to consider for personal study, one-to-one discipleship counseling, and your small group. MINI-BOOKS Breaking the Addictive Cycle (David Powlison) Freedom from Addiction:
Continue readingNuggets – Overcoming Pornography (his and hers) [8/31/12]
Here are four resources for your one-another counseling ministry: Sexual Detox: A Guide for Guys Who are Sick of Porn – Here are a number of reviews of Cruciform’s contribution to the discussion. Lust Is a Female Problem Too – Too
Continue readingFalse Causes of Anger
What causes our anger? asks Robert Jones in Uprooting Anger. “Our culture offers a myriad of theories,” he writes, including: Unconscious psychodynamic forces: “Some theorists think anger flows from deep, inner, unconscious psychodynamic forces. Murky motives lurk within and impulsively
Continue readingOthers-Esteem
Over the years, as I have meditated on the implications of the numerous “one-another” commands in the New Testament, I have come to some sobering conclusions about our relationships. It is typical for us as believers to think that our
Continue readingBe Counseled by Thomas Chalmers (1780–1847)
“The Expulsive Power of a New Affection” is the classic sermon of Thomas Chalmers, a Scottish mathematician, political economist, and leader of the Free Church of Scotland. Many months ago, I printed off this sermon and it’s been in my
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3 Criteria of Righteous Anger
One of the most common, ongoing struggles we face in our sanctification as believers is the area of anger. And one of the most common ways we mismanage our anger is by failing to distinguish between righteous and sinful anger,
Continue readingPlough Deep in Me, Great Lord
LORD JESUS, Give me a deeper repentance, a horror of sin; a dread of its approach; Help me chastely flee it, and jealously to resolve that my heart shall be thine alone. Give me a deeper trust, that I may
Continue readingTrue Piety
Over the weekend, I did a little more reading in Extreme Righteousness: Seeing Ourselves in the Pharisees and appreciated Tom Hovestol’s summary of true piety in contrast with the false piety Jesus exposes in Matthew 6. “How can we acquire
Continue readingAnother Saturday Evening Prayer
On the evening before the Lord’s Day, prepare yourself through prayer. Though the sun will rise tomorrow in the same way it does on every other day of the week, let us remember that tomorrow is the Sabbath of the
Continue reading“Men of Iron” Small Group Strategy
[Today’s post was originally written for the Biblical Counseling Coalition website.] According to Proverbs 27:17, “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Because healthy, balanced, and biblical growth as Christians takes place when we are an active part of
Continue readingPrayers for the Weary
Prayer is a difficult labor to begin with, but when spiritual warfare and the unexplainable trials of life drain you of all strength it can become almost impossible. So, how do you pray at those times? For me, personally, I
Continue readingGod’s Loyal Love
Since the basis of our standing before God is Christ’s righteousness, not our own, we are fully accepted by God in Him. We are continually loved by Him. Romans 5:1 assures us, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith
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