Helping you grow in God's all-sufficient grace and truth
“Your testimonies also are my delight; they are my counselors.” – Psalm 119:24
Every biblical counselor loves small booklets that can be used as tools for discipleship. One of my favorites is Changing Your Thought Patterns by George Sanchez (no longer in print). I always keep a supply of this little tool on
Continue readingAs I was thinking about the Thanksgiving season it occurred to me that one of the things that prevents us from being truly thankful is the sin of envy. Let’s take some moments to counsel one another about envy and
Continue readingLiving godly in an ungodly world requires mental preparation for the spiritual battle that exists. Consequently, the apostle Peter urges his readers to “prepare your minds for action” (1 Pet. 1:13). The word translated “prepare” means “to bind, to gather
Continue readingYesterday, we began looking at some applications of Paul’s twofold exhortation: “Pay attention to yourself and to your teaching” (1 Tim 4:16), concentrating on the yourself part of the verse. Today, we turn to our teaching. Pay Attention to Your
Continue readingBe sure to read these interviews with authors of vital counseling resources at the Biblical Counseling Coalition website: HELP! My Teen Struggles with Same-Sex Attractions by Ben Marshall HELP! I’m a Slave to Food by Shannon McCoy HELP! My Teen
Continue readingFighting the good fight of faith—as a pastor—boils down to the constant maintenance of two areas of life: Our personal lives and our doctrine (pastoral failure is almost always the result of unfaithfulness in one of these areas). While teaching on
Continue readingEarlier today, I read a helpful little booklet written by Susan Heck entitled A Call to Scripture Memory. In this 21-page booklet from Focus Publishing, the author answers five questions: Who should memorize Scripture? Why should we memorize Scripture? What
Continue readingThroughout the New Testament epistles believers in Christ are exhorted to put away pride and follow the humility of Jesus. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, through the grace given to me I say to every man among you
Continue reading“For my life, I have pictured [the purpose of my ministry] with one word: Coach. I am writing this book because the passion of my life is to coach people to coach others,” writes Bob Kellemen, and he does not
Continue readingThanks to all of you who’ve prayed for my wife and me as we traveled to Russia, teaching on the family. Today, with time changes, we spend an entire day in the air. Looking forward to being home again. If
Continue readingPrevious posts in series include: Part 1: One Objective Means of Guidance Part 2: Prayer Part 3: Providential Circumstances Part 4: Scripture-Informed Conscience FOUR SUBJECTIVE MEANS OF GUIDANCE 4. Counsel from Others – Counsel from godly people is also an
Continue readingFOUR SUBJECTIVE MEANS OF GUIDANCE (cont’d) 3. Scripture-informed Conscience – A Scripture-informed conscience is also a means by which the Spirit guides our decision-making, especially in relation to the application of Christian liberty. Paul makes it clear in the book
Continue readingFOUR SUBJECTIVE MEANS OF GUIDANCE (cont’d) 2. Providential Circumstances – Providential circumstances are events which are sovereignly orchestrated by God. The New Testament missionaries referred to these as “open and closed doors” of ministry. Paul asked the Colossian believers to
Continue readingIt was a very busy, but profitable few days in Moscow, Russia this past weekend. A room at the main headquarters of the Baptist Union was reserved for the parenting seminar, which lasted from 2-6 pm. As usual, the Russian
Continue readingPart 1 of this series established the written Word of God as the only trustworthy, objective standard of guidance for the believer. Now let’s explore four other means of divine guidance that function in subordination to the written revelation of
Continue readingA biblical theology of guidance allows for two categories of means by which God directs His children: objective and subjective. There is one objective means of guidance and four subjective. ONE OBJECTIVE MEANS OF GUIDANCE The one objective, unchanging standard
Continue readingIt’s essential to counsel one other with this truth: Now that we are believers in Christ, we need to discipline ourselves to re-orient every part of our lives under 2 Corinthians 5:14–15: “For the love of Christ controls us, having
Continue readingThe posts for the next 10 days are set to publish on their own while I am traveling and teaching in Russia. As my schedule and Internet connection allow I may post occasionally from over the pond to let you
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By God’s grace, I’m a husband, dad, grandpa, and pastor at Cornerstone Community Church in Mayfield Hts, OH. I love Christ because He first loved me.
