Fourteen “Amen Sentences”
One of the tasks that I both love and hate as a seminary professor is grading papers. I hate it because it can be so laborious. But I love it because I get to see if I succeeded in stimulating
Continue reading“Your testimonies also are my delight; they are my counselors.” – Psalm 119:24
Lust Is a Female Problem Too!
Is lust and porn a male problem? The answer is a resounding NO. For all of human history lust has damaged the human soul and wreaked havoc on relationships, destroying too many marriages to count. Yet the church has largely
Continue readingPurified Faith Is More Valuable than Riches
According to 1 Peter 1:7, God’s purpose in our suffering is “that the genuineness of [our] faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at
Continue readingHope & Help for Victims of Abuse
“Abuse is a growing problem. In 2007 there were over three million reported cases of child abuse in the United States, involving as many as six million children. Estimates of the number of incidents of domestic violence range from just
Continue readingApproaching the Unapproachable God
He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see (1 Tim. 6:15-16). Let us draw near
Continue readingGodly Appetites (Pt. 2 of 2)
In addition to the daily, private feeding on the Word (yesterday’s post), public intake is also necessary for sanctification. The growing disciple is also one who places a high priority on listening to the public reading and preaching of the
Continue readingGodly Appetites (Pt. 1 of 2)
Biblical sanctification requires the habitual putting off of the sins that so easily entangle us (Heb. 12:1). But there is another side to godliness—what we must put on, or crave. As ingrained sin habits are being cast aside, the follower
Continue readingDo Not Let Go & Let God
Authentic biblical counseling recognizes God’s holy calling for the believer and the disciple’s personal responsibility for self-discipline, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to live in a manner worthy of his or her high position as a new creature
Continue readingDADs 1:7 – Defusing Anger
Since dads are disciplers it is crucial for us to understand how our anger affects our children, most specifically how it corrupts and frustrates their innate desire to please us. Rick Thomas, of The Counseling Solutions Group, posted a very
Continue readingPraying for the Destruction of Pride
O FOUNTAIN OF ALL GOOD, Destroy in me every lofty thought, Break pride to pieces and scatter it to the winds. Annihilate each clinging shred of self-righteousness, Implant in us true lowliness of spirit, Abase me to self-loathing and self-abhorrence, Open
Continue readingHope for Women with Breast Cancer
One of the beauties of God’s wisdom is the way he uses our trials to equip us to counsel one another—just as it says in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. As a result, many times the best counselors are those who’ve “been
Continue readingQ&A – Spanking and Tantrums
Periodically, questions are submitted to this blog by email. Since this Q&A interchange will surely help others, in addition to the one who posed the question, I will sometimes post answers here in generic form. Here’s a few questions from
Continue readingDifferent Approaches for Different People (Pt. 2 of 2)
In yesterday’s post, we began looking at Paul’s admonition to the Thessalonians: “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone” (1 Thess. 5:14). We considered the first two kinds of people he
Continue readingDifferent Approaches for Different People (Pt. 1 of 2)
When Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church, he was calling all believers to a ministry of corrective love, which he faithfully modeled as a minister of God. A key verse to consider regarding this one-another ministry is found in Paul’s
Continue readingWill Medicine Stop the Pain?
One of the most common counseling-related questions concerns the place of medicine in the treatment of emotional or psychological problems. And one of the most helpful and thought-provoking books that I’ve read on the subject is Will Medicine Stop the
Continue readingFiddler on the Roof Theology
Romans 6 presents the right way to win the battle against sin through the ongoing recognition that, by virtue of spiritual union with Christ, the believer in Jesus Christ is “dead” to sin and “alive” to God. Since we know
Continue readingGrace in Trials
This old Puritan prayer ministered to my heart today as well as to my congregation. It was very fitting. This morning, I preached from 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 as part of a sermon series Disability and the Glory of God. In
Continue readingWarming Up a Cold Marriage
“Often I will illustrate the difference between a need and desire this way: ‘If you held me underwater in a swimming pool, I would fight you to the end because I need air. A need is something you cannot live
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