Work Backwards
One of the most effective counseling methods I know of is to work backwards from where I am now to where I once was, from where my thinking has been renewed to where it went awry. This is not only
Continue reading“Your testimonies also are my delight; they are my counselors.” – Psalm 119:24
Men’s Conference in Philadelphia this Month
If you live near Philadelphia it would be great to have you join us at the Men’s Conference hosted by Lifeway Baptist Church, April 27-28. I will be teaching from Romans and 1 Peter on the subject of winning the
Continue readingDADs 2:7 – Another Ring for Another Daughter
“Children are a gift from the Lord…how blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them” (Ps 127:3, 5). God has richly blessed my wife and me with six daughters and four sons. This past weekend was another daughter’s
Continue readingChrist Our Savior
The past two days we’ve learned Jesus is our Sacrifice and Substitute. He is also our Savior. “For Christ also died for sins … the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18).
Continue readingChrist Our Substitute
In yesterday’s post we began thinking about the gospel message of 1 Peter 3:18, noticing Jesus as our sacrifice. Today, let us think about Jesus Christ as the sinner’s substitute: “For Christ also died for sins … the just for
Continue readingChrist Our Sacrifice
“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit” (1 Pet 3:18). The
Continue reading8 New Discipleship Counseling Mini-Books
As the Consulting Editor for the LifeLine Mini-Book series published by Shepherd Press, I am super-excited to introduce you to eight new titles that have just come off the press. I am confident you will find these additions to the
Continue readingWe Should Be Amazed by Grace
By nature our sinful hearts really do think it is all about us. But it’s not. It is all about God. Grace serves as a continual reminder of this reality: “Apart from me [Jesus], you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Continue readingSolid Hope from God’s Foreknowledge
Few attributes of God bring as much comfort to us in our suffering than omniscience. Knowing that God knows everything in the past, present, and future assures us of His providential care and the wise outworking of His perfect will
Continue readingThe Virtuous Woman
Proverbs 31 has been, and always will be, the supreme poetic tribute to the godly woman. Consider the following acrostic a simple tool to remember eight of her enduring qualities. VALUABLE – For her worth is far above jewels (v. 10).
Continue readingLoving Fellow Strugglers
Remember, not all counseling is specifically sin-related in a personal sense, but some certainly is. The love-motivated efforts of brothers and sisters in Christ to help one another overcome sin is the focus of this post. While some of these
Continue readingPsychoactive Medications
The latest issue of the Journal of Biblical Counseling contains wise counsel from Mike Emlet concerning the use and non-use of medication in counseling. I found the article very helpful. To get a gist of its content, I’ve quoted the
Continue readingBonhoeffer as Counselor: The Priority of Listening
The discipline of listening is one I find very difficult to maintain. But it seems this is not just my own personal struggle. My conversations with others who counsel find them admitting the same. Far too often, most of us
Continue reading“They Reach the Shell, Not the Kernel”
According to Thomas Brooks, a British Congregationalist preacher who lived 1608-1680, church history records the extent to which the early followers of Jesus suffered for their faith. Peter was crucified with his heels upward—Christ was crucified with his head upwards,
Continue readingComplete in Christ
In one of our Bible classes this past Sunday we studied a portion of the second chapter of Colossians. Special emphasis was placed in our discussion upon the reason we ought not be taken captive, “through philosophy and empty deception,
Continue readingBonhoeffer as Counselor: The Selfishness of Human Love
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor executed in 1945 for his part in the conspiracy to assassinate Hitler, had profound insight into the human heart and its self-centered depravity. His treatise on the nature of Christian fellowship, entitled Life Together, contains
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Don’t Date a Fool
Single Christians often ask, “What character qualities should I look for in a future spouse?” To which we reply, “Search the Scriptures and see what God commends.” But there is another equally important question to ask: “Is He or She
Continue readingNUGGETS: Forgiveness, Faith, and the Father’s Love [3/24/12]
Spend some brief moments this weekend meditating on the love of God made gloriously visible in the gift of His Son. Forgiveness for Moms who Fail – “In my twenty-five years of pastoral ministry, I don’t think I have met
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