God is everywhere…. Join in the fun…

Missed writing over the last few months!  Hope everyone is doing well!  Had a few minutes here in a coffe shop/tech trap and thought I would share a few cool pics I’ve run across in the last day or two. Please don’t read this blog and get fired up thinking I’m some type of mystic who looks for God outside of His revealed Word.  I just enjoy collecting tags that point people to God! I have found that these pictures are a great conversation starter in getting people to share about their faith….

Visit the 2 links below to see 90+ car tags that point to God…

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=6550&id=1374134634

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=22919&id=1374134634

 

Please feel free to join in the Scavenger Hunt of finding God’s Word in unique places!  Make sure to send me a picture of anything you find and the story behind finding it. Be it car tags, church signs, t-shirts, let your creativity flow and together let’s shout forth the praises of OUR GREAT GOD!

And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” ISAIAH 6:3

 

 

GOD IS REAL!

HE IS!

 

-Jason  (Thankful to be a child of the KING!)

What is biblical counseling?

Most people think of counseling as lying on a couch, venting and complaining about your problems, and then paying the counselor for your 50 minute visit. But is that what we do as biblical counselors?

No! 

Truth in Love Ministries provides biblical counseling and discipleship dealing with a wide assortment of individual, marital, and familial problems.

Our counsel is founded upon the Word of God and delivered in a warm environment by trained, loving Christians; thus, our name is “Truth in Love Ministries.”

We believe that both the Truth of God’s Word and the Love of the Holy Spirit are essential components in our counseling approach. The Holy Spirit is the Wonderful Counselor who works through our skilled counselors who present biblical truths and apply them to your situation so that you can truly be helped. 

It is commonly known that psychology began as an independent disciplinary field in 1879. Wilhelm Wundt is the father of psychology which means “study of the soul.” We believe the Bible and the Holy Spirit are essential resources that are capable of “studying the soul” far better than the ideas of man. Do you agree?

What did Christians do when they had problems prior to the founding of psychology in 1879? Christians turned to the Word of God and the love of fellow Christians through whom the Holy Spirit worked.

Truth in Love Ministries seeks to recapture counseling and discipleship for Christians by equipping church leaders and lay persons to deal with real problems in local churches all over the world. 

We seek to reclaim counseling for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe the Holy Scriptures are sufficient to help us in SANCTIFICATION as well as in SALVATION. That’s where we differ from most entities! We see Christ Jesus as our Savior (for unbelievers, we share the Gospel for them to be saved), SANCTIFIER (which is what biblical counseling is all about for believers), healer, and coming King.

Biblical counseling is evangelism for unbelievers who need to know their Savior and it is discipleship for believers who need to grow in the SANCTIFICATION process. Therefore, we utilize prayer, the Bible, small groups, worship services, and the members of Christ’s church to help us with our counselees.

-Mark (thankful to be a biblical counselor who honors the Lord)

C&MA National Council in Louisville, KY

The C&MA is NOT the Country Music Association (CMA) but is the Christian & Missionary Alliance denomination.

This week in my birthplace of Louisville, KY, is the national council (conference) for the Christian & Missionary Alliance denomination. Please pray for the C&MA leaders to make biblically-based decisions and to be led by the Holy Spirit alone.

The C&MA is a solid denomination that promotes missions because they want to see lost people saved. They believe in Jesus Only and major on the majors, not the minors. They are innovative and a very loving group of devoted followers of Christ.

A.W. Tozer is the best known C&MA pastor. What a mighty man of God he was!

-Mark (thankful to be a pastor in the C&MA)

Self-pity: Pride in Reverse

Did you realize that “self-pity” is prideful?

When one is mired in self-pity, they are being prideful. Why? Because they are focused upon themselves and not focused upon Christ.

“Woe is me” is the attitude.

“I deserve better” is the attitude.

In reality, Christians do not have “rights” to certain blessings in this life. In fact, we are to lay down our lives for the sake of the Gospel. We are to minister to the poor, the broken-hearted, and the lost. We may lose our lives and suffer for righteousness sake.

Self-pity is too much focus upon oneself and what one thinks he/she “deserves.” Therefore, it is sinful pride since our focus must be upon God and what He requires.

-Mark (seeking to fulfill my responsibilities and to forsake the “rights” I think I deserve)

What is a biblical “fool”?

The Bible best describes fools in the book of Proverbs and Psalms.

“Fools” which could be translated as “rebels” just as easily. A biblical “fool” is NOT stupid but may be very bright – except that the “fool” is not teachable and unwilling to accept instruction.That’s what makes him/her a fool – they are experts in their own minds and do not fear God (see Psalm 14:1).

A biblical fool has the ability to understand but refuses to put forth the effort to understand what the truth really is.

It is sad. Poor parenting often contributes to this type of attitude in teens/youths but not always. Sometimes, a child simply refuses to obey like in Deuteronomy 21:18-21 even when parents are doing their very best parenting job. Good parents may have rebellious teens and poor parents may have obedient, God-fearing children. You never know!

Tragically, we meet with both young and older, unwilling counselees who sometimes qualify as biblical fools.

 A major problem in counseling is when people are unwilling to examine themselves because they do not want to change and/or obey God.

The Bible likens this person to a “fool” – Ps. 14:1 – “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'” Again, this does not mean that the “fool” is stupid – far from it! The fool is someone who CHOOSES not to fear God and acts like he (the fool) is God.

Unwillingness, stubbornness, a lack of fear for the Lord, selfishness, and rebellion are in the heart of a fool.

-Mark (concerned for biblical fools and the consequences they reap for themselves)

What type of problems do BIBLICAL counselors address? TIL’s Top 10

Sadly, we see a number of problems as biblical counselors. I’ve ranked them from 1 to 10 so you’ll know what we deal with on a typical day.

At #10, we meet with many rebellious teens/youths. These young people fail to listen to their parents, respect authorities, and are out of control. Our approach is to work with the parents first and pray that they can make some changes that will help the young person. Then, we work with the young person often with great success by God’s grace!

#9 Basic Discipleship and Evangelism – Some Christians simply need to know what God says in His Word so they can obey it. Some people do not know the Christ yet as Savior and Lord even if they’ve been in church for years (they do not have a relationship with Him yet).

#8 Conflict Resolution – Some people avoid conflict and it leads to serious problems. Others are too aggressive in trying to resolve the conflict and hurt others. Being a biblical peacemaker is what is required (Matt. 5:9). 

#7 Grief – Many do not understand that we live in a fallen world cursed by man’s sin. Therefore, they do not understand death. Grief is a hard thing to overcome but God comforts His children so we do not mourn like unbelievers.

#6 Anger – Anger is mentioned over 600 times in the Bible and it continues to be a common problem today.

#5 – Fear/Worry/Anxiety – This is a major issue that many are afraid to admit though everyone experiences fear. There is righteous fear that God uses to protect us and then there is sinful fear that inhibits our ability to serve Him.

#4 – Lack of Forgiveness – Many people will NOT forgive a loved one who has sinned against them. They hold the sins over that person like a “spiritual terrorist” and refuse to forgive.

#3 – Depression – Some people have lost hope, even believers. Some battle sadness and self-pity that lead to deep depression. This is a common problem in our culture yet we are so wealthy and prosperous…do you know why?

#2 – Addiction issues – drugs, alcohol (which is a drug), excessive spending, gambling, eating, sexual issues and other “addictions.” We usually see God move in these situations – sometimes in the spouse of someone caught in an “addiction.” We address many problems stemming from sexual idolatry and have great success in this area, thanks be to God!

#1 – Marriage relationships. Most couples are exasperated after a few years of bad habits in a relationship. They have developed poor communication habits and face many challenges in today’s world.

We offer pre-marital counseling to help couples BEFORE they marry and it almost always yields great results by God’s grace!

There are many more problems we address DAILY but at least this will give you an idea of what our ministry offers in the area of hope and help!

-Mark (glad the Bible addresses ALL of these problems sufficiently)

The Best Game in Town

As far as counseling goes, biblical counseling is the best game in town. There is no comparison with the psychological theories of man.

God’s Word vs. man’s best ideas/theories – come on, it’s not even a contest.

Which would you prefer to learn from – our perfect, Almighty God or imperfect, sinful, weak mankind?

Biblical principles are true yesterday, today, and forever. What a powerful weapon for counselees to trust in – the Word of God! When God says it, you can trust it. What else in life can we place our complete trust in?

The best game in town is biblical counseling because the counseling depends upon the Holy Spirit and the Word of God – not the human being who delivers it (though I do recommend you become skilled at counseling/loving others and knowledgeable of the Word).

-Mark (trusting an infallible God)