If you want to counsel effectively, it will take time to learn how to do so. I am appalled at the way some jump right into counseling after a short course or reading a few books as if they knew all there is to know about the task. Certainly, any believer can counsel someone out …
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The Bible has a lot to say about music. God is pleased to be praised in song. He even inspired some songs to help us do so. Indeed, he gave us an entire songbook, the Psalter. But singing also serves other purposes, as this hymnbook demonstrates. We not only praise, but pray generally, petition specifically …
The post Sing a New Song appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.
One thing that you ought to know about those petty politicians (and others) who quote the Scriptures out of context, to impress people, or for any sort of personal gain, is what God thinks about it. Here are His Words: But God says to the wicked: “what right do you have to recite My statutes; …
The post Speaking God’s Words appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.
Here is a word of wisdom for you: Stay away from a foolish man; you will gain no knowledge from his speech. Prov. 14:7 (CSB) One of the issues you should consider in choosing friends is what sort of truth you will gain from the choice. It may seem wise to befriend a foolish person …
The post Choosing Friends appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.
Does God expect you to cast out demons? Have you wondered whether or not that ought to be an adjunct to your counseling? Some have; others have assured them that it is necessary to do so. In counseling for 10 hours a day two days a week for many years, I have yet to encounter …
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“What do you do when you don’t know what to do?” Are you serious, or are you presenting me with a conundrum? “No. I’m dead serious. I have a decision to make as to whether or not to do something. I’d like to do it but I don’t know whether its something that the Lord …
The post What to Do About It appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.
Why do you do what you do? Have you ever asked yourself that question in frustration after you did something that you knew you shouldn’t—or that, down deep, you really didn’t want to do? Well, of course, the first answer to that question is that you are a sinner. Even if you have come to …
The post A Body for Christ appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.
Say what you please, it all boils down to one thing. “What’s that?” The fact that some of us are tired of hearing weak, feeble presentations of the gospel that sometimes come even from those we respect in other ways. “Such as?” Such as ‘Take Jesus into your heart.’ Show me anything comparable to that in …
The post The Gospel appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.
There are fascinating developments in store for every true believer. Some of them occur in this life; they will occur to all Christians in the life to come. Ours is not a “dull, somber, uneventful, faith.” It is an exciting one—even now—if and when you enter into it with fullness and determination. “What does that …
The post A Truly Blessed Life appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.
There is nothing esoteric about this article. But to some it may seem so. I say that, because I recognize that there are preachers . . . and then, there are preachers! That is to say, among those who are reading this article there may be conservatives, and a few liberals. There may be Reformed, …
The post Shepherding appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.
What should your goals be in that first counseling session? Let me list five goals for you. But remember, no two sessions are alike. When you think you’ve seen ‘em all, along comes a “doosey” that you never dreamed of, let alone expected to encounter. So, what I am speaking about is nothing more than the …
The post That First Session appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.
Let’s think of two ways in which we can fail the Lord. Jeremiah wrote: My people have committed a double evil: They have abandoned Me, the fountain of living water, And dug cisterns for themselves, Cracked cisterns that cannot hold water. —Jeremiah 2:13 (HCSB) Sometimes we think only of one side or the other of …
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