The Joy of Obedience: How Following God’s Word Transforms Your Heart
The Joy of Obedience: How Following God’s Word Transforms Your Heart Have you ever considered the...
Read More
Tag: People in Need of Care
Setting Yourself Up for Sleep
Our May 2025 mini-series on the BCC Grace and Truth blog addresses the topic of sleep and insomnia. In this first article, Betty-Anne Van Rees shares biblical wisdom for setting ourselves up for good sleep. In other contributions to the series, Caroline Newheiser offers thoughts from the Psalter regarding sleep, and Joy Forrest discusses God’s purpose in our sleeplessness. Continue Reading →
Read More
Body Image: How Purpose Leads to Freedom
When we see our bodies as an essential part of God’s purpose for our lives and we value what God values, we can experience a freedom we never thought possible. Holding tightly to God’s glorious purposes for our lives leads to freedom to serve and love with the body we have, no matter what it looks like. Continue Reading →
Read More
Not Condemned
“Jesus stood up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more'” (John 8:10-11).
This woman stood condemned. Her sin was real. Once she was cornered by the Pharisees, she knew it was all over. She knew the law, and she knew the consequences. There was no hope, no grace that was coming. All that was left was the black and white judgment of the law. As she heard the Pharisees asking Jesus what to do, she waited for her condemnation. She waited for Jesus to confirm the law. She waited for the words that would bring an end to her life. She waited, but the words didn’t come. Jesus didn’t speak but instead bent down and ran His finger through the sand (John 8:3-6). Continue Reading →
Read More
The Sermon on the Mount and Its Gracious Lawgiver
To properly respond to our Lord’s challenging commands in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, we must understand how Matthew 1-4 portrays Him. Jesus the Lawgiver is our Savior, our Shepherd-King, and our Redeemer who can help us follow Him. Approaching the Sermon on the Mount’s imperatives from the foundation of gospel indicatives will motivate us to obey and help when we fail. Continue Reading →
Read More
We Are Often Both Victims and Offenders
As a young boy, I can still remember learning to ride a bike without training wheels. Obviously, the most important thing is to keep your balance. Keeping your balance simply means not leaning so much to one side so that you tip over. You have to keep an eye on both sides. While still riding with training wheels, I could lean heavily to one side without any consequences. But that was no longer possible when riding a real bike; I literally had to learn to keep my balance.
This principle can be applied to our reasoning and actions in counseling. Many questions require careful consideration to avoid losing our balance. Over the years of practicing counseling, I have learned that this is a classic issue when dealing with counselees and the root of their problems. Continue Reading →
Read More
Honesty Over Performance
One unexpected obstacle to fully benefiting from the counseling process is a lack of transparency. This may sound surprising, because we voluntarily choose to attend counseling with the ostensible aim of dealing with personal struggles. And yet, even in these very personal and trusted spaces, we sometimes choose to overlook or downplay important realities. We’re not always fully honest.
Why is it so difficult to be honest in counseling? What are the consequences of not being completely honest? And if transparency is crucial, how can we improve our honesty while receiving care and counsel? Continue Reading →
Read More
The Loss Necessary for Faith
As biblical counselors, we must help those we counsel to see where they wrongly place their faith, so that they will turn to Jesus instead.
Continue Reading →
What Should You Do When Your Dreams Include Sin? A Victory Story
What Should You Do When Your Dreams Include Sin? A Victory Story In the previous post, What Should...
Read More
For Everything There Is a Time
It seems to me that God loves change. In all His creation there isn’t anything that stays precisely static. In fact, even atoms are subject to variation and seek disorder rather than order. What in all creation doesn’t change? Only God, the one who stands over the creation. Continue Reading →
Read More
What Should You Do When Your Dreams Include Sin?
What Should You Do When Your Dreams Include Sin? At times, each one of us can dream very vivid...
Read More
The Transformative Power of Personal Prayer
As you read the New Testament, you get the sense that Paul prayed with and for people a lot. His letters are filled with comments like, “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus,” (1 Cor. 1:4) and “it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and discernment” (Phil. 1:9). Jesus spent time teaching, talking, and eating with His disciples. He also prayed with and for them on many occasions, including His deeply personal prayer at the Last Supper. This pattern of intimate, personal prayer continued into the early church as His disciples practiced what they had been taught. It was a hallmark of Christianity from the time of its foundation and should be for us as well. Continue Reading →
Read More