Gathering data, or listening, is vital to the counseling process….Make sure to ask a lot of questions and do a lot of listening before you decide to offer any counsel. Good counsel floats upon an ocean of listening.   I think when people imagine what it’s like to receive pastoral counseling, they envision their pastor... Continue Reading

We must repent of every careless use of His Name. We must ask God to cultivate in us a weighty, passionate, and holy reverence for the Name above all names. We must worship with sincerity, pray with gravity, and speak with awe.   The Crushing Nature of Kavod Imagine a man attempting to lift a... Continue Reading

Incline the tossing of your heart to the firm foundation of the word of God and force your soul to submit itself there to His wisdom. Remember that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ your affliction is not lacking in purpose; rather, it is productive, working in you the kind of character and... Continue Reading

Baby Christians are vulnerable to false teaching…It is critical to help them as best we can in this critical time in their lives. There is no substitute for a church with good preaching and teaching. Smaller groups with Christians of all maturity levels will definitely help as well. But let me put forward another possibility:... Continue Reading

We are not living in a time of differing political parties or mere political pundits, but we are living in a time of a religious war between the old WASPs and the new Neo-Marxists.  The Church is oblivious to this war and prefers to hide in ecclesiastical caves to avoid confrontation.  Neo-Marxism imputes to Christians... Continue Reading

Alawites are a minority Shia Muslim sect who are being killed alongside Christians. Allawites are turning to churches for help. Pray they find safety and security in the arms of Christ. Pray for Syrian Christian leaders who are ready to serve those flocking to the church for help. May they be strengthened, resourced, and protected. Pray... Continue Reading

The problem, all too often, is that we don’t see the results of our prayers—not the immediate workings of the Spirit groaning in and through us nor the future outcomes our prayers may be a means of accomplishing. We talk to God and wonder if we’re just talking to the walls, like someone muttering in... Continue Reading

This book is designed to do more than scare and alarm us. Dougherty thoughtfully and fully explains a biblically grounded view of self, God, and the world as she unfolds the New Thought menace. And it’s a thought system that impacts more than just random individuals. Entire denominations and subcultures have fallen prey to it.  ... Continue Reading

Biblical hope, gospel hope, drives us to live purposeful, productive, spiritually aware lives that transform the ordinary stuff of life into opportunities for thanksgiving, testimony, and self-counsel in the little skirmishes of daily life and for life-altering preparation for the big skirmishes of life.   A friend called and asked about my day. I sighed:... Continue Reading

Among the most precious promises that anchor a Christian’s hope in the present is Jesus’ parting promise before His ascension: “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). That means that Jesus is with us in all kinds of days—both in weakness and in power, in happiness and in hurricanes—and He... Continue Reading