Is There Really a “Law” of Sin?

In grade school, I learned about an invisible law called gravity. It was on the playground where eight swings were installed side by side. We had a contest to see who could make his swing go the highest. I was standing up on my swing, and at a point where it was as high as it could go, I slipped—and I kept on going up and clear out of sight.

Do you believe that? No, thanks to the law of gravity, I came down so hard the impact broke one of my teeth.

Wouldn’t it be difficult if gravity worked only part of the time? Imagine walking in your neighborhood and never knowing for sure whether you would fly up or come down. Fortunately we can depend on the law of gravity. And though you can’t touch it or see it, if you jump out of a window, you will feel it.

You would not say, “I don’t believe germs exist,” just because you can’t see them. When you are sick, you experience the effects of germs. Even though you can’t see them, you do not deny that they exist.

These invisible powers are explained through science according to predictable laws. There are also biblical laws that affect our interactions. [Read more...]

Is it Really Sin?

After I completed my university work, I was just getting started as a teacher and counselor. A letter came from a rural Kansas town extending an invitation for me to come for a week to lecture on a Biblical view of mental health.

This town was surrounded by beautiful, rolling hills and lush, productive farmland. The air was fresh and clean. There was lots of sky, and we enjoyed glowing sunrises, spectacular sunsets, and beautiful moonlit nights. There were prosperous farmers who lived in large, lovely homes with all the conveniences anyone could ask for. They looked out of their picture windows at their oil wells pumping black gold 24 hours a day. Everyone had several big cars in their driveways and we ate sumptuous meals. The people were elegantly dressed. The church was beautifully furnished.

You would think if there were any place in the world where people would be content and satisfied, it would be in this town. No doubt these people could teach me a thing or two about mental health.

To my surprise, I was swamped by people who requested counseling. There were many troubled hearts in those beautiful homes. [Read more...]

Sick or Sinful?

Before I went to college years ago, I spent a lot of time studying the Bible. I came across words like anger, resentment, fear, bitterness, rebellion, murmuring, dishonesty, lust, jealousy, fornication, and stealing. The Bible referred to these words as “sins,” or works of the flesh.

I shared this information with the restless, nervous people who crossed my path. As we talked, many of these people could see that some of these sins were present in their lives. They repented of their sins and their restless, nervous symptoms disappeared.

This happened often enough that I decided to focus my college and graduate studies on a Biblical approach to human behavior. [Read more...]

Applying God’s Word in Counseling

Are you someone who desires to communicate the Word of God to distraught people who have lost their way? If so, according to Hebrews 4:12 you have the right tool. “The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Many people are confused and mixed up. The Bible is the only true mirror that can help a person unscramble their mixed up thinking. However, the Bible is a difficult book to face for the person who is on the defensive. And so the real question is: Does this person want to change?
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The Bible and Effective Counseling

Have you ever asked yourself, “How can I make a counseling encounter with an individual, pleasant?”

My answer is, “I have no idea.”

I believe that you make a great mistake by aspiring to make a counseling interview pleasant. You want to make it to the point; you want to get to the bottom of the problem. This is a great big world with many needs, and we can’t be going around and around and around the same question over and over and over again.

[Read more...]