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Your Body is Telling You …

December 16, 2010

Years ago, respected physician, Dr. S.I. McMillan, taught the college Sunday school class at the church I attended. He gave a series of lectures on how certain thoughts and feelings can cause pain in many parts of the body. Dr. McMillen included material by Dr. O. Spurgeon English of Temple University School of Medicine.

Up to this time, I had always assumed that pain meant something was wrong with the body and that a physician would know how to fix it. When there was a problem you simply got it fixed, much like you would take your broken watch to a jeweler. The proper choice of pills or an injection would hopefully do the job. It simply never occurred to me that thoughts and feelings could affect the body. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dealing with Sin, Getting Right with God, Physical Health, Uncategorized · Tagged With: , , ,

The Benefit of Acknowledging Sin

June 17, 2010

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...]

Filed Under: Biblical Counseling, Biblical Mental Health, Dealing with Sin · Tagged With: ,

Is it Really Sin?

June 3, 2010

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...]

Filed Under: Biblical Counseling, Biblical Mental Health, Dealing with Sin · Tagged With: ,

The Benefit of Acknowledging Sin

February 18, 2010

There is a reason why so many people are unhappy, why there is so much conflict between individuals. Isaiah pinpointed the trouble long ago: “We have turned, everyone, to his own way” (Isa. 53:6).

You like your own ideas, plans, aspirations, and longings. So does everyone else. Thus when a person encounters resistance to his wishes, or faces demands that are not to his or her liking, they tend to rebel, to attack, to run, or to defend themselves. Our natural reaction is to be resentful, bitter, stubborn, full of fight. It is easy for us to think that our own desires are the reasonable ones. We will find a way to make a selfish drive seem selfless, deceiving even ourselves.

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Filed Under: Dealing with Sin, Life Transformation · Tagged With: ,

The Good News About Sin

November 27, 2009

Isn’t it amazing that Jesus Christ came into this world to die for our sins? But it seems that in our society today the word “sin” has disappeared from our vocabulary, hasn’t it? Nobody knows what sin is. We think it’s a bad word. People have got enough trouble without making them sinful on top of it! But being aware of our sins is one of the most important lessons we can learn if we want to experience peace. And that’s actually pretty good news, because sin is easily dealt with.

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Filed Under: Dealing with Sin, Getting Right with God, Life Transformation, Restoring Fellowship with God · Tagged With: , , ,