Mental Health/Emotions

Hope is an Anchor if We Allow It to Be

Hebrews 6:17-19 NKJV
Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil.

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Forgiveness isn’t Easy

forgive Forgiveness isn’t easy. When someone hurts me, my natural reaction is not forgiveness. How can I forgive something this bad?

Have you ever heard (or asked) that question?

Forgiveness isn’t our first impulse. We’ve all been hurt, and “letting it go” isn’t programmed into our menu of responses. We want to fight back, to hurt the one who hurt us.

The common phrase “don’t get mad, get even” sounds clever, but there’s really no such place as “even.” Revenge only perpetuates a hurtful cycle. To paraphrase Ghandi, eye for eye and tooth for tooth leaves us with a world full of toothless blind people.

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How to Get Out of the Pit

Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and of great kindness. Joel 2:13

Let me start this week’s devotional with the words to a chorus God gave me when I was in the pit of self-loathing and condemnation:

I remember, Lord, the joy of serving You;
I remember, Lord, when all I knew was You;
Flowing through me, calling to me,
Lord, please use me once again!

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Creative decay happens…


Creative decay happens…
A mammoth of the forest falls
A path for sizzling sunlight appears
Tender shoots respond, grow,
Feed on the fallen, recycling the years.

Creative grief looms…
A mountainous emotion zooms
Testing
Arresting the will
But, in the end, stilled
Perseverance crests the hill.

Creative worry calls…
Bottomless stress
Unsettledness
Wall of despair, ball of dismay
A puzzle with pieces missing, mislaid
Much can be gained from the angst, the rune
Humbled, refocused, head bowed, heart tuned.

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The Deed in the Jar: Contemporary Crises and the Christian Future

An old friend called unexpectedly in mid-January to talk about the economy. He has been in the bullion and numismatics business for decades, and he is usually optimistic. But now he was deeply concerned about the future, and for the first time in his life he was “paranoid.” His economic prognostications were bleak, he explained, because God promises to bring judgment on a faithless nation. Since the United States is grossly immoral, he could only expect tough times ahead.

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Moving from Pride to Humility

From Pride to Humility
Pride is a form of self-worship and is often at the root of dysfunctional behavior as well as addiction. These pages describe the various manifestations of pride and how to learn true humility.


Biblical Counseling
Biblical counselors have been trained to utilize the Bible in a counseling context by applying practical and hopeful biblical principles to real life situations and problems. Christians who find they are struggling with various problems need an understanding of the awesome resources available in biblical solutions that offer real hope and practical help.

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