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Kindle Notes & Highlights
God has a huge toolbox, and his principal tools are his children.
The only metaphor that captures God’s plan for the church is the metaphor of a body.
God transforms people’s lives as people bring his Word to others.
The oak tree brings glory to God simply by raising its limbs toward heaven.
Human beings by their very nature are worshipers.
Stolen worship is at the core of what is wrong with fallen human beings.
We need God’s perspective to interpret the facts of our existence.
Counseling is the stuff of human life!
the counsel of the wise and the counsel of the fool.
People counsel people.
we need the loving courage of honesty.
An idol of the heart is anything that rules me other than God.
He loves you too much to make room for other lovers.
God’s grace gives us power to say no to powerful desires.
The goal of God’s grace is his own glory, as he calls out and purifies a people that belong to him alone. When he owns their hearts unchallenged, these people will be eager to do what is good in his eyes.”
James’s turnaround is first vertical (with respect to God) and then horizontal (with respect to people).
“humble ourselves before God.”
“cleanse our hearts”
whatever you do must have the goal of heart change.
whatever you do must follow the example of the Wonderful Counselor.
Love highlights the importance of relationships in the process of change.
Knowing a person means knowing the heart.
Speak involves bringing God’s truth to bear on this person in this situation.
Finally, you must help your friend Do something with what she learns—to apply the insights God has given to her daily life and relationships.
“When you can’t sleep, what thoughts keep you awake?”
Biblical personal ministry must be just that—biblical. This means that we look at people’s lives from the distinct perspective of a biblical worldview.
We are concerned with the glory of God, the sinfulness of man, the fallen condition of the world, the reality of the Devil, the grace of the gospel, and the certainty of eternity. Biblical personal ministry is more about perspective, identity, and calling than about fixing what is broken. In the case of marriage, what do struggling couples need? Will they be helped by communication
They need to live out of an understanding of who they are, who God is, and what he is doing in their marriage.
the big question of our now relationships is not whether we will be happy, but whether we will give the love that has been promised to the Groom to someone or something else.
Unless we take the time to think biblically about what others share with us, we are the blind leading the blind. We must ask ourselves, “What themes, perspectives, promises, and commands of Scripture make sense of this person and speak to this situation?” Our counsel will only be biblical if we filter what we have heard through
“Where does the Bible say that change needs to take place in this person, in this situation?”
The Situation. (What is going on?)
Here we place all the information that describes the person’s world (his circumstances), both past and present.
The Responses. (What does the person do in response to what is going on?)
