Some have mentioned that Jay Adams (also Chris Braun, Jim Newheiser, etc) said that you couldn’t forgive someone unless and until they asked for forgiveness. I thought this way for a long time too. The main difference between what thought before and what and I am saying now is that there wasn’t a word for […]
I keep running into Christians who refuse to forgive other people for the terrible things they have done to them. There are a number of reasons for this, they tell me: they can’t forgive because the person hasn’t asked for forgiveness; they can’t forgive because the person doesn’t show enough contrition in their confession, they […]
The letters I answer in this space were made up. They are at best a composite of various counseling situations I’ve been involved in over the years. If you recognize yourself in any of these situations, please know that that is most likely because they are very common situations. Dear Dr. Lawyer, I ran across […]
Dear Pastor Lawyer, Thank you for writing back to me so quickly. I’ve been praying about the things you wrote about and even looking things up in the Bible. I decided that things were horrible enough that unless I gave my life to Jesus, I would be lonely and miserable no matter what happens between […]
Because of some confusion on how dangerous Roy might be, and because of some helpful comments, I’ve edited this post a bit. I hope it helps. Dear Pastor, You’ll never believe the terrible state of my marriage. I was raised in a Christian family. My father and mother never fought. I wasn’t rebellious as a […]
Dear Pastor Lawyer, How do you battle loneliness? Particularly in ministry. I often feel desperately lonely. George in Alabama Hi George, Your question is a very common one for people in your situation. This is especially true when you are the only pastor and the church is too small to have even a secretary. I’ve […]
“The Bible gives a surprising take on our emotions: because we are created in God’s image, we are made to respond from the depths of our heart to his creation, as He does.” I’ll be one of the break-out speakers at this conference tomorrow and Saturday. My talk will be about emotions and temptation.
By Lisa Leidenfrost There is a difference between being in a stressful situation and being ‘stressed out’. With the first, you are put in a difficult situation and must get strength from the Lord to bear it. With the second, you are reacting to the difficult situation in an ungodly way, where your eyes are […]
By Lisa Leidenfrost “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials” (James 1:2). There is an odd connection between joy and trials, even to the point that God is asking us to count it all joy when the trials come. But how can this connection be possible? Trials don’t usually cause […]
The Center for Biblical Counseling (CBC), a reformed and evangelical ministry, empowers God’s people to support, encourage, and disciple those facing life’s challenges through the ministry of the gospel.
