Hi Tina, You asked me recently, “how do I have grace with myself as I grow in wisdom?” I thought this question deserved a whole letter, so here we are. To answer your question, we need to consider two things: first, how should we view our sin (or deviations from wisdom); second, if grace is the correct response, how do we administer it to ourselves? To answer the first question, we really need to ask how God views us and our sin. This is pretty easy, since he tells us. Sin is worthy of death (Rom. 6:23), it’s abhorrent (Rom. 12:9), he hates it (Ps. 97:10, Prov. 8:13, Ps. 11:5), and it’s worth ..read more

By Justin Duran One of the driving principles behind Biblical Counseling is the sufficiency and supremacy of The Bible. As Biblical Counselors, we must never forget that part of our role is to help our counselees find confidence in the fact that the Bible equips us and them to address every situation. It may be easy for the counselor to remember that while scripture doesn’t mention internet pornography, Christ does address lustful eyes and thoughts (Matt 5:27-30). As biblical counselors we know that while the Bible doesn’t specifically mention how to deal with this week’s earth-shat ..read more

By: Ben Zornes What we commonly call depression is described in scripture a number of ways: downcast (Ps. 43:5, 2 Cor. 7:6), hopelessness (Ecc. 2:20), despair, disquieted (Ps. 42:5), troubled and weighed down (Ps. 38:6). Periods of gloom can arise due to tragedies, trials, or transgressions. If a loved one dies, it is natural to grieve and the darkness of that grief can last for a good while, even for a godly Christian. If your company has to lay you off due to cut-backs and no fault of your own, you may face strain and disquiet until circumstances return to normalcy. If you sin, you will fee ..read more

By: Justin Duran Dear Eric, Grace and peace to you in our Lord Christ Jesus. It has been a long time since we last spoke but thank you for sharing your heart and the struggles you’re currently facing. I imagine that the pain you are experiencing is intense, and I am honored that you decided to reach out for guidance. Let me assure you, the Word of God has the wisdom and the power to bring you comfort and joy even in the midst of your suffering. First, let me remind you of the words of the Apostle Paul, who himself faced many hardships and trials. He wrote in Philippians 4:4-6, “4 Re ..read more

By: Shawn Paterson Simplistic Answers When dealing with the sin and affliction of anxiety, we can be prone to turn great Bible passages into trite and simplistic answers.  So you may have a friend struggling with anxiety. And you say, “Well, the Bible says to not be anxious.” And that’s true enough. But then you see that your friend now feels more anxious about their anxiousness. Somehow that truth didn’t quite land right. And you say oh… well… just give it to God then. And they then walk away not entirely encouraged. Now of course I’m exaggerating, but I think we all know what ..read more

View Mike’s Memorial Livestream HERE ..read more

Obituary Mikel Lee Lawyer was born in Riverside, CA, to an architect father and a photographer mother. His childhood was full of bike rides to the beach, tennis, and water polo. He graduated from high school in the early 1970’s, and joined the navy immediately after.  While Mike was stationed on a submarine, a young man named Douglas Wilson transferred onto the same sub. Doug wore a necklace with a large cross made of nails, and was very openly a Christian. Mike was intrigued, and became a born-again Christian very soon after becoming friends with Doug.  After a few years in the Navy ..read more

Photo by Splash of Rain on Pexels.com “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness…” (Isa. 61:10 “For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.” (Ps. 149:4) On Thursday just before lunch, my dad had an appointment with a chemo specialist. On our way there, he remarked, “How crazy would it be if all this cancer stuff went away and we had to tell everyone they didn’t have to pray for healing any more? How neat would that be!” At the Chas ..read more

Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory (Psalm 73:23–24). Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You (Psalm 139:16–18). “You don’t have a need to know.“ That was a phrase I heard a lot in the Navy. And then ..read more

I thought I ought to start this post by mentioning a sermon I preached a few weeks ago at trinity Church in Coeur D’Alene. You can find it here. Maybe you should go watch/listen to that before you read further. You should also know that what follows doesn’t change my attitude toward God or my desire to continue to serve him. I don’t think I’m being brave or doing anything any Christian shouldn’t be doing. Lots of people have commented on how I’ve been doing through this, but I really don’t know how else I could be responding. God loves me and I’m in his presence. It’s a grand adventure a ..read more