Over the past 10 years working with couples, parents and families have caused grievances over my heart. By the overwhelming reality of counseling for families, at times I have personally given into more a defeatist mentality.
However, looking at the scriptures, God says marriage is a gift from above to be cherished and enjoyed.
There is assurance of the possibility of building a strong marriage that is foundation-ally grounded in God’s Word is gives pastors an encouragement why we are able to counsel the Word more faithfully.
Heart of the Problem is the Problem of the Heart
The biblical counselor, on the other hand, attempts to tap into the heart of the person as scripture seeks the heart of the attitude (Phil. 2:5).
The biblical counseling method utilizes the scripture as the source of magnifying glass that walks along as a guide on the side by focusing the individual pointing to Christ as the source of hope of healing.
The scripture exposes the hidden idolatry of the heart (Matt. 6:19-34) of fears beneath and calls the person to repentance.
The fundamental question that a biblical counselor could ask is, “What is the idol of lust that has led to state you are in today?” that goes deep into the roots of the heart that is evident as the fruit of their lips in their complaints.
The heart of the matter is to whom/what is worship given and how does one’s life exert what one truly value?
Having shared those thoughts, here are 10 of my favorite quotes by biblical counselors.
Top 10 Christian Counseling Quotes
1. “Jesus did not die to increase our self-esteem. Rather, Jesus died to bring glory to the Father by redeeming people from the curse of sin.” ― Edward T. Welch
2. “Foolishness is more than being stupid, that deadly combination of arrogance and ignorance.” ― Paul David Tripp
3. “Simply put, to please God means to bring him delight by being and doing what he desires.” ― Robert D. Jones
4. “You will not experience dramatic change in your struggle as long as you use accountability to describe your sins instead of declaring your need for help in the midst of temptation.” ― Heath Lambert
5. “We should strive to make church a place where being anonymous or nominal is difficult to pull off.” ― Jeremy Pierre
6. “ Hope is not defined by the absence of hardship. Rather, hope is found in God’s grace in the midst of hardship. Hope is found in his promise to give us a future.” ― Stuart Scott
7. “Evil is powerful, but good is more powerful. In fact, evil is so powerful that only good has the power to overcome evil. Darkness can be driven away only by light.” ― Jay E. Adams
8. “God has not promised that the man of your dreams will pursue you. He has promised that he will love you with a perfectly faithful, steadfast, and undying love” ― Deepak Reju
9. “Most of us are painfully aware that we’re not perfect parents. We’re also deeply grieved that we don’t have perfect kids. But the remedy to our mutual imperfections isn’t more law, even if it seems to produce tidy or polite children. Children . . . don’t need to learn to be ‘nice.’ They need death and resurrection and a Savior.” ― Jim Newheiser
10. “You are sanctified by remembering and believing afresh that you are justified by what Jesus did on the cross for you.” ― David A. Powlison
What other quotes would you add to this list?
Some of it looks like hyper Arminianism. All works and nothing of God. Try harder. Work harder. Do more. Think better.
Gary,
I appreciate your feedback.
Would you help me understand how some of the quotes are more arminian driven? What makes them a “hyper” arminian that is more works oriented?
Do you read any biblical counselors who are female? If so, who do you recommend?
Pat,
Thanks for taking the time to read the post.
Few will be the following;
– Leslie Vernick
– Martha Peace
Thanks so much!