The Gravity of Grace: Embracing the Doctrines That Anchor Our Souls We stand at the threshold of a journey—a deep exploration into the heart of our faith. Over the next week, we will delve into three foundational doctrines: Propitiation, Redemption, and Justification. These are not mere theological buzzwords but the anchors that hold steadfast our…
______________________________________________________________________________ About James and Lessons for Life Are you longing to find answers to the deeper issues of life? Join Dr. James Long, Jr., a pastor, counselor, and university professor with over 25 years of experience. Hear James as he tackles some of life’s biggest questions and helps us find God’s solutions to life’s struggles….
Life can get overwhelming. We are easily discouraged or burned out when things are beyond our control. How do you turn your gaze away from the challenges and turn to God? One of the best ways is to describe past and current blessings. In this devotional, we learn how cultivating gratitude can be a great…
There are many threats to our emotional stability in today’s fast-paced society. So many people today struggle with feelings of sadness, helplessness, hopelessness, worthlessness, and loneliness. Some struggle with guilt, worry, and a negative self-image. The Greek word used in the New Testament for anxiety means to be distracted or divided in mind, and it…
Have you given up hope? Have you given in to fear for so long that you question God’s willingness or ability to set you free? Have you given up on the possibility of a stable, radiant, confident, courageous, astoundingly fruitful life? All of us have been afraid. But God does not want His people to…
Do you struggle with hurts from the past? Do you struggle with unforgiveness? Do you rehearse the wounds that you received from others over and over again in your mind? When we are hurt, we can tend to either “spew our anger” or “stuff our anger.” We can “spew” our anger by our words, using put-downs, name-calling,…
There are so many of us today who are struggling with this heaviness. It just weighs us down. So many problems…so much pain We fight it, and then we give in to it. We lose hope. We lose contentment. All that Christian contentment doesn’t feel like it’s real for some of us. For those who…
Is the World Out of Control? Counseling Through the Psalms Psalm 2 Do you ever wonder why there is so much anger and hatred in the world? The world seems so out of control. The anger at the things of God and the people of God seems to be ramping up day after day. According…
Counseling through the Psalms Psalm 1 In our episode, we start with an overview of how to study the book of Psalms. We look at how Psalms are laid out, who wrote the Psalms, and how to pray the Psalms. We then start our study with a look at the first psalm. Message Outline Introduction…
Do you struggle with fear, anxiety, and worry? When you do struggle, where do you turn? When God created us, He created us dependent, and dependent on counsel, and we will be molded, changed, and shaped by the counsel to which we listen? Unfortunately, too many people turn to everyone and everything but God for…
When was the last time someone said thank you to you? When was the last time you said thank you to someone else? So many people today struggle with a lack of thankfulness and ingratitude. This leads to struggles with complaining, criticizing, and comparing. Gratitude and thankfulness provide a powerful remedy for these problems. This gratitude journal helps us to identify what we should be grateful for and what we do as a result of seeing life as a gift.
Do you struggle with applying the truth that you learn during your study of God’s word? This God’s grace prayer journal will allow you to focus on gratitude and live in contentment in life. The journal pages encourage you to observe what you are learning from the Bible text, evaluate how you have failed to live according to the truths stated, seek forgiveness, and develop godly plans for change.
Do you struggle with the lack of hope? Do you find yourself struggling with doubt and insecurity during times of great challenge? During those times, you need to find your rest and assurance in pondering, personalizing, praying, and practicing what God’s Word says. In the short devotional, spend time meditating and studying each of these passages. Write down whatever comes to mind in the spaces below. And let God speak to you.
One of the keys to growing in Christlikeness in our lives is to unearth and discover, and biblically evaluate our thinking patterns, speaking, and acting. This worksheet will help you be honest and specific about areas in your life that are not meeting biblical standards in thinking, speaking, and acting.
The God who began a good work in you will continue it through your lifetime and will finish it when we meet him face-to-face. God works for us, and God works in us. He enables us to become more like Christ every single day. This work is progressive and continual in this life. This worksheet helps us review and evaluate gains made during counseling and discipleship, show gratitude to God for what he has done, and develop plans for future growth and change.
There probably is not a day that goes by that we do not have some level of conflict with others. This worksheet helps us focus on the problem and not the person. It helps us evaluate how we have handled a dispute and how we should deal with it moving forward.
Do you ever struggle with doing a Bible study or journaling the key ideas from your reading? This Bible Study Note Sheet will encourage you to ponder and meditate on Scripture. Also, God’s Word is meant for you, so this worksheet will help you personalize what you are learning. It will also guide you in learning to pray God’s Word, and finally, it will encourage you to put into practice the principles and promises you find in reading the Word of God.
Anger is a significant issue for so many people. People often stuff or spew their anger, but very few learn to study their anger. This journal assignment will help you to do just that. It will help you understand, evaluate, and respond to your anger in better ways.
Do you ever find yourself getting overwhelmed with problems? Do you find yourself struggling with thinking clearly during a challenging situation? This four-step approach to rethinking a problem will help.
Problems can seem overwhelming. When we are in the midst of a significant crisis, many of us struggle with defining the problem and implementing helpful solutions. This worksheet helps us to identify three unbiblical and unproductive ways of handling problems. It also encourages us to destroy problems, not people, as we deal with issues in a biblical and God-honoring way.
