Counseling and Understanding!

Job 12:12-13 (New Living Translation)

12 Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.
13 “But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his.

What does it mean to counsel with someone? For several months now, I have been taking some courses in counseling. I remember as I began to pray about it, there would be and still is such a burden for hurting and hopeless people. People that just need some help, maybe sometimes just encouragement. There will always be questions we will not have an answer for in specific things, but there are some absolutes in Gods Word also. The next thing we need to remember is the Holy Spirit is the greatest Counselor, He will lead us in these areas to reassure someone that God loves them, and they can trust Him. Each person has to be shown who they are in Christ, and when this happens, a new heart begins to emerge. A heart full of confidence and love for God. Then trust begins to develop. Healing a persons heart is a process and the end result is a heart full of the promises of God, ready to take hold and claim them. A goal has been set and the vision is established. This may take months or years, but it is Gods desire to restore what the locusts have eaten. I just want to encourage you to have hope, don't ever give up on God. He is the author of wisdom and the giver of power! The greatest sacrifice ever given was for you and me, just thank Him, He is worthy to be praised!

Guarding our Hearts!

Proverbs 4:23 (New Living Translation)

“ Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.”

“It doesn’t happen overnight, it has taken time to get to this point, a slow series of compromises eventually taking you to a place you never thought you would go, doing something you said you would never do, and when you are there, somehow it all makes total sense to you. Pride tells us we would never do that, and maybe we wouldn’t in just a spur of the moment, but what happens in certain circumstances that you are faced with day after day? At what point do you know something is not right? How can a person get trapped in this kind of situation that will lead to destruction? What does it mean to guard your heart and mind? I have known of well meaning pastors counseling with women in the congregation that end up in affairs. I don’t believe they start out with this in mind, but something happens in the process. Do you think the Holy Spirit nudges that pastor “be careful, this is dangerous.” I believe He does, maybe like a yellow flashing sign in our spirit that tells us “caution”. I am also convinced that pastors, men in general should not counsel with women. We need wise women in our churches that reach out to other women. Who knows better how to help them than Godly women. My spirit is so passionate about guarding our hearts and minds. We must look to Jesus as our counselor, remember He is the greatest of all. We must seek Him in prayer and ask for guidance, if we need help or know someone that needs help, then seek out these Godly women, they are in our church and they are in our families. Be so very careful who you reach out to, the enemy of our soul is always out to steal, kill and destroy. Lets pray for each other and stand strong in Jesus. We will overcome!