My Bible-Based Christian
Counseling Approach
Living Victoriously
Jesus wants us to live from His victory He got at the cross for us, not try hard to achieve it. A part of successful counseling is discerning when the enemy is lying to us in our minds (and not think it’s only our own thoughts) or bringing an attack to our body or relationships. Jesus didn’t give us the victory to then have satan push us around.
The Bible instructs us to submit to God and resist the enemy (James 4:7).
This is spiritual warfare. l can help you know how to do that effectively. Speaking from Christ’s authority given to the believer and being persistent is key. I will help you to identify the areas of your life where you need to do just that.
Salvation
To have that power of God working in us, we need to be born again, to have our spirit alive to God. (Romans 10:9-10)
Believe Jesus paid the price for you. He took the curse, He bore all your sins, he died by crucifixion, he defeated the devil and was resurrected to life.
Ask Jesus to be Lord of your life, He will give you a new spirit, and Holy Spirit makes His home in you. Then God’s Word is alive and active to you, and it’s medicine. Jehovah Rapha translated means God is our healer!
If you have never confessed Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, we can discuss that and do that together
Holy Spirit Power
Before the disciples of Jesus were to begin preaching and teaching and healing for Christ, He told them to go to Jerusalem and wait in order to receive the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). They were already saved. This was to be filled to overflow so they had the power they needed to fulfil His great commission and wield His authority.
The same is true for us today. This is the infilling or baptism of the Holy Spirit and the evidence of that is receiving our individual prayer language or “other tongues.” If you are unfamiliar with this, being instructed and led to receive it can be included as a part of our time together.
Identity in Christ
One of the most important pieces of Bible-based counseling is to help you to understand and live from your true identity–that is, your identity in Christ. Then you shed the old self, the old soul issues, and you come into greater union with Christ and alignment with your new spirit. I will help you to grab hold of and live out of this identity spoken of in the Scriptures. This is life changing.
Authority in Christ
After His resurrection, God the Father gave Jesus all power and authority (Matthew 28:18-19). Jesus in turn gave His body of believers His authority (Luke 10:19). As Lord, our head, He expects and needs us to exercise that authority over the powers of darkness and our own fleshy, carnal nature in order to further His will on earth.
Many have little or no understanding of their authority in Christ, what that entails, or how to exercise it.
It is crucial for us as Christians to exercise our Christ-given authority to advance His Kingdom on earth, experience victory in our lives and our family’s, and enjoy the fruit of it.
We will examine in our time together how well you understand and exercise spiritual authority.
Faith
The Bible says that our faith is what pleases God, and if we aren’t praying from faith, based on the promises of our covenant in Christ and the character and power of God, we will not have victory.
We don’t have to wonder about the will of God because He gave us His Word and His Spirit. While fear, doubt, and insecurity can try to push us, we can stand firm in faith because we have confidence God is who He says He is and that He will do what His Word says He will do (Jeremiah 1:12).
Sometimes we don’t see the weakness in our own faith. I have been well taught in what it means to be in faith and our counseling will help you know how to strengthen yours. We are all hopefully growing in faith, and no one has arrived to perfection! Stronger faith is essential for successful counseling.
Tri-Part Being Perspective: Spirit, Soul, & Body
Psychology is the humanistic, secular philosophy of mental health and has created definitions and diagnoses that don’t agree with the Biblical world view, God’s view, of the whole person. To think we have the answers to heal ourselves (humanism), without Almighty God, is pridefulness and deception.
God says you are a spirit, you have a soul – a mind, a will, and emotions — and you live in a body (Thessalonians 5:23).
Scriptures showing the mind is part of the soul:
Proverbs 2:10, Proverbs 24:14, Proverbs 19:2, Psalm 139:14, Psalm 13:2
Scriptures showing the will is part of the soul:
Job 7:15, Job 6:7, I Chronicles 22:19, Numbers 30, Psalm 27:12, Psalm 41:2, Ezekiel 16:27
Scriptures showing a variety of emotions are part of the soul:
1 Samuel 18:1, Song of Songs 1:7, Psalm 42:1, 2 Samuel 5:8, Psalm 107:18, Ezekiel 36:5, Isaiah 61:10, Psalm 86:4, 1 Samuel 30:6, Judges 10:16, 1 Samuel 20:4, Deuteronomy 14:26, Ezekiel 24:25, Jeremiah 44:14
Our tri-part nature means we cannot put our “mental health” into a separate category from our spiritual nature, our faith and Biblical foundation. This is a reason Christians ought to seek more than mere mental health counseling.
As those who have believed on Jesus and made Him our Lord, we have the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us to help us renew our minds by the Word of God, direct our wills to agree with the will of God, and to be led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14) instead of our emotions.
Not Just “Mental Health”
The counseling you receive
with me considers these three aspects of your soul — mind, will, and emotions. Old and current hurts and traumas have created brokenness in the soul which Jesus is eager to heal! Strongholds, bad habits and negative repetitive patterns result, but can be broken by the power of Holy Spirit through His Word!
I have experience
in helping people with all kinds of issues that arise in people’s lives. I counsel under THE counselor, Holy Spirit, with the wisdom of the Word of God, not with secular philosophies that contradict that wisdom.
Certain popular modalities from psychology, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), teach that behavior follows how we think. But in the omission of the One True God and His Word and the power of the Holy Spirit, it lacks the power to create lasting transformation.
Our thoughts are influenced by the world, our natural mind, or the Spirit of God through His Word. God wants to change how we think (Romans 12:2).
Biblical Transformation
When we allow thoughts that are in contradiction to God’s Truth, this is wrong thinking which leads to wrong believing and ultimately wrong decisions and behavior. Then our emotions shepherd us.
Your thought life becomes what you believe and influences your emotional life. That results in what you say and do (Matthew 12:34). The Bible instructs us how we should choose to think (Philippians 4:8).
It is so important that you learn to become an observer of your thoughts and willing to examine it in the light of God’s Word.
And this is an important element of counseling in order to make progress.
The Bible says to lead all thoughts that do not agree with the Word of God into captivity (2 Corinthians 10:5), or you will become captive to them.
And since our mouths speak what our hearts are full of (Luke 6:45), our words will reveal what we believe, what is hidden in our hearts.
Everyone has blind spots, things they say over and over and don’t even notice. It’s helpful to have a counselor notice so these can be brought into the light.