Affordable Pastoral Christian Counseling. Spiritual Crisis Intervention.

Bringing renewal, revival and God’s immeasurable Grace to a lost and suffering generation.

We incorporate Biblical principles as our primary foundation in order to help discouraged, struggling, and heartbroken individuals overcome problems, conflicts, traumatic experiences & unresolved grief.

He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. – Psalm 147:2

You are my lamp O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light. Samuel 22:29

In my distress, I called upon the Lord and He answered me. Psalm 120:1

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matt. 11:28

Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.’ Mark 10:27

And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Share your own story here. If you have a testimony you’de like to share or any miracles you’ve personally experienced, or difficulties you’ve overcome, then we welcome you to share your story here in order that others might be encouraged, strengthened and enlightened. Perhaps the experience of others will resonate powerfully with you.

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Recently I was asked: “Natalie, How would you define – pursuing a relationship with Jesus?”

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We don’t pursue a relationship with Jesus because pursue means to chase and we don’t need to chase Jesus. His word tells us that He is standing at our door, knocking and that once we open the door, He comes right in. He is there. If I was married, I would not be pursuing a relationship with my husband, I would be in a relationship with my husband. Once he asked me to marry him and I accepted, we no longer had to pursue each other.

As Christians, we are the Bride of Christ.

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Have you ever sat in church and heard a sermon that addressed:

1.) Are you right with God?

2.) Are you spending time with God and if so, how much?

3.) Are you putting God first in your life?

4.) Are you pursuing a relationship with the Lord?

5.) Are you bringing people to the Lord on a regular basis?

6.) Are you allowing sin to rule your life and keep you from a relationship with the Lord?

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Then possibly you answered “No” to most, if not all of the questions, and went home with the feeling that nothing

you ever do is right [enough] and felt overwhelmed, beat up, burned out and disillusioned.

If this is you, then Fear Not. Perhaps when you hear these questions, you start to feel like you’re all alone in the ocean of oppression,

when suddenly you see the tidal wave approaching and you realize that you’ll never make it out of the water in time.

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Notice, however, that Jesus never asked these questions. He didn’t approach people and begin His sermons or discussions with an interrogation. He delivered Hope, Promise, Courage, Faith, Truth, Wisdom, Knowledge and Power and with this, He met needs.

Elijah met needs, Elisha met needs, David met needs, and Paul met needs. Countless men and women of God met needs first. David sought out people that had needs as did Jesus.

Many people from all walks of life suffer from depression, diminished libido, exhaustion, apathy, disrupted sleep patterns, social anxiety and a host of debilitating factors, including the inability to just “Snap out of it.”

They feel profoundly overwhelmed and it’s as if there is so much to fix that feeling “normal” again seems completely out of their reach.

More often than not, what they don’t realize is that most, if not all of their feelings and behaviors are, for the most part, all tied into a deficiency in one or more brain chemicals, usually in the category of neurotransmitters. Various deficiencies can define why some suffer from various emotional disorders.

Adjusting those deficiencies quite often adjusts the feelings and behaviors.

The same can be said about the way in which we engage in our relationship with God. If we aren’t first introduced to His Character, His Ways, His Personality, and His Attitudes and introduced to His Heart, His Love towards us and His Presence, then it makes serving Him more of drudgery and a chore and what will always feel like a fruitless, futile endeavor.

Jesus often demonstrated miracles, met needs and interacted on a very personal level before He got down to the business of salvation and service. His presence alone would draw people and even creatures unto Him because he was half man and half Holy Spirit.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:1

“And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with Excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”

Zechariah 4:6 states, “So He said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”

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Are you right with God?

If you have received Jesus as your savior, you became right with God. Jesus is our righteousness and not that of ourselves.

If we have received Jesus with our whole heart, then that same heart will seek God’s righteousness.

The Bible states in 2 Corinthians 5:17:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

Isaiah 65:6

“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;

we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind, our sins sweep us away.”

Paul said in Philippians 3:6 NIV

“I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.”

It’s without question that as a young man, Paul led a moral and strictly upright life, and no one had an occasion to “blame” or to accuse him as a violator of the law of God. There is every reason to believe that Paul, before his conversion, was a young man of correct deportment, of upright life, of entire integrity; and that he was free from the indulgences of vice and passion, into which young people often fall. In all that he ever says of himself as being “the chief of sinners,” and as being “unworthy to be called an apostle,” he never gives the least intimation that his early life was stained by vice, or corrupted by licentious passions.On the contrary, we are left to the fair presumption that, if any man could be saved by his own works, he was that man.

He felt VERY RIGHT with God. Zeal was supposed to be, as it is, an important part of religion; (see 2 Kings 10:16; Psalm 69:9; Psalm 119:139; Isaiah 59:17; Romans 10:2.)

Paul says that he had shown the highest degree of zeal that was possible. He had gone so far in his attachment for the religion of his fathers, as to pursue with purposes of death those who had departed from it, and who had embraced a different form of belief. If any, therefore, could hope for salvation on the ground of extraordinary devotion to religion, he said that he could.

Therefore, we all need to understand that no matter how “right” we think we are that none of us are truly right. Jesus is our righteousness. This is why it’s so ludicrous when I hear Christians ask me if I’m turning gay’s straight and reading them the various scriptures that according to most Christians, asserting that homosexuality is an abomination to God.

Paul told a Pharisee that if he thought circumcision would make him right with God, that he should just cut his entire penis off. The abomination here is the way in which we selectively single out our own behaviors that are not right in any capacity with God while indicting others for committing those various offenses that are the most displeasing to us.

For example, Ethel and Myrtle get together every morning for coffee to talk about Jesus, his Goodness and while they might be exchanging a few praise reports, they deviate from the topic at hand to discuss their vehement disdain for Shirley because Shirley wears mini-skirts and halter tops to church and lives with her boyfriend. They begin to find every fault imaginable with Shirley and often shun Shirley at various gatherings and so forth.

Matthew 22: 36-40

36 Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?

37 Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

39 And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.

40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

When we read God’s Word and apply it to our lives, we then experience His power, presence, love, mercy, compassion, kindness and goodness towards us because the Bible tells us that He first loved us. Once we are in the presence of our Lord, we naturally begin to take on His behaviors, his attitudes, and his personality.

The Bible says that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. How do we do that? By reading God’s Word, prayer, faith, implementing God’s Word into our lives and receiving the Holy Spirit.

When someone asks, “How much time do you spend with God?” I reply, ‘24 /7.’

Because I know that the Lord will never leave me or forsake me and that He is always with me, therefore, we’re always together. I don’t have to set aside ‘time’ to spend with God because that could almost be interpreted as fitting God into my schedule and making an appointment to engage in his presence whereby I then leave His presence once I’m finished talking to Him.

I do not allow sin to keep me from a relationship from the Lord because Jesus paid the price for my sins and the bible states that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

“Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10: 17.

When we stand on the Word of God and pray God’s promises for us, we then have the knowledge that he will not withhold any good thing from us as he meets all of our needs and in great abundance according to his Word.

Reading God’s Word and implementing it into our own lives enables us to fall deeply in love with the Father as He reaches into our lives, demonstrating his power, goodness, Greatness, abundance, compassion, mercy, favor, salvation and love towards us. Once we enter into His presence and feel His love towards us, it then enables us to love him back.

Once we achieve that love, we’re no longer fueled by any need to sin in order to fill the void in our lives and in our hearts. He fills that void with his love and his presence. Therefore, we no longer hunger for sin as we did before but we hunger for his presence and the bible states that in His presence is fullness of joy.

Our needs are met when we ask Him to meet those needs and believe him for those needs to be met because the bible states that without faith it is impossible to please God. When we declare his promises and pray his promises, he fulfills his promises in our lives because his word states that he is not a man that he would lie and that he is faithful as promised; For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him, the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 1:20

1 Peter 2:9 – 10

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Titus 2:14

Jesus, our Savior, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Therefore, if we have truly given ourselves over to Jesus, we will then desire to do what is good in order to please him because we want to please those whom we love.

Therefore, if we’re not walking in obedience, and life has us riddled with emptiness, heartache, depression, fear, worry, doubt, dread, poverty, misery, loneliness, bitterness, anger, rage, hostility and a host of negative emotions that are not of the Father, then first we should look to see if there is a possible biological reason that our feelings and emotions are so deeply conflicted and secondly, seek out the character of our Father. His Word tells us to learn of him and that his burden is light.

He doesn’t weigh us down with unreasonable demands. He isn’t angry with Believers.

We need to take our concerns and burdens to Him and ask Him to reveal Himself to us in extraordinary ways and we should not fear to ask Him to enable us to fall so profoundly and deeply in love with Him that we become utterly and completely obsessed and consumed with Him and relishing in his presence; wanting nothing more than to live our lives the way in which He has ordered each and every step.

Only He can ignite our love and our desire and our change, not a pastor and not that of ourselves. He convicts our hearts of righteousness and puts us on a plain path. His Holy Spirit and His presence is the way in which we seek to do all that is right in his sight, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord.”

Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.”

In this series, I am teaching How To Love God The Father when you were mistreated and or abused by your own father or parent(s).

I’m Natalie Parkerson, an evangelist and the founder of both Salvaged Christian Ministries and Soul Clinic. My hope is that God’s Word delivers you, blesses you, encourages you and comforts you.

I own Soul Clinic and I’m the author of this video.

Life can be utterly and completely terrifying, especially when you feel isolated, abandoned, forsaken, alone, grief-stricken, disenfranchised, discarded, dismissed and or misunderstood or unloved.

Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding is great power over your issues, circumstances, and situation. If you’re confused as to why you feel or behave the way you do, you’re not experiencing anything new to God. He can deliver you from absolutely anything but in order for Him to do so, you must be willing to allow Him to do just that.

In the Bible, Isaiah 1:18, God tells us, “Come now, and let us reason together, say’s the Lord: though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

What Causes Anxiety?

• Family background & Genetics
• Overly protective, critical, or perfectionistic families
• Early life trauma of abuse, separation, or neglect
• Cumulative stress
• Accidents, weddings, births, moves, financial problems
• Certain chemical imbalances in the brain
• Your attitudes and beliefs about the world, yourself and God
• The way you talk to yourself in your mind
• Lack of meaning or purpose in life
• Abusing alcohol and other drugs

There Are Different Anxiety Disorders:

• Panic Disorder
• Panic Attacks
• Phobias
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
• Obsessive
• Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Post
• Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Did You Know:

• One in four people have an anxiety disorder.
• One in ten people have a form of a phobia.
• One in 50 people have OCD.
• Anxiety & depression often exist together.
• Anxiety may cause significant changes in how your body functions.
• Anxiety does not discriminate. Both young and the elderly experience anxiety.
• Men experience anxiety differently than women.
• God’s Word, the Bible, provides direction for dealing with anxiety. There is hope and there is help for those suffering from anxiety.

What Are The Signs Of Anxiety?

Check any of the following classic anxiety symptoms that apply to you:

• Sweating
• Racing heart, heart palpitations
• Chest pain or discomfort
• Trouble breathing
• Shaking or trembling
• Trouble swallowing or a choking feeling
• Upset stomach
• Fear of losing control
• Feeling like you are going to die
• Muscle tension
• Headaches
• Difficulty sleeping
• Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
• Restlessness and/or irritability

If you checked four or more of these symptoms, you may have a problem with anxiety.

Common Characteristics of Anxiety Sufferers:

• Trying to impress other people
• Being perfectionist
• Using alcohol to calm down
• Feeling afraid but don’t know why
• Feeling unworthy of God’s love
• Feeling no one could really love you
• Feeling guilty for things that are not your fault
• Afraid to let others really know you
• Frequent feeling of inadequacy

Words to Avoid Using with An Anxiety Sufferer:

• Just pull yourself together.
• Just relax.
• Stop worrying.
• Just ignore your problems.
• Snap out of it.
• Take a vacation, you’ll feel better.
• Just have more faith or pray more.
• Your problems aren’t so bad. You should be able to cope.
• Is God punishing you for some sin?

Counseling Can Help You:

• Learn how to manage your anxiety.
• Learn relaxation techniques to help control your anxiety.
• Become aware of the thought patterns that play a role in your anxiety.
• Learn to make yourself
• talk more positive and realistic.
• Gain a closer relationship with God.
• Understand that you may need to take medication for a while.

What Can You Do:

• See a doctor and get a complete physical examination. Make sure that these symptoms are not a potentially serious medical condition.
• Find a professional counselor you trust.
• Talk to one of our Pastoral Counselors.
• Share your feelings with a trusted friend.
• Improve your health with good nutrition, proper rest and regular exercise.
• Learn to enjoy life. Relax!
• Avoid stressful situations when possible.
• Learn to say “No” to extra pressures.
• Set realistic goals. Be kind to yourself.
• Seek help from God, your church, prayer and the Bible.

Anxiety is an emotional and physical response to a vague, uncontrollable, or uncertain event. You may have the vague feeling that “something bad is going to happen.” Worry concentrates more on specific events in our life. The Bible says in Philippians 4:6-7, Do not be anxious about anything but let the peace of God guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Soul Clinic Pastoral Counseling works to help people learn how to do just that and find the peace you need in your life.

While that might sound impossible, the Bible says in Luke 1:37, “…nothing is impossible with God.”

Answer the questions below to determine if you are experiencing depression. If you answer True to at least four (4) of the following statements, you may be suffering from depression. If you answer True to the majority of the following statements, you are certainly experiencing depression and you need to seek professional help.

See a doctor or psychotherapist and one of our pastoral counselors before the depression gets worse.

True or False

• T or F: —I feel sad and blue most of the time.
• T or F: —I feel like crying more than I did six months ago.
• T or F: —I feel hopeless and helpless most of the time.
• T or F: —I have no motivation.
• T or F: —I’m not interested in things I used to enjoy.
• T or F: —Recently I have wondered if life is worth living.
• T or F: —I am not sleeping well, or I want to sleep all of the time.
• T or F: —I have lost my appetite.
• T or F: —I am easily irritated.
• T or F: —I am more anxious about things than I used to be.
• T or F: —My energy level has dropped recently.
• T or F: —I dread the morning. It is hard to get up.
• T or F: — have been thinking about myself a lot recently.
• T or F: —The face looking back at me in the mirror is sad.
• T or F: —My self-concept needs improving.
• T or F: —I worry about the past, the present and the future.
• T or F: —I’ve had more headaches, upset stomach, constipation, rapid heartbeat, etc. in the last six months than usual.
• T or F: —I think that people have noticed that I am not working as well at my job, or enjoying life like I used to.

Great men in the Bible, such as David (in many of his Psalms), Elijah (I Kings 19), Moses (Exodus 18), and Jonah (Jonah 4) experienced depression. In each of these situations, God sent someone to help the suffering individual but He did not condemn him. Psalm 23:18 says, The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Whatever the cause, God cares about the person experiencing depression.

Some Interesting Facts

• One in four women and one in ten men will develop depression sometime in their life.
• Men experience depression differently than women. Men tend to get angrier.
• Depression can affect children as well as adults and the elderly.
• Suicide may result when depression has not been treated successfully.
• Depression has been called the common cold of the mind.
• Between 80-90% of the people seeking treatment get well.

What Are Some Symptoms Of Depression?

Everyone feels sad sometimes due to a significant loss such as a death, a divorce or losing a job. Anger turned inward can also cause sad feelings. When these feelings are not dealt with properly and they continue over a long period of time, a person usually experiences major depression.

• Feelings of sadness for over two weeks.
• Not wanting to spend time with friends and family.
• Increased irritability.
• Changes in sleep and appetite patterns.
• Frequent crying spells.
• Difficulty concentrating.
• Forgetfulness.

How Can You Help A Depressed Person?

We often feel uncomfortable around a depressed person because we don’t know what to say or do for him. This may cause us to make some serious mistakes when we try to help them. So what can you do to help?

• Let him be honest about his feelings.
• Allow him to talk about his negative, depressed
• feelings. Don’t say, You shouldn’t feel like that.
• Be there for him. A depressed person may have lost someone important in his life. Let him know you care and will be there for him. Be aware.
• A depressed person often tries to avoid dealing with his feelings or to pretend he is fine. If he fails to get help, he will only become more depressed. Help him get help.

Avoid saying:

• Just trust God.
• Just get over it.
• If you would just do…
• You have a lot going for you. You shouldn’t feel so bad.

When to Seek Help:

Major depression is a serious illness and can be fatal if left untreated. A person cannot face this illness alone. Seek professional help for yourself, or for someone you care for when you see:

• Three or more symptoms of depression.
• Response to your attempts to help.
• No family or friends there for support.
• There are suicidal thoughts.
• The person turning to substance abuse.
• The individual cannot take care of his family or himself.

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Isaiah 41:10-13.

Major depression can greatly affect a person’s ability to function at home and/or at work and inhibit the enjoyment of life in any way.

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

Some people may only experience occasional bouts of situational or circumstantial depression throughout their lives where others may suffer from depression several times in their lifetime while and some may live with major depressive disorder also known as clinical depression, the most serious form of depression which is a brain disorder characterized by feelings of severe sadness, misery, and deep despair, typically also with feelings of inadequacy and guilt, often accompanied by lack of energy and disturbance of appetite and sleep.

Thoughts of and attempts at suicide.

• Loss of interest in activities that were pleasurable in the past.
• Unyielding anxiety, profound sorrow or feelings of emptiness.
• Feelings of worthlessness, helplessness or guilt.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30

Borderline Personality Disorder
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Check back soon because this chapter will be both comprehensive and exciting.

“Learning to Breathe Under Silence.”

I also use this teaching when counseling couples who continually argue as well with clients who continually cut me off and refuse to listen.

One of the greatest challenges we face within ourselves as inherently fallible, imperfect human beings is our difficulty deciphering at which appropriate time should we or should we not speak out; to relay our perspectives, communicate our thoughts, layout our feelings and ideas as opposed to when we should just remain silent.

Sometimes we speak out and convey what is on our minds too quickly, too abruptly, forcefully, haphazardly, delivering words to others that are not yet ready to be put forth.

In our desperation to be understood, respected, appreciated, well-esteemed, we may say too much at once, divulge too many details and particulars about ourselves, where our listener is then so overwhelmed by the massive amount of information they’re given and then forced to immediately process, that we compromise our own objective, leaving our efforts, intent, and purpose nothing short of counterproductive and unsuccessful. Our listener may then back away, turn away and even walk away entirely.

Have you ever picked up a book, glanced through it only to put it back on the shelf because it felt at the time too difficult or complex of a read, too exhaustive and comprehensive, perhaps too technical or confusing?

Sometimes when we relay too much at a given time, we become that book. I have been out shopping where I’ve made a friendly remark to another shopper and before I finished one innocuous statement, the listener had me backed against a row of canned goods, relaying their entire life story.

When we speak too much in the wrong place at the wrong time, we are no longer knocking on the door to someone’s heart, but we are kicking it in and giving greater opportunity to the rise of various negative emotions that can surface in both ourselves and the listener.

We all seem to have this problem on some level and there are countless reasons why we at times divulge too much information about ourselves, especially to those who, for the most part, barely know us or do not know us at all. For example, one reason could be a need to make others know that we are someone of great importance and that we are of tremendous value.

We may strive to make others immediately aware of who it is we are or how we at least perceive ourselves, in order that others dignify our achievements with words of positive affirmation, and acknowledgment as a demonstration of their earnest interest in who we are.

This behavior tends to come from those who are doubting themselves or feel inadequate, unimportant, undervalued and in dire need of affirmation, validation, and praise in order to raise the level of their own self-worth.

Occasionally we may try to make ourselves appear formidable, powerful and stronger than we actually are, appearing larger than life and even fearless, using words and phrases to establish dominance, superiority, and control as a means of masking the way we might actually feel about ourselves.

We might overindulge our feelings of pride and self-satisfaction, speaking excessively of our own achievements, possessions, or abilities in order to divert the attention of others away from focusing on our faults, weaknesses, shortcomings, and insecurities.

However, more often than not when we reveal too much about ourselves all at once, our listener may then only recognize how painfully insecure we really are.

Sometimes we speak so much at once and so aggressively in order to achieve attention and establish dominance, power, and control, that our efforts to garner respect, approval, and understanding is negated by our unsavory and unappealing, Godlike reverence to ourselves, which invariably turns our listeners completely off where they then just tune us right out.

Our quest to feverishly prove our superiority leaves us nothing more than an even greater sense of isolation, abandonment, and emptiness.

The greatest way to convey who we are is by our actions over and above the multitude of our words.

When we continually interrupt someone, even cutting them out of the conversation entirely in order to retain center stage, it’s condescending, degrading, belittling, insulting and it shows a lack of control over our thoughts, feelings, tongue, actions, and behaviors. It tells the listener that we have no regard for their feelings, their thoughts, their knowledge, their experience, what they’ve learned or encountered, what they can bring to the table and what they can contribute.

It tells the listener we have no respect for them, we do not value them as a person nor dignify their presence. It greatly diminishes the other person’s willingness to hear anything further we might have to say, no matter how powerful and true our words might be and it raises enough of a red flag that the listener has now tuned us out entirely, shut down by our own wrongdoing.

When the speaker does not receive the reaction or response he or she has hoped for, the speaker may have unleashed a flood of negative vibes that could infiltrate his or her own thoughts and mind such as resentment, feelings of rejection, painful disappointment, animosity, tension, hostility, shame, and profound hurt.

Invariably, rather than focusing on our own poor choices and rethinking the way in which we proceed or behave, we are quick to lash out and blame our listener, often deluding ourselves into believing the listener is insensitive, unfeeling, uncaring, cold, heartless and mean-spirited.

We may feel their indifference to our words has embarrassed us, humiliated us and devalued us, all at which point for some speakers might lead to the development of depression and far deeper feelings of inadequacy when the listener who now feels violated and bullied by our use of force in the one-sided conversation, fails to dignify our words with praise, words of affirmation, support, and validation.

In some cases when the speaker feels so deprived of attention, their distorted perception may further mutate into feelings of rage, a desire for retribution, retaliation, and a struggle to now conquer by brute physical force even to the degree of inflicting harm, may ensue.

Professor Rick Renner once said,

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not charity [love], I have become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. — 1 Corinthians 13:1

It seems that the apostle Paul encountered a group of people who were extremely “super-spiritual” in the city of Corinth. However, Paul was unimpressed with these people and their level of spirituality because they had an obvious lack of love. Their deficit of love bothered him so deeply that he alluded to it when he wrote First Corinthians 13:1: Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I have become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.

The words “sounding brass” are very important in this verse. Let’s begin our study today with the word “brass.” It comes from the Greek word chalkos, an old word that referred to metal.

However, it wasn’t just any metal; it was bronze or copper to which a small amount of tin had been added. This tin caused the metal to have a hollow, empty sound when it was beaten. That is why Paul also used the word “sounding” — the Greek word echo, which described a noise that reverberates or echoes.

When these two words were used together, they portrayed the endless beating of metal that produces a hollow, annoying, irritating echo that seems to eternally reverberate.”

So when Paul wrote about a “sounding brass,” he borrowed an illustration from the pagan world of Corinth to make his point about super-spiritual people who demonstrate no love.

The illustration he chose to use was the endless, nonstop, annoying, aggravating, irritating, frenzied beating and clanging of brass that was performed in pagan worship and that echoed ceaselessly throughout the city of Corinth.

The citizens of Corinth could never escape the endless banging of this metal, so this was an illustration everyone in the Corinthian church could readily comprehend.”

How Did I Get Here?

You’ve invested in a dream that you want to now let go of. Sometimes it’s imperative, necessary, important and time to let something go; to walk away, start anew, release those things that prevent us from growing, becoming a better person, healing and forging ahead to succeed in greater things and the only way we can save ourselves any further heartache is to end those things which no longer serve our best interest and the interest of those whom we love and hold dearly.

However, sometimes we’re so intricately woven into the fabric of our own circumstances, situations and story that we’re unable to see whether or not what we have is salvageable or not.

When married couples come to me with the same considerations, the first thing we have to look at is, “How did I get here?”

When I falter or fail, miss the train, lose a friend, lose out on an opportunity –if I only focus on the surrounding circumstances or the role that others played, I’ll never garner the understanding, knowledge, wisdom or experience necessary in preventing my next failure.

If all I am willing to recognize is the role that others played in bringing about the problems and difficulties I might be facing, holding others culpable while neglecting to accept personal responsibility for my actions and any consequences resulting from my behaviors, it will be very difficult for me to respect myself and respect anyone else. Accepting responsibility also enables others to respect us.

However, if I keep my focus on how I handled myself, presented myself, dealt with the circumstances, worked my tasks, collaborated with those involved, and perform an open and honest introspection, without bias, prejudice and justification, painful as it may be, I will usually discover that most of the time, no matter how wrong, how terrible, how awful anyone else was, no matter the role of anyone else, I was at the helm of my own collapse.

When we can identify our role in the areas of our lives that hurt us, broke our spirit, crushed our dreams and tore our lives apart; when we can identify our own areas of weakness, the triggers that can send us into a downward spiral, recognize our shortcomings, our faults, our wrongdoing, and those fears we work so feverishly to hide –when we can perform a thorough and honest investigation of our entire life, from the cradle to the present, asking only the most important questions, “How could I have prevented this or that? What was my role in this apart from anyone else? What did I allow that I shouldn’t have? Did I lose my temper and do things out of anger?  What did I say or not say that could have greatly compromised my prime directive? What occurred that shaped my character, making me whom I’ve become that I now need such a complete and total makeover.

Who do I need to forgive? We first forgive ourselves but not without a fervent desire to change those unsightly habits and patterns that brought us here.

It can be very difficult to review our own lives through the eyes of righteousness. Then beyond this, admitting to another and ourselves the many ways in which we were wrong.

One’s ability to admit they feel powerless, helpless and broken is one of the greatest strengths we can possess. The ability to be the first to see our role in where we erred, faltered, made poor choices, handled things badly, acted inappropriately, behaved in an unsightly fashion and ‘sinned,’ if you will, is the first step in becoming a person of excellent character but what solidifies us as people of excellent character is then taking the necessary steps to make amends where and if possible, correct ourselves, change our direction, possess the understanding that if we had to do over we would have done it differently and sometimes doing to these things comes with sacrifice.

We tend to believe that a person of excellent character is a person who never fails, never commits a foul, never sets out to wrong anyone else, never willfully performs any wrongdoing, always makes the right decisions, always has everyone’s best interest at heart, never lashes out, never unhinges or lies or covers up a lie with a lie. That’s where most miss it.

As a people, we are all subject to sin and have and do, daily, but what makes a great man or woman; what makes an honorable man or woman isn’t that we retain some supernatural ability to live as a perfect human being, but the supernatural insight and understanding to know where we went wrong, along with a conscientious effort to avoid making the same mistake twice, determined to begin a concerted action against the triggers and temptations that compromise our success in becoming the man or woman a loving and Holy Father would be proud of.

If you don’t believe in a supreme Creator, then ask yourself this, if the world truly knew your motives, reasons, agenda, purpose, actions, and feelings; if all things performed in secret, privy only to you was revealed, uncovered and made known, would a right-thinking, noble, honorable, community of people with great character and integrity be proud of your rhymes, reasons, decisions, purpose, and deeds?

As a Christian, the first thing I often have to ask myself, ‘Who’s agenda is it anyway?’ Am I serving only myself and preserving my ego, protecting my pride in order to appear supreme or am I serving the Lord? Who am I out to glorify and impress? Do my actions glorify God? Did I stoop to conquer a brood of vipers in order to fit in, appear popular, exalt myself above the rest or did I bow to serve the One who truly loves us all in spite of ourselves?

Laying hands on the sick was a common practice in the Early Church. Jesus often laid hands on people before healing them Mark 6:5; Luke 4:40; 13:13. Paul laid hands on a sick person and he was healed Acts 28:8. Jesus said concerning His followers, “they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” Mark 16:18.

Anointing with oil for many different purposes was commonly practiced throughout the Scriptures. The New Testament mentions it specifically in connection with praying for the sick.

On one occasion Jesus sent out the twelve disciples on a mission and they “anointed many sick people with oil and healed them” Mark 6:13. In a church situation, the usual procedure is for a sick Christian to call for the elders of the church to pray over him and to anoint him with oil James 5:14-16. In biblical times oil was commonly used as a healing agent Luke 10:34.

But when used by the early Christians for anointing purposes it was merely a symbolic reminder to God’s healing power. Today as then, the anointing oil itself has no healing power. Healing takes place by the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38), of which oil is a symbol (Zechariah 4:4-6). Therefore at Salvaged Christian Ministries, we believe neither the laying on of hands nor anointing with oil is indispensable for healing.

“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” Mark 11:23

“Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:14-16

What exactly is Bible-based Christian Counseling?

What is the significance of Holy Communion and why should Christians partake in this glorious event?

From Joseph Prince’s Book, Eat Your Way to Life and Health.” The Power of Taking Holy Communion.

Day 1: The Simple Act of Eating Can Make All the Difference

Doctors may have told you there is no hope. You may have lived with a medical condition for so long, you’ve given up on ever being free of it. Perhaps something you’d overcome has come back with such a vengeance that you’re thinking, Maybe this time, it can’t be beaten.

Whatever sickness you’re confronted with today, please know that it is not from God. Disease and death were not part of His plan for man. They were released into the world when man sinned by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

But there is good news for you today: Just as disease and death came through the simple act of eating, God has ordained for another act of eating to restore the health and wholeness that man lost in the fall. It is the holy Communion—and it is easily accessible and available to you today.

Every time you partake of the Communion, you are proclaiming Jesus’ death at the cross that reversed the curse brought about in the garden of Eden. Every time you partake of the Communion, you experience the very power of Jesus’ redemptive work released into your body—especially healing and health!

DAY 2: God Wants You Completely Well

Maybe you’ve received a bad report from the doctors. Maybe they told you that your condition is chronic or incurable. With all due respect for doctors who have dedicated their lives to alleviating pain and suffering, they don’t have the final word in your life. God does. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last (see Rev. 22:13).

And His desire is for you to be completely well.

That might be easy to believe on good days when the pain subsides and you feel your strength returning. But what about days when the symptoms hit? What about days when you go back to the doctors and find that your condition hasn’t improved? On days like these, it’s easy to stop believing that God wants you well. It’s easy to start wondering, “Is this sickness from God? Is He trying to teach me something through this?”

My friend, nothing could be further from the truth. Your heavenly Father loves you deeply, and He wants you, His beloved child, to be healed, healthy, and whole.

How can you be sure?

Let’s look at Jesus in the gospels. He went about “doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38). When great multitudes followed Him bringing their loved ones who were sick, He “healed them all” (Matt. 12:15, 15:30). No exceptions. Not once did He say to anyone, “Come here. You are too healthy. Receive some leprosy.” Not once did He say to a sick person, “My Father is chastising you. That’s why you are sick.” You see, God does not give sicknesses and diseases. He gives healing.

Beloved, don’t ever let the lie come in that sickness is part of God’s will. May this truth burn in your heart now and always: “God wants me well!”

Jesus has fully purchased your healing at the cross and how you can receive your healing through the holy Communion.

DAY 3: Surely, Not Maybe

I’d like to share with you today about the certainty of your healing declared in God’s Word.

“Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, and our pains—he hath carried them.” —Isaiah 53:4 (YLT)

Isaiah 53 does not say, “Maybe our sicknesses he hath borne.” It says, “Surely our sicknesses he hath borne.” This scripture is indisputable proof of how completely and totally Jesus has purchased your healing at the cross!

Beloved, your health is so important to Jesus that He paid the terrible price for it. Isaiah 53 goes on to describe how He bore the punishment for our sins in His body because He knew that it would bring us peace and total well-being. He was scourged and striped—so that “by His stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5). That is how completely, fully, and surely your healing has been secured.

This is what the holy Communion is all about. When we hold the bread and the cup in our hands, we are remembering what Jesus accomplished for us at the cross (see 1 Cor. 11:23-26).
Please let me take some time to explain the significance and meaning of the holy Communion elements to you.

The bread: Jesus would have used Jewish Matzah bread when He first introduced the Communion to His disciples. The Matzah bread is burnt, pierced, and striped—reminding us that Jesus was burnt by the fire of God’s judgment, pierced for our transgressions, and striped by scourging so that we would be healed.

The cup: Jesus would have used wine on the night He first took the Communion with His disciples. To get wine, grapes have to be crushed—reminding us that Jesus was crushed and His blood was shed so that we could be forgiven of every sin in our lives. Because we are forgiven, there is no failure in our lives that can disqualify us from receiving healing from the Lord.

My friend, this is why the holy Communion has nothing to do with what you need to do, and everything to do with having a revelation of what Jesus has done for you.

DAY 4: Partake Continually

If you woke up with sickness or pain in your body today, the Lord has made a way for you to partake of the healing that He has purchased for you at the cross. He has prepared a meal by which you can literally eat your way to life and health. It is the holy Communion.

When you hold the bread and cup in your hand, you are holding the greatest expression of the Lord’s love for you.

This love made Him subject His body to be beaten, bruised, and broken so that yours can be whole today.

Beloved, can I encourage you to partake of the Communion continually? Our Lord Jesus said, “This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:25). Notice how He said “as often” and not “as rarely” or “as infrequently.” In our church, we partake of it every Sunday. The early church partook of it daily (see Acts 2:46). The Lord lets you decide what “often” means for you. If you want, you can even take it several times a day with your medication.

There are many people who have written to me to share how they received their healing breakthrough as they partook of the Communion regularly and with the revelation of the Lord’s love and finished work. I am believing with you that you will be next!

DAY 5: Little by Little

If you can still see or feel the symptoms of the condition you’re trusting God for healing for, I want to encourage you in this: You don’t need to have an instantaneous manifestation of healing or feel something tangibly happening in your body to know that God is healing you.

While God does heal instantly, He also heals incrementally.

In fact, most of the people who have written to me to share their healing testimonies were healed gradually by the Lord as they partook of the holy Communion.

Beloved, each time you partake of the holy Communion, you are getting better and better, stronger and stronger. God says in His Word, “Little by little I will drive [your enemies] out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.” (Exod. 23:30).

Little by little, that sickness, that disease, that condition, is being driven out from your life. Little by little, you are receiving your healing.

Whatever you’re battling in your body today, don’t be discouraged. The symptoms might still be there even though you have partaken of the Communion, but keep partaking in faith. Your healing is already taking place. Don’t give up!

DAY 6: No Exclusions

Even as you partake of the Communion in faith and wait on the Lord for your healing to manifest, there can be moments when discouraging thoughts creep in. Thoughts like, “My condition is so rare it’s almost unheard of. Maybe it’s not covered in the Bible.” Thoughts like, “It’s a new strain of disease I’m battling. Maybe what Jesus accomplished at the cross more than 2000 years ago doesn’t cover it. Maybe that’s why the holy Communion isn’t working for me.”
If you’ve ever had doubts like these—that your condition might somehow be excluded from God’s healing power—I have good news to share with you:

It doesn’t matter how rare, obscure, or even new to medical science your condition is. There are no exclusions whatsoever in the finished work of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus left nothing out when He bore our diseases at the cross. We can be sure of this because the curse He bore in our place includes “every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law” (Deut. 28:61, Gal. 3:13). This means that every physical condition—even the ones that aren’t mentioned in the Bible or didn’t exist back in Jesus’ time—is covered! Whatever you’re going through, whatever the name of the sickness you’re fighting, Jesus had it on His mind when He went to the cross for you.

DAY 7: Revelation Brings Results

While I have encouraged you to partake of the bread and the cup regularly, please know this:

The holy Communion is not about rules, routine, and regimentation. It is all about relationship, revelation, and receiving the redemptive work of Christ.

If the Communion was about following a strict set of rules in order to see results, then it would be like any other diet plan that relies on your effort, discipline, and willpower. But the Communion has nothing to do with what you need to do, and everything to do with having a revelation of what Jesus has done for you!

When Jesus first introduced the Communion to His disciples, He said, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” (1 Cor. 11:24). The Hebrew word for “remembrance” encompasses much more than sentimental recalling. It also conveys the idea of reenactment, of going through an event again. This means that when you partake of the bread and the cup, the Lord wants you to reenact all that He went through for you so that it becomes fresh in your mind—not just a historical event that happened 2000 years ago.

How do you do that? As you partake of the Communion, see Jesus before you, as though you are right there at Calvary. As you break the bread in your hands, see His body being broken for your wholeness. As you drink of the cup, see His blood being shed for your complete forgiveness. Meditate on this amazing truth: It was for you that the King of kings suffered!

Beloved, the more you partake of the bread and the cup with the sense of His love for you and the revelation of His redemptive work, the more you will receive the benefits of the holy Communion—especially divine life and health.

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