A Book Review: Competent to Counsel by Jay Adams

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AppId is over the quota

Adams contends, in his book, that the Christian is Competent to Counsel. "As far as I am concerned about you, my brothers, I am convinced that you especially are abounding in the highest goodness, richly supplied with perfect knowledge and competent to counsel one another." Romans 15:14 (Williams)

Jay Adams did not use research of scientific findings to determine that Christians are competent to counsel. His method is presuppositional as he avowedly accepts the inerrant Bible as the standard of all faith and practice. Further, he recognizes that his interpretations and applications of Scriptures are not infallible. Also, he does not wish to disregard science, but rather uses it as an adjunct to Scriptural truths. The first chapter illustrates well the condition of modern psychiatry to the extent that he states, "Referral of any sort ought to be considered by a minister only as a last resort. The fact that the an individual has sought out a Christian counselor should itself be considered of some significance." (p. 19)

Since counseling is the work of the Holy Spirit, one must seek His guidance in order to be effective. (John 14:16,17; Isaiah 9:6) "The Holy Spirit is God with us. Counselors and those seeking counsel alike must respect the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit." (p. 22) The textbook of Christian counselors must be the Word of God.

Adams reminds us that the Bible separates organic, physically based problems and those that stem from sinful attitudes and behavior.

After three chapters of "introduction", Adams defines "nouthetic counseling" in his fourth chapter. "Jesus Christ is at the center of all true Christian counseling. Any counseling which moves Christ from that point has to the extent that it has done so ceased to be Christian." Nouthetic confrontation is to be done by the whole church, not just the minister. (Colossians 3:16; Romans 15:14) "Nouthetic" is a transliteration. Translations for the Greek word include: admonish, warn, teach. There are three elements of nouthetic confrontation:

1) "implies a problem, and presupposes an obstacle that must be overcome; something is wrong in the life of the one who is confronted."

2) "problems are solved nouthetically by verbal means."

3) "the verbal correction is intended to benefit the" individual seeking counsel. (p. 44-49)

Consider these: II Timothy 3:16; Colossians 1:28; II Timothy 4:2; II Corinthians 11:29; I Timothy 1:5.

Qualifications for Nouthetic Counseling:

Goodness and knowledge - Romans 15:14Wisdom - Colossians 3:16; Proverbs 1:7

After dealing with a number of other issues, Adams finishes his book by discussing "Christian School Teachers as Nouthetic Counselors". "The Christian teacher (not a counseling specialist) is the key to counseling in the school. If the teacher is qualified to be a Christian school teacher, given the conviction and a minimum of the right sort of training and experience, that teacher can do more effective counseling than the self-styled experts." "Like other Christians, the Christian teacher may draw upon all of the resources of God: Scripture, prayer, and the church, in the context of the Holy Spirit." (p. 252)

The classroom is the ideal environment, on a daily basis with a penalty and reward system under the authority of God where the student is during the most productive hours of the day. Deuteronomy 6:7 and ll:19

Adams presents his case well and reminds Christians to trust the Holy Spirit to guide in this important work.

Competent to Counsel - available on: http://www.amazon.com

Maggie Dail has been affiliated with Academy Northwest since 1994. Before that she taught in Heritage Christian School, Evangelical Christian Academy and Panama City Christian School. She and husband operate an Academy Northwest learning center in Lakewood, Washington. Maggie earned her M.A. in Special Education in 1989 and has taught for nearly 40 years. http://www.academynorthwest.net/

How to Move Beyond Fear to the High Places With God

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AppId is over the quota

Hannah Hurnard's book Hinds Feet on High Places is one of my favorite books. The main character in the story is Much-Afraid, who belongs to the family of Fearlings. Fear has driven her life much as it did mine. I've read it at two pivotal points in my life-the death of my mother and the death of my father. The book is a beautiful allegory dramatizing Much-Afraid's spiritual journey to the High Places, where she learns to overcome her tormenting fears with the help of the Good Shepherd. The story is perhaps most interesting because Much Afraid is lame, and to help her overcome her fears, the Shepherd challenges her to walk the High Places along the narrow edges of jagged cliffs and high mountainous terrain with the unwelcome companions of Sorrow and Suffering. As the Shepherd introduces her to her new companions, she is visibly shaken.

"I can't go with them," she gasped, "I can't! I can't O my Lord Shepherd, why do you do this to me? How can I travel in their company? It is more than I can bear. You tell me that the mountain way itself is so steep and difficult that I cannot climb it alone. Then why, oh why, must you make Sorrow and Suffering my companions? Couldn't you have given Joy and Peace to go with me, to strengthen me and encourage me and help me on the difficult way? I never thought you would do this to me!" And she burst into tears.

A strange look passed over the Shepherd's face as he listened to this outburst, then looking at the veiled figures as he spoke, he answered very gently, "Joy and Peace. Are those the companions you would choose for yourself? You remember your promise, to accept the helpers that I would give, because you believed that I would choose the very best possible guides for you. Will you still trust me Much-Afraid? Will you go with them, or do you wish to turn back to the Valley, and to all your Fearling relatives, to Craven Fear himself?"

Risky Business

As I've read this story throughout the years, I've asked myself what in the world motivated Much-Afraid to continue the journey? I believe the answer is found in the willingness to risk. I have come to the conclusion that to face the difficult seasons in life, you must be willing to walk with the companions the Shepherd gives you, and you must desire for them to shape and mold your heart, even when it feels as if they are breaking it to pieces. If you're not willing, you'll choose to play it safe and stay stuck in the valley; there is no greater travesty.

Risking is scary business because our hearts are up for grabs. But if we, like Much-Afraid, will trust the Shepherd, even when it defies reason, he will turn sorrow and suffering into joy, and peace.

How do we step out and risk trusting God? The same way Much Afraid did---by getting to know the Shepherds heart. Here are a few ideas to begin:

• Spend time alone with God

• Identify your worst fear and ask yourself if it's too big for God to handle

• Uncover any false beliefs you have about God---replace them with the truth

• Don't humanize God. He isn't like anyone else you know

• Watch what you tell yourself about your circumstances. Negative attitudes foster fear and unbelief

• Practice the spiritual disciplines of silence, solitude, fasting and prayer

• Meditate on verses that speak about God's unfailing love and goodness

• Do a study on the names of God

Much-Afraid made the journey to the High Places because she was willing to risk trusting the Shepherd with her life; even when she didn't understand what he was doing. That took a knowing of the Shepherd's heart through the power of intimate relationship. Once she was convinced his heart towards her was good---she was willing to risk.

How about you, what's standing in the way of you trusting God today? If it's fear, surrender it to him just like Much Afraid did, and see if he doesn't lead you to the High Places.

Love Wins - An Easter Reflection on Heaven and Hell

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AppId is over the quota

This is not a conventional book review. These are my reflections on the controversy stirred by Rob Bell's book, Love Wins.

I finished reading Love Wins well over a month ago, but have been reluctant to write anything about it, because I fear no matter what I write, I will offend. And this is true! If I oppose Bell's theology, I offend those who support him. If I support his theories, I in turn offend those who oppose him. My personality type prefers to avoid conflict. Does that make me a coward?

Sometimes!

But today is not that day. I'm going to speak from my heart, and potentially tick off some people.

I hope that isn't you.

Before I begin, I want to admit something. I am mortal, I am not omniscient, and I don't have everything figured out. In other words, I'm not God. Every single thing I've written below could be wrong. And if so, I pray God would continue to shape and form my thinking to understand His absolute truth. Why? Because I believe in absolute truth, I just think man's feeble attempt at deciphering it often creates dogma that directly opposes the very heart of God.

Now, to begin.

Love wins? No, Love won. Love won at the very foundation of the earth. Love won because God, Jesus, and the Spirit are timeless, and Jesus was slain at the very foundation of the earth (Revelations 13:8). God exists now at creation, at the crucifixion, and in eternity with those who've passed from this temporal life. This timelessness has always been outside my ability to comprehend, because I'm trying to do so with a finite mind enslaved to the ticking click of this planet. But even that clock is deceptive. I am timeless, at least, my spirit, my core, is. It's only the decay of creation (including my body) that offers the illusion of time. In The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis, a fictional story about one man's trip from hell to heaven, a character states the following:

"Time is the very lens through which ye see-small and clear, as men see through the wrong end of a telescope-something that would otherwise be too big for ye to see at all. That thing is Freedom: the gift whereby ye most resemble your Maker and are yourselves part of eternal reality."

Lewis suggests time is but a lens the finite uses to perceive small chunks of eternity. Why am I emphasizing time so much? Because it's a lousy tool to help us understand the complexities of heaven and hell. So let's throw it out for a moment, and look at the death and resurrection of Jesus. First off, Jesus has alwaysbeen then tributary of love which connects God to man, and man to God. It was always God's plan. Even in the Old Testament, Jesus' salvation existed (Revelations 13:8). Just because the "instance" of the cross happened in first century A.D., doesn't mean its reach was limited to that moment. Otherwise, we, who exist now, would be in trouble. But there is no time, so the cross still stands, and will always stand, along with the resurrected Jesus, for all eternity.

Here's where things get dicey. Rob Bell suggests in his book that "all" people will eventually be wooed by this great love of God through Jesus. Although he doesn't make this suggestion outright, it's easily inferred through the questions he asks throughout his manuscript. For instance, in the chapter entitled, Does God Get What God Wants, Bell asks:

Will all people be saved, or will God not get what God wants? Does this magnificent, mighty marvelous God fail in the end?

It doesn't take a deep thinker or Biblical scholar to decipher the intent of this question. Nor does the fact this question is asked in controversial Love Wins invalidate it. Lots of people wonder why a loving God would allow Hell. It seems contradictory.

Ok, so let's ask ourselves the same question. Why does a loving God, who sent Jesus to redeem anyone, as long as they believe-wait a minute, believe what! Oh yes, that Jesus died to save them from their sins. At least, that's what you'll hear in Sunday School.

"But teacher, what happens to those who don't believe?"

"Well, they burn in hell, forever."

Let's admit it. That sounds horrible. I hate it. Don't you? And so does Bell. In fact, he hates it so much, that he's written a book to try to dissolve the idea of eternal hell and suggest all mankind eventually will succumb to the love of Christ in eternity. Why does he wish to promote this theology? My opinion is that he is in a continual crisis of faith. Bell cannot believe in a God who would actually permit something as terrible as hell. An eternity in such a place is more than he can fathom, as it should be for all of us. I WILL NOT fault Bell for being disturbed by hell. Nor will I fault him for writing Love Wins. We are all entitled to ask questions about the Bible. Personally, I believe too many Christians worship the Bible as God, rather than understand it is an earthly element full of spiritual life that points to God. It is God that gives the Bible life, and meaning. If God is not real, the Bible is merely the collective rant of various madmen. People too often take the Bible, misinterpret it, and create dogma. When that occurs, any book that goes against our personal interpretation of the Bible (and there are nearly as many unique interpretations as there are readers) makes us freak out. But why?

Because I think many of us are experiencing our own crises of faith along with Bell. We don't think God is big enough to defend absolute truth. Or, we think the ideas in such books will ultimately crumble Christianity. We feel we must defend the doctrine to ensure the survival of Christianity. First off, I am not against doctrine, nor its defense. Doctrine is exciting, because it is the process of interpreting the Bible to better understand our infinite God. But when doctrine becomes God, we've got a problem. God doesn't look too highly on idol worship. He knows it is not good for us. It is the heartbeat of hell.

Uh oh, I said it. I just let the cat out of the bag. I believe in hell. But I don't think it's like what we learn about in Sunday School-you know, a raging, literal lake of fire. No, I think it's worse. And not because God wants us there (2 Peter 3:9), but because God loves us right into hell. You see, my entire foundation as a human rests on this single foundation, this single description of God that I can actually understand.

God is love. (1 John 4:8)

This is the first verse I've chosen to believe in the Bible. And it is by this verse that I interpret the rest of the Bible, and all of life. Without it, I have no foundation. Without it, the genocide in the Old Testament, the flood, and hell would drive me to insanity. But no, I believe that verse, because I've both experienced, and offered love in my earthly life. I know what it is, how it feels, and its power. It is outside the realm of science, outside the realm of explanation, but so simple, and intuitive, that even a child can master it. It is the essence of God that fills all creation, the outpouring of the cross as it stands eternal. With it, communities thrive. Without it, wars erupt. Love inspires, creates, and motivates. Love is patient, kind, doesn't envy, doesn't boast, isn't proud, seeks the good of others, and is not easily angered. It doesn't delight in evil, rejoices in truth, protects, trusts, hopes, and preserves.

Love NEVER fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Good heavens, love sure sounds powerful! In fact, I'd pity anyone who didn't want this love. It would be like-well, fighting against something that's all powerful. If love was the engine of eternity, and you didn't want it, it would be like touching a hot stove. You'd want to withdraw your hand, but in the case of love, it would be impossible. The heat would always be surrounding you, because you're inside an eternal stove fueled by love, whether you like it or not.

But why would anyone not like love. How could love itself be the very real fire of hell?

Because some of us live with the mindset that we are our own God, and our ideas, opinions and self-worth is more important than the naturally outward and other-centric nature of love. We demand, yet offer nothing. So in the presence of love in its absolute fullness, that mentality reaches a crisis. Like two similar ends of a magnet, self-God, and real-God don't get along too well. The loving north pole of God's magnet will always try to press into the self-loving north pole of the self-lover, even as the self-lover continually pushes back. You see, self-love demands God turn his magnet around, so the self-lover can absorb God into his or herself. After all, self-lovers think they are God. At the same time, God, who is love, asks us to turn our self-loving magnet around and connect with Him, for eternity. He wants to draw us into Himself. We are all the same magnet, but each chooses different response to God. When we allow God's magnet to pull us close to him, we experience heaven. When we try to push God's magnet away from us, we experience hell. And since time doesn't exist, this is our eternal state, right now. What I mean is this decision is etched in the realm of forever, in the book of life. Yet here on earth, the decision is only observable through the tainted lens of time. We interpret who is "saved" and "un-saved" based on their acceptance of Christ, and the fruit of their life. But we don't know in what moment of time, weather in the past, or future, the individual manifested the eternal decision. All I know, well, believe, is that this decision is final, was final, and will always be final, because again, time really doesn't exist.

There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self choice there could be no Hell. - C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

Sometimes it's very hard to decipher who's made what eternal decision. For instance, Bell has difficulty believing that Gandhi is in hell, or rather, experiencing hell. Gandhi did a lot of good, and exhibited fruits of love. So is he experiencing hell? I don't know. I don't have access to his heart. I don't know what he thought of Jesus. Only God can truly weight the motivations of the heart. Although I can certainly judge an individual's actions here on earth, I'll leave the judging of souls up to God.

This leads to another question proposed by Bell, one I really don't have an answer to. Is death the final indicator of our decision for love through Christ? As I looked for an answer, I found one key verse used to argue that death seals the deal for heaven or hell.

And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this, the judgment. (Hebrews 9:27).

Unfortunately, this verse is too vague to answer the question for me. In fact, to me, it doesn't really address the question at all. All it states is that after death, there is judgment. OK, but what is this judgment? Does Jesus ask, "now that you see me, do you want me," offering us a final choice? Or does He say, based on our earthly decisions, "I never knew you, away from me evil doer."? The verse simply doesn't say. So I'll have to leave this one as- I don't know. And that's OK. I don't have to know everything right now. Perhaps someday, I'll get some more insight and form a more concrete opinion. Right now, I simply believe that since God is love (my foundational theology), and that He will somehow make sure anyone who actually wants Him, gets Him, for all eternity.

To again quote The Great Divorce: No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.

I hope you come away from reading this with some better insight on how, perhaps, heaven and hell work. I've barely scratched the surface of all my thoughts on the matter, and am even today, continuing my ponderings about God, and eternity. The life we all collectively live here on earth is fascinating, and worth studying. While I form opinions based on the foundation of Biblical scripture, another lens, like time, into the mind of God, others base their viewpoints on different foundations, such as science, or religion. The earth collectively cries out for understanding and meaning, and that is ok. What is bad is when we defend our own interpretation of meaning to the point where we lose sight of the ultimate element of creation, the love of God. Lack of love creates the filthy element of hell alive even in the temporal: wars, broken families, corrupt corporations, domestic violence, and bigotry. It's especially sad when Christians themselves get so caught up in dogma that they start exhibiting unholy anger towards their opponents. Although anger itself is not bad, too frequently, we Christians fail to see the deeper causes stirring the mindsets of ourchallengers, and lash out. Rather, let's confront such challenges with confidence, integrity, and love, and seek to answer any and all questions that come our way with the confidence that God will guide us to absolute truth. Let us ourselves believe that if we seek, we will find.

Christian Fantasy: The circle Séris - advantages and disadvantages

The series of the circle by Ted Dekker, including black, red, white and green books is an excellent mixture of fantasy and thriller. It is well written and difficult. He managed the feat to hard striking images in the mind of the reader without bogging him down with descriptions.

Also, I thought it was a very original type of fantasy. It is not the classic feel of Tolkienesque fantasy with dragons and Knights and wizards and elves and bizarre names that are difficult to pronounce and of dark mysterious forests with giant spiders and ancient language fleurie-like and elvinish to make the story more "cool", etc., etc.. It is not that I am opposed to this type of fantasy, but to be honest, I am tired of it, and it was very refreshing to read something more original.

In addition, Dekker retains the drive very rooted in reality throughout the book (because the main character is constantly switching between our world and the other), so that it feels not like a fantasy bed at all. The other reality is just as real and credible as our reality in the book.

Not only is it a thriller exciting and compelling fantasy; It is an incredible story that focuses on the powerful of redemption. In the black book, come evil and Sin, and human beings humans are separated from God (Romans 3: 23). Red, we are witnesses of great sacrifice; God offers his son to die and restores the relationship between man and God (John 3: 16). White highlights how the relationship between God and humanity is like a great love story. He is married and the liberator, and we are his precious bride (Revelation 21: 9, song of songs). And the green color represents how someone who God finds a new life and an eternal home in heaven (John 14: 2-3).

So, I thought that the history of its own, absolutely beautiful, even if it left the plot is, although characters developed, and originality - and that is what truly makes the series. In addition, the series would be just an another collection of entertaining but generally pointless thriller. Instead of this, they are entertaining thriller that also have a moving portrait of redemption. You go from this series and see God in a new way and interested in a relationship with him even more... at least, I have certainly!

However, there are also some disadvantages of the series. First of all, I will issue a warning: the books are bloody and violent, so I do not recommend for young readers! Second, it is useful to mention that the series has a lot of love, even if the romance is not unnecessary; It plays a role in the demonstration of what our relationship with God must be, in a sense. To be honest, I think that the overall message of the series would be less potent without love. However, there are also kissing before marriage and some people - including myself - can have a problem.

Third, the last book, Green, (you can also considered the first book, in what order, one reads the series;) (I'll go more in detail on this subject later) have some telepathic and content into a vampire. It is a little weird, so warned. This book is by far the frightful four, but once again, it is for a reason; It helps to establish the evil side that exists in the history and given the spiritual side that represents evil that, in our world, it is no exaggeration!

Although there are a few negative things, I've found about the series, I hope you can see that there is much more positive than negative things. The series is an exciting history, original credible, with a message of the beautiful, sustainable, and I would strongly recommends that any Christian or secular reader who loves an exciting, fast-paced adventure that not only entertains (1909), but that really means something.

Finally, I will make a brief note on the order of the series. I recommend that the series be read in the order of black, red, white and green. However, it can also be read with Green as the first book, followed by the rest in the same order. Dekker has designed the series to read in both cases. The reason that I recommend that the first way is because it is about the series has been written in, and therefore, it feels much more natural. In addition, find it me much easier to get hooked on history when it begins with black and it is gratifying to see how green, everything goes and mysteries first three books are a response. One of the disadvantages of this order are the Green ends on a light thriller, while white has a more satisfactory end. EH well, to each his own.

Brianna da Silva is an aspiring film director, novelist and artist of the computer and a blogger over three years. Read the rest of his book reviews, and blog posts on culture, Christianity, science, theology, writing, cinema, politics and more, on his blog, "Pursuit of truth": http://writersthoughts-brianna.blogspot.com/.

Book Review of "Franchising McChurch" by Thomas White and John M Yeats

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AppId is over the quota

Franchising McChurch: Feeding Our Obsession with Easy Christianity. [Soft cover]

by Thomas White & John M. Yeats

240 pages, $14.99

ISBN-10: 1434700046

Nonfiction

Review by Steven King, MBA, MEd

Many years ago, Christianity's greatest apostle wrote an amazing letter to a church in a thriving metropolis. To the church at Corinth Paul intimated, "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." In essence, Paul was saying that Christianity requires one to do whatever is necessary to see others come to salvation. In the modern era, some churches employ a literal interpretation of this mantra in their desire to seek parishioners.

Is it possible to go too far?

In Franchising McChurch, White and Yeats believe so. They have written a thorough polemic against the modern church's nearly insatiable quest to be consumer driven. These theologians have borrowed George Ritzer's concept of "McDonalization" and have applied it expertly to the church. Are the time-tested, entrepreneurial concepts that have made fast food universally available applicable to church growth?

In a word - no.

Today's parishioner comes to the church service expecting a Happy Meal filled with a breathtaking toy surprise. He wants to stay for as little time as possible and still receive a meal without spending much money. To meet this growing demand, churches have regularly compromised sound biblical teaching and have provided dazzling multimedia, concert styled worship, and watered down sermons. Is it really a meal if you are only providing junk food for peoples' souls?

White and Yeats discuss the church's ills with scholarly precision seasoned with the grace of two men that have walked the trenches of pastoral ministry. The tome they have produced is not hollow criticism; instead, they devote an entire chapter on how to quit the McChurch mentality. Their discussion on the error of striving for efficiency at the expense of effectiveness alone is worth the read.

Thankfully, successful churches that were birthed from the "seeker" movement have begun to realize that a church cannot compromise sound exegetical instruction. Topical sermons, for all their popularity, result in biblically illiterate denizens who do not comprehend basic spiritual truth. A diet of hamburgers will initially provide the illusion of satiety but will result in body degradation. Similarly, a watered down, consumer friendly sermon will encourage church dilapidation.

Who needs this book? Anyone who serves as a leader in a church. Church leaders should think of ways to bring the gospel message in a context of clarity and not stoop to gimmicky chicanery.

Spiritual Maturity - Part 1

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AppId is over the quota

2 Peter 3:17-18 says: "Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen"

Peter urges us to grow and we are told the only way that meets with Christ's standards is to grow in Grace. In 2 Peter 3, verse 18 builds onto the previous one and we are able to grow in grace when we grasp with our heart, the full weight of verse 17. - As we move forward in grace we remain steadfast in our walk with Him, which mean we are living committed and surrendered life where we take our cues from the Holy Spirit, we remain in Scriptures and grounded in the faith because we found something so precious in Him that we cannot afford to leave His sight and nothing else on earth catches our interests. We hinder our Spiritual growth in several ways and all comes down to the fact that most of us do not understand what we believe in simply because the idea of Salvation coming from the pulpit does not even begin to describe what God means by Salvation. - True Salvation is nothing short of finding the heart of God the father and when you do, you cannot help living in constant amazement of your found treasure. Sadly, our lack of commitment to the faith and our need to keep our options open instead of letting Christ take over our lives, says it all.

Commitment to the faith here does not imply what we do outwardly like regular Church attendance, pray, read our Bible, sing songs and try to act like Christians. While all these outward activities are good things, but there needs to be a commitment to the faith that stemmed from a repentant heart filled with gratitude for having been apprehended by Christ while we were yet sinners and totally ignorant of Him. What is the point of doing church things while we indulge in our sins like unbelievers? If you have not reached the point where the smallest sin is repulsive to you because of who you are inside, then you are wise to question what you have received so far and what are you building your Christians life on. - Repulsion of sin does not put you in a category above other Christians; it simply says that you have indeed been born again. Think about it, if sinning is natural to you, then what sets you apart from the unbelievers?

Another hindrance is that we do not have true faith. Remember faith is a gift from God and long before we decide to take Christ into our heart there was a work being done in the spiritual realm on our behalf. - Today's diluted Gospel has changed all that, we go on thinking that we can coerce Christ into accepting empty and meaningless rituals as if He is not able to see our hearts and what is truly taking place. So we go about getting people to say the sinner's prayer for various reasons, sometimes it falls under a well disguised intimidation, sometimes people respond to us and let us lead them to saying the sinner's prayer because they want to play it safe, so their motives are wrong to begin with; sometimes they get carried away by their own emotions and sometimes Christ moved them to say the sinner's prayer because He has been preparing their hearts for a long time. While it is not up to us to judge what is in people's heart, but any one with an ounce of spiritual discernment can see today's Christianity is in big trouble as the Church is walking away from the truth and we are left with empty words, rituals and religion. - If we cannot see that's true, then we are in much bigger trouble because the unbelievers can see beside our rituals we are no different from them so they are turned off.

We are forewarned to be careful of things like today's Gospel which underlines spiritual maturity as an option so people would not feel burden by Christianity. However, spiritual maturity is not an option; it is indeed the aftereffect of true Salvation through grace and the Gospel being worked in us through His grace which flows from us because of Christ and the Holy Spirit living within us. If we claim to have been saved, we claimed we have received Christ within, then why is it we have majority of so called Christians in the Pews with not an ounce of desire to go further spiritually? - No desire whatsoever to get to know Him? - If you have been in the Church for a while now, and you still feel you are not going forward spiritually speaking, do not despair and do not go to someone else either; I urge you to go directly to Him and BELIEVE that if truly you are seeking for Him, you will indeed find Him - This is His promise to us! - Let go of all doubts that encumber you and do not let yourself believe like an abstract idea floating in your head; take the time to be silent before Him and inform your mind what you want your heart to go with, and ask Him to bring Holy repentance into your heart and to help you leave behind that need to take on messages that tickle your ears, and to make you willing to be willing to do His will and walk with Him upwardly according to the whole truth of the Gospel in the righteousness of Christ.

M.J. Andre is an aspiring writer who has learned true Christianity at the feet of God through brokenness and seven years of unending and excruciating wilderness process that left the soul undone!

Copyright 2012
http://www.apprehended.ca/

I LIVE TO KNOW YOU LORD!

Review of the Top 5 books of Osho

More than 600 books are attributed to the controversial spiritual leader Osho. This article will review 5 of the most popular books of Osho.

1. The book of Secrets: 112 meditations to discover the mystery within

The book of Secrets was published after his death in 1990 is a collection of its conferences and periods of issues and follow-up responses. The reader will appreciate the style casual and conversational the book and it does for easy reading.

It is one of the longest Osho books with more than 1,100 pages. Osho we offers a complete guide and practice to learn to meditate. He believed that without meditation, we can never discover the deep secrets of life but merely its surface.

Meditation techniques are based on ancient texts that have been translated to contemporary understanding. Each of the 112 meditations are described in detail and explains the best way to use in our modern life.

If you have a particular faith that you follow or not you will draw many meditation benefits. And you go to the temple to practice will make it - any quiet place. Your mind and your body is the temple enough with the will and the courage to try something new.

2 Tantra: The Supreme understanding

More than 600 books of Osho, Tantra is his all time best seller. For more than 1,000 years, the writings of Tilopa, the Indian master of the eleventh century of Tantra lived on. Tilopa transmitted his mystical point of view his pupil, Naropa, in the form of his song of Mahamudra.

Osho, humorous, beautiful yet powerful way, teaches through Tantra Tilopa song "Tantric meditation techniques how piece by piece, display and mystical ideas apply to our lives today."

3. Emotions: anger, jealousy & fear freedom

Life is nothing if not emotional, and do not understand our emotions and how effectively treat lies at the heart of many of our problems. And these issues do not affect only our physical, mental and sexual health , but also our energy levels, sleep and relationships with friends and family.

Emotions, Osho gives us a practical and comprehensive guide to control our emotions by watching and learning from them, when they do occur. And once we learn that our emotions have more power to provoke us.

4 Love, freedom, loneliness: the Koan of relationships

If you are really looking for something different than the same old worn advice on relationships, this is just the book for you. Love, freedom and power was also published after his death by his teachings.

We find that only by learning to live in us and with us first, can cultivate us real freedom in our lives; and this freedom allows us to find love and happiness with someone else. The book is a free dialogue and flowing on how to strike a balance between life, love and meditation and not a 12-step formula.

5 Be in love: the love of the conscience and without fear

In this book, Osho challenges us to question what we think we know about love and we open the door to the idea that, instead of love, jealousy and possessiveness, consisting of, is natural and fulfilled.

It dares us resists, the patterns we learned culture and those around us who are unhealthy and rediscover the be love and love without expectation. For a time at the beginning, we have filled with nonsense on what love is that at the time we are ready to explore the world of love is not much hope that we can tell the difference between what is real and what is false.

Osho invites us to explore new ways of love will change in always our relations in responding to issues which face many fans including how:

• Become a partner of life with which a person

• Be fully present in your relationships

• Love without "cling".

• Free you from the fear of being alone

• Release expectations, rules and requirements

• Keep your love fresh and alive

• Surrender your ego, so you can surrender to love

These five books of Osho go well beyond the understanding of conventional psychology and provide unique insight into the functioning of the mind, heart and essence of be.

S Lynn Devereaux is a writer who specializes in writing about the mode of healthy living and lifestyles that include diet, exercise, spirituality and meditation. She found meditation Osho one preferred meditation form.

You can check on its Web site the most recent meditation Osho, where it provides impartial criticism for a wide range of Osho meditation and books including the Ashram of Osho, Osho on love and much more still.