Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands

Satan’s wisdom places peoples’ lives in their own hands, so that they rely on their own ability to think, interpret, understand, and apply.

So, as you seek to help your friend, there are two things to hold onto. First, whatever you do must have the goal of heart change. Second, whatever you do must follow the example of the Wonderful Counselor. I want to introduce a model of personal ministry that takes both things seriously. It gets its shape from the way Christ brings about change in

The moral drama here gets to the core of human existence. Notice that the passage says that Eve saw the fruit as “desirable for gaining wisdom.” Satan was not just selling Eve the best fruit in the garden, but something more fundamentally appealing. He was telling Eve that if she ate the fruit, she would be independently wise. The promise was auton

Living a representative lifestyle can be summarized by three points of focus. As an ambassador, I will represent: 1. The message of the King. An ambassador is always asking, “What does my Lord want to communicate to this person in this situation? What truths should shape my response? What goals should motivate me?” 2. The methods of the King. Here

The sad fact is that many of us are simply not biblical in the way we use the Bible! Being biblical does not mean merely quoting words from within its pages. Being truly biblical means that my counsel reflects what the entire Bible is about. The Bible is a narrative, a story of redemption, and its chief character is Jesus Christ.

This means at least three things: 1. He has a higher goal for our relationships than our personal happiness. 2. He wants our relationships to be the context for the change he works in and through us. 3. We need to build relationships that encourage this work of change. We can understand this by considering the way Christ works in our own lives. Scr

Confrontation is meant to be more of a lifestyle than an unusual event.

When we see God’s work in us as the model for our work for him, three practical principles emerge: 1. God’s redemptive activity always takes place within relationships. 2. God’s first step in changing us is to draw us into relationship with him. 3. Our relationships are essential to the work God is completing in us and in others.

If we want our words to be instruments of change in confrontation, we need a sense of direction. These four steps provide a road map. 1. Consideration. What does God want the person to see? 2. Confession. What does God want the person to admit and confess? 3. Commitment. To what new ways of living is God calling this person? 4. Change. How should t