by Mark Shaw | Apr 29, 2009 | Biblical Counseling, Posts by Mark
The least read book in the U.S.A. is NOT the Bible – it’s your car’s instruction manual. Very few people read that book. Crisp, fresh, unmarked, and clean is how you’ll find this manual in most cars. But guess when people do read it? When their...
by Mark Shaw | Apr 15, 2009 | Biblical Counseling, Posts by Mark
Someone recently congratulated me for, “completing a successful year in your business.” Even though it was meant as an encouragement, it is wrong on two counts. First, we are NOT a business. We’re a ministry. Plain and simple. We do not operate to...
by Mark Shaw | Apr 11, 2009 | Biblical Counseling, Posts by Mark
Thank you all for standing with us for the Bible as sufficient to help us change into the image of Christ! What is counseling but an opportunity to offer people an evaluation of their thinking, speaking, and acting in order to bring about change? That’s simply...
by Mark Shaw | Apr 2, 2009 | Biblical Counseling, Posts by Mark
Thomas Oden wrote that our job is “to lead back the wandering sheep and to cure that which is wounded by the serpent” (Classical Pastoral Care, vol. 3, Baker Publishing, p. 57). This is PRECISELY what our ministry is all about: helping hurting, wandering...
by Mark Shaw | Apr 2, 2009 | Biblical Counseling, Posts by Mark
One of the things I strongly dislike about counseling teens and youths is the parents! Typically, we meet with the parents FIRST before meeting with the child. In most cases, the child is a product of the lack of parenting or poor parenting of mom and dad. It’s...
by Mark Shaw | Mar 24, 2009 | Biblical Counseling, Posts by Mark
Cough syrup is a drug in liquid form. Likewise, alcohol is a drug in liquid form. So why do we think of alcohol differently than we do other drugs? Why does our culture put it into a totally different category? Some say, “alcohol is legal” but so are other...
by Mark Shaw | Mar 20, 2009 | Biblical Counseling, Posts by Mark
Parents are going to pay a price either on the FRONT end or the BACK end for how they teach OR fail to teach their children. If you INVEST your time and energy to discipline your children in the Lord (Eph. 6:4) while they are young, the investment will pay off down...
by Mark Shaw | Mar 7, 2009 | Biblical Counseling, Posts by Mark
It is March 1st in Birmingham, AL, when I wrote this…and it’s snowing for the first time all year. So I thought to myself, what if we had visitors to our city today from Asia and they only came to B’ham today. What would they think about our city?...
by Mark Shaw | Mar 2, 2009 | Posts by Mark, Truth in Love Staff
Physically, when young people smoke cigarettes, it is said that it “stunts their growth” primarily because it suppresses their appetite. Thinking about this same concept in a spiritual sense: what suppresses our appetite for spiritual food from God’s...
by Mark Shaw | Mar 1, 2009 | Biblical Counseling, Posts by Mark
Physically, when young people smoke cigarettes, it is said that it “stunts their growth.” Do you know why that is? The answer: it suppresses their appetite. They do not eat because their natural, God-given desire to eat is suppressed. Now, let’s...
by Mark Shaw | Feb 28, 2009 | Biblical Counseling, Posts by Mark
From Genesis 3 and Matthew 4 when Satan tempted Adam & Eve (who failed) and Jesus (who succeeded!): 1) You can do anything you feel like doing! Obey your appetites! 2) You will not have any consequences for your selfish choices! 3) You are your own god and you do...
by Mark Shaw | Feb 25, 2009 | Biblical Counseling, Posts by Mark, Truth in Love Staff
The world often teaches people that they need more self-control but that’s not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that SELF is NOT the source of control. Self is NEVER the source of power for control. Instead, self is the OBJECT to be controlled by the...
by Mark Shaw | Feb 22, 2009 | Posts by Mark, Truth in Love Staff, Vs. Psychology
One of my biggest concerns about secular psychology is that it promotes a “victim mentality” where individuals who are responsible for their actions claim irresponsibility. This problem spills over into many aspects of our lives – like in the legal...
by Mark Shaw | Feb 19, 2009 | Biblical Counseling, family, Posts by Mark, Teaching, Truth in Love Staff
People who want a divorce say, “I’m not in love anymore” as though the fleeting feeling of love is the basis for marriage. Real love is what marriage requires you to do – commit loving acts toward your spouse for the glory of God! It’s an...
by Mark Shaw | Feb 18, 2009 | Truth in Love Staff
A biblical fool is someone who is a rebel and refuses to fear God. Can there be anyone worse than that? Sadly, the answer is “yes”. Proverbs 26:12: “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” Are...
by Mark Shaw | Feb 15, 2009 | Biblical Counseling, Posts by Mark, Truth in Love Staff
I meet with spouses who want a divorce frequently. I ask them, “Would you be willing to die for your spouse or at the least, give a kidney to your spouse?” To which, the person responds, “yes, of course.” Then, I often ask a follow-up question:...
by Mark Shaw | Feb 14, 2009 | Partnerships, Posts by Mark, Truth in Love Staff
I spoke to author, speaker, and radio host Mr. Jay Younts today (www.johnayounts.com) by telephone and he said something that was eye opening to me. He said that persons who excessively play video & internet games are often doing so because we were originally...
by Mark Shaw | Feb 12, 2009 | Life Lessons, Posts by Mark, Truth in Love Staff
Recently, I had an opportunity to sit down and talk with a man who is living under a bridge. He came to the place we were teaching for temporary shelter due to the cold. He shared his love for Jesus Christ with me and confessed sins in his life but he was NOT ready to...
by Mark Shaw | Feb 10, 2009 | Truth in Love Staff
My favorite verses in the Bible are Ephesians 4:15-16 because they are about the spiritual growth of Christians. From the ESV, Ephesians 4:15-16 reads: “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,...
by Mark Shaw | Feb 7, 2009 | Posts by Mark, Truth in Love Staff
I heard a lyric in a song recently that encouraged Christians to “doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs” and I thought, “Yeah. That’s right.” Bottom line issue for me is to trust God and keep my eyes fixated upon Him and not my...
