The Mind, Body, and Medications

In my ongoing study of the subject of mental/emotional illness, counseling, and the church; I found a very helpful chapter in the recently released book, Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling. The final chapter, “The Complex Mind/Body Connection,” is written by Dr. Laura Hendrickson. As a trained medical doctor, and board-certified psychiatrist, Laura brings insight that is appreciated within the biblical counseling world.

In this chapter, Laura explores the complexity of our humanity and seeks to bring biblically-informed wisdom to bear upon the mind, body, and psychiatric medication. In this post, I will summarize and highlight her main conclusions. For the full benefit you would do well to get yourself a copy of Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling.

There Is Mystery in this Body, which Is Made by God. Just as Christians have many misconceptions about emotions [the subject of the preceding chapter] so “the body fares little better, perhaps worse, in our mind’s eye.” But it is important to remember that “our emotions and our bodies are God’s idea….The interrelationship between body and soul defies our capacity to fully comprehend. The complexity of the mind-body, soul-brain connection is both majestic and deeply troubling to many.” Hendrickson then refers to the Biblical Counseling Coalition’s Confessional Statement, and reflects upon the dozen drafts of the portion that addresses the mind/body connection. This section of the confession closes with the following paragraph: “We recognize the complexity of the relationship between the body and soul (Genesis 2:7). Because of this, we seek to remain sensitive to physical factors and organic issues that affect people’s lives. In our desire to help people comprehensively, we seek to apply God’s Word to people’s lives amid bodily strengths and weaknesses. We encourage a thorough assessment and sound treatment for any suspected physical problems.”    Continue at Paul Tautges

Sin Begins In the Mind — Jerry Bridges

Bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. – 1 Timothy 4:8

Sin begins in the mind. Therefore, every Christian must heed the warning of Scripture to “Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23). We, above all people, must exercise caution when choosing what we watch on t.v. or the books and magazines we read. I found the quote below, by Jerry Bridges, to be very helpful:

Our minds are mental greenhouses where unlawful thoughts, once planted, are nurtured and watered before being transplanted into the real world of unlawful actions. People seldom fall suddenly into gluttony or immorality. These actions are savored in the mind long before they are enjoyed in reality. The thought life, then, is our first line of defense in the battle of self-control.   Continue at Eric T. Young

The Hidden Life of Prayer

Table of Contents

Chapter 1, The Life of Prayer.
Chapter 2, The Equipment.
Chapter 3, The Direction of the Mind.
Chapter 4, The Engagement: Worship.
Chapter 5, The Engagement: Confession.
Chapter 6, The Engagement: Request.
Chapter 7, The Hidden Riches of the Secret Place.
Chapter 8, The Open Recompense.
Footnotes, Footnotes to all chapters.
Copyright

HT: Monergism

Where Sin Is Hatched

No one ever “falls” into adultery. The adulterer’s heart is always shaped and prepared by lustful thoughts before the actual deed occurs. Likewise, the heart of the thief is bent by covetousness. And murder is the product of anger and hatred. All sin is first incubated in the mind.

Jesus taught this truth to His disciples: “The things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man” (Matthew 15:18-20, emphasis added).

Jesus was teaching that the real point of the Mosaic law was the moral truth embodied in the external ceremonial requirements. He downplayed the symbolic aspects of washing and abstaining from what is legally declared unclean. Instead He emphasized the moral requirement of the law.

 Defilement, He suggested, is not primarily a ceremonial or external problem; what is truly defiling in the spiritual sense is the wickedness that emanates from the heart. In Scripture, “the heart” is the seat of the whole person—mind imagination, affections, and will. “Heart” is often used as a synonym for “mind.” In these verses, therefore, our Lord was condemning the wickedness of an impure thought life.

Again and again, Christ rebuked the Pharisees for their fastidious observance of the external, ceremonial law and their wanton neglect of the law’s moral requirements. They were utterly preoccupied with appearing to be righteous. Yet they were willing to tolerate the grossest sins of the heart. They thought no one else could ever discover what was really inside them. But our Lord knew what was in their hearts (Matthew 9:4; 12:25). He compared them to elegant crypts, beautiful on the outside but full of defilement and death on the inside.  Continue at John MacArthur

When Looking for Pornography…Begin in the Heart

Where would you look to locate the primary problem with pornography? In our culture?

Are you tempted to initially react to the sensual realities of our culture?

You should react!

You should be concerned!

But when you address the porn problem, are you more inclined to begin the discussion with the prevalent, pervasive, cultural, immodesty issues?

Granted it should be part of the discussion.

Certainly it is right to walk our wives and daughters through how to dress modestly.

It is wise to teach them how to help guard the hearts of their male friends, by dressing in an appropriate manner.

However, the way they dress should not be the starting point in the pornography discussion.

Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. – Luke 6:45

Jesus began the discussion regarding behavioral sins like porn not with the behavior, but with the heart. In the quote above Jesus tied the behavior (tongue speech) to the heart. He placed the source or the genesis of our sin problems in the heart rather than on the lip.   Keep Reading  >>>

Does God ever Change His mind?

Pastor John, I have a theological question for you. What would you say to someone (who was an Arminian) if you were having a discussion with them about the sovereignty of God in salvation and they stated that God does in fact change His mind (Exodus 32:14 is an example)? 

That is a very good question. Nowadays people like to have instant sound bite size answers to their questions, but that is not always possible. On this issue, it is important to lay the groundwork to provide a satisfactory, biblical answer and to do that necessitates serious study and application of the Scriptures. Let's take a look at this question from a few different angles.

Hermeneutics is the science of biblical interpretation. One amongst many sound principles of interpretation is that we should base our view of God on the didactic (teaching) portions of scripture rather than the narrative (story) or poetic portions. This is why although the Bible says we can hide under the shadow of the Most High and under His wing find refuge, no Bible scholar expects God the Father to be a winged bird in heaven. This is obvious picture language where God uses images to speak to us highlighting the fact that just as a young bird finds refuge in the warmth and comfort of its mother's wings, we believers can find refuge in the Lord. The Lord is our rock and fortress, but that does not mean God is a literal rock or castle; or that because the Lord is our Shepherd and the Psalmist wrote, "your rod and your staff, they comfort me" God the Father has a literal rod and shepherd's staff that He uses with regularity in heaven. No, it is obvious picture language to describe something very meaningful about His relationship with His people, even though it is not to be viewed in wooden, literal terms. Keep Reading...

Winning the Private War in the Mind

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Over the years there have been extremely dubious or downright ridiculous teachings about spiritual warfare in the Church at large. Much of it was borne out of ignorance, speculation, superstition or religious tradition. Yet there is a reality to spiritual warfare and it is something God certainly wants us to know about, or else He would not have revealed it to us in His Word. If we just stay with the Scripture, we will be on safe and sure ground. God wants us to understand the warfare, know our enemy and live a life free from his clutches.
In Ephesians 6:12 the Apostle outlines the arena of warfare in which all Christians are engaged. One scholar translated the original words as follows: “For our wrestling match is not against persons with bodies, but against rulers with various areas and descending orders of authority, against the world-dominators of this present darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies.” The picture here is of a very highly structured and well organized kingdom with descending orders of authority and different rulers and sub rulers responsible for different areas of their territory. Read it all HERE