Biblical Counseling-- Marty Sudac

I have a Christian friend who has a very hard life.  She is a divorced, working mom who raises her three children without any physical, relational, or financial support from their absent father.  None of her extended family lives in America and her former in-laws shun her and her children because she was born in another country.  Her job is demanding with long hours, and she wrestles with all the difficult issues typically confronting parents of preteens and teens.  Several times, she has called me in tears and in distress, eager for support in holding on to biblical truth.  Yet in all of this, my friend is an encouragement to me!  She is like the Psalmist David in that she gives strong words and real emotions to her struggles but ends up strengthened by the grace, mercy, power and presence of Jesus.   We have asked each other hard questions that uncover the hidden idols of our hearts and the Holy Spirit has used that to bring us both to repentance and to strengthen us as we each face different trials.  My friend and I offer biblical counseling to each other although neither one of us would self identify ourselves as counselors.  We would both say we just remind each other of the eternal, comforting truths of Scripture and we encourage and sometimes challenge each other to submit to and rest in the veracity and power of the gospel.  My friend and I are a good picture of what biblical counseling is - the everyday application of Scriptural truth to the everyday struggles, trials and temptations of life.

As Christians, we are called to walk along side each other - carrying one another's burdens and encouraging each other to maturity in faith even though we often feel inadequate for the task.  Christian Counseling and Education Foundation (CCEF) is a ministry affiliated with Westminster Seminary that seeks to equip Christians to understand what Biblical change is, how it occurs and how Christians can help one another to close the gap between the "head" knowledge of our faith and our "heart" application of that faith to our daily problems.

 

Jeremiah 17:7-8 is the foundation for  CCEF : 

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

The mission statement of CCEF is "to return Christ to counseling and counseling to the church."  And of course, we are the church!  There are many free or low cost resources at the CCEF website and there are several books written by CCEF authors are in the RPC library.  CCEF offers online courses in Biblical counseling for audit or credit. I have completed two of the online classes and am deeply grateful for all I have learned about the heat of life (the pressures, situations and events both common and particular), the heart's response to heat (either thorny, sinful responses because idols deceive us or fruitful responses because grace captivates and changes us) and the heart changing and therefore life changing power of Truth - incarnate and written.

We are richly blessed at Redeemer to hear faithful biblical proclamation and teaching each week along with graceful exhortation to apply it to all of life.  CCEF is dedicated to nourishing the good seed sown in believers so that we may love one another, especially in the hardships of life, in ways that reveal the goodness of the Lord and glorify Him.