Life is Fulfilled Beyond Our “Feel-Good” Pursuits

Notes: Beyond Techniques: Abiding Facts About Christian Counseling by Alex Mathew

The basic need of mankind is to be justified and pronounced righteous, reconciled through faith, regenerate and reborn, called to holiness and sanctification....

But, we try to fulfill our needs with anything but the Truth and therefore we have great turmoil and chaos within our souls, and minds and it manifests as a result of our choices and our world, nations, communities and neighborhoods and families are impacted. 

We must gain wisdom  to know the difference between human ways and the ways of God, not as people who prefer to walk the broad and easy path, which leads to the obvious destination. We need to walk the narrow path to salvation and lead each other up that way. Doing this is neither easy nor readily welcomed. However, that is what we must do to lead one another to the Truth and into our place within the True Vine: Jesus Christ. 

My Identity- 

The Truth is - “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.” Mark 8:35 

My Accomplishments- 

The Truth is - “Jesus knew that the mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty....When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!”

John 19:28, 30 

My Exaltation - 

The Truth is - “For by his great power he rules forever. He watches every movement of the nations; let no rebel rise in defiance. Interlude” Psalms 66:7

My Righteousness - 

The Truth is- “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.”

Ephesians 1:4

My Strength - 

The Truth is - “But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety...”

2 Timothy 4:17 

My Understanding- 

The Truth is- “I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! And I will also give you what you did not ask for...” 1 Kings 3:12-13 

My Wisdom- 

The Truth is- “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” James 1:5 

My Self- 

The Truth is- ““The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” Jeremiah 17:9 “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

Romans 3:23 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5 

My Integrity- 

The Truth is - “But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction... but you, are of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses. And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, that you obey this command without wavering. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. For, At just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! Amen.” 1 Timothy 6:9, 11-16 

My Problems - 

The Truth is- “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." James 1:2-4 “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” Romans 5:3-5 “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

My Reliance- 

The Truth is - “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6 

My Excuses- 

The Truth is- “leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.”

Matthew 5:24 “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” James 5:16 “Do to others as you would like them to do to you.”

Luke 6:31 

My Wealth - 

The Truth is - “Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.” 1 Timothy 6:17-18 “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.”Psalms 24:1 “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.”Proverbs 3:9-10 

My Love - 

The Truth is - ““For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16 

My Hurts- 

The Truth is - ““But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.” Luke 6:27-28 

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” Philippians 2:3-4

My Responsibilities- 

The Truth is- ““Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.””Genesis 4:6-7 ““If you love me, obey my commandments.” John 14:15 “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” James 1:22 “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” James 4:17 

My Marriage- 

The Truth is- “The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.”

1 Corinthians 7:4 “God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.” 1 Thessalonians 4:3 “Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.”

Hebrews 13:4 

My Authority - 

The Truth is- “But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave.” Matthew 20:26-27