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CO111 Gospel-Centered Counseling Unit 2 – Transformation By Kim Nackers “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children.” (Ephesians 5:1). Paul is commanding—not suggesting—that as believers we imitate God in how we treat one another. This verse applies to every aspect of counseling and walking with others in their despair. Transformation can only take place in relationship, when we see Jesus through his grace in our lives such as through fellowship, bible study, baptism, and communion with each other. Striving to imitate Jesus, develop more of his character in our own lives and how he lived his life is our guide on how to be and live as man, it should be our goal in order to understand what our life purpose is and to fulfill that purpose in which God created us for. When we shift the focus off ourselves or counselee’s self and onto Christ and His love, mercy and saving grace is when we are able turn off the white noise or busyness we create in our everyday lives. It is through seeking and imitating God that we obtain the knowledge and develop the ability to understand the most important and life-giving facts he wants us to discover in the Word of God. Seeking to fully understand the Gospel awakens us to the truth, to the light of Christ, the forgiveness of our sins and the care and love he has for us because we are his beloved children. 1 John 3 tells us that there will come a time when we will be completely changed. First John 3:1 says, “Behold, what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God.”  If we love Christ, then we will see His face, and His face will be so beautiful that when we see Him, all desire to sin will be purged, all of that will be burned away in the beauty of His presence, in His glory. Just as he encourages us in The Word, we need to encourage each other not to shift aside from the hope of the gospel, but instead to look to Christ. 1 John 3:3 says, “Everyone who has this hope of transformation, everyone who has this hope in himself, purifies himself as he is pure.” So, we choose to change because we know that when we see Christ, we will bear His image, and as we do, we will be transformed, and the old life will be burned away in the glory of His presence. The Gospel is our good news! As we spend more time in his presence, studying The Word, applying the principles shared, speaking truth in love to others we become increasingly more like Him and begin to experience life differently. We are able to apply the biblical truths to the despair in our life and look at circumstances through the lens of scripture versus a worldview and see that all of the joy and all of the pleasure that we long for are, in fact, found in Christ alone. Psalm 16:11 reads, “You make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forever.” God will make known to us the path of life and how we should live in order to experience life. He is showing us in the gospel how to live in His presence, because in His presence are the very things we desire. In His presence is fullness of joy. He is with us in our daily lives, we just need to tune into his presence through awareness of dying to oneself and living for Christ. You see, we can see him in our brother who comes to us seeking help, our sister who speaks truth in love, our pastor who preaches The Word, infants who need us to regulate their emotions and love them and care for them to meet their basic needs. Jesus lived a faith filled obedient life, he lived in obedience to the Father, just as you and I strive to do yet fall short. Our Savior knows our struggles since lived this life for us – Jesus walked by faith and not by sight, sin free and died for our sake, for his own glory. You see, being in the presence of God transforms us. We need to turn to and share with others and give them His glory by reminding them of the gospel, reminding them of how they have been loved, they have been forgiven, they have been cared for. The glory that God gives us in Christ as we are transformed isn’t a glory that fades. It’s a glory that’s transforming us into His image, that light that shines becomes brighter from within as we give him the glory and draws others to us because it is Jesus who lives in us shining through for his children to see.

CO111 Gospel-Centered Counseling Segment 43 - Transformed by the Gospel: Welcoming Father Segment 52 - Emotional responses By Dave Owen From scripture we know that we are created in God’s image. Genesis 1:27 “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” And throughout the scripture God reveals he is a God of emotions. Now we must understand that his ways are not our ways, Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” This is why, through faith, we trust God that he is working out his will in our lives even when our emotions can feel contrary. The secular or materialistic counselor focuses on what is happening in our bodies and brains. The possible chemical imbalances or how we were raised, having parents that caused emotional damage, all this and more is the cause of the emotional instability we experience. The materialistic counselor sees the solutions coming from self and medications without acknowledging the most inner part of us, the spiritual. There is no inner mirror as the scripture reveals in 1 Corinthians 13:11-12 “ When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.” The scription is very clear. God knows us fully and we do not. And for secular counselors to deny Gods work in our lives is a real detriment in meeting the deepest needs and opportunities for healing. I was recalling the story of Jonah, a prophet of God called to warn the Ninevites of the coming judgment if they did not repent. Jonah’s emotions were not in line with Gods will and we see over and over that Jonah resisted his calling, but God intervenes. Gods will, his story, will always be accomplished no matter our stubbornness or rebellion. The amazing parts of the Jonah story is that God loved and provided for Jonah, even though in ways we wouldn’t predict or understand. Therefore, seeking God in all that we do is so important. Our emotions can deceive us. We must seek God through the knowledge of the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ. The good news is our Lord and savior is the welcoming father. The declaration in Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you”, like Israel, God is with us always, through all events in our lives. As counselors I believe it is so important to present God in the light of his faithfulness. For in him we find our being - Acts 17:24 “For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring”. Our listening and understanding where a counselee is, early in the counseling process, is critical for us see the areas of brokenness. Then provide hope through the reminders of who we are in Christ - Eph 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children”. When we have deep sadness or depression that has overwhelmed us, we call look up and call Abba Father, and know he hears us, for we are his beloved child. That is great news! Therefore, no matter what our circumstances are, no matter what pain we find ourselves experiencing and he understands what we ae going through. When Jesus walked the earth, he showed kindness and understanding to sinners, to the sick and the broken hearted. He was tempted as we are tempted and did not sin. We can trust in him with our lives. Where our relationships are broken, or our health is failing, his is there. His glory will shine through our infirmities. 2 Corinthians 12 - “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me”. Our emotions are an awesome part of us, as it is an attribute instilled in us, as we are created in his image, therefore take heart that in him we can experience a healthier and more enjoyable life trusting in him.

Katie Murphy CO111 Response Paper  The Happy and the Sad Moralists We need to ask ourselves when we are counseling or talking to someone personally what kind of Christian they are, so we know how best to help them. There are two types of people in this regard. They take opposite approaches to God’s love. We learned to identify them and also find examples in Scripture, showing that we all at times can be either a Happy or a Sad Moralist.  The Happy Moralist tries to make the law "doable". They take God’s commands and make them easier. They haven't been crushed by the law, they expect God to love them due to their conduct. Matthew 23:23 gives a good example of a Happy Moralist in the Pharisees as Jesus states, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others."  It is much easier to follow a set of rules, routines, or behavior. To conform outwardly to the law is easier than loving mercy, justice, and faithfulness. In doing so we end up judging others, in turn keeping others from the Kingdom.  The Happy Moralist needs the law to crush their self-confidence and drive them to the Savior. We cannot fulfill the law apart from Christ, and striving to will do nothing more than lead us to judge others who do not follow the law as we do. When the Happy Moralist becomes humbled by the law, when he sees the standard of absolute purity, he then can go back to Jesus with a full understanding of his need for a Savior. Deu 27:26 states, “Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.” We need to remember that verse when we are leaning towards becoming a happy moralist, and remember that unless we are completely trusting in Christ and His saving grace we are under a curse trying to take care of our holiness in our own strength. We can tell we are heading on the happy moralist path when we start expecting God to behave a certain way due to our faithfulness and works. We begin to think God has a responsibility to reward us or give us certain things due to our performance. We begin to feel annoyed with others not performing the same way we are.  Since in our heads we have made the law manageable we feel as if others are breaking rules and getting away with it, leading us to become irritated.  As we become deeper into our happy moralism it becomes very difficult to deal with criticism, and if we are honest with ourselves, God’s love has become boring.  Martin Luther wrote, “You must get thru your head and not doubt that you are the one who is torturing Christ thus, for your sins have surely wrought this. Therefore when you see the nails piercing Christ’s hands, you can be certain it is your work.  When you behold His crown of thorns, you may rest assured that these are your evil thoughts that torment Him.” The solution for the Happy Moralist is this; let the law crush you, see how impossible it truly is for us to meet up to it. With that brokenness throw yourself at God’s unfailing love and know that Christ’s sacrifice is what fulfilled the Law, nothing we could ever do. The other type of man is the Sad Moralist.  They don’t need the law to crush them, it already has.  They are trying to justify themselves by their repentance.  When they get to the end of their day all they can see is  how they failed God.  There is no peace or joy for the Sad Moralist. They are trying to prove themselves worthy thereby removing the stumbling block of the cross.  We need to see our failings but remember that God knew our failings, and through His immense love for us sent His son to die on the cross for us. We need to let go of our need to “feel worthy” because if we are chasing a feeling then our obedience was never about God, it was about ourselves.   For me, the sad moralist hit home. I have been striving harder and harder for God’s peace and joy. I didn’t understand how I felt it at the beginning of my walk and how it seems to be constantly out of my reach the more years that pass. I had some days, my happy moralist days, where I completed many tasks “For God” and would manage to go to bed in peace. But more days than not I was feeling more and more discouraged. I had lost sight of the cross, of what had been done for me, of the immense love, grace, and mercy that were already poured out for my sins.  Thanks be to God who showed me the truth through this class the error of my ways. I think George Whitfileds quote best sums it up by stating, “you must not only be sick of your original and actual sin, but you must be made sick of your righteousness, all your duties, all your performances.”   The answer for freedom and guidance for both the sad and happy moralist is this, the Gospel. As a counselor and friend I pray to lead others to a gospel-centered life, and as the same for myself. It starts with confession, to be comfortable with being completely honest about my sin. We need to move forward from that with Thanksgiving, even thanks for our sin and its ability to lead us to the cross.  We then strive for obedience, without worry or anxiety, trusting in God with thanks in our hearts. We need to remind our counselees and ourselves that God’s disposition towards us is one of immense love and grace. To quote again Martin Luther, “God does not slack His promises because of our sins or hasten them because of our righteousness.”

something has happened to me for the first time as I have been working through various Mobile Ed courses.  in CO111, there are books in the Explore/Suggested reading that I don't have! oh no!  the dreaded lock icon.  It was bound to happen sooner or later, even with my library. My challenge is not really that I don't own that resource.  I am willing to purchase resources for the suggested reading, though I may opt out of unlocking from the Other Reading section, depending on the course and my personal interest.  in this case, I have run into a problem that I can not overcome in justification.  I want the resource linked in the suggested reading, but it's not available by itself.  I have to buy it in a bundle. oh, and the least expensive bundle that it's available in - $250 - uhm, no thank you.  for as much as I have spent on these courses, the linked readings should at least be available individually, or perhaps as part of a bundle for the course. but nooooo. :( disappointed in Faithlife/Logos.