Higher Ground Biblical Counseling

06/12/2026

At Week's End

The tree. That tree. You know, the one that presented the option to abandon God's goodness in favor of becoming our own god, and experiencing the subsequent contamination of evil? Yes, that's the one. We have one growing beside our driveway. Well, I can't be certain it is as I'm not an arborist nor is there a photo to provide visual reference. But I'm convinced. It has many names, each of them reflective of my particular heart posture when I'm given reason to look at it again. Observant neighbors could likely be amused by the frequent times I gaze up into its depths with my lips moving in some sort of disfavor.

Yes, it does give some shade. I appreciate that! But the evil far surpasses this benefit. It's a very productive tree, all year long through every season and all manner of weather it keeps dropping vexation from itself. There are at least two types of seedlike phases, a green leaf drop phase, a random healthy branch drop period, sap dripping, an extended autumn drop, and this ongoing dead branch issue. If this tree was in a forest, I wouldn't care. But its proximity to the house creates an issue for my gutters - and my family well knows how the sound of water running anywhere except through the downspout can stimulate immediate and sometimes foolish activity. No matter time of day or how severe the weather is. Our current storm cycle has provided ample opportunity for failures in gutter health.

So is there some spiritual application to this? Probably not. Except that I am reminded that what comes off a tree, or its characteristics, is how it's known. In the words of some not so ancient nature walker (Rodney?), "we know it's an aspen because of the way it is". So is Andy. So is you. I cannot blame the weather for what I produce. I cannot blame the soil. The problem is my seed, my heart. It's conflicted in the fallen self-serving nature and the simultaneous indwelling of Christ. Lord thank you for saving me from sin's domination, and keep working in me to cause greater desire for holiness, and less debris of the flesh.

06/05/2026

At Weeks End

"I'm stressed out". Three words common to societal vernacular that are used to convey a particular state of mind with a host of emotions. It's the recognition that I am not enough for the situation - I cannot deal with what is happening in a way to meets my or others' expectations, or my preferred outcomes. It's spoken in desperation or as evidence of assumed importance. We either react decisively to cut off the offending demand or person if it can be done without damaging our status or personal, people-pleasing tendencies. Or we escape through experiences that emphasize pleasure and relaxation. If we remove ourselves, "then we will be healed" sort of mentality. Sometimes we just "suck it up" and continue on hoping that enough time will elapse and that we will survive somehow. And truly speaking, we will someday.

I once heard it explained that stress is the result of not handling pressure effectively. Life is full of pressures. Some forced upon us, some unavoidable events, and some we simply manufacture through our own incessant quest of "something". Certainly in a world afflicted with the curse of sin, the potential for a great deal of pressure and distress should be anticipated. It's normal.

Scripture contains a great many principles and practical wisdom that can be applied to anyone's life, regardless of their view of God and the Bible. However, the root of our stress in particular pressures cannot be eradicated without heart level reorientation of thoughts, beliefs, and desires. Have you observed people who endure tsunami like pressures and suffering in a manner that doesn't damage the people around them nor create some sort of polluted atmosphere affecting every decision in life? Me too. It's amazing. There's something extremely attractive about being grounded in such a way that hope continues to percolate in the swampy seasons of life. How can that happen?

Maybe I must remind myself of my real position in this world. I am not God. Attempting to manage all the risks to my happiness or desired outcomes are simply out of my circle. That is to say, God has given me responsibilities, but none of them include manipulating to achieve my preferred results or avoid what I think would devastate me. When I view every trial and trouble as an assault on my kingdom that must be corrected, I abandon my God-dependent design in favor of self-reliance. And there is lots of stress that comes with that. I am not sufficient or adequate. God is. The world pounds the message of self-actualization and "you got this" thinking that is both foolish and harmful. And everyone continues to accumulate stress.

I can have rest by quieting the noise of being my own "god" by submitting to the care of God himself. Psalm 131 briefly describes the ingredients and picture of being satisfied in the Lord. Confident in who He is, not what I imagine I need.

05/29/2026

At Week End
..and he said to him (the Lord). "If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here..."

My wife drew my attention to this excerpt from Exodus 33 several years ago, and we've attempted erratically to apply this to life. Not often well. But the conviction of this sometime silent plea is gaining authenticity as we become painfully aware of our need for it. And it brings rest.

Moses uttered this in his conversation with God prior to his famous journey moving a nation from bo***ge to a promised land. Probably not many of us are tasked with this 'Moses' type endeavor. Are perhaps you are?

- Getting of bed to start another day facing the seemingly impossible work of putting a "good face" on the current hardships that don't seem to move.
- Weighty decisions that seem to have no acceptable outcome.
- The task of turning anxious thoughts from fixating and obsessing on the uncertainties of life that stir fear and tempts to distrust God.
- Relational conflict that seems to have no apparent hope of resolution, and you're no longer certain you even care.
- Facing ongoing war with the passions and hungers of the sinful flesh that satan presents as inevitable scratches that must be itched.
- Perhaps you're hindered from moving forward out of a painful past by shame or bitterness. And you have unknowingly surrendered your hope to false pronouncements of being irreparablely damaged.
- Maybe life just doesn't seem to correlate to the "full life" and "new creature" statements so easily voiced in your Christian circles, and you wonder...

The list of reasons for seeing life as especially heavy and disappointing can be easily placed near our eye so that everything else is obliterated from view. You must go against that tendency!!

Read a little further on in Exodus 33 and you will see what should cause your heart to regain certainty and purpose. ...And the Lord said to Moses, "this very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name." Wow!!
If you have been saved by faith in Christ (the only way of finding favor in God's sight), you are "known" in a way that assures his presence and activity in whatever journey He is leading you on. In the Moses-like and the seeming mundane. The pleasnat pastures and the freakish valleys.

This weekend marks the next steps at HGBC in developing a team of believers committed to bringing a different kind of hope to people stuck in sin habits. Whether it be gambling, s*x, drugs, p**n, self-harm, alcohol, etc., the gospel is the only means by which people gain help not only for 'sobriety', but to have true life that is filled with purpose, meaning, and actual hope. Lord willing, Gospel Centered Recovery Seward will launch in late summer. The verses in this post are always on my mind. God, we must have you go before or there's no good reason to move. Ask the Lord if this ministry might be something you are drawn to. We will be asking for more involvement when GCR gains some traction. Your prayers for wisdom and discernment are desired.

05/22/2026

At Week's End

"Just trust God"
Worthy counsel that is absolutely true and typically offered with genuine concern and loving intention. But what does that mean? How do each of us practice that in the very particular and unique circumstances of our life?

What exactly are we trusting Him for? Preferred outcomes? Improved circumstances? Feeling better about hardship? To prevent all our suffering? To make us happy and comfortable? To explain why He permits and acts in the ways He does? Simply to "get through" and beyond the present unwanted part of life?

Is trusting actually "letting go and letting God"? Does God need permission to work? Must I be passive and wait for something/anything to change?

It seems contemplating God might help us with our trust. We are made in His image, but we are not similar. God is not multi-factorially better than me. He is Holy, that is, perfect in all aspects of "godness". No defects, deficiencies, or lack of anything good. Ever. Jesus is our example of what that looks like in human form. So, if God is all this, then everything He says about himself is infinitely true. Faith chooses to accept this and walk it out.

It's the walking that gets me. My steps might be in the general direction of Christ, but I'm hindered by the weakness of the flesh. Distracted by thoughts often consumed with managing or controlling things to account for some assumed defect in God's intentions toward me. I want to be God. It sounds awful when I say it. It's inherent to our sin nature. So, to trust means rejecting the noise of my flesh dan the world, and turning to the voice of my Shepherd. My Father. Hear what He says and believe it. I still must follow, but my movements depend on what He speaks to be true.

Be a sheep.

05/16/2026

At Week's End.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion" says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him". Lamentations 3:22-24

I really like these verses. Some of my favorites actually. Christian merchandisers do too. If we step back and take in the panoramic view of this section of scripture we notice that the surroundings are truly horrific and desolate. Much different than the flowery trellises and serene landscapes that adorn the wall decor and apparel often associated with these words.

Every morning when the sun arises among us, it reveals circumstances and events that wildly contrast. For some it's indeed peaceful and pleasant, for others, those days feel impossibly distant - perhaps even mocking us. And we are all passing through these seasons and moments with varying degrees of "success".

I once thought of mercy primarily as a legal proclamation that somehow releases the offender from punishment. There certainly is that for the Believer. A recent conference speaker expanded my perspective of mercy to include God's supply system for meeting all needs everywhere. This gives us hope for today. We not only look to the incomprehensible glory of our eternal future, we look to the next morning for Him to provide the amount of what we lack to complete our day. He knows. He is nearby. He is forever faithful. We are often not.

This what we must remind ourselves of in both the good times and the hard times. We must remind each other of this often. It isn't an empty platitude. I don't know how Jeremiah managed this in the circumstances he and his people were enduring. I am certain that he wasn't an exceptional person - he was as us. His God is our God. Rescuer; Provider; Shepherd; Friend; Redeemer; Restorer; Salvation; Judge; Defender; et al. He is what we need as we need it.

Mercies. Every day.

11/11/2023

Today gave a welcome and unexpected reprieve from the necessary but often frenetic activities of life to simply breathe and take in the beauty of this, my favorite time of year. And most importantly, soak in a grateful appreciation of the indescribable goodness of God. The past 3 years of "officially" walking briefly alongside of men and women facing very real struggles and suffering has confirmed this inescapable truth; God loves His people. He is fully committed to drawing them into a genuine intimacy where they will discover what eludes all of us if we remain fixated on chasing temporal happiness - Joy and Hope. The means by which God brings about this great discovery in our life can seem inconsistent with who we sometimes imagine God to be. His ways are always in conflict with what our self-protective, self-righteous, self-serving flesh desires. Yet, the unwanted, hurtful, and even harmful hardships resulting from our sin, the sin of others, and a perfect creation that is distorted by sin's curse are all ordained for purposes that God is sovereign over. These "good things" are not immediately apparent or perhaps never disclosed to us during our time on earth. But this lifelong practice of realizing our true need for Him in all aspects of our life brings the very thing we so fervently profess we want in our Sunday morning singing - to "know" Him more. God's workbench of sanctification is the only way by which we gain purpose and eternal hope.
God also loves those who do not love Him. Whether they are defiantly resisting His mercy or seemingly unawares of the dire straits of their soul, He patiently calls and draws. All who respond will NOT be rejected. He welcomes all who humble themselves and sincerely turn to Him. Always.
God loves his created images too much to allow unobstructed pursuit to satisfy the itches and cravings that are briefly satisfied by our counterfeit gods. We have an inherent desire to worship, and there is only One worthy of that. Everything else fails. Everything. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the only object of worship that satisfies the yearning of our soul. There are no human philosophies or methods that can bring lasting change to the problems people face. We cannot "fix" ourselves because we don't fully understand what needs to actually happen. The Holy Spirit within born-again believers, and the Word that lies before us are the only true hope that any of us have in the circumstances we find ourselves.
This past year, a couple of verses have gained a particular significance and become very precious to me. I Thessalonians 5:23-24 'Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it'
Do you see the absolute hope and peace contained in these few words?
My "success" in my walk is dependent only on my willingness to follow Him in the way he has for me. I am not faithful, but He is. He will keep me from falling when my complete dependance is on His goodness and not mine. I have none. He will do this.
God bless you in this very special season of gratitude, especially as the world continues its inevitable journey to fulfillment of the end. Take heart and be filled with joy. Keep abiding in Him.

09/23/2022

We are only 2 weeks away! We are so excited for this year’s Annual Conference. There is still time to register to join us either in person in Memphis, TN, or for the virtual conference!

Register today: http://ow.ly/hnII50KwQRe

09/09/2022

Jesus Confusion. Jesus did not come to make us happy - he came to give us truly joyful life. He did not come to eliminate suffering on the earth - he came to give suffering a purpose. He did not come to help us succeed in all our endeavors - he came to prove he is the only One worth pursuing. Jesus isn't satisfied to be wall decor or a moral example we should try to emulate better.

Christ came to save people who are broken by the horrible reality of what being born with a sinful nature means. People who realize they cannot pull themselves up by their bootstraps to be acceptable to God. People acutely aware that their "self" has repeatedly failed to deliver the goods for personal peace and joy.
People carrying heavy loads that need rest and help. People who realize their true need lies much deeper than pacifying self-oriented desires.

The narrow way of Matthew 7 is not sparsely travelled because it is lined with rigid restrictions and impossible obligations. The gateway is thin because relatively few will choose to acknowledge or accept God's grace of forgiveness and submit to His grace of transformation.

If you are in a "hard spot", take heart. Don't despair. The way through doesn't need to destroy you or shipwreck your faith. The way of the Word and the power of Christ in you is sufficient to keep you and mature you into a better reflection of God's image. You will find that whatever the hardship is in the here and now, there is something more valuable on the other side.

Matthew 11:28-30; Matthew 7:13-14; Matthew 16:24-26; I Timothy 1:15; Galatians 6:14-16

08/26/2022

Getting excited for cool weather and ACBC conference again this year!

This is "In His Image Promo" by ACBC on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

07/07/2022

Immerse in that truth for awhile!! Freedom is the objective Jesus has for us. There must be a larger goal than simply avoiding sin.

True freedom is being able to do the will of God with the strength and grace He provides. How do we get there? Let's talk about it. Join us at a Recovering Hope meeting.
hopeforaddiction.com/program