Emotional Life
It’s not uncommon to hear comments such as “Don’t suppress your feelings—get in touch with them.” And a popular modern theory is “If it feels good, it must be right—do it!” Identity issues today are argued based on feelings—that is, what you feel about yourself determines your identity. One reason people check their smartphone hundreds […]
It was my turn to preach in chapel. I was given John 11:1–44 at the beginning of the semester, and since, in God’s providence, it was just two days after my father finally died after a long year of tremendous suffering, we held a memorial service in conjunction with chapel that day. I had long […]
I have been searching for joy my entire life, and I believe I am not alone. If pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) is correct, then we are all on the same quest. The reason is because we were created for joy. Yet the quest to find it—that is, true spiritual happiness—often leads us to […]
“Feelings, nothings more than feelings,” so sang Perry Como. For my wife’s sake, I’ll throw in the Bees Gees as well: “It’s just emotion that’s taken me over.” We could go on—and on. In our pop culture, emotions are really nothing more than strong feelings we basically cannot control. On the other hand, they are […]
In Southern California—the birthplace of the Calvary Chapel movement and home to multiple “burned-over” districts, where the fire of evangelical zeal consumed (and disappointed) many a newly converted soul—the reformational church has long been having a PR crisis. Small, straitlaced, and unsexy, it lives on the outskirts of the Protestant world, too confessional to be […]
Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre accurately describes shame as “a hemorrhage of the soul,” that is, a painful, unexpected, and disorienting experience. It is often linked to some painful incident—sin that has been done to us rather than by us. Shame has the power to steal our breath and smother us with condemnation, rejection, and disgust. Guilt, […]
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. He created man in his image, male and female, body and soul. We are remarkable creatures in this, the very pinnacle of God's creative work, as spiritual beings with blood coursing through our veins. We are capable of faith […]
Rev. Harold Senkbeil is a member of the board of directors and executive director of Doxology: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel, as well as the author of numerous books including Dying to Live: The Power of Forgiveness and Sanctification: Christ in Action. Tell us about the work you do at Doxology. After […]
Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning" (Ps. 30:5). On the chilly nights of our pilgrimage, this promise’for which David praises the Lord’is an electric blanket for our faith. With it, the Lord assures us that his faithfulness endures forever and that his mercies are new every morning. Yet, when […]
According to a 2013 survey by LifeWay Research, one-third of Americans agree that "prayer and Bible study alone can overcome serious mental illness." Nearly half (48 percent) of evangelicals agree. (1) Why on earth would Modern Reformation imagine that it had something important to say, from a distinctly Reformation perspective, on mental illness? That was […]
How did you first discover you struggled with a mental illness?I was a student at a Bible college in the Midwest. I was 22, struggling with some serious questions about the faith, and I had been dealing with insomnia and daily panic attacks for about nine months. I eventually could not continue with my studies. […]
