My Best Day Will Be My Last Day


You can listen to this article here.

There are three most noteworthy days in the life of every believer. The day we are born, the day we are born
again, and the day we die. The Scriptures tell of a day whereby we are Sovereignly appointed to be born (Psalm 139:13-16, Ecclesiastes 3:2), and of another whereby we are Sovereignly appointed to be born again (2 Corinthians 6:2, Acts 2:47), and then of another when we have been Sovereignly appointed to die (Hebrews 9:27). On that third day, those of us who die in Christ will be more alive than we’ve ever been.

Is there any better news that this? If you do not think it so, check your pulse. If the thought of not being in Christ doesn’t even for a moment take your breath away, are you even breathing? This may indicate that you might not yet be spiritually alive and therefore unable to lay claim of the promises and truths that those in Christ possess to excite the heart. To that end, it is my hope that in reading this you might give pause, to examine your heart, to test yourself to see if you be in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). And, just so you know, no true believer is offended at the prospect or instruction to test themselves. We want to test ourselves, with a healthy urgency evidenced by the very Life that is in our being (Acts 17:28) to ensure and assure us of our faith in Christ. It’s actually a great indicator of true saving faith if the prospect of not being saved causes angst. Congratulations, you’re alive! For no dead person has the ability to care, to test, to have a heartbeat for the things of God (1 Cor. 2:10-16).


Our Best Days


For unbelievers, sadly whatever life they are living, whether it be rich, poor, easy, or hard, they are most definitely living their best lives now. For the believer, their best life is now and yet to come! Lest we become so heavenly minded we forget the life we’ve been given now, today—the joy of Salvation, the peace with God, the deliverance from sin and death! I almost wrote that a believer’s best life is only in the life to come but Ephesians 1:3 sprang to mind, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” Wow, yes and amen! We have blessings now, in Christ. We have every spiritual blessing now and already. But wait—there’s more! There is even more to come. It is both/and, not only then but also now. My heart needs to recognize that, my face needs to demonstrate that, my life needs to exude that!

For those who are in Christ, Ephesians 1:14 speaks of the “guarantee of our inheritance”, and in death when we enter into glory that we “acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” What unimaginable joy is guaranteed to us and awaits us on the last day of our earthly life—the first day of our eternal life. For true believers, these spiritual blessings of eternal worth and inestimable value should cause our hearts to sing and our mouths to extol the Gospel of God to all who will hear. 

The Request


So here is my request, a sort of living will and testament to any family or friends who may gather when I die; for only God knows the day and the hour He has appointed for me to die. May this request be known, taken seriously, and be carried out, whether I live another five minutes or 45 years!


On the day I die, it is my sincere request that you do not glorify my person nor the place to which I am going. For the place is most secondary to the Person in whose Presence I will be. May this truth be clarified. Please only glorify the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ—to whom all the glory of life, and life in death, alone is due. 

For it is He who gave me my first birth (physical) and He who has granted me my second (spiritual). And it is He, from the Father, through the Son, who gifted me grace and life and faith, and by His Spirit helps me in my first dying, to self and sin, and it is He who resurrects me in my second dying, in my earthly body so I can live in my glorified one (Romans 8:30).

To any who might grieve, please preach Christ (1 Corinthians 2:2) and proclaim His Gospel of eternal hope as a comfort to the saints (1 Thess. 4:13). Also, please preach to those without Christ, to confront and compel them to bow the knee, to turn from sin in repentance and in faith to believe, recognizing and confessing Christ as Saviour and Lord of all! Either way, all will one day bow before Him and confess Christ as Lord (Phil. 2:10-11), why not make it today (2 Corinthians 6:2)?


Where I Will Be


In His Presence is where I will be. As it is written, for a believer to be absent from the body is to be in the immediate and indefinite presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:9, Phil. 1:21). The Presence is the place and the Person is the prize: a true believer would never want a heaven without Jesus, would they? I have observed that this expression of longing for Him in eternity is missing from many hearts who glorify the place and the benefits over the Person and the Benefactor. May it be an opportunity to gently correct this and redirect them to Christ.


Furthermore, please don’t wish me or declare me as “resting in peace” for that is a godless, nihilistic, anti-biblical ideology. There is no such eternal thing! For unbelievers, the Scriptures know nothing of an eternal peace or rest, a conscious-less eternal float. Would it not be a heretical disregarding of my Holy and Righteous God, I might be tempted to wish it were so for their sake. And, not that it be true, but if it were, what a strange eternity that would be! Please rather beseech them to join all believers and place their faith in Name above all Names, in Christ Alone (Acts 4:12)!


For believers, eternal peace indeed awaits us in death but might we be reminded that we also enjoy Peace with God and the Peace of God in the here and now. His blessings are now. Our restings are now. But eternal lackadaisical resting on a cloud? To quote my favourite saying of the Apostle Paul, “By no means!” For the throne room of God is a place of active adoration, unending worship, and eternal praise to the King of kings and the Lord of lords—and may it be so in my heart even now! But on my last day and all my days into infinity, I will join the angelic beings and the saints around the eternal throng to sing the most celestial of hymns—“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” Revelation 4:8.


Dr. Steven J. Lawson once said, “If you die in Christ, your last day will be your best day!” Then let that be said of my last day—the day of my death, for I will be more alive than I have ever been. And as I write this, I am reminded that I ought not to ask of my people what I can still do while I have breath. Nonetheless, it is my request that those who know me will use my death to preach the three noteworthy days of our Lord Jesus Christ: His immaculate birth, His vicarious death, and His glorious resurrection! And, having done so, then pray that the Spirit of God would so move, so vivify the heart of stone, that any unbeliever with ears to hear, eyes to see, and a tongue to confess, might confess Christ as Lord. Then, they will also be able to say that their last will be their best day! All Glory to God!


You can listen to this article here.

FAQs About Biblical Counselling

Welcome to the blog portion of "All Things with Melanie Hart", a counselling toolkit for my biblical counselling clients. Through increased content on my website as well as a new podcast of the same name (found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Anchor, and posted to YouTube), I am endeavouring to build a toolkit for my clients... for beyond the session.

In this blog, I am endeavouring to answer some FAQs around "What Is Biblical Counselling?" And, if you'd prefer the audio version, here it is below.

The term "Biblical Counselling" is not as familiar to those of us in Canada as our neighbours to the south of us. I wonder also if it also runs a little more popular along certain denominational lines. That would make sense, for example, if a person were to hold to a Reformed faith, one that upholds the Authority of Scriptures.


A quick Wikipedia search defines this a little further: "Sola Scriptura ("by scripture alone" in English) is a theological doctrine held by some Protestant Christian denominations that posits the Christian scriptures as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice."

This theological doctrine is one that I firmly believe in, so it makes sense that I, in God's Sovereign plan for my life, would land on this methodology of counselling as a full-time pursuit and ministry.

And so I am creating this post to help explain for those unfamiliar to biblical counselling, what it is, and what to expect from a biblical counsellor. Of course there are books written on this topic, so this scratches the surface of how biblical counsellors approach counselling, and is heavily weighted in my own experience and offering.


But first, here's a wee bit about my counselling ministry.


I have counselled women from 9-80 something; at almost every age and stage of life. I’ve counselled single women and newly married women, pre-teens and teens, millennials (lots of millennials) and boomers, expecting mothers, and mother-daughter duos. I’ve counselled non-believers, yet-to-be believers, new believers, struggling believers, and seasoned believers. 


Through it all, I feel blessed to have been gifted the counsellees I’ve worked with, and always marvel at God’s providence, timing, and fit.


I was counselling and coaching before I began to focus on biblical counselling. As God restored me, brought me into repentance, into a deeper understanding of His Word, humbled me, grew and matured me, my hunger to know Him (more) and His Counsel — even be obedient to it — grew at an astounding trajectory, as did my counselling practice.


So here I am, building content for my biblical counselling toolkit, something born from a desire to provide additional tools, resources, and encouragement for beyond the counselling session.


In this post, I’m going to address the following 7 questions:

  1. What is Biblical Counselling?
  2. How is Biblical Counselling Different From Christian (Integrated) Counselling?
  3. Why Should Christians Seek Biblical Counselling?
  4. When Should Christians Seek Biblical Counselling Over Christian Counselling?
  5. When Should Christians Seek Biblical Counselling?
  6. When Should Christians Seek Secular Counselling?
  7. Does Biblical Counselling Replace Medical Helps?

Let’s Begin.

1. What Is Biblical Counselling?

Biblical Counselling holds to the authority, inerrancy, and infallibility of the Word of God, for the Counsel of God, for “all things that pertain to life and godliness.” (2 Peter 1:3) That is, upholding God-centred theology over man-centred, humanistic theology.

Every meaningful conversation we have is a counselling conversation, to some degree or another. And every conversation involves theology. One can converse, or counsel from a secular, humanistic view…. or a biblical, God-centred worldview. My choice I think is quite clear. 

I believe that God has given us everything we need in Him and His Word, and taking any other approach that would have any lasting value is futile. I see counselling using man-centred theology like pumping up a flat tire and sending someone down the road fully knowing that they will need to come back to get their tires pumped up. This is why some people are in and out of counselling their entire lives. Believers know that there is but one answer for life’s problems, starting with our sin problem, and that is Jesus. So Christ-centred, Gospel-focussed counselling is to offer the client an entire new set of tires with a lifetime warranty!

In my counselling room, clients receive Christ-centred, Gospel-focussed, biblically-grounded directive conversation and counsel as we explore God's solutions to problems, issues, and challenges in His Word.

Most of the time the counselling process leads to discipling, as counsellees grow in their knowledge of God, and then learn how to counsel themselves in the Word of God, which is the true transformative power in their lives.

My clients are prayed with, encouraged, and challenged into the Word of God with the ultimate goal of equipping them to counsel themselves with the Counsel of God.

My clients receive attentive counsel, discipleship, support, resources, encouragement, coaching, mentorship, and accountability.


2. How is Biblical Counselling Different From Christian (Integrated) Counselling?

In my view, Biblical Counselling is different from Christian (Integrated) Counselling mainly to the degree with which the emphasis is on God’s Counsel rather than a co-mingling of man-centred theology, ideologies, and philosophies present in the room. (I used to counsel this way!) Some, not all, Christian counsellors may be limited by associations and affiliations with secular organizations that would prevent them from having the freedom to fully explore the Counsel of God (not the least of which could be things like ongoing sin, the need for repentance, spiritual growth and maturity) in addressing the presenting issues of the counsellee.


3. Why Should Christians Seek Biblical Counselling?

Christians should seek Biblical Counselling if any or all of these apply: 

  • they desire to address their problems, issues, and challenges through a biblical lens and standard.
  • they are wanting to grow in their biblical understanding, knowledge of God, and explore the Scriptures for answers to their challenges.
  • they are seeking discipleship and mentorship in the counselling process.
  • they want to be held accountable to God’s Standards as laid out in the Scriptures "for life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3), to walk worthy of the calling to which they have been called (Ephesians 4:1), to walk in a manner of life worthy of the Gospel (Philippians 1:27), work out their own Salvation with "fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12b-13).
     

Often clients come to counselling thinking that they know the problem or origin of the ongoing issues in their lives, only to discover the healing and freedom in the truths of God’s Word. (Psalm 119:105)

 

4. When Should Christians Seek Biblical Counselling Over Christian Counselling?


Similar to the aforementioned reasons. But furthermore, it should be emphasized that Biblical Counselling is more directive than other counselling methodologies. Christian or Integrated or secular counselling is more person-centred, less directive, more self-directed than the biblical counselling approach.

 
5. When Should Christians Seek Biblical Counselling?


Christians should seek Biblical Counselling when they have tried other forms of counselling (Secular/Christian/Integrated) and did not realize lasting change, healing, or breakthrough. Perhaps they were not yet ready for true change, the timing was off, or the person-centred approach did not go deep enough for true change at a heart level.

 

Biblical Counselling would also be helpful for a person who is new to the Christian faith so they are being counselled with Christ-centred truth rather than humanistic, to help nurture them and grow. Biblical counselling would also be helpful for: 

  • anyone who has experienced spiritual abuse (in The Church or cult)
  • believers needing to address weak or faulty spiritual foundations
  • anyone wanting to break free of religious/legalistic pasts, strongholds
  • anyone coming from new age/new thought or cult-like backgrounds seeking the Christian faith.

 

6. When Should Christians Seek Secular Counselling?


A Christian should seek secular counselling if they do not believe that the answers they seek are found in the Scriptures alone and/or value man-centred theology, methodologies, and philosophies over Christ-centred ones.


7. Does Biblical Counselling Replace Medical Helps?


No. In fact Biblical Counsellors value medical helps, and the medical community. A person may need biblical counselling while being treated for a medically diagnosed disease or even mental illness. But because we are not only physical but also spiritual beings, it does not hurt to coordinate with the medical community to address any spiritual issues and problems that could be contributing in any way or making their diagnosis even more challenging.

Lastly, I believe that The Word of God is the best cognitive behavioural therapy a person can undergo. (Psalm 1:1-3). The Counsel of God has much to say about our actions, thoughts, and behaviours, that begin on a heart level, which determine the health of our minds, bodies, and relationships - with God and others. So, this may not be an either/or question but a both/and.


I hope this walkthrough of these questions was helpful to you in discovering more about what biblical counselling.


I’d like to leave you with my theme verse because I really really believe it, because it’s true, and because I’ve witnessed this in my own life and in the lives of my clients, “God’s power has granted to us ALL THINGS that pertains to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” (2 Peter 1:3)


If any of the above would be helpful to you, please feel free to reach out to me at melaniejoyhart@icloud.com to book a session.

The "One" Gospel: A 61+ Biblical Reference Walkthrough

Welcome to the blog part of my biblical counselling toolkit! Feel free to Print This!, grab your Bible, a notebook, a pen, a highlighter, and explore the Gospel of God from Genesis to Revelation.
I encourage you to look up these verses for yourself, with your own Bible in hand, at your own pace of study, to get you into the pages of the wondrous Word of God. And as much as I love how we have the canon of scripture (and the many translations) at our fingertips on our devices, I'm gonna go all old school on you and say there isn't anything like having a Bible on your lap (not laptop), and hearing the pages, like fall leaves dancing on a breezy day, whirl as you turn to "his precious and very great promises" (2 Peter 1:4). However, for your convenience, I have linked each of the 60+ verses contained in this "One Gospel" walkthrough for your viewing pleasure to an online bible study app, The Bible Gateway. You are welcome! Alternatively, there is also The Bible Hub. (These apps among others are great tools when you want to see verses in different translations and various commentaries on them.)

TIP: What I have done in my Bible, which is a complete mess (in a good way), is to use a pink highlighter to highlight verses that contain the Gospel message. This way, when I come across a page of scripture, I can see where I've been before and where the Gospel pops up in amongst the other words on the pages. More on my highlighting methods in a future post!

What I want to accomplish, through this blog post that is accompanied by both Podcast and YouTube video (coming soon), is to walkthrough the Gospel in such a way that is simple yet theologically and doctrinally rich, backed up phrase by phrase by the Word of God. Every point could include multiple scripture references.

It is always best reference the context of all scripture to authenticate the meaning of a verse rather than take one verse and apply it to all of scripture. Perhaps you can think of better examples of a verse for any given point. If so, please mention your verse in the comment section below! I'd love to hear from you.

The Gospel has been written about and presented by great expositors, scholars, theologians, preachers, evangelists, pastors, missionaries, and lay people for centuries. It has been said that it will take an eternity to reach the depths of the truths, mysteries, and wonders contained in the Gospel of God. So if you think that the Good News of Jesus Christ, The Gospel of God, or the Biblical Gospel can be contained or condensed in any way shape or form, you haven't quite dipped your toe into the water! "Oh the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutible his ways!" (Romans 11:33).

I pray you will experience the life-changing, soul-quenching, mind-renewing truths contained in these passages, and that this walkthrough will draw you a little deeper into the wonders of the Word of God, wet your appetite for more, and give you an increased desire to know God. If you profess to know God, I pray you would know Him more. If you do not yet know God, I pray His Saving Grace would wash over you by the reading of His Word, and through the power of the Gospel of God! (1 Corinthians 1:18).

So let's dive in! Here's a video version of this post if you'd rather listen and/or follow along.

One God. Uncreated. John 1:1-3
One Man. Created. Genesis 2:18
One Law. Broken. Romans 5:12
One Sin. Separated. Romans 3:23
One Consequence. Death. Romans 6:23
One Heart. Defiled. Mark 7:20
One Holy. Demanded. Psalm 5:4-6
One Judgement. Fixed. Acts 17:31
One Plan. Salvation. Acts 4:12
One God-Man. Son. Romans 5:17
One Mission. Reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18
One Conception. Immaculate. Luke 1:35
One Birth. Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10
One Life. Sinless. 1 Peter 1:19
One Holy. Denied. Acts 3:14
One Ministry. Jesus. Matthew 17:5
One Seeker. Son of Man. Luke 19:10
One Righteous. Righteous One. Acts 7:52
One Message. Mark 1:14 & 15
The Way. Narrow. Matthew 7:14 The Truth. A Person. John 14:6
The Life. Christ. John 14:6
One Cross. Raised. John 12:32-33
One Body. Crushed. Isaiah 53:10
One Death. Horrific. Philippians 2:8
One Veil. Torn. Matthew 27:51
One Offering. Perfect. John 1:29 & 36
One Sacrifice. Sufficient. Hebrews 10:11-12
One Propitiation. Satisfied. Romans 3:25
One Resurrection. Proclaimed. John 11:25
One Ascension. Witnessed. Mark 16:19
One Purification. Enthroned. Hebrews 1:3b
One Chosen. Foreknown. Romans 8:29
One Revelation. Synergistic. Luke 10:22
One Appointed. Called. John 15:16 One Sinner. Predestined. Romans 8:29a
One Salvation. Grace. Ephesians 2:8a
One Faith. Gifted. Ephesians 2:8b
One Belief. Confessed. Acts 20:21b
One Repentance. Judicial. 1 John 1:7
One Regeneration. Spirit. Titus 3:5
One Soul. Forgiven. 1 John 1:9
One Heart. Regenerated. Ezekiel 36:26
One Righteousness. Counted. Romans 4:20-22
One Justification. Declared. Romans 3:22
One Work. Finished. John 19:30
One Boast. Christ. Galatian 6:14
One Adoption. Official. Romans 7:15
One Baptism. With. Romans 6:4
One Testimony. God's. Acts 20:24
One Counsel. God’s. Acts 20:27
One Direction. God’s. Luke 9:62
One Sanctification. Progressive. Romans 6:19
One Spirit. Filling. Romans 15:13
One Glorification. Assured. Romans 8:30
One Mission. Commissioned. Matthew 28:18-20
One Purpose. Glory. 1 Corinthians 10:31
One Path. Fullness of Joy! Psalm 16:11
One Hope. Living. 1 Peter 1:3
One Future. Eternal. Romans 6:23b
One Gospel. I AM. Revelation 22:13

My Best Day Will Be My Last Day

You can listen to this article here . There are three most noteworthy days in the life of every believer. The day we are born, the day we ar...