Hope That Sustains (Pt 1)

How a Philosophy Class Stimulated My Growth in the Real Hope

The Challenge to Trust and Hope

When you buy a bottle of aspirin today, you will find that there is a seal covering the opening. This is a safety measure against contamination. If you buy a bottle with a broken seal, this means that the contents could be defiled and dangerous. Why do these bottles have such seals?

When I was a kid, there was a scandal concerning Tylenol, in which some disturbed employee working on the assembly line randomly poisoned the product so that several of the pills became contaminated with the poison. Unfortunately, many unsuspecting consumers died as a result of taking the poisoned pills.

As can be imagined, this caused quite a commotion in the country that expanded to many aspects of the US economy. Many began to question the reliability and trustworthiness of many consumer products, especially other OTC medications. Fear became rampant.

Fear, disillusionment, and cynicism naturally result when hope and trust diminish.
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Walking with Depressed Loved Ones (Pt 2)

Great strides have been made in the areas of diagnosing and treating clinical depression. For this we should be thankful for God’s grace and common grace that allows for discoveries into the human heart and psyche.

However, much wisdom in this area can also be gained by looking into various writings within the last 400 years or so. Recently I came across one such resource contained in the book written by Archibald Alexander titled, “Thoughts on Religious Experience.” Alexander was one of the founders of Princeton, which originally existed for the equipping and training of those who would be pastors. He was brilliantly insightful into the Christian life and all that entails, including the work of the Holy Spirit in the human heart.
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Walking with Depressed Loved Ones (Pt 1)

During our current and challenging times, most of us have personally had to interact with issues such as fear, anxiety, grief, and depression. We have also had to deal with friends and loved ones who are struggling with one or more of these issues. As followers of Christ how do we understand these issues and how do we find the help we need to deal with these struggles with power and hope?

As a starting point I wanted to focus on depression. Now, depression takes place on a continuum that encompasses situational depression to clinical depression. For the sake of discussion I will take a look at clinical depression. A person who is clinically depressed is one who typically has great difficulty sleeping, eating, and functioning with common day-to-day activities. They find themselves having difficulty enjoying things that used to be easy and fun for them. For those in the throes of clinical depression, even such mundane tasks as brushing their teeth can wear them out physically. For them, the future looks bleak and one of their greatest fears is that they will stay this way forever with no way out. Continue reading →

Power is a Person

When it comes to biblical counseling, we at KAINOS believe that it must be biblically-based, Christ-centered, and grace-driven. You can find out in more detail what these concepts mean by reading the respective blogs here on the website.

The ultimate goal of this kind of counseling is to lead people to see particularly how relationship with Jesus is the source of the necessary power for transformation. In other words, while we might just want our struggles to be FIXED, Scripture teaches us that God has a much better plan for us since He desires for us to be renewed and continually revived through the power of the Spirit of Christ. Continue reading →

Living Out of Our Hearts

What is man? What does it mean to be human? When it comes to a biblical understanding of humanness, we see that Scripture defines humanness as being reflective of God. The Godhead said, “Let us make man in our image….” So, Scripture teaches that men and women are made in God’s image, which means that there are ways we are like God without ever being equal with God. God created us to think, will, and communicate. Since God is a community, we are created to live in community, outside of ourselves. Since the essence of God is love, we must see that we were created to love in a way that reflects God’s being and character. For example, beginning in Matthew 5:43, Jesus taught on what it should look like for us to love our enemies. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” This is how sons and daughters of God live because this is a reflection of the character and mercy of God, who makes the rain to fall “on the just and the unjust.” This is the essence of being an image bearer of God. This is the essence of humanness. Continue reading →

Living the New Life

John 3:1–8 (ESV): Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

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What Does It Mean to Be Biblically-based?

All that we do at KAINOS seeks to be rooted and grounded in God’s Word. We truly believe that all Scripture is “God-breathed,” or “expired” by God. While He used human agents to write His Word, God did not simply use the human writers as secretaries to whom he dictated His Word. No, God used their personalities, experiences, knowledge, and life circumstances. He did not in any way circumvent their humanness. They were all carried along by the Holy Spirit so that what they wrote was what God wanted them to write. So, Scripture truly covers the full gamut of life and human experience. So, we believe that Scripture is able to equip us for all we need to be effective servants of God and for all we need to enjoy God as our loving, steadfast Heavenly Father. Continue reading →

What Does It Mean to Be Grace-driven?

How does growth happen in the Christian life? How are we being transformed to conform more and more to the image of Jesus? How does real change happen?

I have had many dear brothers and sisters in the Lord come to me with struggles and issues in their lives, and what they wanted most was for me to FIX them. Well, as I told them, I had really good news for them. I told them that God’s plan was not to fix them, but to transform them. Typically, when we say we just want to be “fixed,” what we mean is that we do not want to struggle anymore, but we want the problem gone! It is like the old Calgon commercial, which had the tag line, “Calgon, take me away,” as we bathe in the luxurious bath water with this glorious substance in the water. Unfortunately, this is a very superficial way to think about our struggles, problems, and sin.

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What Does It Mean to Be Christ-centered?

I realize that the question itself seems to be self-explanatory, but the focus of KAINOS is that of Union with Christ. This is a truth that is taught all over Scripture, but unfortunately, it is not focused on much at all or is simply ignored. Just consider a few of the many passages of Scripture that teach this great truth.

Ephesians 1:3–6– 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, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love  he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,  to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

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