Lucas gives a talk on how he used nature to dwell on God and himself, and improved his mental and spiritual health...and how that convinced him to change his "stinkin' thinkin." How is cognitive behavioral therapy tied to repentance?

2. Job 12:7-10
But ask the animals, and they will
teach you,
or the birds in the sky, and they
will tell you;
or speak to the earth, and it will
teach you,
or let the fish in the sea inform
you.
Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has
done this?
In his hand is the life of every
creature
and the breath of all mankind.

4. Stanford
• “One mechanism [toward increased mental illness]
might be the impact of nature exposure on
rumination, a maladaptive pattern of self-referential
thought that is associated with heightened risk for
depression and other mental illnesses. Findings of
the effects of a relatively brief nature experience
suggest that feasible investments in access to
natural environments could yield important benefits
for the “mental capital” of cities and nations.“

5. The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

6. To Him who made the great lights,
for His steadfast love endures forever;
the sun to rule over the day,
for His steadfast love endures forever;

7. The moon and stars to rule over the
night,
for his steadfast love endures forever.

8. In His hand are the depths of the earth, and
the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea
is His, for He made it, and His hands formed
the dry land.

9. Norwich Medical School
UEA
• “Exposure to greenspace reduces the risk of type II
diabetes, cardiovascular disease, premature death,
preterm birth, stress, and high blood pressure.
Populations with higher levels of greenspace
exposure are also more likely to report good overall
health—according to global data involving more
than 290 million people.”

10. How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom
you made them all; the earth is full of your
creatures. There is the sea, vast and
spacious, teeming with creatures beyond
number—living things both large and small.

11. Norwich Medical School
UEA
• Lead author Caoimhe Twohig-Bennett, from UEA’s
Norwich Medical School, said:
• “Spending time in nature certainly makes us feel
healthier, but until now the impact on our long-term
wellbeing hasn’t been fully understood. We
gathered evidence from over 140 studies involving
more than 290 million people to see whether nature
really does provide a health boost.”

12. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands
formed the dry land.

13. Norwich Medical School
UEA
• Study co-author Professor Andy Jones, wrote rather
strikingly, I believe:
• “We often reach for medication when we’re unwell
but exposure to health-promoting environments is
increasingly recognised as both preventing and
helping treat disease. Our study shows that the size
of these benefits can be enough to have a
meaningful clinical impact[…] Much of the research
from Japan suggests that phytoncides—organic
compounds with antibacterial properties—released
by trees could explain the health-boosting
properties of forest bathing.”

14. A Land of—

21. Jesus
• It seems striking to me that
Jesus spent so much time
helping others,
• “Yet He frequently withdrew to
the wilderness to pray.” —Luke
5:13

22. Jesus
• Luke 18:1-8
• Now He was telling them a parable to show
that at all times they ought to pray and not
to lose heart, saying, "In a certain city there
was a judge who did not fear God and did
not respect man. "There was a widow in
that city, and she kept coming to him,
saying, 'Give me legal protection from my
opponent.'

23. Jesus
• Luke 18:1-8
• "For a while he was unwilling; but afterward
he said to himself, 'Even though I do not
fear God nor respect man, yet because this
widow bothers me, I will give her legal
protection, otherwise by continually
coming she will wear me out.'"

24. Jesus
• Luke 18:1-8
• And the Lord said, "Hear what the
unrighteous judge said; now, will not God
bring about justice for His elect who cry to
Him day and night, and will He delay long
over them? "I tell you that He will bring
about justice for them quickly. However,
when the Son of Man comes, will He find
faith on the earth?"

25. Jesus
• Luke 6:12
• It was at this time that He went off to the
mountain to pray, and He spent the whole
night in prayer to God.
• Luke 22:41
• And He withdrew from them about a stone's
throw, and He knelt down and began to
pray,

26. Change
• Mark Twain said, "Quitting smoking is easy. I've done it a
thousand times.“
• Luke 11 and the unclean spirit
• Matthew 17:21
—followers of Christ couldn't get an unclean spirit to
leave, and Jesus observed them and said, "This kind does
not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
• Uninterrupted time

27. Failure to
communicate
• “Simplifying important but complex
messages can be a necessary and
valuable approach for increasing the reach
of those messages. But when simplification
renders the message inaccurate, the
mission is harmed.”
•
—Dr. Heather E. Heying

28. Failure to
communicate
• Beatriz’s remarks.
• Educational psychology

29. Failure to
communicate

30. Failure to
communicate
• “Let your conversation be always
full of grace, seasoned with salt, so
that you may know how to answer
everyone.”
• — Col 4:6

31. A Failure to correct

32. A Failure to correct
• Can’t go where you want unless
you know where you are.
• The truth is a terrible and fearsome
thing, falsehood is a destroyer of
one’s lifetime and soul.

33. Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy
• Substance use disorder, schizophrenia and
other psychotic disorders, depression and
dysthymia, bipolar disorder, anxiety
disorders, somatoform disorders, eating
disorders, insomnia, personality disorders,
anger and aggression, criminal behaviors,
general stress, distress due to general
medical conditions, chronic pain and
fatigue[…]and female hormonal conditions.

34. Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy
• Attempts to ascertain both the point and
method by which one’s cognitive
processes lead to undesired outcome

35. Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy
• According to the National Institutes of
Health, cognitive behavioral therapy has
been shown through meta-analyses
(multiple studies of studies) to be
efficacious in treating a number of
deleterious issues.

36. Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy
• The NIH concludes that, “In general, the
evidence-base of CBT is very strong.”
• This is important as it allows people to have
more control over their lives through their
own, internal mechanisms, and also allows
for more positive outcomes. If it can work,
there’s really not a better way to fix one’s
life.

37. Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy
• Romans 12:2—Do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewal of
your mind, that by testing you may discern
what is the will of God, what is good and
acceptable and perfect.
• 2 Corinthians 10:5—Take every thought
captive to obey Christ.

38. Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy

39. Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy

41. Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy
• Prov 1:32-33
• "For the waywardness of the naive will kill
them, And the complacency of fools will
destroy them.“
• Zeph 1, “I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and punish the men who are settled
in complacency."

42. Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy

43. Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy
• Some current facts for me.

44. Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy

45. Isaiah 66:8
• Like a new birth, becoming a new
person is not without pain.
• “Who has heard such a thing? Who has
seen such things? Can a land be born
in one day? Can a nation be brought
forth all at once? As soon as Zion
travailed, she also brought forth her
sons.”

46. The Four Loves
• In the book, “The Four Loves,” CS Lewis
wrote, “Eros will have naked bodies;
Friendship naked personalities.”
• As compared to me.

47. Agape
• Do you love me? FEED my sheep!
(John 21)
• Greater agape has no one than this: to
lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
(John 15)
• My own terror

48. Nature, prayer,
vigilance
• Nature, prayer, and vigilance