The only contention I would have with you on your final points, FH - is that a believe would know that God is in all things. ALL things. For a believer, the acknowledgment of the Lord is done within - "Thank you Lord, for this lesson."
Yes, God is in "all" things. Obviously that is something that isn't believed in by those who do not have Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, unless it's some concept of "God" without the acknowledgment of Christ as the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity or the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity. I understand what you are trying to say though, so I'll not go into the things that God is not in, but as just one example, I don't believe that God was "in" Hitler.
Simply because something is not evangelical does not mean it is not of God. Nor does outward piety make something Godly:
�And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Of course something can be of God and not be "evangelical." But you can't be "evangelical" without God either. "Piety," or as you seem to be using the term, as a false action just because "it's expected" or because someone "identifies" with a group or because they want to "put on a show" does not make someone "godly." There will, in fact, be many who "think" they are "godly" who will be rejected by Christ on the last day.
But no one can "fool God" because God sees the heart. It is, as is brought out in the Scripture you quoted, the "motivation" for what someone does that God sees. He knows if it's "just for show" or if it's sincere. It is for that reason that I believe that believers NEED good, solid, biblically based counseling because the focus is not "solely" on the couple, it is on the whole marriage with God as the central piece of the marriage, as well as for the individuals in the marriage.
"Going it alone" without God is not being "pious" either is another way to look at it, I guess. Why would anyone tell a believer that they don't need God, especially during a serious crisis in their lives? Who might be needed MORE at such a time?
The more something or something tries to tell me of their piety and righteousness, the less I believe it.
I guess that's intended to be a rebuke of me or what I've written? If so, I leave it up to God to judge the sincerity or insincerity of what I say and do. You can, of course, choose to believe anything you wish. If not, then I'm not sure what the relevance is to the discussion. Perhaps you could clarify the statement a little.
For the sake of clarity on this point I should also mention that the Nouthetic Counselor that my wife and I went to provided his counseling for free. It was considered a ministry of his church, not a means to make money. I would guess that might make it seem "pious" to some folks, but it was a sincere ministry to help hurting believers and not predicated on anything he might receive in return or just for "show." We were "held accountable" to God for what we were doing in our recovery efforts, and he would ask us about many things, including our "assignments" from week to week.
