by Walt Henrichsen | Jul 22, 2019 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“Mortify…covetousness, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3:5 Possibly no sin in the believer’s life is more pernicious and difficult to identify than covetousness. Paul says, “I should not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’”1 Coveting is one sin that the conscience cannot identify as wrong; it is wrong because God says that it is wrong. For me personally, I find that even after God says that covetousness is wrong, I still have difficulty identifying it in my life. When do desire, anticipation, and other forms of temporal hope, become sin? How do you know when you have crossed the line between wanting something and coveting? As I have meditated on this, I conclude for myself that I cannot know. It seems to me, however, that God affords certain indicators that help in this effort. When anticipation becomes expectation, resulting in disappointment, the line probably has been crossed. A lack of gratitude may be another indicator. The presence of anger and experiencing stress are also possible indicators. The absence of such indicators does not eliminate the possibility of covetousness, but they can become warning signs in our lives. Lord, help us to be alert to your warnings in our lives! 1 Romans 7:7 “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shall not covet.” For more articles by Walt...
by Jesse Hernandez | Jul 8, 2019 | Articles, Testimonies
My soul, wait in silence for God only. For my hope is from Him. Psalm 62:5 Several years ago, I came across a friend whom I had not seen in quite some time. We exchanged the typical greetings and quickly shared several pleasant comments with each other. Immediately following, he looked at me straight in the eye and raised a question that no one had ever asked me before. Ever. “How’s your soul?” he asked. What kind of a question is that? In addition, who asks that kind of a question? At first, I almost took offense. The audacity. I stared back for what felt like an eternity. I am usually pretty good at drawing from a deep well of witty comebacks for such moments. Usually, there is no shortage of clever responses and at times, they even sound genuine. This time, I was speechless. Stumped. Interestingly, his genuine stare begged a genuine response. He proceeded to wait patiently for me to answer the question. I could not even come up with a fabricated response. I remember taking a deep breath and proceeded to mumble a few incoherent words. It has been several years now since I had that memorable interaction and I have never forgotten the question or the stare for that matter. That particular question, however, has caused me to periodically slow down and think about my soul. It is so incredibly easy for me to stop and think about a million other things, but it is so hard to think about my soul. Why is that? The prophet Jeremiah says, “The heart is more deceitful than all...
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