by Craig McAndrews | Jul 29, 2021 | Articles
King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 23:7, “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so he is: eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee” (KJV). Another way to read this is, we are what we think about. For anyone who has spent time in the Bible, it’s no surprise that the wisest man to live pointed out this truth. What we think about captures our attention, and what has our attention determines our action. Try this exercise for yourself. Write down the two or three things that have your attention in life. What do you think about most these days? As they come to mind, look at how you are spending your time, money, or talents. It’s likely the resources God provides are being used to pursue what has your attention. We move in the direction of our strongest thoughts. Unfortunately, if our direction is off course, it will impact our relationship with Christ. The apostle Paul provides powerful instruction in 2 Corinthians 10:5 when he writes, “We are destroying speculations, and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” If taking every thought captive is an essential practice for the follower of Jesus, what is the best way to do it? Praise God that the answer is found in the pages of scripture. In Colossians 3:2, Paul challenges the church to “set their minds on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth.” The King James translation uses the phrase, “set your affection” on...
by Jim Gustafson | Jul 15, 2021 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Some hold that fear and love contradict one another–that fear is contrary to love. But in actuality, these go hand in hand. Love and fear are necessarily related. Below are three points of perspectives on this relationship. Firstly, that which we cherish and hold dear, we love. We love that which is precious and hate the thought of losing that which is so important to us. We don’t want to lose that or whom we love or have it or them taken from us. Thus we fear losing that which we love. And hence, in effort to mitigate the fear of loss, to what extent will we love the beloved? Fear drives us to the action of faith. To illustrate, if my wife is diagnosed with cancer, what would I not do to effectuate a cure and insure her future? We know in His sovereignty, He holds control of the beloved, and not us. As much as we want to control the well-being of those we love, we find we don’t control outcomes. And so we fear God, because as our actions of love do not determine the well-being of beloved, His do. We fear God because He determines the plight of us all, the things and people we love. Secondly, the fear of God and the love of God is commanded. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and will all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). This is demonstrated by “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me…” (John 14:21). The fear of the...
Recent Comments