by Walt Henrichsen | Mar 13, 2017 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’” Luke 8:25 “And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.” Mark 6:5-6 Jesus did not lack ability to heal. Rather, the whole of the New Testament teaches that in order for a person to receive what God offers, he must have faith. Jesus offered to His generation physical healing, evidenced by the whole of the narrative of His life. The lack was on the part of the people who demonstrated an absence of faith. To our generation He offers eternal life, but in order for us to receive it, we must believe. “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” John 11:26 Of those Jesus healed in His public ministry, Scripture records only a few (like the demon possessed man in Mark 5) who wanted more of Jesus than just temporal healing. When you seek from the Savior eternal life, are you in reality seeking it in hopes of obtaining temporal gain? God, who knows your motives, will not grant eternal life as a means of acquiring temporal benefit. Faith is critically important, but it must be faith properly directed. For more articles by...
by Walt Henrichsen | Feb 20, 2017 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.” Genesis 45:5 God providentially first had Joseph sold as a slave to Egypt and then placed Joseph as leader of Egypt “next to Pharaoh.” When Joseph’s extended family moved to Egypt and his brothers realized that he now had the power to execute vengeance, Joseph quieted their hearts, reminding them that God had orchestrated the whole saga. God revealed to Joseph’s great grandfather Abraham: “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.” Genesis 15:13 We have no reason to believe that Joseph was aware of this prophecy given to Abraham. God effected Israel’s deliverance through the last plague in which He passed over God’s people as he killed the first-born in Egypt. Israel celebrates the Feast of the Passover as the time when God’s wrath passed over them and delivered them from their oppressors. In other words, God orchestrated events, beginning with the selling of Joseph, to communicate to His people that they were to look to Him for deliverance. Salvation is another word for deliverance, and God says that only He can save. He made Israel slaves so that they would understand this. If you don’t see yourself as a slave in need of deliverance, you may not sense your need for God. For more articles by...
by Walt Henrichsen | Dec 12, 2016 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.” Joshua 9:14 The sins of the Hebrews are almost too numerous to number. To catalogue them would force us to look closely at our own lives. Most of the sins and problems in the OT have their genesis in the words, they “asked not counsel of the Lord.” God either repeatedly reminds them of this failure, or the situation obviously reveals it. In this example, Joshua makes a treaty with the Gibeonites without asking the Lord. Counsel was readily available to God’s Old Testament people, through the prophets, using the Urim and Thummim, or simply inquiring of the Lord. Rarely did they ask, and often, when the prophets told them what God wanted, they refused to listen. When the prophet Micah warned Ahab king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat king of Judah against going to war, they ignored him and went to battle anyway. Most decisions people make and later regret involve not seeking counsel. A businessman once remarked, “The best bargain in the marketplace is the counsel of experts.” People do not want to be opposed; they wish to be affirmed. Fearful that they may be opposed rather than affirmed, they do not ask. The issue is not determining the will of God, but rather seeking His will. To properly seek the will of God you must, in a spirit of neutrality, come before God with an open hand, broken spirit, and contrite heart. After seeking the Face of God, ask the counsel of proven men who love you and watch for...
by Walt Henrichsen | Nov 28, 2016 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus strictly charged them, saying, See that no man knows it. But they went forth, and spread abroad His fame in all that land.” Matthew 9:29-31 After Jesus healed these two blind men He told them specifically not to tell others what He did. Evidently these two men believed that Jesus had the ability to heal them, but not the authority to tell them what they could and could not do. The Savior’s request appeared irrational. Surely people needed to know the power of this great Man. So they accepted His help and ignored His specific instructions. Most of Jesus’ followers do the same thing. They believe He is able to forgive their sins and save their souls, granting them by His free grace access to an eternity with God, while ignoring the clear commandments of the New Testament. We ignore them because they appear irrational, when in reality it is we who are irrational in thinking that we can ignore the will of the Sovereign of the universe. There are many ways that God forces people to admit who He is and their need of Him. For example, in Romans 2 the Apostle Paul notes that when you judge as wrong what another person does, you admit you believe in an absolute standard that applies to all people. A cursory evaluation of your own life reveals that you violate your own standard and are therefore in need of God’s forgiveness. More articles by this...
by Walt Henrichsen | Jul 11, 2016 | Articles, People Not Listening
“Then Judas, which had betrayed Him, when he saw that He was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.” Matthew 27:3-4 Matthew 27 is devoted to the trial and crucifixion of Christ. Judas expressed remorse and returned the money to the Chief Priest. The men who had plotted Jesus’ death were indifferent regarding whether or not He was innocent. However, they were “spiritual” enough that they did not want to place the returned money in the Temple treasury: “And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood” (v. 6). Evidently, they thought it proper to sacrifice an innocent Man to protect their nation, which they perceived was threatened by His existence. Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, and was affirmed by his wife: “For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him” (vv. 18-19). For fear of the people rioting, Pilate executed an innocent Man. While Jesus hung on the cross, “… the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; Himself he cannot save. If He be the King of Israel,...
Recent Comments