by Jim Gustafson | Nov 15, 2025 | Articles, Mentors Corner
The following is a summary of the discussion with my 99 ½ year old Mother on November 9, 2025. Present with me was my wife, Diane. “Hi Mom, Its Jim and Diane.” “Oh, it is so good to see you. We have a lot of things to catch up on.” “Yes, but I have one thing I wanted to talk about.” “My going out?” “Yes. Last time we talked about you going out, you said you were going to hell.” “I did? Can I take my words back?! I don’t want to go to hell!” “The Bible tells us we have a choice. It’s our decision to make. When a person dies, their soul goes to heaven or hell—one of those two places. But the determination can only be made before death. You mentioned that you led an imperfect life.” “Yes.” “The Bible calls that “sin” and further says that all of us are guilty of sin or as you say, leading an imperfect life.” “So what do I do?” “The Bible says that you must believe.” “Believe what? I’ve led a pretty good life.” “Yes, but as you said, an imperfect one.” “Yes.” “But that can be corrected, right now.” “But how?” “What is required is belief. A confession of your belief.” “How do I know it is true? “You can know by faith. A commitment without knowing the result. God has set life up that we cannot know with certainty the future, but we can know by faith. Faith is the requirement to get into heaven. No one can be certain or prove that God is true...
by Ed Allen | Oct 7, 2025 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42) What do you think? What is the “one thing?” and what is the “good part?” Does it apply to you? If so, how and what would you change? Consider Psalms 62: “My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation. 2 He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken. 3 How long will you assail a man, That you may murder him, all of you, Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence? 4 They have counseled only to thrust him down from his high position; They delight in falsehood; They bless with their mouth, But inwardly they curse. Selah. 5 My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. 6 He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. 7 On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock...
by Trevor McDowell | Sep 9, 2025 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Joshua 1:8-9 have been very encouraging verses to me. Joshua is about to take over leadership of the Israelite nation and lead them into the Promised Land! An overwhelming challenge to be sure! Up to now, for the past forty years, Joshua had been content to follow Moses’ leadership. Now that Moses was gone, it was now Joshua’s job to lead the people! As anyone in leadership knows, leading people can be overwhelming. So God Himself encourages Joshua with these words, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:8-9) God commands Joshua to follow God’s law. be courageous and then he will have prosperity and success. God also promises that He will be with him every step of the way. When I looked up the words prosperity and success I was surprised by the Strong’s definitions. Prosperous means to “advance forward”. Success means to “act wisely and comprehend”. The way our world defines those words is much different. Prosperity is financial and success is temporal in our definitions. So, in other words, if Joshua knew God’s word and followed it, he would “advance forward” in the purpose God had given him and comprehend and know he was headed in...
by Craig McAndrews | Aug 19, 2025 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in His commandments” – Psalm 112:1 (King James) Every other Monday, I have the opportunity to participate in a Bible study with a young guy who is eagerly seeking the Lord. Recently, I returned from vacation to find my inbox flooded with urgent issues waiting for attention. Unfortunately, Bible study happened to fall on the same Monday I was due back at work. I immediately felt the tension: Do I skip this one and get ahead of the chaos, or do I keep my commitment? I chose to attend—sort of. I went, but my mind was elsewhere. I was distracted, and the cares of the day captured my attention. My obedience was slow, reluctant, and partial. A far cry from the psalmist’s description of the one who “delights greatly in His commandments” (Psalm 112:1). Obedience is not a new concept for believers. From the beginning of Scripture, God has called His people to hear His voice and follow His commands. But Psalm 112 introduces a deeper distinction—one that moves beyond compliance to the heart of our response: delight. The psalm doesn’t just describe someone who fears the Lord. It describes someone who greatly delights in God’s commandments. The Hebrew word for “delight” conveys joy, favor, and deep pleasure. This is not the reluctant obedience of someone giving in after resistance. It is not half-hearted or delayed. It is glad, eager, and fast. So, here’s the question: How do I obey God? Psalm 112 paints a picture of obedience that is joyful, complete, and prompt....
by Jim Gustafson | Aug 4, 2025 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“Two things I asked of You: Do not refuse me before I die; Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or that I be in want and steal and profane the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:7-9). NASB-95 Desperate men can do radical things. It seems that in desperation, all things are on the table. Particularly under pressure, men will steal, cheat, lie, deny God, hurt others they love and even murder, in an attempt to bring relief to themselves. Any and all of this, in order to get from under a trial, to relieve pain and move to higher ground. We are all capable of despicable acts to get relief from the pressures of life. There is nothing wrong with being desperate. To the contrary, the Bible is replete with examples of desperate men, making decisions out of their extreme hurt and need. Some decisions as recorded in the Scriptures were good and resulted in changes in perspectives and even circumstances; others resulted in more pain. So what is the difference? The answer lies in one’s perception of the source, purpose and goal of pain. The source of pain: “I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and...
by Chris Martin | Jul 16, 2025 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“Thus says the Lord, ‘Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For my hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being? Declares the Lord’, “But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My Word” (Isaiah 66:1-2). Time and time again in His Word, God turns our attention toward our need to be humble. In fact, it is discussed over 80 different times in the Bible. In our Isaiah passage the Hebrew word has a definition that includes to be “afflicted, humble, lowly, needy, poor.” In the New Testament Greek it carries a similar meaning of “to be cast down, of low degree, lowly.” The opposite of humility is pride, arrogance, conceit, boastful, or proud. How does a man achieve this posture of humility? It is certainly something that God has called the man of God to investigate and pursue. In fact, God says in Zephaniah 2:3 “seek the Lord all you humble of earth who have carried out His ordinances: Seek Righteousness, SEEK HUMILITY, perhaps you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.” The passage instructs us to SEEK humility in addition to SEEKING righteousness. The seeking of humility is as important as, and should be to the same degree, that we seek righteousness. We are to PURSUE it, CHASE after it, be DILIGENT towards achieving this “posture” of humility. So how do we do this? I propose...
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