by Micah Olson | Oct 2, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Forgiveness and Consequences “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10 The bible makes it abundantly clear that our actions in this life have eternal consequences. We do nothing to earn our way into heaven, because salvation is by grace and grace alone. But although salvation is in no way based on our works or our merit, it is equally true that the quality of our eternity is based on our works. How we invest our life on earth will determine how we live out eternity in heaven (see, e.g., Matthew 6:19-21, 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, and Revelation 22:12). Many modern Christians are uneasy with the teaching of eternal accountability, instead preferring to believe that God’s forgiveness wipes out all consequences of temporal (i.e. earthly) sin. However, the idea that forgiveness eliminates consequences is not biblical. As an example, consider the story of Israel’s rebellion at Kadesh Barnea, found in Numbers 13-14. God commands Moses to send spies into the Promised Land in order to see what the land is like (Numbers 13:1). Twelve spies, one from each tribe, go out on the mission. Two spies, Caleb and Joshua, give a good report of the land. They argue that Israel should go up and take possession of it, in obedience to God. But the other 10 spies argue that the people in the land are too strong for Israel. Sadly, the Israelites go against Caleb and Joshua’s counsel, and instead they...
by James Asdell | Sep 24, 2018 | Articles, Testimonies
“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:13-14 This is a staggering promise. But why haven’t my lottery numbers come up then?! To ask something in the Son’s name stages the prayer in a certain way. So some thoughts: 1) The posture of all prayer is humility and submission—not presumption and impatience. 2) To ask in the Son’s name is to ask like he would ask—with the confidence that would glorify his Father’s power and the humility for the Father to use it on his own terms. 3) Jesus says the purpose of this doing is to glorify the Father in himself. To ask in the Son’s name is to enter into a holy place. If you ask in the Son’s name, you are right in the middle of the union of glory between Father and Son. Why is this important? It reveals how much is at stake from the Son’s point of view. Glorifying his Father means everything to Jesus so the doing he promises for us is of the utmost care and value to him. This is good news. Notice, Jesus promises the prayer will be done but he doesn’t clarify how or when. All asking-prayer comes from a point of need, but who has a better understanding of what his children need—us, or the one who formed us and set every variable (almost all of which we don’t even realize) of our lives? Who had a better understanding of what...
by Nigel Pink | Sep 10, 2018 | Articles, Testimonies
Preach Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. (1 Thessalonians 2:9) The Greek word that is most often translated as ‘preach’ is κηρύσσω – kérussó (Strong’s 2784). The word in the Koine has an uncertain origin but the definition is ‘to be or act like a herald’ or ‘to proclaim’. The role of a herald has changed with time. Coming to the English language from the Old French heraut from the Frankish via herewald, literally ‘war-ruler’, in other words a martial or commander, it has three distinct contemporary meanings: 1. A messenger 2. A harbinger 3. A steward (of heraldry -a rank/position at the College of Arms) All three meanings are relevant to the ‘preacher’ of the Gospel, who is entrusted (stewardship) with a message of the coming of the Kingdom of God. In the same passage to the one above Paul says: …we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. (v4) But there is another meaning, especially given to the verb ‘to herald’ and this is ‘sing the praises of’ – this is surely what all Christians, joy-filled with the fruit of the spirit, wish to do? However, sadly this is often not the case. Nowadays, the idea that a Christian should ‘preach the Gospel’, in other words, proclaim the good news of Jesus to those not in faith that he is the Christ, has become frowned upon. In conjures images of street corner evangelists ranting at...
by Walt Henrichsen | Aug 27, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“…give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me. Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” Proverbs 30:8-9 Most wealthy people handle their wealth poorly, allowing it to warp their values and hurt their lives. Admitting this to be true, most people who are not wealthy nevertheless feel that they are an exception; they can handle wealth. The love of money finds its origin in our desire to avoid the pain of financial insecurity. The phrase “he is financially independent” means that he is insulated from the gyrations of an uncertain economy. God does not want you “independent,” but rather dependent upon Him. People perceive money as the key to freedom, and thus their goal is in conflict with God’s goal for them. The servant of Christ understands this tension between his appetite and God’s will, and prays for the balance between poverty and riches. He knows in his depravity that he can err in either direction of greed and pride; in his greed he steals and in his pride he renounces his need of God. He asks and receives not “because he asks amiss that he may consume it upon his lusts.” (James 4:3) Agur, the writer of this proverb, offers a prayer that is an accurate test of a man of God. He seeks for deliverance from both extremes, knowing that greed can easily overpower his conscience. He throws himself upon the mercy of God, asking that the Lord give him...
by John Hartshorn | Aug 13, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SEQUENCE One of the consistent themes of God through the whole of the Bible is “order”. That is “order” as in the noun used to note a specific sequence. That is clearly seen in Old Testament by noting “first” things. There are first born, first fruits, first day, first offspring, etc. The use of “first” carries into the New Testament as well with well known verses such as Matthew 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you”. (NASB) Even a basic reading of the bible should confirm the idea that God is rather particular about the “order” in which His commands are observed. His instructions to the Israelites in regard to the sacrifices, and the specific order required when the movement of the cloud during the Exodus dictated the movement of the tabernacle (Numbers Chap. 2-4), are two OT examples. Let us consider a few often cited passages where the “order” is noteworthy: Romans 12:1-2 notes a sequence in the commands that one is to l)”present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice..” 2) “…not be conformed to this world..” 3) “be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. Luke 9:23 (also Matt. 10:38 and Mark 8:34) records Christ telling anyone who would be His follower to l) “deny himself’ 2) “take up his cross (daily)” 3) “follow me”. James 4:7-8 1) “Submit therefore to God” 2) “Resist the devil and he will flee from you 3) “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” I find these mentioned interesting for the following...
by Jerry Bangert | Jul 30, 2018 | Articles
THE LOVE OF GOD “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1 Timothy 1:5) The cruelty of God is more loving than the love of men. If this were not so why do we need an entire Bible to teach us to love? In Christianity there are two “Gods.” The first is God as I wish Him to be and He is simply an extension of myself and He is very easy to love. He thinks and acts like I do but He does not exist except in my imagination. The second and true God is the One who is revealed in scripture and being quite unlike me is much harder to love, not because of a deficiency in Him, but of one in me. He violates my conception of love in a thousand ways and on every page of the Bible from causing calamity (Isaiah 45:5-7) to killing babies who have done no wrong (2 Samuel 12:13-18). And in this and countless other examples He demands that we affirm not just His right but His goodness in all of this. GOD IS LOVE! Love is a seamless garment and can only be defined by Him. Our’s is an all too human love. The commandments are the backbone of what it means to love God and man and when we ignore some of them that we don’t like we rend the garment that is love. The commandment to discipline the body of Christ is illustrative of this(Matthew 18:15-20 & 1 Corinthians 5). To discipline is to...
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