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...
by Gayle Jackson | Jul 9, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
The book of 1 Peter, I would argue, is Peter’s “manual” for how not to embarrass Christ amidst Tribulation (as Philippians is Paul’s). An interesting passage to consider in regard to Tribulation is 1 Peter 4:12. In it Peter exhorts us, “not to think it strange”. 1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; Do you think it strange when pain, persecution, suffering, testing, trials, temptation… tribulation enters into your life? (although there are some slight differences in the meaning of the words above, for the purpose of these articles, I use these words essentially as synonyms) Some irony with this verse is that earlier in his life, Peter thought it strange concerning Jesus: If we look back in the Gospels in Matthew 16, Jesus is telling the Apostles His plans to go to Jerusalem, suffer many things and be killed. Peter responds and essentially says: “NO WAY, I WILL NOT LET THAT HAPPEN”. Thus he provokes Jesus’ rebuke in Matthew 16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Jesus understood something that Peter did not at that point in his life. Specifically, that tribulation is normal in the life of God’s children. Are you more like Peter or Jesus in this manner? Do you understand that tribulation is normal in your life, even GRACIOUS? To the degree that you think tribulation is strange (to the...
by Walt Henrichsen | Jun 18, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” John 5:22 How do you prepare for the day when you must stand before Jesus and be judged by Him? Obviously, you must school yourself in being His obedient slave. As Jesus Himself modeled: “…I seek not My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 5:30 More than life, you want to please your Master, even if it means appearing foolish in the sight of others. A slave should have no expectations. If you view yourself as the property of Jesus Christ, and He does something you do not like, if He offends your sense of justice, that is His prerogative. When you take His yoke, you go and do what He wants, not what you want. You are involved in the lives of people because that is His will for your life. Again and again Scripture reminds you that people will abuse you. Even though you are fair, helpful, and kind to others, it is unrealistic to expect others to treat you the same way. Because you understand your depravity and propensity to sin, you prepare for Judgment by living a life of perpetual repentance before Him. You are best served if you condemn yourself before God and hope that He will see things differently when He judges you, rather than justifying yourself and finding that He sees things differently when He judges you. For more articles by Walt...
by Gayle Jackson | Jun 4, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
The Discipleship Process Dawson Trotman’s Obedient Disciple Wheel 80 some years ago, Dawson Trotman created the “Wheel” as a discipleship icon, (icon: a sign whose form directly reflects the thing it signifies). This small icon demonstrates the habits of a Jesus disciple. This illustration is not perfect nor exhaustive but is a good test barometer for you to check yourself. These habits will help train you in the ways of Christ. Let us review each the rim of the wheel: Obedience: Our message from God is the Bible. The product in our life is for us to be committed to a life of obedience, i.e. to live life as Christ would have us live it. It is clear in Jesus, and the subsequent scriptures taught, that the call on the believer is to have a life of obedience. The world is telling you that “disobedience” is ok, i.e., sexual mores, lying, stealing, dishonoring parents, permissive child rearing, etc. Some of the Christian world will say that kind of misbehavior is covered in Christ’s blood. They say God is a God of love and so is Christ. So, the Godhead will just overlook your disobedience out of love at the judgment… But the scriptures note to you that this thinking is wrong: John 14:21, 1 Cor 3:11-15 There are four spokes in this wheel Witnessing: Do you know how to woo a nonbeliever into a relationship with Jesus, where they would listen and hear the Holy Spirit? A person coming to Christ is not usually a lightning strike of a single event but an accumulation of many thoughts that eventually...
by Walt Henrichsen | May 21, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” Isaiah 46:10 If you desire a satisfactory relationship with God, two pillars must be firmly anchored in your life. You must believe that He is in control and that He has your best interest at heart. The sovereignty of God must be a deeply held conviction. When my son was dying of leukemia, a friend wrote, “I don’t know how this tragedy came about, but I do know that it did not come from God. God is not in the business of killing little children.” As I pondered his observation, I concluded that if God did not kill my son, then I have a far greater problem than my son dying. I worship a god who is not in control. God was not sitting on the edge of the universe chagrined over the disease that ravaged my son’s life. As I held my son in my arms while he slipped into eternity, I knew that I was experiencing the beautiful handiwork of God. This naturally leads to the second essential pillar: The goodness of God. God is good. He is incapable of doing anything but good. The debate, like so many debates in life, is over who gets to determine what good looks like. Do you truly believe that the hurts of life come from the hand of a good God who only does what is best for you? The writer of Hebrews, quoting from the Psalmist says, “The Lord...
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