by Walt Henrichsen | Sep 4, 2017 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“…He saved them for His name’s sake, that He might make His mighty power to be known…And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy…They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel…They forgot God who saved them, who performed great deeds in Egypt…So He raised His hand in oath to make them fall in the wilderness.” Psalm 106:8, 10, 13, 21, 26 You would think that when God delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage that He would have led them to happier circumstances. In reality the opposite seems to have been the case: They ate bland “manna,” experienced thirst, were led on long marches, and were given a set of harsh expectations from God (in the form of the Law) that they did not have to obey when in Egypt. How does this happen? It seems that the pattern is consistently the same: You cry to God in your need. He delivers you, and with His deliverance He establishes certain expectations. You, in turn, develop your own expectations of God. When these two sets of expectations clash, you are tempted to take things into your own hands, exacerbating the problem. Our immutable God does not change. When He delivers His people from the shackles of sin He does not guarantee happier circumstances. Often His people appear to experience a harsher life than before their conversion. This is, of course, not always the case. Many testify with the Psalmist, “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.”1 But our...
by Ron Hocutt | Aug 21, 2017 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Know and Be Known Gal 4:9 – “…but now that ye have come to know God, or rather to be known by God…” We believe that knowing God is our goal, but this passage of scripture makes it clear that we must be known by him. When it comes to knowing someone, it’s the small things that count. You may know what they do for a job, where they live, and how many kids they have, but that does not mean you know them. To really know a person is to know them intimately, not just on the surface. Matt 7:23 – “…And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” These words from our Savior should strike terror into the heart of anyone with an eternal hope. How is it that these people could have lived in such a way as to claim Jesus as their savior only to find out he did not know them, and they clearly did not know him? I think the answer lies in what we consider to be important to God vs. what we consider to be unimportant or irrelevant to Him. We err (to our own eternal detriment) when we presume to know the difference. We disobey His Word and justify it by saying things like “…yes, well, I don’t think God cares about that.” At that point, we have ceased seeking the heart of God and have no assurance that His promises apply to us. We may claim that we “know” Him, but He does not know us. The words in...
by Ed Allen | Jul 25, 2017 | Articles, What Do You Think?
AN ETERNAL MINDSET Colossians 3:1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. (Observation) The hope of the believer is in the promise of eternal life with Christ who has risen from the dead and returned to heaven to be “seated at the right hand of God.” The believer is instructed to set his mind on heaven where he is going, rather than on earth where he is. (Interpretation) “The things that are on earth” can be seen, but are temporary and by their nature cannot provide eternal life. God, who cannot be seen is eternal and has made provision for men to share in eternity with Him through His Son Jesus Christ, if they will believe. So, by faith, the believer is to set his mind on what he has been promised, but cannot see. This purposeful setting of ones mind on an eternity which is promised but cannot be seen is faith. Faith is given by God to anyone who will accept it. Paul’s advice to the believer in possession of this faith is to “set your mind on the things above.” (Cross-reference) Hebrews 11: 1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Ephesians...
by Walt Henrichsen | Jul 10, 2017 | Articles, Mentors Corner
God is Sovereign and Man is Responsible “…His works were finished from the foundation of the world.” Hebrews 4:3 God reveals in His Word, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.” Ephesians 1:4-5 Again His Word says, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 These two seemingly irreconcilable truths are anchors in every believer’s life. No one understands how both can be true, but all of Christ’s followers should be grateful that both are true. The responsibility of man means that you can decide to love God and be His obedient slave. God did not make you His robot; you are free to accept or reject His offer to become His. The sovereignty of God means you can have a relationship with the Creator God of the universe and live with Him throughout eternity. Because of your depravity, without His taking the initiative and electing you, you would surely go to hell. As the hymn writer stated it: “I sought the Lord, and afterwards I knew, He moved my soul to seek Him seeking me. It was not I that sought Thee Savior true; I was sought of Thee.” For more articles by Walt...
by Micah Olson | Jun 19, 2017 | Articles, Mentors Corner
You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” Deuteronomy 8:2 Throughout Scripture we are told that God tests us, and that His tests are for our good. We often associate God’s testing with trials such as ill health, financial problems, and difficult interpersonal relationships. These are all legitimate tests, but Deuteronomy 8:2 makes it clear that another important way that God tests us is through our obedience to His commandments. When Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, Paul had two questions for Him: The first: “Who are you, Lord?” The second: “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 2:6-10) The first step you take as a Christian is to proclaim, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.” This statement should always be followed with, “What should I do about it? What does Christ want me to do?” The New Testament is full of positive and negative commandments that help us answer this question. The negative commands (“thou shalt not”) are straightforward in their application. This does not mean they are easy to obey, just that little ambiguity exists in how we should obey. The positive commands (“thou shalt” e.g. “love your neighbor as yourself,” “honor your father and mother,” and “husbands love your wives just as Christ also loved the church”) are more subjective in their application. Each of us carries out obedience to these commands in legitimately different ways, and the...
by Ed Allen | Jun 5, 2017 | Articles, What Do You Think?
Matthew 19: 3 Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” 4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, 5 and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? 6 “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” 7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. 9 “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” OBSERVATION The “certificate of divorce” that Moses permitted was not intended for the benefit of the man so that he could remarry, but for the benefit of the wife he sent away, so that she could remarry. Marriage, being created by God is Holy and the man or woman who defiles it by adultery sins. So, the one who runs off their husband or wife, finding after marriage a dislike for him or her, frees him or her to remarry, but it does not free the one who runs the other off. Likewise the one who commits adultery frees the other to remarry. Marriage is a bond from which one may not be released except for adultery or the will...
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