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 Gayle Jackson | Feb 6, 2017 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Why does one keep on with trying to walk with Jesus and His commands and Jesus thinking and not just return to the world and its thinking (I.e. homosexuality issue, integrity, fornication, etc.)? The thinking is, I am going to Heaven and it looks like there is no downside to indulgences on my part, Christ work has saved me and He isn’t going to take it back. Christ loves me no matter what. Why not just live my life in harmony with the people around me? Why be an odd ball and think like those bunch of hypocrites of believers. There is an argument that goes, abortion sometime is required, and fornication is fun, why not eat drink and be merry for tomorrow I die…As an old saying goes, “get all you can, can all you get and poison all the rest” Verses for thoughts: Luk 9:23 And he said unto all, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 9:24 whosoever would save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. Luk 9:25 For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose or forfeit his own self? Luk 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in his own glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels. Notice the “Action” phrases Take up Follow me Save his...
by Ed Allen | Jan 16, 2017 | Articles, What Do You Think?
John 6: 26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” 28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”30 So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? (Observation) The passage follows Jesus’ feeding 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish. When Jesus left by boat, the crowd followed him Capernaum where He tells them to work not for “food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life.” Ready to do the “works of God” they ask what it is. Jesus answers that it is to believe in Him. They respond by asking for a sign. (Interpretation) I suggest to you that the reasoning of the crowd following Jesus for food is little different from the reasoning of those who have not yet believed in Jesus today. They accept the idea of attaining to “eternal life” by working for it, but when Jesus says that they only have to believe in Him, they ask (as if feeding 5000 wasn’t enough) for proof. So, then...
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 Gayle Jackson | Nov 14, 2016 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Php 3:12 Not as though I had already attained or were already perfect, but I am pressing on, if I may lay hold of that for which I also was taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Php 3:13 My brothers, I do not count myself to have taken possession, but one thing I do, forgetting the things behind and reaching forward to the things before, Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment, It is God’s plan that we should all die. We have a turn on earth and what we do with it will determine how we live in eternity. This is taught by Jesus and the Apostles. From the Bible we can conclude that our life objective is not the cleaning up of our society. Historically, that pursuit or objective seems to always get off course and with our proposed “reforms”, society will dislike us more. Just think of Ecclesiastes and Solomon’s conclusion of all his efforts in the world. Do you think you are really smarter than the wisest man? Ecc 1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. Ecc 12:13-14 This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. (14) For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it be good, or...
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