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...
by Ed Allen | Oct 20, 2016 | Articles, What Do You Think?
IT IS WELL 1 Thessalonians 4:13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. (Observation) The passage begins and ends with comfort as it’s stated purpose. Those who have died as believers in Jesus Christ will be raised from the dead to meet Jesus, “in the air” when He returns. Believers alive at the time will follow those arisen from the dead, to likewise, “meet the Lord in the air.” (Interpretation) I suggest to you that we are to take comfort from the passage in at least two ways: First, because of our eternal “hope” in Jesus Christ we do not grieve the death of our loved ones without hope, for our saved fellows who...
by Micah Olson | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Treasures In Heaven Part 4—How Do You See Treasure Clearly? Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 Part 1 – What Is Your Treasure? Part 2 – Where Is Your Treasure? Part 3 – How Do You Store Up Treasure? Part 4 – How Do You See Treasure Clearly? Question: How do you form an accurate filter system? In Matthew 6:19-23, Jesus connects storing up treasures in heaven with having a clear eye. The eye is the lamp of the body, and if our eye is clear we will be full of light. It is only if our eye is clear that we will understand the reality that treasures in heaven are more important than treasures on earth, and only if our eye is clear will we understand how to live our life in such a way that is pleasing to God and leads to treasures in heaven. So let’s take a step backwards and ask, “How do we make our eye clear?” How do we ensure that our view of reality is accurate? Jesus addresses this question a number of ways in the gospels, and the answer always comes back to obedience. If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. John...
by Micah Olson | Oct 3, 2016 | Articles, Testimonies
Treasures In Heaven Part 3—How Do You Store Up Treasure? Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 Part 1 – What Is Your Treasure? Part 2 – Where Is Your Treasure? Part 3 – How Do You Store Up Treasure? Part 4 – How Do You See Treasure Clearly? Question: How do you store up treasures in heaven? 2 Corinthians 5:10 teaches that all men will one day appear before Christ in Judgment. At the Bema Seat1 we will be recompensed, both good and bad, for our deeds in this life. In 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, Paul gives an analogy of what happens at our Judgment. He describes our life’s work as going through a fire. If a believer’s life work consists of gold, silver, or precious stones, then his work will remain upon going through the fire, and he will receive eternal reward. If a believer’s life consists of wood, hay, or straw, it will get burned up upon going through the fire, and that man will suffer eternal loss. How does a man live his life such that his life’s work will be considered gold, silver, and precious stones when he meets Lord Jesus at the Bema Seat? How do we store up treasures in heaven? The question of how a man accumulates rewards in heaven is the...
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