by Micah Olson | Sep 5, 2016 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Treasures In Heaven Part 1- What Is Your Treasure? Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust 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: What does Christ mean by treasure? In order to think about Matthew 6:19-21 clearly, it is helpful to make a distinction between possessions and treasures. The Greek word translated “treasure” is thesauros which means “the place in which good and precious things are collected and laid up.” I think the best definition for treasure, in the context of Matthew 6:19-21, is: “something that is very special, important, or valuable.” See Note 1 In the context of this article, I define the word “possession” to mean any form of worldly belongings or assets. All men, in some form or another, have worldly possessions. Whether it is your savings account, your 401K, your house, the clothes on your back, or a little food that you have saved for your next meal, no man is completely without worldly possessions. To review…a treasure is something that is very important to you, and a possession is just something that belongs to you. You have many possessions, but not all of your possessions are treasures. My sock...
by Dave Szabo | Aug 22, 2016 | Articles, Testimonies
Life Verses I have found, as I am sure many of you have, that there are certain passages in God’s word that just speak directly to my heart. Here is one that I committed to memory many years ago and has blessed me through the years. Psalm 73:23-26 NASB 23 Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. 24 With Your counsel You will guide me, And afterward receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73 was written by an OT priest named Asaph. In this psalm Asaph was troubled by the prosperity, arrogance, seemingly carefree lives of the wicked while he went through the trials and tribulations of life that he observed did not happen to the wicked. He really wondered if it was worth it to live for God! Then in verses 16-19 he says: 16 When I pondered to understand this, It was troublesome in my sight 17 Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end. 18 Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. 19 How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! When Asaph considered life from an eternal perspective his thinking changed and he wrote verses 23-26. A few thoughts for consideration on verses 23-26: Verse 23: Jesus has taken hold of me and He will never let go....
by Skip Tschantz | Aug 8, 2016 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Responding to Society Keeping the Mission in Focus Being mindful of our mission Titus 3:8: This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. What is Paul referring to that is good and profitable for all men? Lets look at 2 Corinthians 5 where we see an outline of our mission. 2 Cor 5:18-21 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Our mission is not to impact our culture by changing their moral values, or by legislative or judicial process. Our mission is to be an ambassador through whom God can reconcile men and women to Himself. The Bible doesn’t mandate that we are to impact our culture so that it becomes Christianized. To embrace this view will blur our priorities and weaken our allegiance. Our priority is the gospel and our allegiance is to Jesus Christ and to Him alone. Our calling is not to change society...
by Craig McAndrews | Jul 25, 2016 | Articles, Mentors Corner
In Luke 14:25-35 Jesus makes it clear that it costs to follow Him and in concise language He spells out the details on what the cost will be. The words He uses in this teaching really got my attention and challenged me to think about paying the price. His statements are direct and very absolute. Consider verse 26, where He says, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple”, or when He says in verse 27, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” Statements like “hate his own father and mother”, “carry your own cross”, and “cannot be my disciple” provide little room for interpretation. Studying these verses has challenged me to ask two very specific questions of myself and I wanted to share them with you as you seek to know our savior more deeply: Question 1: What has following Jesus cost you in your life? Question 2: When have you been uncomfortable or inconvenienced for the sake of Jesus? Are these questions tough to answer? I know when I first started thinking through these questions, I really wondered if following Jesus had cost me anything. In the Luke verses He tells us that being His disciple can cost us relationships, a lot of inconvenient living, our resources of time or money, and even all our possessions. Had I given up any of those things for the sake of Jesus? Fortunately, as I prayerfully thought...
by Walt Henrichsen | Jul 11, 2016 | Articles, People Not Listening
“Then Judas, which had betrayed Him, when he saw that He was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.” Matthew 27:3-4 Matthew 27 is devoted to the trial and crucifixion of Christ. Judas expressed remorse and returned the money to the Chief Priest. The men who had plotted Jesus’ death were indifferent regarding whether or not He was innocent. However, they were “spiritual” enough that they did not want to place the returned money in the Temple treasury: “And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood” (v. 6). Evidently, they thought it proper to sacrifice an innocent Man to protect their nation, which they perceived was threatened by His existence. Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, and was affirmed by his wife: “For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him” (vv. 18-19). For fear of the people rioting, Pilate executed an innocent Man. While Jesus hung on the cross, “… the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; Himself he cannot save. If He be the King of Israel,...
by Ed Allen | Jun 27, 2016 | Articles, What Do You Think?
Romans 3: 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. (Observation) The Law holds men accountable to God. The Law demonstrates that man falls short of God’s righteousness. (Interpretation) God’s purpose in giving the Law through Moses was not to give men a vehicle to become righteous in His sight, but rather to educate men in regard to their depravity and need for a savior. (Cross-reference) Galatians 3: 20 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. (Application) Thanks to the Law I can see that I am a hopeless sinner doomed to eternal separation from God in Hell except for God’s provision of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. What do you think? If it were not for the law, would you have been or now be, “conscious” of your own sin? for more article by this...
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