by Gayle Jackson | Jun 13, 2016 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Joh_1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Joh_1:14 And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and of truth. Words are important to our being. Matthew 12: 36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 38 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” We think with words, therefore a sloppy vocabulary yields a sloppy mind. A vocabulary full of what we call curse words or slang will yield that kind of thinking. This generation loves the “f:” word. That will be a dominate influence in their thinking. We can’t believe that there is no impact from a bad, poor, dirty, etc. vocabulary. We think with words. Ergo, a society with a small vocabulary have a limited opportunity to develop. I have been told that those who study the “lost” tribes in the jungle, find the people with a small anemic vocabulary have a very underdeveloped culture. Think of the inner city’s vocabulary and look at the product. Just think of hip hop verses classical music and their impact of society. Evidence says we are better off with a strong good vocabulary in our culture. But all tribes of people have a word for God. The key to speed reading is your vocabulary. If you have a weak vocabulary, you are constantly struggling with...
by David Kotter | May 30, 2016 | Articles, Testimonies
“If you died today, and were standing before God, what would you say to convince him to let you into heaven?” Imagine this question posed to you at a lunch meeting, or even perhaps on the phone. What would you say? Fortunately, I am prized with daily unbeliever intersections, which allow me the opportunity to ask this very question. As one might imagine the feedback runs the gamut, but all have a common theme, which is justification. Whether they consciously know it, or not, man is always playing the Luke 18 Pharisee justify card. “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.” This manifests itself today, as “I am a good person,” or could be better understood as, “I am so much better than the next guy.” Man is always playing appraiser as he pulls out comps to support his own personal valuation. The tactic, to this attitude of hiding by justifying, is to ask questions, which expose the truth of his/her sin condition. Some of the questions I pose back to them are: How did you come up with that? What standard are you using? Does your standard trump someone else’s? Have you ever not lived up to your own standard? Questions are so powerful, and Jesus knew this well; look at Matthew 19:17: And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” Jesus knew about His own divinity, but was forcing this man to think...
by Gayle Jackson | May 16, 2016 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Forgiveness is a very large subject in the bible. In thinking on it, I realized that it is a key concept for the Church to survive. We must have a working creed of forgiveness and understand it or the church will come unraveled. The subject of forgiveness is much too extensive for a blog from me, so I am going to take it on in pieces. This issue covers the concept of forgiveness that is most prevalent among families and friends. As I have gotten older I realize the problem that my family, friends and associates have with forgiveness. I especially see this in family relations and a major focus of the angst is centered on the parents. I think as we age we just don’t shed bad experiences well. However forgiveness is a major issue with God and that is the reason we need to discuss it. Forgiveness: The definition from the Greek is cry, forgive, forsake, lay aside, leave, omit, put (send) away, remit, suffer, and yield up. The dictionary says FORGIVENESS- pardon, forgiveness; to let pass, take away, hide, wash, purify, release You get the sense that when you forgive you are putting an issue out of your life. Observation: Forgiveness is an act of the will. An emotion may be involved but a willful resolve is the force in the action of forgiveness. Your forgiveness is not governed by the other person’s response. You do it because God said to do it. Facts on Forgiveness: 1. It is commanded in the bible. 2. It is an act of the will. Emotion may or may not follow. 3. Your forgiveness may or may not be accepted by the other party. 4. It is unidirectional, no...
by Walt Henrichsen | May 2, 2016 | Articles, People Not Listening
“… to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.” 1 Corinthians 7:3 No one marries to meet the needs of his/her spouse, but rather to meet his/her own needs. For example, single men do not seek sex with women for the purpose of meeting the woman’s needs. This, Paul suggests in 1 Corinthians 7, serves as the basis for determining whether or not the dedicated follower of Christ should marry. Once married, Christ’s followers are confronted with God’s command to meet the needs of the spouse, while looking to God alone for the meeting of personal needs; the husband lives a self-sacrificial life on behalf of his wife. “Husbands, love your wives like Christ loved the Church when He gave Himself for her”.1 Apart from God’s insistence that His followers live such lives, where do you find affirmation that you should sacrifice meeting your needs in order to meet the needs of others? You only have a small number of choices: 1 – You can divorce, remarry, divorce – seeking to meet your needs. 2 – You can assume responsibility for your family and meet their needs while suppressing your narcissistic desire for happiness – hoping that this “suppressed volcano” will not erupt. 3 – You can advocate the abolition of marriage, live as you like and let the “Village” raise the children you bring into the world. 4 – Or, you can bend your will to the will of God and serve your family. Without the fear of eternal accountability for disobeying God, what motivates you to obey God, especially when you do not feel that your needs...
by Craig McAndrews | Apr 25, 2016 | Articles, Testimonies
When you think about the word empty in terms of a feeling, it doesn’t feel like a great place to be. Imagine for a moment if someone you love sat down and described how they felt about something using the term empty. Would you be encouraged? Do you think you would be able to congratulate them on getting to a point where they were empty? Most likely you would respond with an attempt to help or improve the way they feel. However, when it comes to serving Jesus Christ, empty is exactly where He wants us to be. Although this may not be an encouraging thought, emptying yourself for the sake of the gospel brings with it reward and a life filled with purpose and meaning. As my wife and I have pursued growing our relationship with Jesus and engaging in His work with His people, we have recently found ourselves in the middle of a lot of pain and suffering. Sometimes it is big big rock issues such as a broken marriage, health problems, and death. At other times, it’s simply the pain we experience as we watch people make bad choices that lead to frustration and suffering. As we walk with people through these challenges, we find ourselves burdened with their pain and seeking God on their behalf for direction or deliverance. Have you ever found yourself truly feeling the pain of a friend as they suffer? I would suggest this is one way that we suffer for the gospel in the same way the apostle Paul told the Philippians they would get to suffer (Phil 1:29). When we suffer with others, we can often feel emotionally and even physically spent,...
by Ed Allen | Apr 18, 2016 | Articles, What Do You Think?
Judges 2: 6 When Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went each to his inheritance to possess the land. 7 The people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the LORD, which He had done for Israel. 8 Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of one hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. (Observation) Under Joshua and the elders who survived him, the people served the Lord. The generation that followed neither knew the Lord or His works. (Interpretation) What God warned Israel about in Deuteronomy 6: 10-12 came to pass; the next generation did “forget the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” I suggest to you that at least two things were lacking in the generation that did “forget the Lord; “first the knowledge of the Lord and His works were either not passed on or not accepted and second, a generation who never knew anything but peace and prosperity saw no need for the Lord. (Cross-reference) Deuteronomy 6: 10 “Then it shall come about when the LORD your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and...
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