by Jim Gustafson | Nov 16, 2021 | Articles, Mentors Corner
I recently went to a local outdoor park with some men and had a half day of prayer on a Saturday morning. We met at 7:30, had coffee and bagels, enjoyed some fellowship and received the instructions for our morning. We used a prayer guide called “Making Time for Prayer” which can be purchased at MIMbooks.com. Before going into the time, I had rehearsed the issues, “the what” that I was going to bring up before God. Relationships, my to-do list and schedule, health, finances and other complaints—the normal typical issues most of us carry around. I know I needed this time as it had been awhile since I spent three-plus uninterrupted hours with Him. I related to David in Psalm 25:27, “The troubles of my heart are enlarged.” Interesting, I found my issues were grown large by my lack of perspective. I didn’t realize this until well into the time—that I had a perspective problem. My view of the issues were enlarged because it had been too long since I took extended time with Jesus. I also didn’t realize how much I needed this extended time with Him until afterward. Most of the time was quiet/listening time and waiting on God. The prayer guide did the work of maneuvering me through my issues, the appropriate scriptures and doing my business with Him. And this is what I discovered: I was missing the target. The target was not the “whats” that I was wanting to be solved but the “Who” that needed to be addressed. Jeremiah writes: “If you return, then I will restore you—before Me you will stand;...
by Jim Gustafson | Oct 24, 2021 | Articles, Mentors Corner
We have a hope to live; a hope for life and a hope to never experience death. We loath the thought of death. Death is the ultimate enemy of hope. Death is final. It extinguishes hope. In death, hope ceases. Death, its process and the inevitable coming experience on the other side of death is out of our control. Perhaps that is why we tend to shy away from discussing death. And we are aware that it extinguishes our hope. But does it? For sure, death seems to end our temporal hopes. All of it ends and eventually burns. However, we are encouraged to migrate to and embrace an eternal hope, one that transcends the temporal, that which we see. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18: “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Accordingly, in properly understanding death, the outcome results in hope. For in the case of physical death, which is guaranteed, as our soul lives on into eternity, our physical bodies get replaced by new ones. 1Corinthians 15:38: “But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.” So Glory to God, the suffering in the decay of our current bodies...
by Jim Gustafson | Jul 15, 2021 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Some hold that fear and love contradict one another–that fear is contrary to love. But in actuality, these go hand in hand. Love and fear are necessarily related. Below are three points of perspectives on this relationship. Firstly, that which we cherish and hold dear, we love. We love that which is precious and hate the thought of losing that which is so important to us. We don’t want to lose that or whom we love or have it or them taken from us. Thus we fear losing that which we love. And hence, in effort to mitigate the fear of loss, to what extent will we love the beloved? Fear drives us to the action of faith. To illustrate, if my wife is diagnosed with cancer, what would I not do to effectuate a cure and insure her future? We know in His sovereignty, He holds control of the beloved, and not us. As much as we want to control the well-being of those we love, we find we don’t control outcomes. And so we fear God, because as our actions of love do not determine the well-being of beloved, His do. We fear God because He determines the plight of us all, the things and people we love. Secondly, the fear of God and the love of God is commanded. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and will all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). This is demonstrated by “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me…” (John 14:21). The fear of the...
by Jim Gustafson | Jun 29, 2021 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” –Matthew 10:28 There is no respect in fear: It is just plain terror. God has set the terms of how man relates to Him: It’s through terror, for He is the God who determines our future. The word that is translated as “fear” in the original Greek is phobos. The word phobos means terror. Had Jesus intended to mean “respect” there are other more appropriate words in the original language that could have been used. We will fear that in which we hope. Fear follows our hope. And behavior (faith) follows our fear. Therefore, our fears and actions reveal that in which we hope for and hope in. What do your actions tell you about your fear and your hope? Fear has a bad reputation. It is associated with weakness and cowardice. But if placed with the right object (God), it is meant for our protection, for our good, a driver to obedience, and motive of avoidance of sin and pain–and to do what is ultimately in our best interest. It leads to positive changes in our lives, pushes us to love and good deeds, strengthens us, unchains and frees us up. Fear can become our strength! “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10) and “Conduct yourselves in fear of God while on Earth” (1Peter 1:17). Fear of God is not only the best beginning but the necessary foundation for in a walk with Jesus...
by David Rinehart | May 27, 2021 | Articles, Mentors Corner
God teaches what is of ultimate importance: Jer 9:24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD. God also warns us, what not to boast about: Jer 9:23 Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; The serpent wants you active in your pursuit of Success, Significance, and Sufficiency on man’s worldly terms (which will not satisfy). And when you have spent your life in the pursuit of wealth, wisdom, and power you will come to the end of your life and conclude (as Solomon did) it was vanity, striving after the wind. In the meantime, you lose opportunity to know God, participate in His plan and model Jesus. To this end, you will suffer appreciable loss: 1Co 3:11-13 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 1Co 3:15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. To be clear, God raises Christians to positions of increased power, wisdom, and wealth...
by David Rinehart | May 17, 2021 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Gen 3:3-5 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The serpent and the world sing the siren’s song consistently, loudly, every day and in every way. The song goes like this: “You can make yourself Successful, Significant and Sufficient”. The second stanza: “You don’t need God to realize your best self” (just like Adam/Eve before the fall). Meanwhile, the worldly back-up singers affirm: “You are the man!”. The remaining question, however, is have you prepared your convictions now to avoid wrong pursuits for wrong motives? Developing your convictions today is the act of a reasonable man. The book of Ecclesiastes provides an unflinching and thought provoking picture of our lives (from man’s perspective) assessing the true value of the worldly pursuits to which we can give our lives: Ecc 1:14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. In this book, Solomon severely and repeatedly challenges man’s definition of Success, Significance and Sufficiency to only one conclusion; what men can spend their lives to “produce” is in reality vanity, striving after the wind. It is noteworthy, this is the conclusion of a man who was the wisest man on earth (by God’s grace) who possessed, pursued and indulged...
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