by Dale Bradford | May 3, 2021 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Romans 7:15-20 (NASB) reads: “For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.” I became a Christian at age 34 at a businessman’s outreach breakfast on May 8, 1992 listening to a talk by Adolph Coors IV. That was almost 30 years ago. How can it be possible that I would still be sinning? I have to acknowledge after years of studying scripture, leading bible studies, teaching at men’s retreats and discipling men that Paul’s words found here describe me perfectly. I say to myself like Nathan said to King David: “You are the man!” Having studied Romans numerous times, Chapter 7 has always gripped me. I have been deeply comforted to know that the great Apostle Paul wrote these words about himself toward the end of his life— explaining the struggle of...
by Trevor McDowell | Apr 17, 2021 | Articles, Mentors Corner
(fissure: a narrow opening or crack of considerable length and depth usually occurring from some breaking or parting) Our Friday morning group recently finished a Bible study in the book of 1Samuel and it was a very rich study. I knew there would be many things to learn from reading and studying about David. What surprised me is how much I learned studying Israel’s first king, King Saul. Saul is a good study of a person that starts well and finishes really bad. One reason why I believe this happened is that he didn’t deal with the cracks in his character and as time went on, they became large fissures in his soul. In the beginning of 1Samuel 10, Samuel the prophet anoints Saul as King of Israel and then Saul meets a group of prophets and prophesies with them, signifying that he is God’s anointed king. After this Saul runs into his uncle and his uncle asks him where he has been. Saul responds that he and his friend were looking for his father’s donkeys and when they couldn’t find them, they went to Samuel. His uncle then asks what Samuel said to him. 1Sam 10: 14-18 “Now Saul’s uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they could not be found, we went to Samuel.” Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” So Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of...
by Bill McCurine | Apr 5, 2021 | Articles, Mentors Corner
When a person has incredible ability or talent we often say that He or she was born to do such and such a thing. Michael Jordan was born to play basketball. Lionel Messi was born to play soccer. Simone Biles was born to be a gymnast. Luciano Pavarotti was born to sing. During their lifetimes they were regarded as among the greatest in their calling. They achieved fame and wealth. Jesus was born to die. He was not born to be an example or to show us how to live. He was born to be our Life. He was born to be crucified. In our place. For us. The manger led directly to the cross. The more common name for manger was “feeding trough”. His parents probably lined the trough with hay upon which clothes were laid so the hay would not hurt the baby. There was no comfort on the cross. Jesus came in weakness and died in weakness. He was born in humble surroundings and died in shame. As a newborn babe he was surrounded by rejoicing angels, loving parents, worshipful wise men and joyful shepherds. Only a very small group were present at His birth, but crowds passed by the cross. On the cross, except for His mother, John and the two Marys, he was surrounded by cruel detractors, envious enemies, callous soldiers and disgusted passers-by. He endured the shame of being regarded as a bastard in his youth and as a blasphemer in adulthood. He was slandered and plotted against. His own brothers mocked him. The people in high society were jealous of him and...
by Jonathan Koehler | Mar 29, 2021 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Some time ago, I completed a nearly year-long process of review of a book with another brother. It was his first time to read the book whereas I had read it some 25 years ago. We had agreed to read this book together and interact over our impressions of the content due to a mutual interest in the subject matter. It was an interesting exercise for me to re-read a book I had read so long ago. In my previous reading, I had been impressed by the points made by the author and thought it an accurate, uplifting book. During this current process, however, I was struck by the liberties the author had taken with certain tenets of the faith, his inappropriate application of Christian doctrine, and his inaccurate definition of words used in the Christian life. It became apparent to me how much God had matured my thinking in the intervening years and how He had increased my discernment to the point of providing this new knowledge as a basis for discussion with my brother for his edification. For example, it seems that reasoned discourse between individuals is a somewhat sparse occurrence nowadays. Because “tolerance” has been re-defined to mean “accepting all viewpoints that agree with mine”, “intolerance” re-defined to mean “any viewpoint that either disagrees with mine or proposes the existence of an absolute”, and the elevation of “offending someone” to a crime of near-capital proportions, many people are reluctant to engage in discussion (what in days of yore was termed “argument”) over differing perspectives in order to arrive at a better understanding of a matter. It...
by Justin Bradford | Mar 5, 2021 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Acts13:22 “After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’ 1Kings 15:5 “Because David did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.” What made David a man after God’s own heart? David was a man just like any other. He too is included in “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” 2 Samuel 2:27 states that the thing David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord. So again, I ask myself what made David a man after God’s own heart? While attempting to answer this question I found it helpful to compare and contrast David to Saul. In 1 Samuel 15 Saul is confronted by the prophet Samuel because he did not utterly destroy the Amalekites like God commanded him. Similarly, David is confronted by the prophet Nathan after committing adultery, failing to cover it up and then ultimately having Uriah killed. Saul’s first two interactions with the prophet Samuel after his sin with the Amalekites go as follows. In 1Samuel 15:13, Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the LORD! I have carried out the command of the LORD.” And then in 1Samuel 15:20 Saul then said to Samuel, “I did obey the voice of the LORD, and...
by John Hartshorn | Feb 19, 2021 | Articles, Mentors Corner
If you ask most anyone if they want to be “free” they might say, “Sure, who wouldn’t?” If you ask them what it means to be free, they would most likely say something to the effect of being unrestrained in being able to do what they want to do. That idea runs into difficulty when filtered through the Bible, which in turn raises some interesting questions regarding the presuppositions and predispositions of that view. There are a number of key verses/passages in the Bible that address what it means to be free, and how it is attained. We will focus on two, in close proximity, in the gospel of John. Those are: John 8:32 “and you will know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” John 8:36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” Let’s follow the time tested method of moving from information, to implication, then to application. In John 8:32, Jesus is making a direct, and very clear, connection. Truth makes you free. Said another way, you cannot disconnect being free from Truth. Both the Bible itself – “The sum of Your word is truth,” (Psalm 119:160) – and Jesus in the bible – “I am the way, and the truth, and the life ..” (John 14:6), declare themselves to be truth. Now we have an implication. When Jesus declares Himself to be truth in John 14:6, in very simple terms it means you cannot be “free” apart from Jesus, as the Apostle Paul notes in Romans 6:15-22. Let us now consider John 8:36, “So if the Son makes you...
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