by Gayle Jackson | Dec 16, 2019 | Articles, Mentors Corner
I have been very troubled and concerned by a thinking I am finding in the Christian movement. It is now being displayed and revered in the institutional Churches. In a nutshell, what it is saying is that Grace trumps all aspects of the discipleship life (i.e. our response to Truth-Obedience). They say because of the love from God, we can disregard the warnings and provisions of the bible on commands (especially the Old Testament) and observations. God’s love checkmates His response of anger, our response of the fear of Him, etc. to our sin. We should focus on a true expression of love and have acceptance of all behavior. It is being said that no one or behavior should be criticized and especially from the pulpit. Also, there is a sensitivity that we might be hurting people’s feelings if we note their misbehavior and state they could be going to Hell. As the new generation says to me about the sexual deviancy, they were “just born that way”. This thinking is embedded in this generation, so much so that a leader of a major church said to the congregation that we need to ignore commands or observations from the Old Testament. He was not challenged but applauded. I have seen, over my life, this concept /thinking in the Church. So much so that today’s church has been neutered. Here is a sample of some of the compromises that I have witnessed over the last 70 years in the “family” church. The thinking and direction was compromises so the church could stay relevant with the culture. 1. Any reason is...
by Walt Henrichsen | Sep 23, 2019 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Stewardship Part Two “So let no one boast of men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours; and you are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.” 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 These words reflect the attitude of those who think biblically. The ethos of the whole of Scripture teaches that God created you for Himself – for His own good pleasure. When you invest that which is entrusted to you, or when you seek to use that which is entrusted to others, this is your mindset. No one can tell another what this looks like. Each believer must look to God in making a determination. Solomon, King of Israel, looked at life and concluded that it is vacuous. “Here is a grave evil I have observed under the sun: riches hoarded by their owner to his misfortune, in that those riches are lost in some unlucky venture; and if he begets a son, he has nothing in hand. Another grave evil is this: He must depart just as he came. As he came out of his mother’s womb, so must he depart at last, naked as he came. He can take nothing of his wealth to carry with him. So what is the good of his toiling for the wind? Besides, all his days he eats in darkness, with much vexation and grief and anger…There is an evil I have observed under the sun, and a grave one it is for man: that God sometimes grants a man riches, property, and wealth, so...
by Walt Henrichsen | Sep 9, 2019 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Stewardship Part One “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.” 1Corinthians 7:23 We learn at least two important truths from this verse: 1) – We do not belong to ourselves; we are not autonomous; we belong to the One who purchased us at the price of His life. 2) – We should never be the slaves of men, irrespective of who we are. This is foundational for a proper understanding of stewardship. The dictionary defines stewardship: “A person who manages for another his property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another.” This means that you, and everything you have, belong to Christ. He purchased you. Your responsibility, therefore, is to steward that which belongs to him. You own nothing. Every decision you make, how you spend your life and the assets God gives you, how you handle all relationships in life – must be made based on the question, “What does my Master want done with what belongs to Him?” In the final analysis, this is an issue of what you believe. Do you think, when Christ died for you, that He set you free to live for yourself? The Bible says, “And He died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.” 2 Corinthians 5:15 The Psalmist said, “For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places...
by Walt Henrichsen | Jul 22, 2019 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“Mortify…covetousness, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3:5 Possibly no sin in the believer’s life is more pernicious and difficult to identify than covetousness. Paul says, “I should not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’”1 Coveting is one sin that the conscience cannot identify as wrong; it is wrong because God says that it is wrong. For me personally, I find that even after God says that covetousness is wrong, I still have difficulty identifying it in my life. When do desire, anticipation, and other forms of temporal hope, become sin? How do you know when you have crossed the line between wanting something and coveting? As I have meditated on this, I conclude for myself that I cannot know. It seems to me, however, that God affords certain indicators that help in this effort. When anticipation becomes expectation, resulting in disappointment, the line probably has been crossed. A lack of gratitude may be another indicator. The presence of anger and experiencing stress are also possible indicators. The absence of such indicators does not eliminate the possibility of covetousness, but they can become warning signs in our lives. Lord, help us to be alert to your warnings in our lives! 1 Romans 7:7 “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shall not covet.” For more articles by Walt...
by Walt Henrichsen | Jun 10, 2019 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32 Many Christian virtues prove to be expensive when applied in interpersonal relationships. For example, it costs to be generous and to love your enemies – especially when you define “love” as treating others the way you wish to be treated. Most agree that to love those trying to hurt you is indeed difficult. Not so kindness; of all the Christ-like virtues it is the least costly. It costs you nothing to be gentle, kind, gracious, considerate. For this reason, you never have an excuse for being rude, abrasive, unkind, or cruel. Never belittle another person. Never humiliate others, joke at their expense, ridicule, speak in a sarcastic, caustic tone, or say things you know they would not appreciate. No one likes people doing it to them, and you never have a legitimate excuse for doing it to others. I have heard men and women say to family members what they would never say to a stranger. They lose their temper and say cruel things because they are secure enough in the relationship that they think they can afford it. From God’s perspective, you can never afford such abusive behavior! Never forget the warning of our Savior: “I tell you, on the Day of Judgment men will render account for every careless word they utter.” 1 1. Matthew 12:36 KJV For more articles by Walt...
by Walt Henrichsen | Apr 29, 2019 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“A man may arrange his thoughts, but what he says depends on the LORD.” Proverbs 16:1 Scripture teaches many things that are counter-intuitive. This is one of them: God determines what you say. You may determine what you think about, but God determines what happens next. Solomon also said, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”1 Because Judas entertained evil thoughts concerning the Savior, God incited him to execute them. In this verse God says He also determines what a person says. My mother warned her children to guard their tongues, for words once spoken can never be rescinded. The problem with words is, they lodge in the minds of those listening, and at the most inopportune time return to the memory with disturbing effect. Solomon warned that the only way you can control your tongue is to control your thoughts. When you think about something you cannot guarantee that you will not say what you think. Thus Proverbs contains an astonishing truth: We are responsible for our thoughts, but based on them, God determines what we say. Our instincts may suggest otherwise, but this is what God promises. “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”2 Because our words reflect our thoughts, God will judge us, in part, on the basis of our words: “…every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”3 1 Proverbs 23:7 2 Matthew 12:34 3 Matthew 12:36 For more articles by Walt...
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