by Walt Henrichsen | Jun 18, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” John 5:22 How do you prepare for the day when you must stand before Jesus and be judged by Him? Obviously, you must school yourself in being His obedient slave. As Jesus Himself modeled: “…I seek not My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 5:30 More than life, you want to please your Master, even if it means appearing foolish in the sight of others. A slave should have no expectations. If you view yourself as the property of Jesus Christ, and He does something you do not like, if He offends your sense of justice, that is His prerogative. When you take His yoke, you go and do what He wants, not what you want. You are involved in the lives of people because that is His will for your life. Again and again Scripture reminds you that people will abuse you. Even though you are fair, helpful, and kind to others, it is unrealistic to expect others to treat you the same way. Because you understand your depravity and propensity to sin, you prepare for Judgment by living a life of perpetual repentance before Him. You are best served if you condemn yourself before God and hope that He will see things differently when He judges you, rather than justifying yourself and finding that He sees things differently when He judges you. For more articles by Walt...
by Gayle Jackson | Jun 4, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
The Discipleship Process Dawson Trotman’s Obedient Disciple Wheel 80 some years ago, Dawson Trotman created the “Wheel” as a discipleship icon, (icon: a sign whose form directly reflects the thing it signifies). This small icon demonstrates the habits of a Jesus disciple. This illustration is not perfect nor exhaustive but is a good test barometer for you to check yourself. These habits will help train you in the ways of Christ. Let us review each the rim of the wheel: Obedience: Our message from God is the Bible. The product in our life is for us to be committed to a life of obedience, i.e. to live life as Christ would have us live it. It is clear in Jesus, and the subsequent scriptures taught, that the call on the believer is to have a life of obedience. The world is telling you that “disobedience” is ok, i.e., sexual mores, lying, stealing, dishonoring parents, permissive child rearing, etc. Some of the Christian world will say that kind of misbehavior is covered in Christ’s blood. They say God is a God of love and so is Christ. So, the Godhead will just overlook your disobedience out of love at the judgment… But the scriptures note to you that this thinking is wrong: John 14:21, 1 Cor 3:11-15 There are four spokes in this wheel Witnessing: Do you know how to woo a nonbeliever into a relationship with Jesus, where they would listen and hear the Holy Spirit? A person coming to Christ is not usually a lightning strike of a single event but an accumulation of many thoughts that eventually...
by Walt Henrichsen | May 21, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” Isaiah 46:10 If you desire a satisfactory relationship with God, two pillars must be firmly anchored in your life. You must believe that He is in control and that He has your best interest at heart. The sovereignty of God must be a deeply held conviction. When my son was dying of leukemia, a friend wrote, “I don’t know how this tragedy came about, but I do know that it did not come from God. God is not in the business of killing little children.” As I pondered his observation, I concluded that if God did not kill my son, then I have a far greater problem than my son dying. I worship a god who is not in control. God was not sitting on the edge of the universe chagrined over the disease that ravaged my son’s life. As I held my son in my arms while he slipped into eternity, I knew that I was experiencing the beautiful handiwork of God. This naturally leads to the second essential pillar: The goodness of God. God is good. He is incapable of doing anything but good. The debate, like so many debates in life, is over who gets to determine what good looks like. Do you truly believe that the hurts of life come from the hand of a good God who only does what is best for you? The writer of Hebrews, quoting from the Psalmist says, “The Lord...
by John Hartshorn | May 7, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
In this final part of looking at the correlations and contrasts of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding (as they are mentioned in several instances together in Proverbs), we will consider “understanding”. With respect to the prior discussion on wisdom, it is interesting to note that wisdom and understanding occur together in the same phrase over 25 times in Proverbs in the NAS (New American Standard) translation . Trying to develop a basic definition for understanding can be a challenge. Seemingly, all of the dictionary definitions develop around “comprehension”. A definition I encountered several years ago said “Understanding is the capacity to make experience intelligible by applying concepts and categories”. Although I do not believe it was intended as a biblical definition, it has some valuable applications for thinking biblically. In our discussion on wisdom a suggested definition for wisdom was “Doing things God’s way”. For our discussion I might propose a definition for “understanding” might be “Seeing things God’s way”. One of the noticeable aspects of “understanding” is the variation of its implications and applications in Scripture. The Hebrew word translated most often as “understanding” is the verb [biyn], or one of its derivatives. One Bible dictionary commenting on the OT usage suggests it means ” . to separate, to distinguish. It is perceptive insight with the ability to judge.” It occurs nearly 250 times in the each of the NAS, ESV (English Standard Version), and KJV (King James Version) translations of the OT In the NT their are two words most often translated “understanding”. One is [suniemi], or one of its derivatives — meaning “to gain insight to...
by John Hartshorn | Apr 9, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
What Knowledge? Part 2 of 2 In the prior comments it was noted from Proverbs (Prov. 24:3) that Solomon related knowledge to wisdom and understanding. This session will intend to look more in depth into our understanding of the term wisdom, as we continue to try and identify our thinking in this area. In addition to a closer look at wisdom, there will also be an intent to consider the closing comment on the first session which suggested a fundamental difference in knowing and believing. That is, the former does not necessarily lead to a change in behavior, as does the latter. With that in view, it is hoped a distinction will be developed between acknowledgment/assent or agreement, and obedience. According to The Complete Word Study Dictionary (OT) there are nine Hebrew words that can be used for “wisdom”. Primarily those words suggest technical skill — experience — shrewdness. In the NT version of that same resource there are two Greek words. The primary one is [sophia] — skill in the affairs of life, wise management as shown in forming the best plans and selecting the best means, including the idea of sound judgment. Much like knowledge, there is certainly value in having that type of wisdom. The challenge comes in taking our view of wisdom into the economy of God, especially in meeting the terms He defines as required for a right relationship with Him. As many are aware, a primary theme the apostle Paul addresses in his first letter to the church at Corinth is “the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God” (1 Cor. 3:19)....
by John Hartshorn | Apr 2, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
What Knowledge? Part 1 of 2 There are some interesting thoughts to consider from Proverbs, relative to the more common understandings associated with the term “knowledge”. Beginning in chapter 1, v.7 it says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”. It occurred to me that the using one’s knowledge of the Bible, as in playing a game of Bible Trivia, does not tend to develop an association with the fear of the Lord. Continuing on in chapter 1, v. 29, it says “Because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord”. Again, the thought came to mind; who hates knowledge? On the contrary, it is often that we are overly fond of our knowledge. That is why the apostle Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 8:1 that “Knowledge makes arrogant”, or “puffs up” (ESV). Moving ahead to chapter 12, v. 1, it says “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid”. Now that one is a difficult connection for the standard woridview! The author of the book of Hebrews notes in 12:11, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful …”. Even when we continue with the balance of the verse – “yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”(NASB), it is still difficult to say we love discipline, let alone connect it to a love of knowledge. Another valuable lesson we can learn from Proverbs is how Solomon relates knowledge to wisdom and understanding. First, it is significant to note the chronology of the terms....
Recent Comments