Making A Difference Through Mentorship

In Matthew 22:37, the Bible instructs us to "love the Lord, thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." The word mind in this passage is the Greek word dianoia, which is more precisely translated as willpower or volition.

Romans 12:2 says, “Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Here, the original Greek word for mind is translated as nous, defined as “the seat of reflective consciousness, comprising the faculties of perception, understanding, feeling, judging and determining.”

The Amplified Version of 1 Corinthians 2:16b declares, “But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.” The mind is also “that part of a person that makes it possible for him or her to think, feel, and understand things. The mental ability of knowing, understanding and moral reflection; the seat or place of emotions.”

According to the Amplified Version of Proverbs 20:27, “the spirit (conscience) of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching and examining all the innermost parts of his being.”

To ensure that we maintain the mind of Christ, there are days and circumstances that will require us to cleanse the clutter, chaos, and confusion of the world in which we live. In other words, we need to detox our minds. Invite a friend or family member to join us to discuss biblical principles and precepts on today's podcast, "A Detox of Your Mind To Renew Your Mind."

One study by the National Organization for Women Foundation reports that at age thirteen, 53% of American girls are “unhappy with their bodies.” This grows to 78% by the time girls reach seventeen.

The study further reports that 50% of teens are “self-conscious” about their bodies; 26.2% report being “dissatisfied”. By age 60, 28.7% of women feel “dissatisfied” and 32.6% feel “self-conscious” about their bodies.

Studies at Stanford University and the University of Massachusetts found that 70% of college women say they feel worse about their own looks after reading women’s magazines.

And one of the greatest tragedies concerning these statistics is that many of these young teenage girls and women of all ages are in our families, churches and communities. But they suffer in silence with invisible pain. Uncertain as to how to heal themselves from the pain, because who can they trust with the silent and secret pain where people will not judge them or criticize them for their current position in life.

And it is important to note that for centuries, across the world, it has been a common assumption that women are more emotional than men; this is simply not true. The majority of men grow up from the time that we were little boys and if we fall down and scrape our knees, somebody would say get up from there and don't you cry... because big boys don't cry.

Therefore, this same mindset accompanies a young boy into adolescence and on into adulthood, where men internalize the struggles and emotional dilemmas and problems that they experience rather than express them. Therefore, men and women need to know that they matter and that there are answers from God in His word.

David declares in Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear”…1 John 4:18 teaches us that, “perfect love casts out fear.”

Join us and invite a friend as we discuss biblical principles and precepts that help us to know that "Because You Matter," no weapon that is formed against you shall be able to prosper (Isaiah 54:17).

The Christian Standard Bible version of 1 Samuel 30:8 declares... “and David asked the Lord, “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them? ”The Lord replied to him, “Pursue them, for you will certainly overtake them and rescue the people.”

The ASV of 1 Samuel chapter 30 verse 8,  says…“David inquired of Jehovah, saying, If I pursue after this troop, shall I overtake them? And He, God answered him, Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake them, and shall without fail recover all.”

Our English definitions of the word recover mean to get back, to regain. Or when you recover from an illness or an injury, you become well again. The word recover in the original Hebrew means “rebuild, repair or restore.”

Encourage means to put or add courage in. As seen in 1 Samuel 30:6, one of the passages for this revival, “David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.” This word encourage in the original Hebrew can be translated as prevail, to be recovered, repaired, strengthened, and conquered.

There are those in your family, possibly on your job or even in your church that have never learned how to encourage themselves in the Lord and is held captives of their own minds.

As it was with David, so it is with you and I. God has commissioned us to pursue those that have been taken captive by the enemy and as God said to David, we shall recover all.

Jesus says in John 13:12-17, in the Message Bible,“Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So, if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.”

If we are to be servant leaders, our minds, thoughts, emotions, designs and desires for life and ministry must be immersed in Jesus’ example. “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” Philippians 2: 5; (NIV). The word mind in the original Greek carries the meaning of that part of the human system that initiates “thoughts, emotions, designs, and desires; to set the mind upon.”

The principles of John chapter 13 are a platform that Jesus used to develop His disciples into servant leaders by “serving one another.” Jesus further says in  Matthew chapter 20, verses 26-28, in the New Century Version. “Whoever wants to become great among you must serve the rest of you like a servant. 27 Whoever wants to become first among you must serve the rest of you like a slave. 28 In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people.

As servant leaders, this is the place of beginning for us and the truth of John 13:17 being seen in our lives. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.”

Weakness is a defining feature of our humanity but we seldom, if ever, acknowledge or recognize this reality. The Apostle Paul recognized this when he stated in 2 Corinthians 12:9…" when I’m weak, that’s when I’m strong."

The answer in the Bible for our weaknesses is to call on the Lord for strength, and there are reminders all over His Word to do just that. The book of Psalms is one of the best sources of biblical encouragement and calls for divine help.

Join us as we journey with David, the man after God's heart, as we discover principles and precepts from his life in the book of Psalms obtaining " Strength for Our Weakness."

One of the greatest military leaders in history, Napoléon Bonaparte, once said that a leader is a dealer in hope.  I have modified Napoleon a little by saying a “servant leader is a dealer of hope.”

As one of the greatest and most famous military leaders and rulers in the history of France, I believe what Napoleon is saying is through a time of war, chaos, hardship, and uncertainty, how important it is for us as servant leaders to generate hope and motivation through the most difficult of circumstances.

Being inspirational and emotionally stable through hardships and in the midst of trouble, dealing out, passing out hope or in the relationships all around us, create feelings of, expectation, joy, relief, a sort of light at the end of the tunnel. Hope can mean dealing out, passing out little nuggets of life, wisdom, and encouragement when everything else and everyone else is falling apart. As a dealer of hope, our actions or words can mean the difference between hanging on or giving up for a person.

Even something as simple as a smile can deal hope. Smiling is one of the only universal physical, unspoken facial languages I know of that means the same to everyone. Kindness, delight, joy, happiness, and can say quietly to a person, "everything's going to be alright."

The Apostle Paul as a servant leader was a dealer of hope. In Romans 5:2-5, he declares, we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

The word hope in Romans 5 carries the meaning of “expectation and anticipation, with pleasure, solid assurance, confidence and faith.”

In the first month of 2023, there have been 1,124 deaths by guns. which tragically means the deaths by gun violence can only increase. No matter how a person may look on the outside, the world and everyone in it needs hope. Yet we have the solution. It is "Christ in you the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).

Our lives are governed by time. This is the reason why we're surrounded by clocks and calendars that help us to know where we are going and what we are doing on any given day or time.  When responsibilities and pressures mount, many become frustrated by the pressures of life and proclaim, "I just don't have time to get it all done!"

As the minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years of life tick by, we may wonder what happened to the last 10, 20, or 30 years? And in a sense, our life on earth is like a ticking clock, but our new life in Christ will never stop, never end, because we live in eternity (John 3:16).

God has given us enough time to do exactly what He's planned for our lives here on earth (Jeremiah 29:11). Perhaps the bigger issue is whether we are using our time to do our will or the Lord's will?

Time is a gift from God, and He has allotted each of us the means in which to live and accomplish His purposes. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 reminds us, “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens."

Since time can never be retrieved or reversed, it's critical that we make the most of every opportunity the Lord provides. Jesus was given just thirty-three years of life on earth, but only the last three were invested in fulfilling His ministry.

Yet Jesus accomplished everything His Father gave Him to do in the time that he had in life on the earth. That's why on the cross He could say, "It is finished" (John 19:30). Jesus did not manage His time, He fulfilled the purpose of His time.

Invite a friend or family member to join us for today's podcast, " Your Life Is Your Time."

Dr. Gregory L Cruell

Joseph in his lifetime went from the Pit-To the Prison-To the Palace. Even though Joseph's brothers threw him in a pit, the pit could not stop Joseph from a demonstration of visualization in his life because in Genesis 37 we see that Joseph had a vision of his future!

Visualization can be described as the process of using our thoughts to consciously imagine (see) and create that which you intend and desire to experience in your life.

Joseph operating in the principle of a demonstration of visualization saw what didn't even exist yet (Romans 4:17). Yet, through visualization Joseph activated the God-given ability within us to harness the creative power of the mind to change our circumstances and consciously choose the life we desire by the way we think, which includes imagining (thinking), feeling (emotions), and believing (faith). What You See Is What You Get!

God’s sovereignty is the perfect exercise of his power, wisdom, and goodness in all things and for all time. The Common English Bible Version of 1 Chronicles 29:11 speaking of God’s sovereignty David declares, “Your power is great, and your glory is seen everywhere in heaven and on earth. You are the king of the entire world.”

To say that God is sovereign we mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God further to declare that God is sovereign is to say as Daniel declared in the 4th chapter and 35th verse in the Common English Bible, “All of earth’s inhabitants are nothing in comparison. The Most High does whatever he wants with heaven’s forces and with earth’s inhabitants. No one can contain his power or say to him, ‘What do you think you are doing?”

Psalm 115:3 further declares, “our God is in heaven, and He does whatever He pleases.” Job says in chapter 42 and the 2nd verse, “I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”

Although there were hardships, difficulties, uncertainties, heartache, and heartbreak in 2022 you're still here. You're still standing! And "The Key in 2023 is God's Sovereignty!"

Balance may be defined as any set of qualities or attributes that leads to harmony or evenness. If you balance one thing or quality against another, you consider and value there importance equally. 1 Corinthians 15:46 in the Amplified Classic Translation declares, "But it is not the spiritual life which came first, but the physical and then the spiritual. Many are well-versed in the spiritual aspect of living that Paul addresses in this verse, but there is an imbalance concerning the natural aspect of life.

An imbalance is a situation in which two things that should be equal are not. If we describe a situation as imbalanced, what we mean is that “the elements that should be balanced are no longer evenly weighted, arranged, or valued.”

Therefore, A Balanced Mind is awake, alert and aware of imbalance when it shows up and what to do to restore balance.

Developing the skillset and mindset of A Balanced Mind incorporates the truth of Romans 12:2 in the New Living Translation, "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.