Mentoring Matters

“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while he is near” Isaiah 55:6.

 

Current culture has created a “hurry-up” society that must have everything right now, so we live in a panic pace which causes health issues, emotional overload, poor choices and a deterioration of life. 

Christian culture has adopted this same lifestyle and waiting on the Lord becomes a tedious task rather than tranquility and trust. So, we get busy attempting to solve problems right now and fix culture before it falls apart. 

We were never called to fix culture or solve sin; Jesus made the way at the cross and said “it is finished”. We can find all the answers with tranquility and growth at the cross.

Today, we are called to build each other up and continue to grow in Christ as Hebrews 5:12-14 exhorts. “Solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” Hebrews 5:14

“First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn” Matthew 13:30

According to this parable, believers and unbelievers will be rooted side by side; serving, singing, and even teaching in the church. We don’t know those who are genuinely searching to know Christ from the pretenders who are really there to destroy.

There are little subtle signs that say the heart is not right, but we cannot truly know their heart. The Lord knows and we are warned that we will be living among them, so it is important that we have the discernment to live among the tares without being destroyed by them.

Today, we are encouraging believers to open their eyes to the truth of scripture so they will not be deceived as they live among the tares.

“First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn” Matthew 13:30

 

Jesus is using the example of the wheat and tares to describe how believers and unbelievers will be rooted side by side; serving, singing, and even teaching.

Many times we are spiritually unaware of the invasion that is going on around us. We get comfortable with the programs, traditions, activities, and routines of Christianity.

Today we are encouraging believers to examine their hearts, evaluate their surroundings, and pray for discernment to confidently grow among the tares.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”  Psalm 139:23-24.

David doesn’t see God as a historical figure or a distant entity, he knows Him as his creator who formed him in his mother’s womb. There’s no place he can go that God is not there, no thought he can think that God does not know.

David is asking God, in Psalm 139, to expose anything that is in his heart that he can’t see. He doesn’t want anything to rob him of the sweet fellowship that he has with his Lord.

We must recognize our need to ask this same question; that the Lord would expose anything that would contaminate our relationship and some things only the Lord can see hidden deep in our heart.

2 Corinthians 15-16 “For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ (which ascends) to God, (discernible both) among those who ae being saved and among those who ae perishing, to the latter one an aroma from death to death (a fatal, offensive odor), but to the other an aroma from life to life (a vital) fragrance, living and fresh” - Amplified Bible

 

A sweet pure smell can awaken your senses, draw you to another person or aromatic surroundings. A sweet smell with just one pollutant can be a real “turn-off” in wanting to be near that smell. Sometimes the pollutant may be even good for your health, such as garlic, but it will not produce a sweet blending of aromas. 

There are many ways to offer up pleasing aromas through joy, peace, sacrifice, knowledge and prayer. How do we prepare our minds & thoughts, our personalities, to release the drawing power of the love of Christ? Today, let’s ponder the practical ways to be a sweet fragrance, ridding all the worthless values called garbage.

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 1 Cor. 3:16.

Do we know that we are the temple of God as 1 Cor. 3:16 so rightly asks? It seems that there’s a lot of wishy-washy living in the Christian society today. What causes our wishy-washy living?

Matthew 7:24 says that a wise man, who hears God’s word and does what His word says, is like a man who builds his house on a rock. But a foolish man will hear God’s word but not do what it says, and he is like a man who builds his house on the sand.

The root problem for wishy-washy living is found in the foundation. Jesus Christ is the Rock that we build on; solid, unwavering, and secure, so we will not be tossed to and fro by every wind that blows our way.

The older women admonish the young women to love, be discreet, to be chaste, good, obedient, home-makers that the word of God may not be blasphemed - Titus 2.

There’s a trend in the culture to do away with the old, do away with history, do away with the old-fashioned ways of living. So, if we do away with anything that makes us “feel” bad then we can “feel” good and the world will be a better place, which is a total lie. Rewriting history does not change history; it only causes us to repeat the same mistakes that our ancestors made.

With this trend, the Christians have rejected the mentoring established in Titus 2. Instead of the younger clinging to the older for encouragement in the faith, they are pushing them out of the church and out of their lives for the more trending ways of living. Some churches have decided to have 2 services; a traditional for the older, and a contemporary for the younger, separating them even further from each other.

The older are being impacted by the rejection, resolving to keep their wisdom quiet in order to avoid strife; resulting in the younger being more influenced by the trends of the world. We could easily insert today’s Christian into Galatians 3:1, Oh foolish Christian! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth?

So, today, we encourage the old to encourage the young, and the young to embrace the old as we stand together in Christ.

“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you…be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” Eph. 4:31-32

 

Everyone has basic needs, but when they are not met, and then anger and hurt often ensue. Over the course of time, unmet needs are stored in a part of the brain that remembers the negativity in life that triggers anger.

Along with needs, people are entitled to basic rights, but when those rights are violated then hurt and anger is the emotional response.

If anger is a troubling point that you are dealing with, then listen in to see if you can find the solution to the root of anger in your life.

“A sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones” Proverbs 14:30

 

Anger is one of the most basic emotions that trap our hearts and add more negative emotions to our problems, starting a roller coaster ride taking us up and down through,

. Confusion in our beliefs,

. Suspicions regarding others because we have assumed conclusions without having all the facts,

. Relying on partial truths that attack our thinking with lies we believe to be true. 

To get off this roller coaster ride, the book of Proverbs in the Bible offers very practical wisdom with truths that transform rather than leaning to our own understanding, in overcoming and escaping The Danger of Anger

“Do not associate with a man given to anger, or go with hot-tempered man, or you will learn his ways and find a snare for yourself.” Proverbs 22:24-25

 

Anger begins with an EXPECTATION of what we want, think we need, shocked at something or someone that causes pain to us. We all battle anger at some point. 

 Telling a person to control their anger is like trying to pet a porcupine – porcupines are best left alone and so are those who are chronically angry. Some people that are angry blow-up and some clam up and later build up so much that they explode. 

God’s love, shown through gentleness is anger harnessed. If anger can flare quickly in your life, but leaves very slowly, join in the conversation today to understand the good and the danger of anger.