Mentoring Matters

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.” 2 Corinthians 13:5 

 

When we are fretful, full of anger, anxiety, withdrawn, isolated by choice, and no hunger for God’s Word, it is time to stop, examine and evaluate:

Are the facts based on the Bible or my opinions of what I think is true?

Are the facts being lived out, by faith, in trusting the Lord as my FINAL AUTHORITY, and is He the FOCUS of my Faith?

Are my feelings operating true to THE FAITH that controls my daily choices?

TODAY, listen to biblical wisdom on why examining your thinking “heart” will keep your life from spiraling out of control.

2 Peter 1:5-9 “Give all diligence add to your faith, virtue, to virtue knowledge and self-control.”

This passage in Peter guides us on the right road for living by faith and signs to keep us on the main highway of Godly living.

Somewhere, along the way, we can take a detour on the side path of emotions and feelings, thinking it would be a shortcut, and now are lost in finding our way back. Maybe your GPS, (God’s Protection System), is not working correctly.

Listen in today for the safety details of FACT FAITH and FEELINGS and how to use them when traveling this pilgrimage.

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving" Colossians 2:6-7.

As Christians, faith is the basis for our walk with the Lord. It is important that we evaluate what the foundation of our faith is in; facts of the scriptures or the feelings of our flesh. We can't let emotions and experiences become the final authority for living out our Christian life. Jesus Christ must be our final authority and His truth be the foundation of our faith.

As you listen, examine your foundation to find where you can be strengthened in faith.

"When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work He did for Israel." Judges 2:10

Bridges connect us with where we have been and where we are going. This is true

in the physical world, so it is true in the spiritual eternal world. Without bridges

connecting the history of the past, we do not know how to learn from the past

and repeat the blunders of bad choices.

In Judges 2:10-11 we are told that a new generation arose who did not know the

Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel. There was no one that cared

enough to be a “bridge” to mentor and educate. The result was ruin to individuals

and a nation. Are we walking in those same blind paths?

Stop and pause with us as we examine the consequences of neglect to DO as God

commanded, especially since he provided the means and provisions to fulfill His

calling. We have been given an eternal mission for here and now. Be a bridge

builder.

"The days are coming when I will send a famine in the land, not of bread, nor thirst of water, but of hearing the words of the Lord." Amos 8:11

 

Why would God want to make hearing the Word a famine?

Perhaps we no longer desire TRUTH as spiritual food, or we only want "food" that satisfies, tastes good, and comforts us without nourishing and healing.

Today, information alone is being called truth, but who can trust the truth that can change? The Word of God is being discredited by many as the real source of "TRUTH FOOD." Only God's Truth does not change and is the sole source that we can trust. However, it is even being rejected as having correct information.

Follow along with us as we look into the famine in our hearts and understand the famine in our land.

“But we Christians have no veil over our faces; we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

 

If we want to check our growth in Christian living through practical means, we can look at our personality, temperament, actions, and attitudes. Do they reflect in a mirror the image of who God says He is?  Can a person say there is something different about us? Can they see Christ “in us”? As the Spirit is cleaning and cleansing our life, we may reflect the character we all long to express – the Life of Jesus.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

 

To labor and be heavy burdened are two descriptions of our conditions that most are facing in one area or another. This can be applied to the physical, emotional, and soul – influencing our spirits.

Culture is telling us to have third-party encounters with one another through some device that offers opinions and information for man-made solutions. My question is – “Would Jesus walking on earth advise people to learn of Him through someone else, no matter how sincere?”

He wants direct communion with each of us, whether as His children needing His comfort and care or as a person controlled by fears needing Him for life itself.

In both cases, there is only one judge to know how to offer rest to our souls that are seeking a reliable source – God himself. The first step – is to come.

“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test Yourselves.” 1 Corinthians 13:5

 

We have an age-old problem – a portion of the Christian community lacks the

discipline to look at our lives with discernment. We want to be given the Truth in

ways that do not cause upset to our current way of thinking. If that be the case,

then how do we “gear up” to grow in grace and knowledge? How do we learn to

love? As we examine our hearts today, will you do the same that we will be able

to stand aright and tight in these difficult days?

“Exercise yourself toward godliness” 1 Timothy 4:7-10

 

Godliness can begin with physically taking care of the body through exercise. Our bodies are temporal temples and exercise does require discipline, training, being faithful, and even requires some sweat. Those same qualities are also needed in knowing and understanding the wisdom the Lord Jesus taught for living a life of godliness. 

Let’s compare how the short-term examples of exercise are a long-term guide to the benefits of godliness.

“Judge not that you be not judged” Matthew 7:1

 

Word matter and the way you use them can change a whole conversation.  We can never “judge” the person for condemnation, that belongs to God alone.

We are commanded to discern a person’s behavior, words, actions. We are exhorted to discern and deal with obvious sinful lifestyles.

Today’s conversation will help decipher when to discern, but not Judge.