Mentoring Minutes

“…admonishing one another…” Paul  (Colossians 3:16c)

Love and Lordship in Focus…Teaching and admonishing others are both very important and necessary aspects of growing in The Lord, and in particular, making disciples who make disciples. May we not neglect our duty to obey these commands and respond when others are obedient in teaching and admonishing us.

We pick up with our next “one anothers” of love and stay in the same verse as our last week’s post…Colossians 3:16c. In this text, from last week’s sharing, Paul has already told us to “teach (one another).” He continues by taking it a bit deeper with “…Admonish one another.”

Okay, that sounds like a big fancy Old English word from the King James Version and that’s exactly what it is so what does it mean? To admonish others means everything from advising or urging to warning and reprimanding. You may be asking, “What’s up, I thought this was about loving ‘one another?'”

I’m glad you asked (even if you didn’t I asked for you to make this powerful point from Scripture) because that’s exactly what it is. Every “One Another” is about loving “others” and this one, as some of the previous negative sounding ones are just as important if not more so in a fallen world.

This requires integrity in The Word for those who admonish. How are you doing when it comes to being in and walking in His Word so that you can teach…and admonish other in love as needed?

We must be able to both humbly give admonition to those we love and be willing to humbly receive it as well. This is God’s Love steering us in His Truth as we help and love others and as they do so with us. May we always be willing to accept teaching and correction from Him and from other believers and may we admonish others as we see the loving need and do so and follow through in humility and grace, covered in Love!

It’s so interesting that, just as with teaching in the same command, The Holy Spirit through Paul pairs this command to admonish with how we are to do it…”with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs as we sing with grace (gratitude) in our hearts to The Lord.” Don’t you think we would all better receive the encouragements, warnings and reprimands as they come wrapped in gracious melodies and harmonies and with thankfulness!

Again, this all begins with in Colossians 3:16a with the encouragement and command of “the Word dwelling richly in you.” Does it? What are you doing to make it so that God’s Word is dwelling deeply and richly in you?

How do you respond when others admonish you? What about when you know someone needs to be lovingly admonished… what is your response? How can we look to Christ to both give and receive admonition and together grow in Him as disciples and as His Body, The Church?

Food for Thought…Once again we’re reminded that we don’t readily accept teaching, and certainly not admonition or correction, in our own flesh. That all changes as we receive Christ and walk in His Spirit and not in our flesh and selfishness. Then His Word can dwell richly in us and we can both share and receive teaching and correction in grace, humility and love!

Love in Action…

1. Spend time with Him in His Word and prayer daily – read and study the Scriptures in this message as a way to start.
2. Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
3. Are you pouring into the lives of others with teaching and even admonishing then in grace and love?
4. Do you allow others who are more mature to admonish and correct you in The Lord and His Word?

Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com.

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus…Heavenly Father, thank You for admonishing me and for those in Christ’s Church that do the same through preaching, teaching and discipling me. I pray that I will be gracious, humble and loving to do the same and may we all do so all and only according to Your Truth to help us grow in fullness in Christ…as disciples and as His Family, The Church. In His Name. Amen.

“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching…one another.” Paul  (Colossians 3:16a)

Love and Lordship in Focus…Teaching others…and being taught by others…is central to our maturing in Christ as His disciples and how we make disciples. A once-a-week message is not nearly enough teaching for His Word to dwell richly in us! We need time with Him daily…and with other disciples/believers…teaching and being taught!

We continue our “one anothers” in loving, sharing and working out God’s plan for the Body of Christ as Paul has more for us in his letter to The Church at Colossi. In Colossians 3:16 he tells us to “Teach…[one another].”

Remember loving “one another” has to do with helping each other grow in Christ. Paul states in Ephesians 4:14-16 that this comes about both individually and collectively as we “speak the Truth in Love.” So teaching each other…and being willing to be taught by each other…is a major part of us growing as disciples and together as Christ’s Church.

This is partially done as we gather to hear messages from preachers but that is not nearly enough. This is evidenced by our culture where our churches have allowed folks to simply come, sit and hear a 20 to 60-minute message and think that’s getting the job done. We are losing the culture wars at every turn because we are not teaching to make disciples who make disciples of Jesus Christ who can stand in the face of this pagan culture.

Preaching in our weekend services is needed…but it’s not enough…it is just the beginning of teaching. How can God’s Word dwell in you richly with that little amount of preaching/teaching? Let’s teach one another and be willing to be taught by one another in line with God’s Word and by His Spirit.

This is the only way that The Word of God can and will dwell richly in us as we are willing to teach one another and personally follow through with our own studying of His Word. Only then will we be disciples who stand strong in the face of adversity and be The Church against which the gates of hell cannot prevail or stand against!

Food for Thought…This is our message and our hope…all our preaching, teaching and discipling must be rooted and founded in The Cross and The Tomb…the sacrificial death of Christ and His Victorious Triumph in rising from the dead! This is our greatest teaching and we must never think that anything else has the power to change lives for Eternity.

Love in Action…

1. Spend time with Him in His Word and prayer daily – read and study the Scriptures in this message as a way to start.
2. Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
3. Be sure you have someone (or more than one) who is teaching you and pouring into your life.
4. As you mature, be sure you are teaching and pouring The Word and Life of Christ into others.

Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com.

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus…Heavenly Father, forgive us for thinking that a few minutes of teaching each week makes disciples. Forgive us for failing to find mentors and teachers to take us deeper and make us disciples of Christ. Forgive us for not reaching out and teaching others, discipling them to be His wholehearted followers. Thank You for Your grace and patience as we teach and train others to be disciples of Christ who make disciples of Christ for Your Kingdom and Glory! In His Name. Amen.

“…forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also.” Paul  (Colossians 3:13b)

Love and Lordship in Focus…Unforgiveness in your life breeds bitterness and hatred…not just for those whom you’ve failed to forgive. It will fester until it rears its ugly head toward any and all who have any disagreement or conflict with you. Choose forgiveness and love!

First of all, I pray that you know Christ as Savior and Lord and are able to rejoice in and receive by faith His incredible gift of grace and sacrifice of His Life for the forgiveness of your sin(s) and the promise of eternal life to all who would believe in Him as Savior and Lord!

It is only because of Him that we can even know Love and how to love Him and “one another.” Last week we looked at the command to “bear with each other.” In that same verse, the Apostle Paul shows us what must be done in order to follow through with that command. He continue in Colossians 3:13b with, “…Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.”

As long as you are holding onto any grievance, sin or wrongdoing that someone has brought against you, it is impossible to bear with them if you do not first forgive them. In the same light of Truth we must be willing to ask for forgiveness when we have wronged others.

None of this is easy. As a matter of fact it is impossible without the forgiveness of Christ in our lives, the love of God in and through us and His Spirit that enable us to choose humility to both give and ask for forgiveness. In this way we can “bear with one another” and “forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.”

Holding onto any wrong suffered at the hands of another only adds to your burden which makes it eventually impossible to help carry the burdens of others as we are commanded to do as Christ followers.

Food for Thought…What grievances are you still holding onto that are weighing you down? What wrongs have you committed against another that you need to ask forgiveness for? These must happen, and by the grace we have in Christ they can, in order for us grow in Truth and Love for “one another” so more and more can truly come to know Christ as Savior and Lord.

Love in Action –

1. Spend time with Him in His Word and prayer daily – read and study the Scriptures in this message as a way to start.
2. Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
3. Who do you need to ask forgiveness of in order to be obedient to Christ? Go to that person in humility and ask.
4. Who do you need to forgive in order to be obedient to Christ? Lay it before The Lord and as He leads let that person know that you’ve forgiven him/her.

Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com.

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus…Heavenly Father, first of all thank You for the gracious sacrifice and gift of Your Son on the Cross. Without this there would be no way that I could know You, know love and love others. It is only by His death that my sins have been forgiven and paid for so help me to do the same in my relationship with others, pointing them to Him as Savior and Lord. In His precious Name. Amen.