Mentoring Minutes

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:8-10

“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” Luke 6:46

Christ’s sacrifice of grace(His free gift to all who believe) in salvation calls for our sacrificial response to die to self in every part of our life and make Him Lord! Modern day teachings center on Christ’s work of salvation with little on the accountability and obedience we are called to as His disciples. Where are you with regard to Christ as Savior and Lord?

Grace…It’s Free! Got It?

We were made for relationship and the one relationship that makes all others work and worthwhile is relationship with our Creator God. 

However, because of our own rebellion we are separated from God and that negatively affects every other relationship…whether we know or understand it or not.  God knew that we could never be satisfied or fulfilled apart from Him and because of our own sin we can not stand before or be in a relationship with Him.

All have sinned and the cost is death…can’t stand before a Holy God – (Romans 3:23)

So, God sent Himself in the form of His Son to pay the price that had to be paid and that no matter what we offered it would never be enough.  We deserve punishment, we deserve death, we deserve hell and nothing we could do to change that…BUT 

Jesus came, in the form of a baby (Christmas), lived a human life just as we do with all the bumps, bruises, trials and temptations and never sinned.  That made Him the only One Who could pay the perfect sacrifice for us.  He became sin and sacrifice all in One and received the punishment (death on the Cross – Good Friday) we deserved so that we could receive the gift of salvation.  He didn’t stop there!  He rose from the dead (Easter)!  He conquered sin, death and hell because we couldn’t and offers us the greatest gift ever – a relationship with God The Father, Son and Holy Spirit…that’s Grace!  And with it we have Eternal Life!  (Romans 6:23)

We can move no further than our own sin unless and until we are aware of this.   It is only in His forgiving our sin(s) and us receiving Him as Lord that we move forward, come to know and share what that relationship looks like in His Love and Lordship!

Salvation – Jesus Alone Saves

1. Jesus is The Only Way/Name – John 14:6; Acts 4:12
2. It’s an invitation…not a demand –Revelation 3:19-21
3. Saved by Grace Through Faith (for good works not by them) – Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-13

What is Grace?

The story is told of a rebellious young pre-teen boy who constantly landed in the principal’s office for his bad behavior, disrespect for teachers and his bad treatment of other students.  On his latest “visit” to the principal’s office, he puffed his chest out, leaned his head back and said, “Go ahead, give it to me” referring to the coming punishment. 

            As the principal talked about all his previous trips to the office and related punishments, trying to get the boy to see the error of his ways, he asked, “How many times have you been here?”

The child sneered rebelliously, “Apparently not enough.”

The principal gave the boy a strange look. “And you have been punished each time have you not?” ‘Do you ever stop to think about the punishment before you decide to break the rules?”

“Nope, I do whatever I want to do. Ain’t nothin’ you people gonna do to stop me either.”

The principal asked the teacher sitting beside him, “What was it this time?”

“He shoved little Tommy’s face into the sandbox.”

The principal looked at the boy, “Why? What did Tommy do to you?”

“Nothin, didn’t like the way he looked at me, just like I don’t like the way your lookin’ at me! And if I thought I could, I’d shove your face into something.”

The teacher, clearly uncomfortable, started to rise but the principal stopped him. He contemplated a moment and then quietly said, “Today young man, is the day you learn about grace.“

“Grace? Isn’t that what you old people do before you sit down to eat? I don’t need none of your stinkin’ grace.”

The principal studied the young man’s face and whispered. “Oh yes, you really do…”

The boy continued to glare as the principal continued, “Grace, in its short definition is undeserved favor. You can’t earn it, it is a gift and is always freely given. It means that you will not be getting what you so richly deserve.”

The boy looked puzzled. “So no whuppin? You just gonna let me walk?”

The principal looked at the unyielding child. “Yes, I am going to let you walk.”

The boy studied the face of the principal, “No punishment at all? Even though I socked Tommy and shoved his face into the sandbox?”

“Oh, there has to be punishment. What you did was wrong and there are always consequences to our actions. There will be punishment. Grace is not an excuse for doing wrong.“

“I knew it,” Sneered the boy as he held out his hands. “Lets get on with it.”

The principal looked at the teacher. “Bring me the belt.” The teacher handed it to him. He slowly folded it and then gave it back to the teacher. Looking at the child, he said. “You count the blows.”

He got up from behind his desk and walked over to stand directly in front of the child. He gently reached out and folded the child’s outstretched, expectant hands and placed them back in his own lap.  He then turned to the teacher and extended his own hands and in a whisper said, “Begin.”

The teacher cracked the belt across the principal’s outstretched hands. Snap! The startled boy jumped back away from the principal.

His face had turned from defiance to shock, “One” he whispered. Snap! “Two.” His voice rose. Whack! “Three…” In disbelief. Whack! “Four.” Tears began to form in the eyes and the rebel spirit began to soften.

“OK stop! That’s enough. Stop!” Crack! Another blow on the worn, reddened hands of the principal. Crack! The child tensed with each blow and now the tears were flowing freely down his face.

Schmack! Schmack! “No more, please”, the former rebel pleaded, “Stop, I did it, I deserve this. Stop! Please. No more…”

Still, Crack! Crack! One right after another. 10 blows! Finally it was over.

The principal stood with sweat shimmering all over his face and beads trickling down his cheeks.

Slowly he knelt and looked into the tear filled eyes of the once defiant boy.  He extended his arms and puffy swollen hands to gently grasp his bowed head.

“That’s Grace…”

Grace never comes as a command or a demand from me or anyone and certainly not from Jesus…I just want you to know The Truth of who He Is, what He’s done for you and me and what it looks like if you choose Him as Savior and Lord of your life! 

Jesus is a Gentleman…He sacrificed all and made it completely available to you and me!  That’s Grace.  It’s your choice by faith?  But know this…everything else you do in your life will be affected by whether you choose Him as Savior and Lord or not?

We’re going to explore these Truths in Him so we can understand what it means to walk In His Love and Lordship in every part of our lives and relationships so that not only do we have His Peace and wholeness but we can let others know who He is so they can have the opportunity to truly know Him as well!

It is absolutely essential that you be in a relationship with God The Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The only way is by faith through His Grace in Christ’s sacrificial death and then you can walk victoriously in His resurrection!

Food for Thought – The only way to know His Love and live in His Lordship is to receive this free gift!  There’s no other way! You cannot be in a relationship with Christ where He is not Lord.

That’s our desire for you and it begins with believing, submitting and yielding to Him!  It cost Him everything…It’s free to you and the only way you can know Him!  It will cost you everything not worth having…and it will be worth it! 

Love in Action…

1. Spend time with God and in His Word, prayer and listening every day…begin with the Scriptures in this message.
2. Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
3. Journal about what grace looks like to you. Then compare that to what God’s Word says about His grace. Are you walking in His Grace or in your own concept of grace?
4. Where are you when it comes to your relationship with Christ? Honestly assess and write out how He is your Savior…or you are growing in your walk with Him as Lord?
5. How are you extending that grace to others?

Make it a great day and God bless in Christ (John 3:30)!

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus Heavenly Father, teach me of Your true grace.  May I desire to understand the free gift you’ve given, what it looks like in my life and my responses to You so that I will not abuse Your grace but grow in it to be more like Christ.  In His name I pray, Amen.

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect – 1 Peter 3:15

For far too long we have allowed the culture to define love and walked in their version of it.  At the same time, Lordship (Authority) has become a taboo that we avoid at almost all costs…and yet, these are two of the greatest blessings we have and if we walk in His Love and Lordship it will absolutely change our lives, our homes and our churches…even our culture!

A young, recently married gentleman walked into my office and sat down with a thud.  I had been sharing a series on marriage in our “Sunday School” class and he asked if we could meet to talk further.

He arrived on time and after the usual pleasantries I asked him what was going on.  He proceeded to tell me all that had happened since he got married and how his wife was just nagging him to death.  He was no longer able to do any of the things he’d done as a single man.  No more hours at the bars with the guys.  No more tennis with his friends.  No more spending all his time at the office.  No more this. No more that…he couldn’t even keep track of all the “no mores!”  He was incredulous at what his marriage and life had become.

He “wanted” it to work but she was not “the same person” that he’d dated, fallen in love with and married.  What could he do to make this work?  Better yet, how could he get his wife to see that if he could just be the same guy as he was when he was single everything would be fine? 

I heard his wife’s side of the story from time to time in our class.  Divorce was inevitable and soon became a reality.  Neither was willing to give up themselves for the sake of their spouse nor their marriage.  Marriage and life for both of them was all about self…and that never works.

I’d like to say that their situation was not the norm but unfortunately over the last 30+ years of teaching, mentoring and talking with men and couples, it is far too common.  It hasn’t always ended in divorce but I can say that unless at least one of them, preferably both, learned to die to self (Luke 9:23), even when they stayed in the marriage it was tolerable at best and miserable at worst. 

Does this sound familiar to you?  It doesn’t have to be.  There’s Hope! 

Here’s what I’ve found over the past 3 decades…the problems aren’t in the conflicts or their resolution, lack of communication, finances, in-laws, your past, even your sex life!  These are all just symptoms.  We can work through all the issues if we’re willing to address and deal with the problem…and that lies much deeper. 

Love and Lordship matters and makes all the difference. It’s not just the name of this message and ministry, it’s what we are called to in Christ and until we begin in our homes and churches to make His Word the Authority in our life, relationships, marriages and families, we’re not going to find it anywhere else.  This is the only way to negate the relativistic “love” of the culture and a find a Lordship, His Lordship, that is seldom talked about and/or largely ignored!

Christ is not only the Savior of the World; He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! He is the Authority because He is the Author! Isn’t it incredible that The Creator and Author of all that exists would offer Himself as THE sacrifice so we could be in relationship with Him? However, there is no relationship in Scripture that allows for Him to be Savior and not Lord. That’s what He saved us for…and what we must be growing in.

“Every relationship built on the Love and Lordship of Jesus Christ!”

Food for Thought… If He’s Lord of all that exists and He’s saved you for a
relationship with Him, then who’s Lord in your relationship? If He’s not, then He
needs to be. He is patient, loving and certainly gracious and merciful, giving us time to learn and grow in this incredible relationship with Him. However, He knows our heart and whether we are deceiving ourselves or truly desire Him as Lord of every part of our lives.

Action Steps…

1. Spend time with God and in His Word, prayer and listening every day…begin with the Scriptures in this message.
2. Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
3. Honestly assess how you have been taught and defined lordship in your life and in our culture and churches and how that has affected how you live your life…who’s Lord?
4. Determine to know and love Christ as your Savior and as Lord. He is either Lord of all…or not lord at all.  

Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com.

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus… Heavenly Father, thank You for teaching us clearly in Your Word what it means for You (Christ) to be Lord of our life and to love the way that You do. Help me to die to self and be obedient to Christ as Lord loving as He loves me. In Jesus Name. Amen.

“…the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13b)

If we could sum up The Lord God in one word we would have a hard time finding any word better than Love. However, I pray and hope that we are learning that it is not love as the world defines it or lives it out…quite the opposite.

We’ve come full circle…over the last 20 weeks or so we’ve focused on Love from the priority and perspective of God’s Word and His Covenant Order found therein. We began with the prayer and goal of fulfilling God’s commands by focusing on the two greatest commands that sum up all others…1) Love God with all our being and; 2) Love all others as we love ourselves.

This requires us first knowing God and He has been more than transparent in making Himself known in Creation and through His Son and His Word as well as His Spirit. In His Word we found that he explicitly revealed Himself through 75+ names that showed us the totality of His character. Not only do His Names reveal Who He Is and His character but with beautiful and powerful timing, provision, guidance and whatever else was needed. He wants us to know Him so we can truly know His Love and love Him…this was the purpose of the first series, The Names of God.

The second consisted of 10 or messages where The Lord revealed once again through His Word who we are as we are born again and recreated in Christ for His purposes and His Kingdom and Glory. The purpose of this second series was for us to be able to push aside and override how the enemy, the world and even our own sinful flesh likes to proclaim who we are so we could see truthfully who we are in Christ…The Identity in Christ series!

Finally we are wrapping up the third and final series, “One Another” in which we have found that there are by most counts at least 59 “one anothers” in Scripture that all point to how we are, as Christ’s disciples and in His Love, to treat others in that love. In most cases these commands were a call as to how to bless, encourage, build up, teach, forgive and humbly serve others as well as many others. In a few of the commands it became obvious that they were given as negative commands…what not to do or stop doing…in order to battle against the natural tendencies that we must admit to found in the negative and sinful nature of our own flesh…do not slander, don’t lie, and other related ones.

Ultimately each of these…what we are commanded to do with and for one another and what we are to refrain from doing point to the ultimate “one another” and that it how we are to “love one another” summed up in yesterday’s episode.

With that summary we are wrapping up our “one anothers” today and my prayer is that you’ve taken some time to go deeper in God’s Word and in prayer, in His Spirit, over the past few months as we’ve focused on the 1st and 2nd Greatest Commands (that sum up all the commands (law) and teachings of the prophets), again…1) Worship God alone and love Him with all your being (Mark 12:29-30) and; 2) Love others as you love yourself and as He has loves us (Mark 12:31; John 13:34)!

As you are led by The Holy Spirit and so inclined go back starting with Names of God, episode 1, and you will see the development according to God’s Word of these great commands beginning with the Names of God to know and love Him with all our being. Then you’ll find our Identity in Christ so we can know and love…be confident and content in…who we are in order to die to self (give our self away) for the sake of loving others…found in this last series, “One Another.”

My prayer is that you are choosing to follow His teachings in line with His Covenant Order and praying/desiring yourself to mature as a Christ follower in fulfilling the greatest commands ever given in order that many will come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord through your living out His Truth in Love. I also pray you are blessed of The Lord and that you are His blessing to others by showing them what His Love really entails…much higher, deeper and wider than anything that we call love in this world!

Allow The Lord to have His way in your life as His Spirit in Christ draws you to Himself to love Him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and that you would see who you are and love who you are in Christ so you can show others God’s Love…the Love of Christ in and through you. May many come to know Jesus as Savior and walk as His disciple with Him as Lord as you live out the greatest of these…His Love!

Food for Thought…We’ve covered a lot in this “One Another” series and I hope you’ve followed along and/or will go back and check them out to see how you’re doing when it comes to loving others as you love yourself and as He has loved you. The greatest power in all the universe is God’s Love rooted in His Truth which leads to His Truth being lived out in His Love. If you know Jesus as Savior and Lord continue to walk out His Love by His Spirit so the world will know. If you don’t yet know this incredible Love by knowing Him as Savior and Lord why not today? Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com for more info and to find out how you can know Jesus as Savior and Lord, know God’s never-failing Love and share it with others.

Action Steps…

1. Spend time with God and in His Word, prayer and listening every day…begin with the Scriptures in this message.
2. Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
3. Honestly assess how you have seen love depicted in your life and in our culture and how that has affected what you think regarding love.
4. Determine to know and love God according to His Word and from there learn to truly love yourself (who you are in Christ) so you can love others like He does. Find out what it means when His Word says, “the greatest of these is love.”  

Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com.

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus… Heavenly Father, thank You for making it so obvious what love is and how we are to love in Your design and Covenant Order. Forgive us when we fail to follow Your Truth and try to love from our own flesh and desires. Help us to love You with all we are and in so doing learn to know and love who we are in Christ so we can love others as we love ourselves and as You love us. In Jesus Name. Amen.