Back in August we connected with Tim Burt, a devotional blogger and associate pastor in Minnesota. Today we decided to see what Tim’s been up to lately, and discovered this piece at Fresh Manna, which he titled, Mentored By God.
One definition for mentored is “to be instructed by a wise and trusted counselor or teacher.” Did you know that people pay good money to be mentored? They really do. Many times when people want to experience higher levels of achievement and success, they hire personal trainers or mentors that observe their thinking and behavior so they can make suggestions for improvement. Did you know that the greatest mentor of all time wants to be your mentor… for free?
1 Th 5:23 says, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through…” Did you catch the words “May God Himself… sanctify you…” The word sanctify means to be set apart. Set apart from what? He want us do be set apart from or to think and act differently from how those that don’t know how the Lord would have us think and act. He wants us set apart in how we approach life, in how we think through life, and in how we speak, act, and walk out our day-to-day life.
How are we going to do that? The verse says that God Himself will help us accomplish that. It begins with holding Him in our heart with reverence as Almighty God. At the same time, He wants to be a Father to us. That is His heart behind the words, “May God Himself…” It’s pretty amazing that the God of the universe Himself wants to be a Father to us. In being a Father, He desires to mentor us.
It’s interesting—many times I’ve had people ask me if I would be a mentor to them. I do not have the resource of time available to mentor people one-on-one. I’ve told them if they want to be mentored by me, they will simply have to be a part of what I am doing and become a part of my leadership team. My leadership is more exposed to my thinking and doing than most and they can learn from listening and observing. (And of course they can read Fresh Manna!) I am just a man and just one man. I can only accomplish so much. That’s the very reason we want to be mentored by God. He is not limited. He is really the only one that is absolutely capable of steering each and every individual into right thinking and the plan for their life. Knowing this then—knowing that the God of the universe loves you so much that He wants to set you apart and mentor you personally—is truly a mind boggling statement of just how awesome and loving the Lord is. The way He will mentor you is through His Holy Spirit whom lives within every person who has accepted Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will take the Word of God and bring understanding to it so that we can understand God’s ways. This is a very special and supernatural thing. It is what allows you to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the God of the universe.
Now as today’s Fresh Manna verse continues, it says, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through…” What does that mean, “…through and through?”
God wants to teach you how to think through each decision in your life from His perspective. How do we do that? That could lead to volumes of writing. The simplest way to hear from God’s Holy Spirit in a practical ongoing way is for you to ask yourself, “What would Jesus think and do?” And then, in putting it to work in your life, remember that the rudder for all you do in Christ comes from Galatians 5:6 “…faith working through love.” You have to have faith that God is mentoring you and HE WILL help you think through every situation. But, you also have to make sure your heart is guided by the spirit of God’s love. God’s love is filled with forgiveness, mercy, and grace toward you and that must be how you think it through toward others. This is the rudder to good decisions and to being mentored through and through by God Himself.
Psalm 143:10 (NLT) “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.“
In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt
Christianity 201 