EXPRESSIONS

Custom Search

“Mentoring Evangelistically Now Truthfully Offer Redeemer! (M.E.N.T.O.R)”

By Ramesh C.Reddy
Pittsburgh Standard

June 11, 2009

Editors Note: The devotional has a background song  which can be heard if you use Internet Explorer.

SCRIPTURE:
"He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." (Mark 8:31-33, NIV)

OBSERVATION:
I asked myself what can I learn about Peter from this passage?
1. Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Jesus.
2. Peter was rebuked by Jesus.
3. Peter heard Jesus say, "Get behind me, Satan" "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

INTERPRETATION:
I asked myself the significance of what Peter did?
Peter heard what Jesus was saying and did not agree with it because everything Jesus was saying was hurtful and painful for him and the disciples to here. It was more painful because Peter had just told Jesus that He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. Peter and the disciples expected Jesus to act on their behalf and others but now they hear Jesus predicting his death. So, Peter being the boisterous  and extrovert took Jesus aside from everyone and rebuked Jesus for saying that.

This alone is significant because though Jesus was Master and their Leader, Peter never felt he could not be open with Jesus. Peter was so open with Jesus and by being open he was also able to learn from Jesus. Jesus allowed that openness being a great MENTOR. But with openness also came responsibility for Jesus to act and Jesus did being Peter's mentor.

(To be continued)

IMPLICATIONS:
I saw important implications for my own life. Jesus as Master and Lord allowed openness among His disciples. The disciples were free to be open and talk to Jesus whatever they wanted to. Peter took advantage of that. Jesus' role as servant-leader did not diminish what the disciples could talk to Jesus about.

This shows me that I can talk to Jesus about anything and be open with Jesus  about anything. I do not have to constrain myself in prayer but pour out my heart to the Lord about different things. This is exciting to know that I can be open with Jesus. Being open with Jesus only helps and not hurts. By Peter being open with Jesus, Jesus was able to teach a lesson to Peter and the other disciples by being His mentor.

HOW GOSPEL GIVES TESTIMONY REGARDING M.E.N.T.O.R:

I have found mentors who I can be open with no matter what is going on in my life. The mentors in my life allow me and give me the freedom to be open with them.  They do not come of as judgmental or condemning but loving and convicting. I have found those mentors in my mommy, Pastor Hugo, and recently Edwin & Marie. Because they are not judgmental or condemning  BUT still point out areas of weaknesses in my life to work on just as Jesus pointed out Peter's weaknesses, I don't shy away or have tension in that relationship. If anything a good mentor prompts us to change without any ultimatums but based on TRUTH and LOVE.

I thank the Lord Jesus for all those He has placed in my life right now. As my mentors, they don't AGREE with everything I SHARE but they CARE and PRAY for me letting me want to see my faults and yield first and foremost to the Lord in my weaknesses.

As a mentor they don't have to agree with what we share openly but they are there to help us. As mentioned above, for me it has been my mommy who loves the Lord Jesus so dearly and shares that love to those around her especially all 4 of us her children regardless of our age. We can be open with our mom and share anything with our mom and our mom encourages us to bring them together to the Lord in prayer. Our mom intercedes for us a lot.

Outside of the home, it has mainly been Pastor Hugo!  Whenever I could meet up with Pastor Hugo, the Lord Jesus has used Him to be such an awesome mentor to guide me in the ways of the Lord.  In many areas I can be so open with Pastor Hugo and never feel condemned for the things I share even when those things are not always Christ-like. Most of the time I share my weaknesses with Pastor Hugo and his gentle counsel and talk many times makes me see where I have erred and prompts me to want to change. Pastor Hugo knows that I cannot change on my own so always before we leave, we always spend time in prayer to the Lord Jesus. 

In Pastor Hugo's mind, I may have so many weaknesses that I need to deal with but when I meet up with him, I feel loved and cared for. Even if I don't like to change in certain areas and know I should, I concede bringing it before Father God for help. When I leave, I feel valued.

A good mentor also sees what obstacles we face in our lives and helps us through them. For me it has been hard creating a professional type of website and Pastor Hugo took time in His busy schedule to give me a JPG design to start out with which I used to create the current website. I still need feedback from Pastor Hugo to improve the layout.

Outside of the home, the Lord placed Pastor Hugo in my life to shepherd me as He himself is shepherded by others especially Jesus, our Good Shepherd who is there for all of us. One of my favorite passages is from Gospel of John, Chapter 10 about Jesus being our Good Shepherd so we can learn from Him and shepherd those he placed around us.

Jesus said, 'I AM the Good Shepherd and came to lay down my life for my sheep'

Jesus' example of allowing openness, I have seen imitated in my mom's life and Pastor Hugo's life. In both cases, I have seen that when I share things that are contradictory to the things of God and God's Word, both of them call me on that and make me see where I have erred. More importantly, they point me back to Jesus to be focused on Him.

I have only shared examples of two people in my life but there have been quiet a few. Recently, the things I have been going through, it has been a blessing to have Pastor Hugo in his busy hectic schedule make time for me.

Others have done that for me too but it is hard to explain because there are few who are so special in your life that you could talk to them on and on. Recently, it has been Edwin & Marie. They have been there for me especially during the times of pain the previous two months. Without the Lord using my mom, Pastor Hugo, and Edwin & Marie, I do not know if I would have stuck it out in a particular area but I thank the Lord for using them in my life.

I get so excited when I get to meet with them just as I get excited to meet with Pastor Hugo. The thing is when I meet with them, they don't always give me what I want to hear but what I need to hear.

It is Edwin that motivated me to finish the book, "Lord Change My Attitude Before It's Too Late" that addressed issues that I was facing. Now, starting today I get to go over the 224 page book with Edwin as we process it together.

But all that is nothing compared to the 24/7 help I have in Jesus Christ. Jesus is available for me 24/7 to mentor me through His Word and Spirit. When I spend time in His Word, I am so rejuvenated especially when I turn God's Word to prayer.

Being open with my mom, Pastor Hugo, Edwin, and others is not nothing compared to being open with the Author of Life who created me. Yes, the Lord Jesus places people in our lives to help us, working through them.

That should never become a substitute from spending time with the Lord and His Word. Just as Jesus addressed Peter's situation, Jesus can address my situations whatever I share with Him. In the process of sharing with Jesus and opening up, He could lead me to receive the answer from my mom, from Pastor Hugo,  Edwin, etc but I believe more than anything most of the time the answer is in His Word if I only look and choose to obey as I depend on the Lord.

I ask you now dear friend, who is a mentor in your life?
Dear friend, Jesus used different mentors throughout Scripture to mentor others such as Paul mentoring Timothy, Jesus mentoring Peter, Barnabas mentoring Mark, etc. Jesus will place a mentor in your life too as you yield to Him. Jesus who reached out to the disciples to help them even as Peter was so open with Jesus, Jesus reaches out to you to help you too. We need to make ourselves open to the Lord and make our lives transparent. Yes, the Lord already knows what is going on in our lives but He wants that special relationship with you and me. He wants to be your special mentor and give you a mentor of His choice.

It will be much more personal when we bring what is happening in our lives to the Lord in prayer and also be open about the things we learn from Scripture. We don't have to feel that everything we talk to the Lord has to be positive. If we are angry or upset, we can share that too. If we feel the Lord did not answer our prayers the way we wanted, we can be open about that too. In our openness, Christ can use that to teach us important lessons for our own lives.

Jesus loves you and me so much that Jesus wants to work in our lives. Most times Jesus does the work through His Word and the Holy Spirit as we seek Him in prayer but Jesus does not limit Himself to His Word alone.

Jesus could be speaking to you right now through someone the Lord Jesus has placed in your life who is guided by the Holy Spirit. The Lord could be using that person to reach you through the Holy Spirit working through that person and working in you. Many times for me it has been my mom, Pastor Hugo of the Pittsburgh Chinese Church-Oakland, and Edwin of Oakland International Fellowship but not limited to just them.

The important thing I keep in mind is that whatever counsel is given it cannot go against God's Word. God's Spirit will not contradict His own Word even through working through other people.

In your life ask the Lord, who he wants ministering and mentoring you. Ask the Lord to take you to that person even if you don't know right now who that will be. The Lord knows and He will take you to the right person.

If you are a mentor in someone's life, allow them and give them the freedom to be open with you so they can freely share what's on their mind. Be very careful after they share that you do not come of as judgmental or condemning because that's all that will be needed to make that person shy away from sharing and putting a tension/wedge in that relationship. The person won't feel mentored anymore. This does not mean that everything the person says is accepted but conviction in a person's life can occur without condemnation.

"There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, for the power of the life giving spirit has freed us from the law of sin and death!" (Romans 8:1)

Jesus is not about condemnation when people open up to Him but about love and conviction. When a person is convicted it is usually through love and they want to hold to that conviction. That will also make them want to go back to the person who convicted them in love and be open to share more knowing even if it is negative, it will be ok because they will be helped.

There is a line between condemning others and convicting others. When Jesus spoke to the disciples, Jesus was convicting them. In our lives, it can only come through the wisdom of the Lord! We have been placed in strategic locations to help others as they are open to us because of His Spirit's work in our lives!

"Dear friend, let us not forget that it is best to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and not become angry for anger does not make us what God wants us to be!"

Others being willing to be open with us should be taken as a privilege not to be abused. I am more free to open up to people who think highly of me even in my flaws. In other words, their focus is on the good and my strengths instead of my weaknesses. Because their focus is on my strengths where I am encouraged, I don't want my weaknesses to cloud those strengths so I want to overcome those weaknesses too. That is what the right mentor can do for us. I have found that in my dear mom, who I am blessed to have living with us after my beloved dad went to be with the Lord.   Outside of the home, I have found that in Pastor Hugo and Edwin.

Overall though, without the Lord's help all our toiling is in vain because He has to build the house including putting the right mentors in our path. So, I am so thankful to Jesus for being my special mentor and  allowing His Spirit to work through other people to bring hope, help, and healing in my own life.

I learned we can only be effective mentors in the Lord's timing alone. He will make it possible. My prayer is that I can become that type of person where people can be open with me and share so I can mentor them with the love and wisdom of Christ whatever leadership position the Lord Jesus has given me to serve. I also pray I can find more people in my life that I can be open with and feel good about it even when my weaknesses are exposed because through being comfortable to be open, I am also receiving help for those weaknesses.

I want that for all of us where we are open with someone else in our lives but most importantly with Jesus Christ. Friend, Jesus loves you so much that if you were the only one living Jesus would have still died for you, been buried, and would have come back to life on the third day to save.

You are precious and special in the Lord's sight and mean so much to Him. That is why in our weaknesses and sin, when we were separated from God, Jesus came to bridge that gap so we can reach God.

All of us because of sin have been separated from God but thanks be to God by His grace and mercy we have been given Salvation to receive because Jesus shed His precious cleansing blood on the cross to save us and redeem us.

There is nothing you and I can do on our own to be saved. If we think the good works we do will save us, we are totally mistaken for all our works are like filthy rags to the Lord and God cannot allow filthy rags to pollute Heaven.

So, then how can anyone be saved?

It is by being covered by the precious cleansing blood of Jesus taking the antidote Jesus has openly provided for humanity for its deadly virus known as sin. This means acknowledging that we are sinners in need of a Savior. With acknowledgement comes the realization that you and I are not living the life God wants us to live according to His Word, repenting of that, and surrendering our lives to Jesus knowing only He can make us right with God. We are believing in Jesus Christ to save us and confessing that Jesus is Lord of our lives.

Now when we die and God sees us, He sees the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ covering over us so we have access to Heaven. Because of what Jesus did for us to save us from the destruction of sin, our love should make us want to serve Jesus all the days of our lives.

Jesus did not wait for us to draw near to Him but clothed Himself in humanity and went to the cross to provide a way for us to draw near to Him. Without the cross or resurrection, there is no Salvation.  But in light of the cross, we all have Salvation that can be received because of God's grace when we turn to Jesus.  Open your heart to Christ now because openly pardons Emmanuel now.

"It is by grace we have been saved through faith and not of works lest anyone should boast!"

No one can say that they are going to heaven because of the good works they do unless the good works are a result of faith in Jesus Christ. Then those good works and fruit are a result of the Holy Spirit working in a person's life.

The cost of following Jesus is not easy and is addressed in this same chapter which I hope to learn more about in the verses that follow. But the reward is eternity, joy, and peace only Christ can bring through His love.

IN SUMMARY APPLICATION REGARDING M.E.N.T.O.R:

1. I can be so open with Jesus no matter what is on my mind because He will be my best mentor helping me learn lessons through the weaknesses.

2. I need to stick with mentors who are non-judgmental and non-condemning but instead convicting us of our weaknesses through love and examples as JESUS becomes the central focus and point.

3. I need to be a mentor who will not judge people and condemn them but help them work through their weaknesses by utilizing the power of God's Word, His Spirit, and prayer.

May you all find a mentor who will lead you to grow stronger in Christ day by day not taking lightly your weaknesses but helping you through them and building upon your strengths that the Lord has blessed you with.

"Mentoring Evangelistically Now Truthfully Offer Redeemer!" (M.E.N.T.O.R)/"Who is your M.E.N.T.O.R in life?"

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for allowing Peter to be open with you and you were able to use His openness to teach him and the other disciples a lesson. You did not use Peter's openness with those that were even weaknesses to prevent him from becoming one of the leaders of the church. Oh Lord, thank you so much for that. When we are open and share our weaknesses with you, you work in our lives through your Word and the power of the Holy Spirit. I thank you Lord for placing people in our lives to mentor us as you work in their own lives and use them as instruments. Thank you Lord for me it has been my mom and Pastor Hugo through the years. I pray that I can use them as examples as I depend on you to minister and mentor those that are open with me. Please Lord give me wisdom and discernment with those I meet up with. Help the words of my mouth be what you would want me to share with them. Lord, when you minister to us, we are convicted of sin in our lives and that conviction because of your loves works in us and through us without making us feel condemned. Thank you so much Jesus for that for there is 'now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus for the power of the life giving spirit has freed us from the power of sin and death!'. Thank you so much Jesus.  And Lord no human being is above you at all no matter how great a mentor they maybe, etc because everything in their lives to is because of their relationship with you first and foremost. I have seen that in my mom's life and Pastor Hugo's life. Help them and protect them Oh Lord and also everyone who you place as mentors in our lives. Help us to lead by example. More than anything help us be open to you. Thank you so much Jesus. Thank you for wanting us to open our hearts to you daily. I surrender my life to you and ask you for your help. Thank you for dying for my sin and coming back to life to save me by your precious cleansing blood. Let me be an example in word and deed of your love to those around me. Thank you so much Jesus. Thank you for hearing me and answering me! In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help! But beware of churches who do believe in the Word of God completely but there is no freedom in Christ but legalism involved.

As a professional, it is not too late to join a church! As a student, it is not too late to join a fellowship on campus this  new year of 2009! May the Lord's presence and peace fill you with His love now and forever! Amen!

Friend, if you have prayed this prayer and meant it in your heart, you are a new creation in Christ and all old things are passed away and everything has become new! You may feel something or may not but don’t base it on feelings but base your new life in Christ on the promises of our Savior who will never leave you nor forsake you! Amen!

Spend time in His word and let the Lord speak to you! Start out in the Gospel of John! You can also check out the Gospel of Mark which are the devotionals I have been going through.  Learn from Jesus through study and prayer. Also find yourself a church fellowship and a college fellowship you can be part of where you can be part of a community of believers to supplement your own walk with the Lord. Let it be a Bible-believing and Bible-breathing church! Believe in Bible Live Eternally!

Feel free to email me at reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible, pray with, talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My number is 412-720-4579

"This is my work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)

Love in Christ,
Ramesh

Express Your View

Devotional of the Day:
"What do you S.H.A.R.E with others?" (June 11, 09, 11:08 a.m.)
Jesus shared things the disciples did not want to hear but needed to hear. Jesus wanted to prepare the disciples of what was to come. Jesus did not sugar coat anything and.... 

Lookup a word or passage in the Bible
Include this form on your page