Spiritual Mentors

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.  (Colossians 2:6-7 KJV)

Yesterday, September 1, 2016, marked the beginning of another school year in my community.  It is a time to meet new people, learn new things, and grow intellectually and socially.  A new school year is a fresh start of sorts, much like the start of a new calendar year or month (or even day!).  This time of year seems to call us back to our school days (no matter how long we have been out of school)—the busy days of summer fun give way to a school year with busyness of its own—hopefully this time will also cause us to desire to return to time in the Word (if we neglected that during the summer).  For some ideas to get started on reading the Word, please see my 50 Day Spiritual Adventure for 2016 (first post appeared September 1, future posts will go up early on Sunday morning September 4-October 16). 

Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.  (Philippians 4:9 KJV)

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God’s Word is full of wisdom for the whole of life.  We are wise to read, study, and apply it to our lives.  Moreover, seeking out a mentor to guide us in our walk is extraordinarily beneficial and assists our spiritual growth.  We grow, too, when we mentor others.  Learning and growing should never end, even when we supposedly reach the end of our student days.  I, along with many others, have discovered that even when we teach, tutor, or mentor that we learn along side the person(s) we are teaching or mentoring.  With all of this in mind, today’s post will take a brief look at mentors and mentoring; currently, I am planning a month long consideration of learning and education.  

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And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.  

(2 Timothy 2:2 KJV)

So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.

(1 Thessalonians 2:8 KJV)

What is mentoring?  Who is a mentor?  When you pause to consider it, mentoring is seen in both the Old and New Testaments.  For example, Moses had Jethro, Timothy had Paul, and the disciples had Jesus.  The Holy Spirit is our Teacher and Mentor too. 

Simply put, a mentor is:  “someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person.”[1]

For our purposes here, a mentor is also one who is farther ahead on the faith journey than the person he or she is mentoring; the mentor may or may not be chronologically older.

Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.  (Hebrews 13:7 KJV)

I imagine all of us have or had special people in our lives—people who came along side (possibly seeing something of worth in us) and built us up, encouraging us to develop our God given potential.  Mentors truly are special people who freely give of themselves, building into the life of another person.

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Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.  (Proverbs 27:17 KJV)

For many of us, those people were Christian teachers, coaches, pastors, or mentors who helped us grow in our walk with the Lord.  Mentors really only need a willing heart and be just a bit ahead of the person being mentored.  The benefits of mentoring relationships are priceless.  Ideally, both sides of any mentoring relationship learn and grow together.

And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.  (Acts 8:27-31 KJV)

Perhaps, you remember the person(s) who led to your decision to invite Jesus into your heart.  What characteristics made this person unique?  What did they have that caused you to seek them out as a mentor?  My guess is—it was not dependent upon looks or money; it was most likely something intangible.  In the verses (above) from Acts, we see Philip, empowered by the Holy Spirit, in a short-term mentoring relationship with an Ethiopian eunuch; leading to the Ethiopian’s salvation.  This spread the gospel into Africa!  Please do not discount the power of one simple meeting.

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.  

(John 14:26 KJV)

Spend some time in the week ahead (and through this month) reflecting on these special people and being thankful.  Just think:  you may be on someone’s list! 

If you think you would like to have mentor, I encourage you to pray and see who God puts on your heart to ask.  Likewise, you may also desire to be a mentor for someone in your life—I encourage you to take the matter to the Lord in prayer and see who He places on your heart.

Who is your mentor?

Who can you mentor?

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.  

(Matthew 28:19-20 KJV)

Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.  

(1 Corinthians 11:1 KJV)

Please join with me in prayer:

Dear Lord, cause us to remember all the special people who have taught and mentored us in our faith.  Thank You for their comment and time spent in preparation, as they guided our faith walk as we matured.  Grant us the wisdom to lead others to Christ and help them grow in their faith, realizing that You are the One who brings about the growth.  Our thankfulness for all we have in Jesus overflows.  In Jesus’ Name, we pray.  Amen.

From My Heart to Yours,

Kim

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[1] From http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mentor