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Tag Archives: Chester and Becky Kylstra

Thinking Rather Than Trusting in God

In this age of social enlightenment, educators are redefining truth. This mentality has opened the door for progressive ideology and opinions to be elevated to fact status. Instead of trusting the Good Book, the Bible, many Christians have followed in the footsteps of Abraham and Isaac. When each were challenged by severe famines, each chose to think creatively rather than place their complete trust in God.

And the men of the place asked him about his wife, and he said, She is my sister; for he was afraid to say, She is my wife—[thinking], Lest the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah, because she is attractive and is beautiful to look upon. When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac and said, See here, she is certainly your wife! How did you [dare] say to me, She is my sister? And Isaac said to him, Because I thought, Lest I die on account of her. 10 And Abimelech said, What is this you have done to us? One of the men might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt and sin upon us, Genesis 26:7-10.

As someone who lost a losing battle with stuttering for the first two decades of my life, I became good at thinking about conversations and imagining various scenarios. Unfortunately, deep down, I developed the ungodly belief that I would never be able to truly express the feelings in my heart and the thoughts in my mind. Thanks to books like Restoring the Foundations by Chester and Becky Kylstra, I slowly began to trust God.

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil, Proverbs 3:5-7.

Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of the first verses in the Bible that I memorized. However, being able to recall a passage word for word from the Bible isn’t the same as putting it into practice. Matthew 7:24-27 is one of the most powerful messages recorded in the Bible. Thinking is more of theory whereas trust is an act of faith. To those who are able let go and take God at His Word, promises in the Bible, you’ll grow out thinking and move on to putting Jesus’ words into practice.

by Jay Mankus

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Lies within Your Heart

As someone who grew up in the Catholic church, I was raised to believe that priests were the only individuals who were worthy enough to study the Bible and teach God’s Word. After a revival during the 1970’s, some priests began to encourage members of their congregation to start reading the Bible outside of church. Unfortunately, the church my family attended in Wilmington, Delaware was stuck in the dark ages until my dad’s relocation to Cleveland, Ohio. About this same time, I began to open my own Bible outside of church which exposed lies within my heart.

The [intrinsically] good man produces what is good and honorable and moral out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart; and the [intrinsically] evil man produces what is wicked and depraved out of the evil [in his heart]; for his mouth speaks from the overflow of his heart, Luke 6:45.

When I started teaching high school Bible at Red Lion, a Sunday School class that I attended introduced me to a book called Restoring the Foundations. Written by Chester and Becky Kylstra, I discovered that this book inspired a healing ministry based upon addressing ungodly beliefs individuals have collected over the course of their lives. Like spiritual baggage weighing down your heart, soul and mind, this integrated approach introduced me to new terms such as soul spirit hurts. As people unpack this baggage, exposed lies can haunt you; preventing you from being healed.

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is recognized and judged by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart,” Matthew 12:33-34.

During the first century, Jesus introduced a troubling new teaching. When these words were first verbalized, I’m sure conviction silenced any whispers in the crowd. The thought of lies within your heart likely deflated souls previously filled with confidence and pride. This biblical truth sent shockwaves across town as murmurs echoed of this hidden evil from within. Scholars likely declared the words of the prophet are true, Jeremiah 17:1-10. As modern believers are introduced to this truth today, lies within your heart can finally be addressed by an integrated approach to healing.

by Jay Mankus

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