Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.(NIV)
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (NLT)
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.(MSG)
How often can our anxious souls keep God from working in our hearts? Ultimately, an anxious soul refuses to consider His love and greatness. It dethrones God from our hearts. It sets up a stage for our own illusions of control, when in reality, we don't have any control at all. If we believe we're in control, we worry and become anxious. Things we don't have control over then rule our thoughts as we try and control them. In turn, our attempts at controlling the uncontrollable gives way for the uncontrollable to control us.
That's why we pray. From the very first sin from the beginning of time to all our other sins, they all say the same thing: it's a fight for who's in control. But life in our hands makes us anxious. Life in God's hands brings peace. When we pray our situations to God it allows His love to consume us rather than our anxiousness. We know when we have His complete peace when we believe that God is greater and that whatever this is won't separate us from His love. When we turn our worry into thankfulness, we can see God's hand at work in our lives. Then the next time worry comes and asks to be let in, there's an impenetrable guard at the door.
Instead of seeking more control, which is putting ourselves in the place of God, seek more of God. If His peace that guards our hearts and minds can't fully be understood, then God and His ways fall in the same category. There's so much more to seek and understand in Him.
Thursday, August 09, 2012
Monday, August 06, 2012
A Different Gospel
I miss this. Sitting down to take time out and journal really relaxes my soul. Lately things have gotten so busy at the church that I just haven't had time to write about what I've read. Now I've finished Galatians on my own, but I don't want to forget what God has taught me and feel the need to share with you His grace in this letter.
Our church is now going through The Story by Zondervan. If you're living in the Falcon area in Colorado, come and see! One of the biggest concerns that has arisen from this is that it might be a different gospel than what the Bible teaches. It's not. It's the same. Granted, it's abridged. But all of us read abridged versions of the Bible to our kids. The people who put this together did so in a chronological way so we could read it like a novel. Most of us read things this way, and sometimes the things we read in the Bible can be intimidating because of the things that don't really make sense to us. Personally, I appreciate what they've done. This is a great opportunity for us to catch the story God's been writing since creation so we can see His hand through the historical events in the Bible. We can see His work to draw people to Himself like the Good Shepherd He is. This study is supplemental to Bible reading, and they've included all the references in the back of the book if anyone wanted to see where it came from.
But all of us, or at least those who've been raised in the church, are a little concerned any time we hear something that seems to be a different gospel than what we've heard or been taught through the Bible itself. Others aren't concerned at all because they haven't opened the Bible to see what it says. My question is, what does the gospel look like in our lives? What kind of gospel are we preaching to the world as they watch us and observe our lifestyles because we've confessed Christ?
Paul mentioned that he was sent by God, the one who rescued us from His wrath and this evil age. He gives complete and all glory to Him because of his love for God. That was the driving motivation behind his preaching. Any gospel that isn't motivated by God's love and our love for Him, isn't the right gospel. In fact, it isn't a gospel at all. In the words of Dwight from The Office, "False."
How many of us have heard a gospel that's been preached that sounds good to you? We've become professionals at twisting the gospel when it disturbs our comfort or way of life. We live complacently and apathetically in many ways. Here's an example to chew on.
Remember the parable Jesus talked about in Matthew 25? Jesus was talking about the kingdom of heaven, separating the people on His right and left. He mentions feeding those who were hungry, visiting the sick, clothing the naked, and visiting some in prison. Now, this is a tough question for me to ask, but are we doing any of those things? Jesus said that when we do those things we're doing them to Him. Maybe some of us don't really know Jesus that well. Maybe we've seen Him on the side of the street or laying in a hospital bed and walked right on by.
Any gospel that preaches comfort and coming to Jesus will solve all your problems and make your life better, has twisted the true gospel. Yes, Jesus does make life better, but on His terms, not ours. The life He brings isn't the kind of life we typically look for or even long for. We need to be careful that what we hear isn't a different gospel. We need to be careful about the gospel we're preaching through our lifestyles.
In Galatians 1:8, Paul says that those who preach a different gospel are accursed! This lesson convicts me deeply. I believe I'm always living a gospel that God saved me with. I don't think I'm always following the teachings that pull me out of a worldly viewpoint of life. God isn't in the business of pleasing man. He's in the business of bringing glory to Himself. And the cross is what does that the most! The evidence of a life redeemed by the glory in the cross and resurrection is the only true gospel! Anything outside of the cross is bringing glory to man, someone who wasn't made to receive glory unless God bestows it on him.
At the heart of all this is verse 10. This is what I long to say about myself and pray for every day. This is what I close with, and hope the commitment you have with Christ is sealed with this motivation. This is the defining term of your life and helps us all determine if we're really following Christ or not:
Our church is now going through The Story by Zondervan. If you're living in the Falcon area in Colorado, come and see! One of the biggest concerns that has arisen from this is that it might be a different gospel than what the Bible teaches. It's not. It's the same. Granted, it's abridged. But all of us read abridged versions of the Bible to our kids. The people who put this together did so in a chronological way so we could read it like a novel. Most of us read things this way, and sometimes the things we read in the Bible can be intimidating because of the things that don't really make sense to us. Personally, I appreciate what they've done. This is a great opportunity for us to catch the story God's been writing since creation so we can see His hand through the historical events in the Bible. We can see His work to draw people to Himself like the Good Shepherd He is. This study is supplemental to Bible reading, and they've included all the references in the back of the book if anyone wanted to see where it came from.
But all of us, or at least those who've been raised in the church, are a little concerned any time we hear something that seems to be a different gospel than what we've heard or been taught through the Bible itself. Others aren't concerned at all because they haven't opened the Bible to see what it says. My question is, what does the gospel look like in our lives? What kind of gospel are we preaching to the world as they watch us and observe our lifestyles because we've confessed Christ?
Paul mentioned that he was sent by God, the one who rescued us from His wrath and this evil age. He gives complete and all glory to Him because of his love for God. That was the driving motivation behind his preaching. Any gospel that isn't motivated by God's love and our love for Him, isn't the right gospel. In fact, it isn't a gospel at all. In the words of Dwight from The Office, "False."
How many of us have heard a gospel that's been preached that sounds good to you? We've become professionals at twisting the gospel when it disturbs our comfort or way of life. We live complacently and apathetically in many ways. Here's an example to chew on.
Remember the parable Jesus talked about in Matthew 25? Jesus was talking about the kingdom of heaven, separating the people on His right and left. He mentions feeding those who were hungry, visiting the sick, clothing the naked, and visiting some in prison. Now, this is a tough question for me to ask, but are we doing any of those things? Jesus said that when we do those things we're doing them to Him. Maybe some of us don't really know Jesus that well. Maybe we've seen Him on the side of the street or laying in a hospital bed and walked right on by.
Any gospel that preaches comfort and coming to Jesus will solve all your problems and make your life better, has twisted the true gospel. Yes, Jesus does make life better, but on His terms, not ours. The life He brings isn't the kind of life we typically look for or even long for. We need to be careful that what we hear isn't a different gospel. We need to be careful about the gospel we're preaching through our lifestyles.
In Galatians 1:8, Paul says that those who preach a different gospel are accursed! This lesson convicts me deeply. I believe I'm always living a gospel that God saved me with. I don't think I'm always following the teachings that pull me out of a worldly viewpoint of life. God isn't in the business of pleasing man. He's in the business of bringing glory to Himself. And the cross is what does that the most! The evidence of a life redeemed by the glory in the cross and resurrection is the only true gospel! Anything outside of the cross is bringing glory to man, someone who wasn't made to receive glory unless God bestows it on him.
At the heart of all this is verse 10. This is what I long to say about myself and pray for every day. This is what I close with, and hope the commitment you have with Christ is sealed with this motivation. This is the defining term of your life and helps us all determine if we're really following Christ or not:
Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant. (NLT)
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Made to Mirror
There are so many examples that we can pull from that help us gain a better perspective on worship and the reason God made us. First off, He made us to worship Him.
Lately I've been reading a book on worship by Tozer. He's quite the amazing man of God. It's encouraging to hear words from men who have had an undying pursuit of what God desires. Tozer's example on being a mirror to reflect God's glory just opened a whole new world for me in understanding worship.
Are you a parent? If not, maybe you've had this said about you, "You look just like your mom/dad." As a parent, after each child was born, I looked intently into their face to see if there was any resemblance of me in them. As they've grown it's become more noticeable that they are definitely a child of mine. There are features we share genetically that proclaim to the world that I'm their parent. It makes me proud. And I'm not sure why.
Do you think God does the same thing toward us? From the moment we're born again through repentance and baptism, do you think God picks us up and looks intently into our newborn souls to see if there's a resemblance? As we grow, do you think He's still looking every so often just to see if there is more of Himself showing up in our features, in our lifestyles, in our thoughts? I think He does. I think it goes even further than simply seeing some similar features. He wants to see His own reflection.
We are so depraved, aren't we? If God made me so He could see Himself in me, if my purpose and reason I was made was to resemble His glory and worship Him, I've failed miserably. So have we all. If it wasn't for Jesus, the Christ of God, who mirrored a perfect reflection of all that He is, and went to the cross for our sins, there'd be no way to even begin living in worship to the glory of God.
God is in the business of redeeming. He's the only One who could take such imperfect failures in purpose and miraculously recreate them to live up to it. With the perfect Man's blood He bought the imperfect men and women to be made perfect for Him.
That requires a response for glory, His glory and not ours. And you know, God can look at us and see a reflection of Himself because of Jesus. We can't see back yet. 1 Corinthians 13 talks about how we see in a cloudy mirror messed up by the affects of sin and death, a poor reflection of what God truly is. But soon, we'll see face to face. Maybe we can't see God directly, but we can reflect His glory as He looks into the little mirrors we are and sees Himself. As Christ cleans us cloudy mirrors with the cleansing soap of His blood, the reflection of God becomes clearer and clearer not only to Himself, but also to the world.
That is love at it's deepest. God redefining our purpose from sin to glory, His glory, our original purpose. And now us loving back.
Lately I've been reading a book on worship by Tozer. He's quite the amazing man of God. It's encouraging to hear words from men who have had an undying pursuit of what God desires. Tozer's example on being a mirror to reflect God's glory just opened a whole new world for me in understanding worship.
Are you a parent? If not, maybe you've had this said about you, "You look just like your mom/dad." As a parent, after each child was born, I looked intently into their face to see if there was any resemblance of me in them. As they've grown it's become more noticeable that they are definitely a child of mine. There are features we share genetically that proclaim to the world that I'm their parent. It makes me proud. And I'm not sure why.
Do you think God does the same thing toward us? From the moment we're born again through repentance and baptism, do you think God picks us up and looks intently into our newborn souls to see if there's a resemblance? As we grow, do you think He's still looking every so often just to see if there is more of Himself showing up in our features, in our lifestyles, in our thoughts? I think He does. I think it goes even further than simply seeing some similar features. He wants to see His own reflection.
We are so depraved, aren't we? If God made me so He could see Himself in me, if my purpose and reason I was made was to resemble His glory and worship Him, I've failed miserably. So have we all. If it wasn't for Jesus, the Christ of God, who mirrored a perfect reflection of all that He is, and went to the cross for our sins, there'd be no way to even begin living in worship to the glory of God.
God is in the business of redeeming. He's the only One who could take such imperfect failures in purpose and miraculously recreate them to live up to it. With the perfect Man's blood He bought the imperfect men and women to be made perfect for Him.
That requires a response for glory, His glory and not ours. And you know, God can look at us and see a reflection of Himself because of Jesus. We can't see back yet. 1 Corinthians 13 talks about how we see in a cloudy mirror messed up by the affects of sin and death, a poor reflection of what God truly is. But soon, we'll see face to face. Maybe we can't see God directly, but we can reflect His glory as He looks into the little mirrors we are and sees Himself. As Christ cleans us cloudy mirrors with the cleansing soap of His blood, the reflection of God becomes clearer and clearer not only to Himself, but also to the world.
That is love at it's deepest. God redefining our purpose from sin to glory, His glory, our original purpose. And now us loving back.
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Sent On A Mission
There's always been something special about being sent on a mission. It makes us feel important. Growing up, we would play like we were soldiers getting order from our commander to perform some crazy task. My kids play the same way. When they watched Toy Story, they had to have to Buzz Lightyear that would perform a secret mission and then "rendezvous with Star Command."
Now that I'm older, the missions have changed to trips to the store for groceries and what not. Sometimes it's for gasoline or sodas from Sonic. It can get more detailed like taking the kids to the restroom and taking out the trash (those two things are not related). One mission that must be completed every day is going to work to earn a paycheck to take care of the family. But the missions have changed with age. Think about some of the missions you have to complete today.
Paul mentioned that he'd been sent on a mission. It's interesting that he uses this kind of language in reference to his ministry. He wrote a letter to the church in Galatia, and in his greeting he stated his position, his rank in the Kingdom of God.
Being seen as God's agent changes the way one would perceive the rest of the letter to the church. Any form of conflict between the praise that truly belongs to God and the praise men seek is squelched when the reader comes to realize that the whole intention of the mission begins and ends with God in mind and nothing else. I mean, do we have any kind of power to raise someone from the dead? Right there gives us a distinction in "rank" in the Kingdom of God.
All this gives me a question to ask myself. If I belong to God too, and am part of His Kingdom now, shouldn't I see my ministry the same way? Shouldn't I see what I do as being sent on a mission for God?
If that's the case, how much of my life is considered "being sent" by Him? Isn't it everything? I wonder...maybe God is actually the One sending me to the grocery store, to take the children to the restroom, to get some coffee, to go to work, to take out the trash, and get sodas from Sonic. Every moment is a moment in which to give glory to God and worship Him. Viewing life like this helps me understand the ministry is everywhere. It's with my kids. It's with in the checkout line. It's with the runner on roller skates. It's with the person behind the cash register. It's with the person behind me honking because I'm taking too long to fill up my tank.
Well, if God is sending me in each of these moments, what is He sending me to do? Check this out.
The mission is with a message of the Christ who can rescue us. Jesus gave us the mission while He was leaving earth. His last words to His disciples as He was being taking into heaven were to go and make more disciples. People should have an opportunity for God to rescue them, not only from His coming wrath, but also from this present evil age.
I don't know about you, but I think this age is evil too. I'm sure the Roman days were filled with evil as well. Some of the forms of their worship to false gods were sick. A lot of it had to do with defiling what God has set apart as holy. They would degrade their bodies and unite them with prostitutes as a form of worship. God never intended that, and we can see throughout Scripture that that form of worship wasn't something He condoned outside of marriage. It's a false worldview. It's not God's worldview, that's for sure.
But our age is evil as well. I think what Paul's talking about is a thought process and way of life. Jesus came to rescue us from that too! To rescue us from a way of thinking and a way of living that is contrary to God. He gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from it, so how can we live in that way ever again? Those rescued from impending evil and doom shouldn't simply turn around and say to the Rescuer, "Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll go ahead and run back toward what will hurt me." It doesn't make sense.
It's time for us to wake up and realize what we're doing and see what God has called us to do instead. Paul knew he was on a mission because God had rescued him. Now he will in turn let others know about that same calling, that same rescuing that's available for all through Jesus! The rest of the letter to the Galatians clearly indicates what kind of lifestyle God would have us live, the kind of mission He is sending us on as agents of the Kingdom of grace. We'll take a look at those things this time around and see what He's rescued us from, the mission He's sending us on, and how He's calling us to live.
Now that I'm older, the missions have changed to trips to the store for groceries and what not. Sometimes it's for gasoline or sodas from Sonic. It can get more detailed like taking the kids to the restroom and taking out the trash (those two things are not related). One mission that must be completed every day is going to work to earn a paycheck to take care of the family. But the missions have changed with age. Think about some of the missions you have to complete today.
Paul mentioned that he'd been sent on a mission. It's interesting that he uses this kind of language in reference to his ministry. He wrote a letter to the church in Galatia, and in his greeting he stated his position, his rank in the Kingdom of God.
Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),Galatians 1:1 (NASB)First off, I recognize just how important his knew his ministry to be. He knew that God had called him to do this and now his responsibility would be to help others see His calling to them as well. But if I take a closer look at it, Paul's also talking about his being sent by God as part of His agency. Nothing of what He's doing has any merit given to man but only to God. Paul's been commission, sent on a mission for a purpose, a calling from someone higher up.
Being seen as God's agent changes the way one would perceive the rest of the letter to the church. Any form of conflict between the praise that truly belongs to God and the praise men seek is squelched when the reader comes to realize that the whole intention of the mission begins and ends with God in mind and nothing else. I mean, do we have any kind of power to raise someone from the dead? Right there gives us a distinction in "rank" in the Kingdom of God.
All this gives me a question to ask myself. If I belong to God too, and am part of His Kingdom now, shouldn't I see my ministry the same way? Shouldn't I see what I do as being sent on a mission for God?
If that's the case, how much of my life is considered "being sent" by Him? Isn't it everything? I wonder...maybe God is actually the One sending me to the grocery store, to take the children to the restroom, to get some coffee, to go to work, to take out the trash, and get sodas from Sonic. Every moment is a moment in which to give glory to God and worship Him. Viewing life like this helps me understand the ministry is everywhere. It's with my kids. It's with in the checkout line. It's with the runner on roller skates. It's with the person behind the cash register. It's with the person behind me honking because I'm taking too long to fill up my tank.
Well, if God is sending me in each of these moments, what is He sending me to do? Check this out.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.Galatians 1:3-4 (NASB)This is the way people used to say "hi" in letters during the days of the early church. Paul was notorious for including the subject of his letter in his greeting. And here I believe he is telling us the content of his letter, his calling, and now helping us to realize that it's the same calling for us.
The mission is with a message of the Christ who can rescue us. Jesus gave us the mission while He was leaving earth. His last words to His disciples as He was being taking into heaven were to go and make more disciples. People should have an opportunity for God to rescue them, not only from His coming wrath, but also from this present evil age.
I don't know about you, but I think this age is evil too. I'm sure the Roman days were filled with evil as well. Some of the forms of their worship to false gods were sick. A lot of it had to do with defiling what God has set apart as holy. They would degrade their bodies and unite them with prostitutes as a form of worship. God never intended that, and we can see throughout Scripture that that form of worship wasn't something He condoned outside of marriage. It's a false worldview. It's not God's worldview, that's for sure.
But our age is evil as well. I think what Paul's talking about is a thought process and way of life. Jesus came to rescue us from that too! To rescue us from a way of thinking and a way of living that is contrary to God. He gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from it, so how can we live in that way ever again? Those rescued from impending evil and doom shouldn't simply turn around and say to the Rescuer, "Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll go ahead and run back toward what will hurt me." It doesn't make sense.
It's time for us to wake up and realize what we're doing and see what God has called us to do instead. Paul knew he was on a mission because God had rescued him. Now he will in turn let others know about that same calling, that same rescuing that's available for all through Jesus! The rest of the letter to the Galatians clearly indicates what kind of lifestyle God would have us live, the kind of mission He is sending us on as agents of the Kingdom of grace. We'll take a look at those things this time around and see what He's rescued us from, the mission He's sending us on, and how He's calling us to live.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Be Prepared
This makes me think of that song from Disney's The Lion King. That crazy uncle Scar sang it to all his hyena friends, the traitor. But there's a message from that song we can take, in a way. It's kind of a stretch to say so, but in his preparation to successfully take over the kingdom from his brother, he was getting them ready for the job to be done and what his evil reign would look like.
It makes me wonder...are we prepared for the true King and His righteous reign? Better yet, are we prepared to help get others prepared for it? It'd be nice to know when the King is coming. But since we don't, and it could be any day, shouldn't it bring about some kind of urgency to prepare the unbelieving so they will begin to believe? Shouldn't we feel a burning desire within us to prepare for the coming of the King of kings ourselves as well as prepare others?
Still in 2 Timothy. But I've reached the final chapter (4) and have come to the conclusion of the letter. These are Paul's last words to Timothy in writing. Winter is coming and Paul left his coat in some other city. In spite of the urgency of his need for warmth, there's a recognition of his end drawing near. His last charge come deep within, from all his conviction and all his reasons for his ministry comes the charge to preach. Let them know. Give them Truth. Preach the Word. And be ready.
Many of us understand that this mentor's instructions are meant for the young preacher. But Paul speaks to all of us in some way through this verse. Our lives should proclaim the message of grace to those around us. If you're a parent, you should be training your children in Christ to know Him. If you're a teacher or leader, you also have a responsibility to train others to know God. So the rest of verse 2 can apply to us as well.
Be ready. Prepare. Not only ready when you need to be, but also when there's nothing else going on. Be ready.
How can God entrust something to us if we're not ready for it?
Have you every prayed to God asking for an opportunity to share your faith with someone? Have you asked Him to give you strength to do the right thing? God does give us opportunity. Someone shows up in our lives sometime, one who desperately needs shown the love of God through us. For some reason, we back down or are completely oblivious to it. When we ask God for strength, He gives us opportunity to rely on His strength. But do we notice it? I believe we've all become accustomed to what we do, our culture, and the way things work. And hence, we miss the opportunity. We blaze right by it because we're not used to God's power being at work. We don't notice it, especially in our speech. We use words carelessly and justify it by labeling it sarcasm. I'm asking myself just as much as I am you, how can God use you in that? How can we possibly be His useful tool for His Kingdom the way we truly desire to be used by Him if that's a part of our lives, if He's not the whole of our lives?
Everything in 2 Timothy leads up to this point. Everything Paul spent time writing to Him about sticking to the Word, being grounded in it and proclaiming it and handling it rightly, hanging in there when it's difficult, believing God to be true to His Word, and becoming that useful vessel to God all lead up to this charge. Preach the Word. Be prepared to do it.
This requires work, which a lot of us just don't want to do. We hire people and bring people to church to do the work for us. We don't have all the answers, we know it, and pride ourselves in it so we won't have to search for anything ourselves. We're timid. And I think that if we're not prepared to share, we truly don't know God very well at all. Then we end up moving on toward something else, things we like rather than things that are true. If we're not prepared to share, it's because our relationship with God isn't very deep. The true God-worshiper seeks Him and is ready. (I sure have a long way to go in my relationship with Him.)
Then we get back to those things I mentioned earlier. If we're not truly seeking God and developing our relationship to begin with, God won't entrust us with the keys to the Kingdom. People won't listen because they have no reason to. If we're not prepared in this way, what else should we expect? It's the same with everything. If she's not prepared for the job, she won't get it. If he's not prepared to teach the class, no one will pay attention and he'll even feel like a failure. If he's not prepared to mature a little, he won't receive any responsibility because he won't be able to handle. If we're not prepare to share the gospel, why would God give us the opportunity?
And yet He does anyway! It helps us prepare. All it takes in one question. But we must ask ourselves this: Do I want it? Underneath this question is one that runs much deeper: Do I want God?
It's easy for us to listen to things we like. We get in the car and turn on the radio and begin listening to our favorite style of music. When we sit down in front of the television, we turn on the shows we that fit our taste. When we make our suppers we usually fix something that will dance around on our tastebuds with pleasure. When it comes to faith, because God gives us a choice in choosing Him or not, it's easy to let go of God and His Truth and grab on to something that sounds easier or "better" than what He offers. Sometimes His Word doesn't tickle our ears very much, but rather stings it like a bee flying around. The difference is truth versus untruth, salvation versus judgment, joy versus fleeting happiness, and comfort versus unending sorrow.
When we get to a point where we no longer view it necessary to prepare to share, we get to a dangerous place of finding people who claim to preach the Word, but spread falsehood instead. It feels good to hear. We want to hear that God wants us to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. We want to hear that His blessings are financial. We want to hear that God gives us a checklist of things to do on how to be a better person if we look in His Word and find out. But none of those things are entirely true. It'd be nice, but those are twisted truths that tickle our ears.
Be prepared. Be ready. Start with seeking Him so you know. Paul tells Timothy to be sober in all things. It's easier to remain sober when we're not drinking the alcoholic teachings of the world. Sure, the buzz feels good, and it may be fun for a time, but there'll be a price to pay in the end.
Let me share verses 6-8 with you. Take comfort in this:
It makes me wonder...are we prepared for the true King and His righteous reign? Better yet, are we prepared to help get others prepared for it? It'd be nice to know when the King is coming. But since we don't, and it could be any day, shouldn't it bring about some kind of urgency to prepare the unbelieving so they will begin to believe? Shouldn't we feel a burning desire within us to prepare for the coming of the King of kings ourselves as well as prepare others?
Still in 2 Timothy. But I've reached the final chapter (4) and have come to the conclusion of the letter. These are Paul's last words to Timothy in writing. Winter is coming and Paul left his coat in some other city. In spite of the urgency of his need for warmth, there's a recognition of his end drawing near. His last charge come deep within, from all his conviction and all his reasons for his ministry comes the charge to preach. Let them know. Give them Truth. Preach the Word. And be ready.
Many of us understand that this mentor's instructions are meant for the young preacher. But Paul speaks to all of us in some way through this verse. Our lives should proclaim the message of grace to those around us. If you're a parent, you should be training your children in Christ to know Him. If you're a teacher or leader, you also have a responsibility to train others to know God. So the rest of verse 2 can apply to us as well.
Be ready. Prepare. Not only ready when you need to be, but also when there's nothing else going on. Be ready.
How can God entrust something to us if we're not ready for it?
Have you every prayed to God asking for an opportunity to share your faith with someone? Have you asked Him to give you strength to do the right thing? God does give us opportunity. Someone shows up in our lives sometime, one who desperately needs shown the love of God through us. For some reason, we back down or are completely oblivious to it. When we ask God for strength, He gives us opportunity to rely on His strength. But do we notice it? I believe we've all become accustomed to what we do, our culture, and the way things work. And hence, we miss the opportunity. We blaze right by it because we're not used to God's power being at work. We don't notice it, especially in our speech. We use words carelessly and justify it by labeling it sarcasm. I'm asking myself just as much as I am you, how can God use you in that? How can we possibly be His useful tool for His Kingdom the way we truly desire to be used by Him if that's a part of our lives, if He's not the whole of our lives?
Everything in 2 Timothy leads up to this point. Everything Paul spent time writing to Him about sticking to the Word, being grounded in it and proclaiming it and handling it rightly, hanging in there when it's difficult, believing God to be true to His Word, and becoming that useful vessel to God all lead up to this charge. Preach the Word. Be prepared to do it.
This requires work, which a lot of us just don't want to do. We hire people and bring people to church to do the work for us. We don't have all the answers, we know it, and pride ourselves in it so we won't have to search for anything ourselves. We're timid. And I think that if we're not prepared to share, we truly don't know God very well at all. Then we end up moving on toward something else, things we like rather than things that are true. If we're not prepared to share, it's because our relationship with God isn't very deep. The true God-worshiper seeks Him and is ready. (I sure have a long way to go in my relationship with Him.)
Then we get back to those things I mentioned earlier. If we're not truly seeking God and developing our relationship to begin with, God won't entrust us with the keys to the Kingdom. People won't listen because they have no reason to. If we're not prepared in this way, what else should we expect? It's the same with everything. If she's not prepared for the job, she won't get it. If he's not prepared to teach the class, no one will pay attention and he'll even feel like a failure. If he's not prepared to mature a little, he won't receive any responsibility because he won't be able to handle. If we're not prepare to share the gospel, why would God give us the opportunity?
And yet He does anyway! It helps us prepare. All it takes in one question. But we must ask ourselves this: Do I want it? Underneath this question is one that runs much deeper: Do I want God?
It's easy for us to listen to things we like. We get in the car and turn on the radio and begin listening to our favorite style of music. When we sit down in front of the television, we turn on the shows we that fit our taste. When we make our suppers we usually fix something that will dance around on our tastebuds with pleasure. When it comes to faith, because God gives us a choice in choosing Him or not, it's easy to let go of God and His Truth and grab on to something that sounds easier or "better" than what He offers. Sometimes His Word doesn't tickle our ears very much, but rather stings it like a bee flying around. The difference is truth versus untruth, salvation versus judgment, joy versus fleeting happiness, and comfort versus unending sorrow.
When we get to a point where we no longer view it necessary to prepare to share, we get to a dangerous place of finding people who claim to preach the Word, but spread falsehood instead. It feels good to hear. We want to hear that God wants us to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. We want to hear that His blessings are financial. We want to hear that God gives us a checklist of things to do on how to be a better person if we look in His Word and find out. But none of those things are entirely true. It'd be nice, but those are twisted truths that tickle our ears.
Be prepared. Be ready. Start with seeking Him so you know. Paul tells Timothy to be sober in all things. It's easier to remain sober when we're not drinking the alcoholic teachings of the world. Sure, the buzz feels good, and it may be fun for a time, but there'll be a price to pay in the end.
Let me share verses 6-8 with you. Take comfort in this:
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NASB)
Monday, June 11, 2012
Difficult Times Will Come
Moving on to chapter 3 in 2 Timothy. It's a continuation of everything else that moves Timothy into an understanding that it's not going to be easy to convince people to pursue the things of God rather than the things of the world, youthful lusts.
Paul begins prefaces the list of things men will do with an interesting statement: "in the last days difficult times will come." It makes me wonder about what kind of "last days" he's talking about. End times? Our last days? Are we in the last days?
I think the last question carries the most merit. For when I read the list of things men will do, I see a description of myself, a description of today. It's kind of scary to read. It cuts to the heart of what I've made faith to be in my life instead of allowing God to develop my faith toward Him. See if a description of yourself comes out of the passage.
In our culture, we've become lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. I know I have. There are moments I sacrifice what God desires of me for a moment for myself. Not all pleasure is bad. God made all things to be enjoyed, but not at the expense of Him. This cuts me to the heart. I can hear Him calling my name, asking me quietly, "How about a moment of just you and Me? I have something I want to share with you." But it's so much easier to say, "When I go to bed or in the morning. It can wait. Right now I want to watch my show." And that's when I see that I love pleasure over God. I'm beginning to feel like throwing up.
There's another section right next to it that haunts me: "holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power." Ugh! What does the power of godliness look like? Do I not know? I fear that I don't! But it's not that I might not know, it's that I deny it's power of having any influence in my life! There's no credit given to godliness and the power it holds to destroy a worldly life! And maybe that's why Paul put things in that order. With God being second-rate to my pleasure, what kind of power is godliness even given? None.
With these things in mind and beginning with myself, that's when I turn faith into an area of manipulation. Maybe I don't go into people's homes and captivate them, but maybe I do with this blog. If I'm not coming to a knowledge of the truth by actively allowing God to cut away the things this world has tied me down with, then my motives don't ever become pure, my heart isn't genuine, and my love is a face that I put on to cover up what's burning deep within. I think I've got that feeling coming back again in my stomach.
Is it possible to live a life of complete godliness? Does the knowledge of the truth have a chance in my life to bring me to maturity in Christ?
There's a way.
It's never easy to be persecuted for following Jesus. But if we expect it and know that it will come, it's a way to know we are really following Him. "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (verse 12)
There's something else that sticks out to me a little later on toward the end of the chapter. Godliness comes with training. And for the training, there's a manual directly from the mouth of God. And those things that I once was don't define who Christ has made me to be today if I continue in what I've learned.
This post sounds so depressing. But following Christ isn't always easy. It's difficult when He starts cutting away at you to get more of Him living in you. I don't think He'll stop until there's nothing of us left and it's all Him. But God has given us something to equip us for this life. He is the One who makes us adequate for the work He's prepared for us to do.
It's all in His Word. It's all done through Scripture. The power that works within us to produce godly lives is found in His Word. Take a look and see. Learn to love it and use it. This is what God has given us to see what He desires of us. This is what points out the areas that need to be trimmed from our life to allow more of God in. And, yes, it's difficult. But now we can expect it.
Paul is also talking about Timothy's evangelism. He's encouraging him to hang in there, to remember what he's learned, how it's been passed on to him, that the conviction is something that runs deep, and that the conviction should lead him to continue on. Sure it's difficult to have God chip away at what's left of the "us" in our hearts. But training people to see God for who He is what He longs for us is also difficult when most believe the lies of the world. However, the power of the Word of God brings godliness even to those in whom we least expect.
It's time to stop denying. It's time to remember and know. Continue.
Paul begins prefaces the list of things men will do with an interesting statement: "in the last days difficult times will come." It makes me wonder about what kind of "last days" he's talking about. End times? Our last days? Are we in the last days?
I think the last question carries the most merit. For when I read the list of things men will do, I see a description of myself, a description of today. It's kind of scary to read. It cuts to the heart of what I've made faith to be in my life instead of allowing God to develop my faith toward Him. See if a description of yourself comes out of the passage.
For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 3:2-7 (NASB)Really, we don't have to look very far to see prime examples of this. But the stuff that sticks out me are those things that I constantly struggle with. Every day it's important to ask for God's grace to be upon us that He would give us the strength to overcome, especially since He already has.
In our culture, we've become lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. I know I have. There are moments I sacrifice what God desires of me for a moment for myself. Not all pleasure is bad. God made all things to be enjoyed, but not at the expense of Him. This cuts me to the heart. I can hear Him calling my name, asking me quietly, "How about a moment of just you and Me? I have something I want to share with you." But it's so much easier to say, "When I go to bed or in the morning. It can wait. Right now I want to watch my show." And that's when I see that I love pleasure over God. I'm beginning to feel like throwing up.
There's another section right next to it that haunts me: "holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power." Ugh! What does the power of godliness look like? Do I not know? I fear that I don't! But it's not that I might not know, it's that I deny it's power of having any influence in my life! There's no credit given to godliness and the power it holds to destroy a worldly life! And maybe that's why Paul put things in that order. With God being second-rate to my pleasure, what kind of power is godliness even given? None.
With these things in mind and beginning with myself, that's when I turn faith into an area of manipulation. Maybe I don't go into people's homes and captivate them, but maybe I do with this blog. If I'm not coming to a knowledge of the truth by actively allowing God to cut away the things this world has tied me down with, then my motives don't ever become pure, my heart isn't genuine, and my love is a face that I put on to cover up what's burning deep within. I think I've got that feeling coming back again in my stomach.
Is it possible to live a life of complete godliness? Does the knowledge of the truth have a chance in my life to bring me to maturity in Christ?
There's a way.
It's never easy to be persecuted for following Jesus. But if we expect it and know that it will come, it's a way to know we are really following Him. "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (verse 12)
There's something else that sticks out to me a little later on toward the end of the chapter. Godliness comes with training. And for the training, there's a manual directly from the mouth of God. And those things that I once was don't define who Christ has made me to be today if I continue in what I've learned.
This post sounds so depressing. But following Christ isn't always easy. It's difficult when He starts cutting away at you to get more of Him living in you. I don't think He'll stop until there's nothing of us left and it's all Him. But God has given us something to equip us for this life. He is the One who makes us adequate for the work He's prepared for us to do.
It's all in His Word. It's all done through Scripture. The power that works within us to produce godly lives is found in His Word. Take a look and see. Learn to love it and use it. This is what God has given us to see what He desires of us. This is what points out the areas that need to be trimmed from our life to allow more of God in. And, yes, it's difficult. But now we can expect it.
Paul is also talking about Timothy's evangelism. He's encouraging him to hang in there, to remember what he's learned, how it's been passed on to him, that the conviction is something that runs deep, and that the conviction should lead him to continue on. Sure it's difficult to have God chip away at what's left of the "us" in our hearts. But training people to see God for who He is what He longs for us is also difficult when most believe the lies of the world. However, the power of the Word of God brings godliness even to those in whom we least expect.
It's time to stop denying. It's time to remember and know. Continue.
Thursday, June 07, 2012
A Useful Vessel Part 2
This is a continuation of yesterday's post. It was getting pretty long so I decided to cut it in half. And there was a lot to take in yesterday too. Here's the passage I'm going through again:
We are all slaves to something. Unfortunately, we are slaves to things we think we need to have. We can tell what we serve by looking at our time. The more time we spend with something, the more we wrap our lives around it. We serve it. We buy things to enhance it and our experience with it.
Television is a great example. Let's move from the classic tube set to the flat-screen, hi-def, LED, 3D TV and think I've got it all. But you know what would make it better? A blu ray player and satellite dish. But I can't just get the regular satellite, I need the hi-def package that includes all the channels, most of which I'll never watch. That way I can make the most out of the HD TV I just got. And you know what will make it even better? Surround sound! That way my 240HRZ 3D HD LED TV will make me feel like I'm actually there in the movie! Hang on a sec! Is that a bump in my TV chair??? Replace with a sectional, complete with cup holders and a small fold out table in the middle. That will really help me so I won't have to sit next to the sweaty guys I'm going to invite over to watch sports with me. Speaking of guys coming over, this whole experience would be so much better if I had a wet bar in the basement so I won't have to get up and walk all the way upstairs to the kitchen to get a...
See what I'm saying? It's easy to do the same thing with clothes, gardens, landscaping, houses, cars, and appearances. We become servants to them, bound to most of it even in debt. We don't own any of those things until they're all paid completely off. But we got a good deal on financing. That decision, however, has made us slaves to it. We've built a "bigger barn" to house all our junk. Then we spend time with it, caring for it, loving it, and we worship it by spending absorbent amounts of time with it. It consumes our thoughts, attitudes, hearts, and wallet.
Aren't even those things included in the "youthful lusts" we talked about yesterday? Ultimately find that youthful lusts keep us from becoming a bond-servant to God because we've tied ourselves to all these other things we thought were something we wanted. And now we're back to the pure heart thing. God desires us more than we realize. Maybe these things that we're running after to bring us happiness or some sort of self-fulfillment, the attitude we have toward the pursuit of these things needs to be the same toward God. But the only way to get there is to flee this stuff and pursue His stuff. So what is it that consumes us? What consumes me and what consumes you?
This is turning out to be a lot deeper than I realized. The picture of a bond-servant to God runs deep, and in order grasp the rest of the passage, we have to think with that type of mindset. Our relationship with God begins with knowing and understanding that He knows what's best for us, and I'm powerless to take care of things on my own. Thus a complete trust and reliance upon Him as our Master.
With a mind focused on the Lord, we are not to be quarrelsome, but kind to all. All means everyone. You know who popped into your head. That guy will work for the example himself.
Another thing is that God expects us to teach and train others in the Way. A good bond-servant knows what his master requires of him and helps and teaches those who don't know what's required.
We're to be patient when we're wronged. How often are we wronged in traffic? How often does someone at work push our buttons to set off the fuse of wrath within us? Even God teaches us to slow down and count to 10 before we respond when we're wronged. If we truly desire to be the bond-servant used to the fullest potential, we must always remember that our anger won't bring about the righteous life God desires. Think of it from God's perspective instead of our own. I'll get to that in a little bit.
We're to correct those in opposition with gentleness. Easier said than done, of course. In the heat of the moment it's always easy to be harsher than we'd like to be because we'd rather have the result we've been looking for. We want obedience from our kids. Gentle correction is out of the picture when they don't do what they're told immediately. It's frustrating. But if we tell them to wait on us because we're preoccupied, should they expect anything different from us? Aren't we supposed to treat others the way we want to be treated? Maybe the gentle correction comes from a desire to understand and then relay our desire afterward. What ends up happening in gentle correction is the development and nurturing of a relationship. God is this way with us. The only difference is that He already understands where we're coming from. We just need to learn to trust Him.
We do all those things to lead to this: God may grant them repentance and their eyes may be opened to the knowledge of the truth! They could get out of the trap they're in! The selfish pride that brought the fall of Satan is what's holding them back from seeing the truth! Their rescue begins with a pure heart demonstrated by us!!! The truth is, they're lost. Even if God has set them free, if their heart isn't pure and seeking God, they're still in need of more of Him and they are lost too.
From a personal standpoint, I wonder if when I fail at a pure heart, that I'm doing the will of the devil. This brings a shiver to my spine and tears to my eyes. I know that if I'm not pursuing the things of God, I'm pursuing something else. A youthful lust. This shows me how much I have to grow yet and how much more God needs to take from me to make me His bond-servant. But those of us who are mature must be doing this to help those who aren't, to rescue them, to untangle them from the snare of the devil.
God, grant me repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth! Help me come to my senses in my life about what's important to You.
Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
2 Timothy 2:20-26 (NASB)We discussed briefly on being made useful for God. It takes a pure heart and fleeing from youthful lusts to pursue the things of God. I left you with the description of what a bond-servant (also bond-slave) is according to the Bible, and how the picture Paul created for becoming a useful vessel to God begins with that kind of mindset.
We are all slaves to something. Unfortunately, we are slaves to things we think we need to have. We can tell what we serve by looking at our time. The more time we spend with something, the more we wrap our lives around it. We serve it. We buy things to enhance it and our experience with it.
Television is a great example. Let's move from the classic tube set to the flat-screen, hi-def, LED, 3D TV and think I've got it all. But you know what would make it better? A blu ray player and satellite dish. But I can't just get the regular satellite, I need the hi-def package that includes all the channels, most of which I'll never watch. That way I can make the most out of the HD TV I just got. And you know what will make it even better? Surround sound! That way my 240HRZ 3D HD LED TV will make me feel like I'm actually there in the movie! Hang on a sec! Is that a bump in my TV chair??? Replace with a sectional, complete with cup holders and a small fold out table in the middle. That will really help me so I won't have to sit next to the sweaty guys I'm going to invite over to watch sports with me. Speaking of guys coming over, this whole experience would be so much better if I had a wet bar in the basement so I won't have to get up and walk all the way upstairs to the kitchen to get a...
See what I'm saying? It's easy to do the same thing with clothes, gardens, landscaping, houses, cars, and appearances. We become servants to them, bound to most of it even in debt. We don't own any of those things until they're all paid completely off. But we got a good deal on financing. That decision, however, has made us slaves to it. We've built a "bigger barn" to house all our junk. Then we spend time with it, caring for it, loving it, and we worship it by spending absorbent amounts of time with it. It consumes our thoughts, attitudes, hearts, and wallet.
Aren't even those things included in the "youthful lusts" we talked about yesterday? Ultimately find that youthful lusts keep us from becoming a bond-servant to God because we've tied ourselves to all these other things we thought were something we wanted. And now we're back to the pure heart thing. God desires us more than we realize. Maybe these things that we're running after to bring us happiness or some sort of self-fulfillment, the attitude we have toward the pursuit of these things needs to be the same toward God. But the only way to get there is to flee this stuff and pursue His stuff. So what is it that consumes us? What consumes me and what consumes you?
This is turning out to be a lot deeper than I realized. The picture of a bond-servant to God runs deep, and in order grasp the rest of the passage, we have to think with that type of mindset. Our relationship with God begins with knowing and understanding that He knows what's best for us, and I'm powerless to take care of things on my own. Thus a complete trust and reliance upon Him as our Master.
With a mind focused on the Lord, we are not to be quarrelsome, but kind to all. All means everyone. You know who popped into your head. That guy will work for the example himself.
Another thing is that God expects us to teach and train others in the Way. A good bond-servant knows what his master requires of him and helps and teaches those who don't know what's required.
We're to be patient when we're wronged. How often are we wronged in traffic? How often does someone at work push our buttons to set off the fuse of wrath within us? Even God teaches us to slow down and count to 10 before we respond when we're wronged. If we truly desire to be the bond-servant used to the fullest potential, we must always remember that our anger won't bring about the righteous life God desires. Think of it from God's perspective instead of our own. I'll get to that in a little bit.
We're to correct those in opposition with gentleness. Easier said than done, of course. In the heat of the moment it's always easy to be harsher than we'd like to be because we'd rather have the result we've been looking for. We want obedience from our kids. Gentle correction is out of the picture when they don't do what they're told immediately. It's frustrating. But if we tell them to wait on us because we're preoccupied, should they expect anything different from us? Aren't we supposed to treat others the way we want to be treated? Maybe the gentle correction comes from a desire to understand and then relay our desire afterward. What ends up happening in gentle correction is the development and nurturing of a relationship. God is this way with us. The only difference is that He already understands where we're coming from. We just need to learn to trust Him.
We do all those things to lead to this: God may grant them repentance and their eyes may be opened to the knowledge of the truth! They could get out of the trap they're in! The selfish pride that brought the fall of Satan is what's holding them back from seeing the truth! Their rescue begins with a pure heart demonstrated by us!!! The truth is, they're lost. Even if God has set them free, if their heart isn't pure and seeking God, they're still in need of more of Him and they are lost too.
From a personal standpoint, I wonder if when I fail at a pure heart, that I'm doing the will of the devil. This brings a shiver to my spine and tears to my eyes. I know that if I'm not pursuing the things of God, I'm pursuing something else. A youthful lust. This shows me how much I have to grow yet and how much more God needs to take from me to make me His bond-servant. But those of us who are mature must be doing this to help those who aren't, to rescue them, to untangle them from the snare of the devil.
God, grant me repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth! Help me come to my senses in my life about what's important to You.
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
A Useful Vessel
Interesting title, but appropriate.
I'm still in 2 Timothy 2. It's been awhile since I've posted anything, but this just took some time to grasp for me. I've been trying to apply it to my life and have been watching it slowly take over and create a newer lifestyle. It's like getting the long-awaited update to the software that runs my being. But I'm using dial-up instead of something faster, so it takes a while for it to download and install.
God has so many good things in store for His people if we would just stop filling ourselves with trash and dirt from the world. Sure, we will get dirty from use, but we must first be cleaned from the inside or we spend too much time in the sink and won't get used again. I don't like eating using dirty dishes and uncleaned silverware. Imagine how God feels when He's cleaned us but we've put in stuff that makes us un-useful to Him.
For a longer time, I couldn't figure out what the "these things" meant either. But part of the sanctification comes on our end too. God makes us holy, but living in a world corrupted by sin requires us to work at abstaining from it. Those things that made us "dirty" before are things we must now stay away from, cleanse our lives from in order to be useful to God.
"These things" I believe are youthful lusts. All of us have things we seek after. All of us have something that constantly pulls and tugs at us to get us away from following God to where He wants to lead us. Unfortunately, maybe those things will never completely go away. Even if they don't, we can flee from them. The idea is to run away from them as quickly as you can, with all your might, all the strength in your legs, moving faster and faster as you pick up the pace to get farther and farther away. That's what it's supposed to look like. Flee from youthful lusts.
I was reading in a the book "Real Marriage" by Mark and Grace Driscoll about the development of a male in our culture. There used to be two seasons of life: boyhood and manhood. Now there are three: boyhood, adolescence, and manhood. The sad truth is that adolescence is a state of mind that excuses irresponsibility because they're young or don't know any better. I don't think that's a right way to think of the development of a man. I agree with Mark. If we include adolescence in our growth, we have a much smaller chance of getting to manhood, of growing up and making something of our lives, or making a difference in the world. Including adolescence makes it easier to keep responsibility out of the picture and mooch off others who are responsible. And that way of life is very hard to get out of if it goes excused from the mature.
I think youthful lusts equals adolescence. For example, I want it so I get it. I don't want to work so I'll take an easier way. I don't like it so I'll get rid of it. It doesn't matter to me how you feel, I've already made up my mind. If you make me mad, I'm not your friend anymore. I don't like it when I'm wrong or don't get my way, so I'll throw a fit.
Notice the trend? I don't know about you, but those kinds of people drive me crazy. They're completely selfish, unable to think of others, and refuse to get their hands dirty. If they're hands do get dirty, the tend to complain about what it costed them or brag about their accomplishment as if it were only they who made it happen, as if only they were the ones who contributed. I can't stand to work with them and I don't invite them to serve with me.
Here's the question that brought conviction and caused me to think: Am I that way with God? My "youthful lusts" may look like something different, but they're still there. My life is in the world, and the world tugs and pulls at my heart to get me to think only about here, only about things that will make me happy or succeed here. God's mind is elsewhere, it's eternal, and He longs for me to be there too. But do I treat God's commands that way? Do I throw away what I don't like to keep my comfort? Is comfort what I'm really looking for or is it God?
In fleeing youthful lusts, He tells me to pursue something else. I'm running away from something and running toward something else. In my haste to leave behind what holds me back from being fully useful to the Master, I'm desperately pursuing righteousness, faith, love and peace.
There's a key to the pursuit: A pure heart. How often to the things I pursue, the things I ask of God come from a pure heart, motives that come deep within from a desire for more of God instead of more for myself? The only way to be successful in pursuing the things of God is to begin with a pure heart. It's not about me, it's about Him. It's not for my benefit, it's all for His. I'm just the vessel, He's the owner. A pure heart is what makes us useful to Him.
The lesson for a leader goes much deeper. I believe all of us are leaders in some form. Someone is watching us to see how we'll respond and how we'll handle the situation. Those are our moments to lead by example.
I remember in Bible college students would spend time debating through the night terminology over words in the Bible. One argument that lasted for days was about baptism and what the Bible says about it. I'm going to go into detail because it was ridiculous. At the very least, Jesus commanded us to baptize before He physically left earth to go into heaven and sit at God's right hand. So do it and teach it. The things is, they had no idea what they were talking about. Their understanding of the scripture was limited. Most of the debates weren't even over scripture they did understand, but over speculations about what they believed and were taught grown up. It divided friends.
Remember those people who predicted the coming of Jesus? Again, a total speculation from ignorance because Jesus said that only the Father knows, not even Jesus knows when He's coming back. Those things are the things to refuse because it does produce quarrels.
Paul does tell us what we are to look like though. I'll go over it tomorrow. This post is really long. But before I finish, I'd like to leave one more thought with you about what the heart of a follower of God looks like.
"But the Lord's bond-servant (or bond-slave)." Wow! What a picture for a leader to take in! In the Old Testament, a bond-slave was a former slave having been freed from his master because his service was up or his debt had been paid. But the former slave would realize his situation as something like this: "My master knows what's best for me and my family better than I do myself. I need to stay with him because he will take care of me and I'm powerless to do so." The master would then take an all (a small nail) and pierce the former slave's ear with it by nailing it to the door of the house. Thus the former slave would choose to remain a slave for the rest of his life and never be set free again.
That's the attitude we need to have as leaders in God's church, as leaders in our homes and communities. Complete surrender to the Master knowing that His way is better than mine, I'm powerless to take care of myself and my family, and He knows what's best for me and will take care of me. Thus we should choose to be a slave to a new Master, to God for the rest of our lives and never be set free from Him.
I'm still in 2 Timothy 2. It's been awhile since I've posted anything, but this just took some time to grasp for me. I've been trying to apply it to my life and have been watching it slowly take over and create a newer lifestyle. It's like getting the long-awaited update to the software that runs my being. But I'm using dial-up instead of something faster, so it takes a while for it to download and install.
Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.This passage cut so deep I had to memorize it and begin applying it to everyday life. This past week I talked with our Worship Department about this passage, and I think I'm finally getting to a place to understand what the first few verse of the passage mean with the rest of it.2 Timothy 2:20-26 (NASB)
God has so many good things in store for His people if we would just stop filling ourselves with trash and dirt from the world. Sure, we will get dirty from use, but we must first be cleaned from the inside or we spend too much time in the sink and won't get used again. I don't like eating using dirty dishes and uncleaned silverware. Imagine how God feels when He's cleaned us but we've put in stuff that makes us un-useful to Him.
For a longer time, I couldn't figure out what the "these things" meant either. But part of the sanctification comes on our end too. God makes us holy, but living in a world corrupted by sin requires us to work at abstaining from it. Those things that made us "dirty" before are things we must now stay away from, cleanse our lives from in order to be useful to God.
"These things" I believe are youthful lusts. All of us have things we seek after. All of us have something that constantly pulls and tugs at us to get us away from following God to where He wants to lead us. Unfortunately, maybe those things will never completely go away. Even if they don't, we can flee from them. The idea is to run away from them as quickly as you can, with all your might, all the strength in your legs, moving faster and faster as you pick up the pace to get farther and farther away. That's what it's supposed to look like. Flee from youthful lusts.
I was reading in a the book "Real Marriage" by Mark and Grace Driscoll about the development of a male in our culture. There used to be two seasons of life: boyhood and manhood. Now there are three: boyhood, adolescence, and manhood. The sad truth is that adolescence is a state of mind that excuses irresponsibility because they're young or don't know any better. I don't think that's a right way to think of the development of a man. I agree with Mark. If we include adolescence in our growth, we have a much smaller chance of getting to manhood, of growing up and making something of our lives, or making a difference in the world. Including adolescence makes it easier to keep responsibility out of the picture and mooch off others who are responsible. And that way of life is very hard to get out of if it goes excused from the mature.
I think youthful lusts equals adolescence. For example, I want it so I get it. I don't want to work so I'll take an easier way. I don't like it so I'll get rid of it. It doesn't matter to me how you feel, I've already made up my mind. If you make me mad, I'm not your friend anymore. I don't like it when I'm wrong or don't get my way, so I'll throw a fit.
Notice the trend? I don't know about you, but those kinds of people drive me crazy. They're completely selfish, unable to think of others, and refuse to get their hands dirty. If they're hands do get dirty, the tend to complain about what it costed them or brag about their accomplishment as if it were only they who made it happen, as if only they were the ones who contributed. I can't stand to work with them and I don't invite them to serve with me.
Here's the question that brought conviction and caused me to think: Am I that way with God? My "youthful lusts" may look like something different, but they're still there. My life is in the world, and the world tugs and pulls at my heart to get me to think only about here, only about things that will make me happy or succeed here. God's mind is elsewhere, it's eternal, and He longs for me to be there too. But do I treat God's commands that way? Do I throw away what I don't like to keep my comfort? Is comfort what I'm really looking for or is it God?
In fleeing youthful lusts, He tells me to pursue something else. I'm running away from something and running toward something else. In my haste to leave behind what holds me back from being fully useful to the Master, I'm desperately pursuing righteousness, faith, love and peace.
There's a key to the pursuit: A pure heart. How often to the things I pursue, the things I ask of God come from a pure heart, motives that come deep within from a desire for more of God instead of more for myself? The only way to be successful in pursuing the things of God is to begin with a pure heart. It's not about me, it's about Him. It's not for my benefit, it's all for His. I'm just the vessel, He's the owner. A pure heart is what makes us useful to Him.
The lesson for a leader goes much deeper. I believe all of us are leaders in some form. Someone is watching us to see how we'll respond and how we'll handle the situation. Those are our moments to lead by example.
I remember in Bible college students would spend time debating through the night terminology over words in the Bible. One argument that lasted for days was about baptism and what the Bible says about it. I'm going to go into detail because it was ridiculous. At the very least, Jesus commanded us to baptize before He physically left earth to go into heaven and sit at God's right hand. So do it and teach it. The things is, they had no idea what they were talking about. Their understanding of the scripture was limited. Most of the debates weren't even over scripture they did understand, but over speculations about what they believed and were taught grown up. It divided friends.
Remember those people who predicted the coming of Jesus? Again, a total speculation from ignorance because Jesus said that only the Father knows, not even Jesus knows when He's coming back. Those things are the things to refuse because it does produce quarrels.
Paul does tell us what we are to look like though. I'll go over it tomorrow. This post is really long. But before I finish, I'd like to leave one more thought with you about what the heart of a follower of God looks like.
"But the Lord's bond-servant (or bond-slave)." Wow! What a picture for a leader to take in! In the Old Testament, a bond-slave was a former slave having been freed from his master because his service was up or his debt had been paid. But the former slave would realize his situation as something like this: "My master knows what's best for me and my family better than I do myself. I need to stay with him because he will take care of me and I'm powerless to do so." The master would then take an all (a small nail) and pierce the former slave's ear with it by nailing it to the door of the house. Thus the former slave would choose to remain a slave for the rest of his life and never be set free again.
That's the attitude we need to have as leaders in God's church, as leaders in our homes and communities. Complete surrender to the Master knowing that His way is better than mine, I'm powerless to take care of myself and my family, and He knows what's best for me and will take care of me. Thus we should choose to be a slave to a new Master, to God for the rest of our lives and never be set free from Him.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Approved
Remember when you got your first loan? Were you able to get it? I wasn't. I had to have a co-signer. Then I remember the day that I finally got approved. Now I'm wishing I'd had better sense not to get a loan. But there was something great about getting approved. It was a feeling of, "I've arrived," or, "I'm an adult." I know it's weird but that's what it felt like. The same thing is true of being approved for a job.
Approval doesn't come until we've met all the requirements.
My parents were some that I've sought approval from. Many relationships have thrived or been crushed by seeking for approval. There were many times I've chosen to seek approval from people that caused me to compromise standards and principles I was raised with. So now that I'm older, what or whose approval am I seeking?
I'm still in 2 Timothy 2. It's been awhile since I've posted anything so I've been reading this section over and over again trying to understand it fully. I've looked in to some commentaries to see if I'm getting this right, but what I've read and what jumped out at me personally were two slightly different things. So, I'm going to share them both because I think they both fit. I'm not an expert in the Greek language the New Testament was written in, but I do think God reveals Himself through His Word regardless of the language we're using. But the study helps us grasp a better picture.
I said all that to talk about this verse: "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15 NASB) ...and I just spilled coffee on my pants. This is going to be interesting.
Let's gather some info on the background of what's going on here. In the few verses afterward, Paul wrote about two guys that were messing up the faith of others by going around and saying that Jesus already came again and they missed it. So the resurrection of ourselves, God redeeming us for an eternity with Him has already taken place. Obviously that would cause quite a stir in the church at that time.
Paul likens their talk to gangrene (and yes, I did just use the word "liken"). That's disgusting. Have you ever seen the affects of gangrene? Do you know what it is? It's the death of skin cells that spread further and further unless cut off. It's an infection gone terribly wrong, an infection left untreated from the beginning. It can be dry or wet, which is even grosser. It's almost as if your body is turning into a zombie body but you're still alive and aware of what's going on. It typically begins on the fingers or toes and spreads elsewhere if left untreated (amputation is the only way to get rid of it). With no blood reaching that area of the limb, it turns black and stiff and becomes unusable. I'd put up a picture, but I don't want to do a search for that. I'm grossed out enough.
That picture though, clearly gives illustration to misunderstanding God's word or teaching something false in the church. It spreads slowly and overtakes the life of the church and God can't use it! The only way to get rid of false teaching is to recognize it for what it is: not truth! And there's only one way to get rid of it: cut it off! So if we don't handle God's Word accurately, we won't know what's gangrene and what's healthy. That's why it's so vital to the health of the believer to know God's Word, to be in it every day!
The example of these two men led Paul to write verse 15. These guys had no basis for the stuff they were saying. So Paul told Timothy to prove himself approved to God, to do everything to make sure he's one seen as approved to God. What he was teaching was truth. The way he was living is what God desires of us. The example he's setting is what should be followed because he knows and understands the truth and accurately handles it (Unlike the coffee I spilt on my pants. And yes, I just used the word "spilt.").
Another way of reading "approved" is like what the commentaries have said, and I agree with them: What we should focus on, instead of the words and sayings and trying to figure out when Jesus is coming back, is our devotion to God, our diligence in presenting ourselves to Him as approved for Him to work in us and through us.
We identify the gangrene by pointing it out for what it is: sickness (wickedness or anything contrary to what God teaches in His Word). We cut it off by paying attention to what's most important and teaching about it: devotion to God, seeking His approval rather than the approval of men.
It's easy to gain followers for ourselves when we have something that catches people off guard, or provokes them because we've hit a nerve with our words. We can easily get lost in a battle of opinions. But our diligence should only be found in seeking God's approval, in handling His Word accurately, and leaving no room for being ashamed in doing so because we know who we belong to. And God knows those who belong to Him anyway (vs. 19).
Maybe we should identify the gangrene in our lives and cut it off so we can pursue God's approval to be used as His workmen who doesn't need to be ashamed. Lord, show us how to handle Your Word accurately.
Approval doesn't come until we've met all the requirements.
My parents were some that I've sought approval from. Many relationships have thrived or been crushed by seeking for approval. There were many times I've chosen to seek approval from people that caused me to compromise standards and principles I was raised with. So now that I'm older, what or whose approval am I seeking?
I'm still in 2 Timothy 2. It's been awhile since I've posted anything so I've been reading this section over and over again trying to understand it fully. I've looked in to some commentaries to see if I'm getting this right, but what I've read and what jumped out at me personally were two slightly different things. So, I'm going to share them both because I think they both fit. I'm not an expert in the Greek language the New Testament was written in, but I do think God reveals Himself through His Word regardless of the language we're using. But the study helps us grasp a better picture.
I said all that to talk about this verse: "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15 NASB) ...and I just spilled coffee on my pants. This is going to be interesting.
Let's gather some info on the background of what's going on here. In the few verses afterward, Paul wrote about two guys that were messing up the faith of others by going around and saying that Jesus already came again and they missed it. So the resurrection of ourselves, God redeeming us for an eternity with Him has already taken place. Obviously that would cause quite a stir in the church at that time.
Paul likens their talk to gangrene (and yes, I did just use the word "liken"). That's disgusting. Have you ever seen the affects of gangrene? Do you know what it is? It's the death of skin cells that spread further and further unless cut off. It's an infection gone terribly wrong, an infection left untreated from the beginning. It can be dry or wet, which is even grosser. It's almost as if your body is turning into a zombie body but you're still alive and aware of what's going on. It typically begins on the fingers or toes and spreads elsewhere if left untreated (amputation is the only way to get rid of it). With no blood reaching that area of the limb, it turns black and stiff and becomes unusable. I'd put up a picture, but I don't want to do a search for that. I'm grossed out enough.
That picture though, clearly gives illustration to misunderstanding God's word or teaching something false in the church. It spreads slowly and overtakes the life of the church and God can't use it! The only way to get rid of false teaching is to recognize it for what it is: not truth! And there's only one way to get rid of it: cut it off! So if we don't handle God's Word accurately, we won't know what's gangrene and what's healthy. That's why it's so vital to the health of the believer to know God's Word, to be in it every day!
The example of these two men led Paul to write verse 15. These guys had no basis for the stuff they were saying. So Paul told Timothy to prove himself approved to God, to do everything to make sure he's one seen as approved to God. What he was teaching was truth. The way he was living is what God desires of us. The example he's setting is what should be followed because he knows and understands the truth and accurately handles it (Unlike the coffee I spilt on my pants. And yes, I just used the word "spilt.").
Another way of reading "approved" is like what the commentaries have said, and I agree with them: What we should focus on, instead of the words and sayings and trying to figure out when Jesus is coming back, is our devotion to God, our diligence in presenting ourselves to Him as approved for Him to work in us and through us.
We identify the gangrene by pointing it out for what it is: sickness (wickedness or anything contrary to what God teaches in His Word). We cut it off by paying attention to what's most important and teaching about it: devotion to God, seeking His approval rather than the approval of men.
It's easy to gain followers for ourselves when we have something that catches people off guard, or provokes them because we've hit a nerve with our words. We can easily get lost in a battle of opinions. But our diligence should only be found in seeking God's approval, in handling His Word accurately, and leaving no room for being ashamed in doing so because we know who we belong to. And God knows those who belong to Him anyway (vs. 19).
Maybe we should identify the gangrene in our lives and cut it off so we can pursue God's approval to be used as His workmen who doesn't need to be ashamed. Lord, show us how to handle Your Word accurately.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Not Imprisoned
There are so many things that hold us back from sharing our faith with our friends. Fear of rejection, lack of confidence, to name a few. I believe that what it really comes down to is our commitment to Jesus, our conviction of the Truth in our lives being surrounded by the lies of the world.
A few days ago I posted "An Invitation To Suffer" and this post kind of gleans from that one a little deeper. I'm reading 2 Timothy 2:8-13 (NASB).
It makes me wonder though, if even though I'm not in prison, that I've imprisoned the gospel in smaller ways. I'm not sure if Paul's conviction about sharing faith with others while in prison was more of a "what have I got to lose?" attitude, because he shared it outside prison too just like he did in it. It's what it seems like. So, what do we have to lose? And if we do lose something, doesn't that mean we're following Jesus closer? Aren't we supposed to take up our cross and follow Him? (Luke 9:23)
"The word of God is not imprisoned." I love that statement! But it convicts me.
It seems as though Paul tells us what happens if we imprison God's word inside us or set it free. The glory of the freedom of the gospel is seen in the first two sections: "if we died with Him, we will also life with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him." It's a promise to those completely convicted of the necessity of the gospel.
The third section defines what happens when we aren't "sold out" or "buy in" in the truth of the gospel: "if we deny Him, He also will deny us." So the times we hold back and put the gospel in prison is the same as denying Christ. That's terrifying! But even in our faithlessness, the moments we're unsure of whether or not God is going to come through, or that the Holy Spirit won't work in us to give us the words to say in sharing the gospel so we keep quiet, those times we don't believe God is true to His promises, He still remains faithful. But if we keep quiet and don't believe He is true to His word to help us and be with us, we'll never experience His faithfulness in a personal way. Maybe in the moments we decide not to share the gospel and put in prison are moments we're also denying the work of Christ within us.
The call to suffering is keeping the gospel out of prison in our lives. The promise of life is given to those who won't deny, who keep the faith, and die to themselves. It seems to be a much better deal in remembering Jesus having risen from the dead, to be relying on the power of God at work within us, to deny ourselves in order to lay hold of a faithful God instead of denying Christ.
Choose whom you will deny. To lean one way is to deny the other. We must ask ourselves if we are fully convicted about the Truth of the gospel. God's word only has one place to go and that's everywhere. It cannot be imprisoned regardless of you. But that one person deserves to hear of His grace, and to receive the key to unlock their soul from the prison that sin is keeping them in. His word is all about freedom. We cannot afford to keep God's word in prison, but we must believe that He is true to His word.
A few days ago I posted "An Invitation To Suffer" and this post kind of gleans from that one a little deeper. I'm reading 2 Timothy 2:8-13 (NASB).
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. It is a trustworthy statement:
Maybe scroll back a little bit in your Bible and refresh the first 7 verses in your mind. Paul expresses his deep conviction here. Because of the gospel he suffers. Because of his conviction of the Truth he's in prison. And he believes it doesn't matter where is, the gospel will not be imprisoned with him because everyone needs to hear it, everyone should have a chance.For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
It makes me wonder though, if even though I'm not in prison, that I've imprisoned the gospel in smaller ways. I'm not sure if Paul's conviction about sharing faith with others while in prison was more of a "what have I got to lose?" attitude, because he shared it outside prison too just like he did in it. It's what it seems like. So, what do we have to lose? And if we do lose something, doesn't that mean we're following Jesus closer? Aren't we supposed to take up our cross and follow Him? (Luke 9:23)
"The word of God is not imprisoned." I love that statement! But it convicts me.
It seems as though Paul tells us what happens if we imprison God's word inside us or set it free. The glory of the freedom of the gospel is seen in the first two sections: "if we died with Him, we will also life with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him." It's a promise to those completely convicted of the necessity of the gospel.
The third section defines what happens when we aren't "sold out" or "buy in" in the truth of the gospel: "if we deny Him, He also will deny us." So the times we hold back and put the gospel in prison is the same as denying Christ. That's terrifying! But even in our faithlessness, the moments we're unsure of whether or not God is going to come through, or that the Holy Spirit won't work in us to give us the words to say in sharing the gospel so we keep quiet, those times we don't believe God is true to His promises, He still remains faithful. But if we keep quiet and don't believe He is true to His word to help us and be with us, we'll never experience His faithfulness in a personal way. Maybe in the moments we decide not to share the gospel and put in prison are moments we're also denying the work of Christ within us.
The call to suffering is keeping the gospel out of prison in our lives. The promise of life is given to those who won't deny, who keep the faith, and die to themselves. It seems to be a much better deal in remembering Jesus having risen from the dead, to be relying on the power of God at work within us, to deny ourselves in order to lay hold of a faithful God instead of denying Christ.
Choose whom you will deny. To lean one way is to deny the other. We must ask ourselves if we are fully convicted about the Truth of the gospel. God's word only has one place to go and that's everywhere. It cannot be imprisoned regardless of you. But that one person deserves to hear of His grace, and to receive the key to unlock their soul from the prison that sin is keeping them in. His word is all about freedom. We cannot afford to keep God's word in prison, but we must believe that He is true to His word.
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
An Invitation To Suffer
Doesn't the title mess you up a little? In 2 Timothy 2, that exactly what Paul extends to Timothy.
A couple posts back I mentioned the reason and motivation for our behavior as Christians: because of the promise of life. Here, at the beginning of the next chapter, Paul encourages Timothy with a greater invitation to do something all of us are afraid of happening to us.
Suffering isn't our idea of a "good time" in following Christ. But when there is nothing else in our life that we've allowed to compete with Jesus, suffering is inevitable. Suffering is the test of the depth of our commitment to God. A good soldier suffers.
This past weekend, I talked with some of those in our Worship Department who serve in the military. Paul used an analogy of a soldier in active service to being a Christian. I asked them about active service and what that looks like. They replied, "You're constantly training to be a better soldier. And it basically means that you're 'on call' all the time. Whenever something needs to be done, you do it. And in the military, it doesn't matter what kind of situation you're in; married, about to have your first child, on vacation, or anything. If they call, you go."
That's quite the metaphor! No wonder Paul used it. To be a good soldier means training, not getting involved in civilian affairs, and being ready to whatever is demanded of you by your commanding officer. As a Christian, the same things apply: training, not getting involved in worldly affairs, and being ready to respond to the call of the Master at any moment.
Paul used another metaphor about an athlete. Everyone hates a cheater and they don't get invited back to the game if they cheat. Seriously, how many of us were distraught to find out that those sluggers in baseball who set all kinds of home run records were using illegal stimulants to get them that good? Did they ever get hired to play on another team after being fired by the one they cheated on? The integrity of the athlete is extremely important. If they break the rules, they're fired or fined tremendously.
We're all in the "competition" of life. But God created the universe so the rules are what He's set in place. If we want to win the prize God has for us, we play according to the rules. Now, the competition is simply an analogy. The rules are simple: Love God with everything you are, and love your neighbor as yourself. If we follow those two things, the prize is eternal life with God in heaven. But you are the one who will decide how that looks like in your life. God spells out what He's looking for in the Bible, and training comes when we look into it for guidance.
Sometimes it's really hard to train. To get good at something takes a lot of work, hard work that later won't be regretted. Suffering is necessary in training. And sometimes suffering comes during the "soldiering" and "competition." But when our sights are set on Christ and the motivation of the promise of life, suffering isn't suffering at all. As a matter of fact, we could go so far as to say that our commitment to Him changes the suffering to joy.
The soldier I was talking with said something like this: "When you're in it, you're in it. There isn't anything else because there can't be. You're also doing what you love doing, and being a soldier isn't as much work as it is a joy when it's what you love doing." Maybe our attitude should be just like that. Maybe we should love Jesus like He's what we love "doing." Maybe our relationship with Him is what we should love the most. That changes the work that it can sometimes become at building our relationship with Him into the joy He longs for us to experience.
A couple posts back I mentioned the reason and motivation for our behavior as Christians: because of the promise of life. Here, at the beginning of the next chapter, Paul encourages Timothy with a greater invitation to do something all of us are afraid of happening to us.
Suffering isn't our idea of a "good time" in following Christ. But when there is nothing else in our life that we've allowed to compete with Jesus, suffering is inevitable. Suffering is the test of the depth of our commitment to God. A good soldier suffers.
This past weekend, I talked with some of those in our Worship Department who serve in the military. Paul used an analogy of a soldier in active service to being a Christian. I asked them about active service and what that looks like. They replied, "You're constantly training to be a better soldier. And it basically means that you're 'on call' all the time. Whenever something needs to be done, you do it. And in the military, it doesn't matter what kind of situation you're in; married, about to have your first child, on vacation, or anything. If they call, you go."
That's quite the metaphor! No wonder Paul used it. To be a good soldier means training, not getting involved in civilian affairs, and being ready to whatever is demanded of you by your commanding officer. As a Christian, the same things apply: training, not getting involved in worldly affairs, and being ready to respond to the call of the Master at any moment.
Paul used another metaphor about an athlete. Everyone hates a cheater and they don't get invited back to the game if they cheat. Seriously, how many of us were distraught to find out that those sluggers in baseball who set all kinds of home run records were using illegal stimulants to get them that good? Did they ever get hired to play on another team after being fired by the one they cheated on? The integrity of the athlete is extremely important. If they break the rules, they're fired or fined tremendously.
We're all in the "competition" of life. But God created the universe so the rules are what He's set in place. If we want to win the prize God has for us, we play according to the rules. Now, the competition is simply an analogy. The rules are simple: Love God with everything you are, and love your neighbor as yourself. If we follow those two things, the prize is eternal life with God in heaven. But you are the one who will decide how that looks like in your life. God spells out what He's looking for in the Bible, and training comes when we look into it for guidance.
Sometimes it's really hard to train. To get good at something takes a lot of work, hard work that later won't be regretted. Suffering is necessary in training. And sometimes suffering comes during the "soldiering" and "competition." But when our sights are set on Christ and the motivation of the promise of life, suffering isn't suffering at all. As a matter of fact, we could go so far as to say that our commitment to Him changes the suffering to joy.
The soldier I was talking with said something like this: "When you're in it, you're in it. There isn't anything else because there can't be. You're also doing what you love doing, and being a soldier isn't as much work as it is a joy when it's what you love doing." Maybe our attitude should be just like that. Maybe we should love Jesus like He's what we love "doing." Maybe our relationship with Him is what we should love the most. That changes the work that it can sometimes become at building our relationship with Him into the joy He longs for us to experience.
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Mercy And Testing
1 Kings 21-22
This is an interesting account of Ahab, once king of Israel. Let's start with this:
Take a moment and read the two chapters I listed at the top of this post. Read this interesting account.
There are so many things about this that also relate to me and my life. One of the biggest differences between Ahab and I is the fact that I have Jesus. Ahab was bent on doing evil. Now that my life has been changed by Christ, I'm doing my best to make sure I'm bent on pleasing the Lord.
Take a lesson from Ahab and his sin. When told of his destiny, he repented dramatically. God saw his repentance and took away the punishment from his lifetime, but would still carry out judgment upon his future generations as foretold in the prophecy. But God saw his repentance and showed mercy. There is nothing too great for God to have mercy on us. His grace knows no limits. A broken and contrite heart, He will not despise (Psalm 51:17).
Then we move on to a moment of truth in Ahab's life. And in this moment we see a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes in a realm we don't understand. We see the sovereignty of God, His orchestrating events to the fruition of His will.
Ahab wants to go to war. First off, why in a time of peace (three years of peace) would that even cross his mind? I guess it's because he still surrounded himself with the sins of his past. A moment of repentance without complete replacement with the Lord and worship to Him remains short-lived. His wife was still Jezebel. His surroundings we still consumed with false gods. Even the remembrance of the visible hand of God working a miracle before his very eyes on a mountain complete with fire from heaven could not convert a heart bent on evil. The proverb is true: bad company corrupts good character. Flirting with sin committed in the past will never bring a good result in the end.
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, joins him in the war (I'm going to call him "Jeho" because his name's so long to type out). But he's different from Ahab. He follows God to an extent and desires to be led by the truth rather than falsehood. Ahab, still surrounded by the falsehood, called in prophets to tell him what he wanted to hear. Jeho knew that these guys prophesying around them were a little fishy and asked for the real deal. Ahab responded the way most of us do to God's Word when convicted by it: "Yeah, but I hate him. He always says things that won't turn out good for me."
How often to do we ignore those truths God says in the Bible because it makes us uncomfortable? We'll spend time picking and choosing what we're going to follow as long as it's easy or makes us feel comfortable. Ahab's prophets were the ones who told him what he wanted to be told. The one true prophet who could actually relay God's message about the future gets ignored because it wasn't good for Ahab. Do we respond the same way? "I'll speak the truth in love, but I need to lie to get out of this one...I'll be faithful to my wife emotionally and physically, but with my eyes, it's different...No one hears me say those words...I know what God says about getting drunk, but what does it matter when I'm with friends who understand me...I only lose my temper in traffic..."
All our excuses in following Him completely doesn't matter and won't matter. What God says is what goes. That's the truth of it. And Ahab found that out after hearing it. You see, the prophet Micaiah knew God's voice over all the other prophets around. (I'm not sure who these other prophets were. Maybe they were advisors or preachers who would give advice to the king from what they believed God's perspective to be. If there were false prophets like mentioned earlier in 1 Kings, they most likely would have been named that in the account. But they were proven false in the end because their word never came true and Micaiah's did.) Those who are true followers of God can tell the difference between the voice of the Lord and the voice of a deceiving spirit. If Ahab, and I'm convinced he knew God's Word would really come from Micaiah, would have listened, he could have saved himself from his fate. But with his heart being bent on evil from the get-go, he wasn't looking for the truth as much as "good fortune" with his decision. He already made up his mind before he asked what the outcome would be.
We do the same thing. We make up our mind before we ask and then refuse to listen when God tells us otherwise, or when His Word gently corrects our path to a closer walk with Him.
We get to another interesting part of the account: the heavenly discussion between God and spirits.
Remember when Ahab repented and God showed him mercy? This is a moment of God's righteous judgment and sovereignty unveiled to us. I believe that the whole time God was looking for any part of a repentant heart left in him. The test of true repentance is tested throughout our lives. Each moment we're faced with temptation is another moment to stand firm on God's grace and mercy. It builds and strengthens our relationship with our Savior. Obviously Ahab failed. But with Jesus, we will overcome! We can conquer through Him because He's conquered for us! And each moment viewed as an opportunity to remember His sacrifice, His love, and our repentance of those things which once held us captive, is one more moment to stand on the mercy of our God.
I'm convinced also, that if God didn't care about us as much as He does, we wouldn't have any hardships at all. Does God wish them upon us? No, but He desires for us to know Him more than do now. The question about those things changes to something like this: will God ever do anything to keep me from growing in my relationship with Him? He desires us so much!
So what will we be known for? Are we the people who provoke God more than any other in the history of the church? Or are the trials we face moments to strengthen our stand on God's grace?
This is an interesting account of Ahab, once king of Israel. Let's start with this:
In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him. (1 Kings 16:29-33 NIV84)Obviously Ahab did not have any type of good reputation with God or among His followers and prophets. It's repeated again toward the end of the 1 Kings. The author of the book makes sure we all know that from the very beginning of his reign to the end of it, Ahab was THE worst.
Take a moment and read the two chapters I listed at the top of this post. Read this interesting account.
There are so many things about this that also relate to me and my life. One of the biggest differences between Ahab and I is the fact that I have Jesus. Ahab was bent on doing evil. Now that my life has been changed by Christ, I'm doing my best to make sure I'm bent on pleasing the Lord.
Take a lesson from Ahab and his sin. When told of his destiny, he repented dramatically. God saw his repentance and took away the punishment from his lifetime, but would still carry out judgment upon his future generations as foretold in the prophecy. But God saw his repentance and showed mercy. There is nothing too great for God to have mercy on us. His grace knows no limits. A broken and contrite heart, He will not despise (Psalm 51:17).
Then we move on to a moment of truth in Ahab's life. And in this moment we see a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes in a realm we don't understand. We see the sovereignty of God, His orchestrating events to the fruition of His will.
Ahab wants to go to war. First off, why in a time of peace (three years of peace) would that even cross his mind? I guess it's because he still surrounded himself with the sins of his past. A moment of repentance without complete replacement with the Lord and worship to Him remains short-lived. His wife was still Jezebel. His surroundings we still consumed with false gods. Even the remembrance of the visible hand of God working a miracle before his very eyes on a mountain complete with fire from heaven could not convert a heart bent on evil. The proverb is true: bad company corrupts good character. Flirting with sin committed in the past will never bring a good result in the end.
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, joins him in the war (I'm going to call him "Jeho" because his name's so long to type out). But he's different from Ahab. He follows God to an extent and desires to be led by the truth rather than falsehood. Ahab, still surrounded by the falsehood, called in prophets to tell him what he wanted to hear. Jeho knew that these guys prophesying around them were a little fishy and asked for the real deal. Ahab responded the way most of us do to God's Word when convicted by it: "Yeah, but I hate him. He always says things that won't turn out good for me."
How often to do we ignore those truths God says in the Bible because it makes us uncomfortable? We'll spend time picking and choosing what we're going to follow as long as it's easy or makes us feel comfortable. Ahab's prophets were the ones who told him what he wanted to be told. The one true prophet who could actually relay God's message about the future gets ignored because it wasn't good for Ahab. Do we respond the same way? "I'll speak the truth in love, but I need to lie to get out of this one...I'll be faithful to my wife emotionally and physically, but with my eyes, it's different...No one hears me say those words...I know what God says about getting drunk, but what does it matter when I'm with friends who understand me...I only lose my temper in traffic..."
All our excuses in following Him completely doesn't matter and won't matter. What God says is what goes. That's the truth of it. And Ahab found that out after hearing it. You see, the prophet Micaiah knew God's voice over all the other prophets around. (I'm not sure who these other prophets were. Maybe they were advisors or preachers who would give advice to the king from what they believed God's perspective to be. If there were false prophets like mentioned earlier in 1 Kings, they most likely would have been named that in the account. But they were proven false in the end because their word never came true and Micaiah's did.) Those who are true followers of God can tell the difference between the voice of the Lord and the voice of a deceiving spirit. If Ahab, and I'm convinced he knew God's Word would really come from Micaiah, would have listened, he could have saved himself from his fate. But with his heart being bent on evil from the get-go, he wasn't looking for the truth as much as "good fortune" with his decision. He already made up his mind before he asked what the outcome would be.
We do the same thing. We make up our mind before we ask and then refuse to listen when God tells us otherwise, or when His Word gently corrects our path to a closer walk with Him.
We get to another interesting part of the account: the heavenly discussion between God and spirits.
Remember when Ahab repented and God showed him mercy? This is a moment of God's righteous judgment and sovereignty unveiled to us. I believe that the whole time God was looking for any part of a repentant heart left in him. The test of true repentance is tested throughout our lives. Each moment we're faced with temptation is another moment to stand firm on God's grace and mercy. It builds and strengthens our relationship with our Savior. Obviously Ahab failed. But with Jesus, we will overcome! We can conquer through Him because He's conquered for us! And each moment viewed as an opportunity to remember His sacrifice, His love, and our repentance of those things which once held us captive, is one more moment to stand on the mercy of our God.
I'm convinced also, that if God didn't care about us as much as He does, we wouldn't have any hardships at all. Does God wish them upon us? No, but He desires for us to know Him more than do now. The question about those things changes to something like this: will God ever do anything to keep me from growing in my relationship with Him? He desires us so much!
So what will we be known for? Are we the people who provoke God more than any other in the history of the church? Or are the trials we face moments to strengthen our stand on God's grace?
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Beginning Real Marriage
Monday, April 30, 2012
Prayer Is About Relationship
My wife went to a women's prayer seminar this past weekend at our church building. She came back with something that stuck with me. I've known for a long time but have just ignored it and needed a reminder of what God is looking for in prayer. She said, "Prayer isn't necessarily about asking God for stuff, or even about Him answering them. It's about relationship."
That kind of hit home with me as I agreed to it, remembering that taught to me a long time ago. She went on a little further. "I was asked what I call God in prayer, and in a pause before my answer, I say, 'Dad' and then pause afterward because it doesn't seem like I should be able to call Him that."
Even though we know that God has torn the veil through Christ, and now we have direct access to Him because of the cross, the privilege of calling Him "Father" is still scary. I know we can enter the throne room with confidence because of grace. I know those things. But it's still seems a little weird to call the Creator and Sustainer of all life, "Daddy" like Paul does in Romans.
The best illustration of grasping these thoughts that I can find has everything to do with being a parent. There's an element of my kids being able to call me father, but also an element of respect that comes with it. For example, I lay down the rules of the home and they'll be followed or suffer the consequences. It's not a mean way to live, but a real one. Every one of us faces the results of our decisions and actions. If our children aren't taught that in the home, they'll think the world owes them something when leave the home to go on their own. And that simply isn't the way things work.
Anyway, there's a respect factor that's grounded in humility. Arrogance can get in the way of the privilege if they get too comfortable. It's like this: we have fun playing, but the moment they argue with a rule I've set in place, there's a "reminder" of who's rule it is and what happens when we don't follow that rule. So humility is very important as well.
Last week I was working out with another pastor from Radiant Church in town. He was telling me about a lesson he gave to the youth group last Wednesday. He used a really neat example that I've never thought of, even though I've seen the movie a few times. He pointed that every time Thor introduced himself in the movie, he mentioned who his father was. He associated himself with his father. It gave him identity, power, and confidence. But the moment he became arrogant, his father did was necessary to teach him the importance of humility even though he had a very close relationship with his dad.
There's a lesson in there. Knowing our Father, being found in Him, gives us an identity, power to overcome, and confidence in this life and the next. But with our interaction with our heavenly Father, humility is of utmost importance. Remember what He's done to make a way for us to call Him our Father.
Prayer is about relationship.
Going back to parenting, I've also noticed how I treat my Father most of the time. My children do it too. A majority of the interaction with my children comes from them asking me for things. All day long sometimes, they come up with questions like, "Can I have a drink? Can I play the Wii? Is alright if I go outside? What are you making?" Then there's the other side of things, the tattling, "He hit me! He's not sharing! She took that from me! He won't play with me!" When I come home, these are some of the things that greet me.
What I long for is deeper than the asking for stuff and permission, more than the tattling. I want to know about their day, their school, what they've learned and the fun they've had with their friends. Rather than the tattling, I want to train them how handle situations where things aren't going the way they'd like. I want to be involved in more of their lives than just the "genie" who makes their trouble go away and give them what they want.
This hurts when I put it in comparison with my relationship with God. If prayer is about relationship, then I've failed at developing the relationship with Him as my Father. He wants to know about my day. He wants to train me to develop godliness. Maybe, instead of being nosy about God's plan for our lives, we're supposed to develop a relationship with Him that demonstrates trust that He knows what He's doing. I think He does want to know about our day. I don't think He's hiding things, but wants to show us what it will all end up turning out to be, something great for Him and us.
I want to challenge you think about what this looks like in your life. I'm not saying that asking God for things is wrong, but if our life is about worship to God and bringing Him glory, I think it's a better idea to begin by working on our relationship with Him as Father so we'll know what to ask for when we come to Him with a request.
Prayer is about relationship. How's it going?
That kind of hit home with me as I agreed to it, remembering that taught to me a long time ago. She went on a little further. "I was asked what I call God in prayer, and in a pause before my answer, I say, 'Dad' and then pause afterward because it doesn't seem like I should be able to call Him that."
Even though we know that God has torn the veil through Christ, and now we have direct access to Him because of the cross, the privilege of calling Him "Father" is still scary. I know we can enter the throne room with confidence because of grace. I know those things. But it's still seems a little weird to call the Creator and Sustainer of all life, "Daddy" like Paul does in Romans.
The best illustration of grasping these thoughts that I can find has everything to do with being a parent. There's an element of my kids being able to call me father, but also an element of respect that comes with it. For example, I lay down the rules of the home and they'll be followed or suffer the consequences. It's not a mean way to live, but a real one. Every one of us faces the results of our decisions and actions. If our children aren't taught that in the home, they'll think the world owes them something when leave the home to go on their own. And that simply isn't the way things work.
Anyway, there's a respect factor that's grounded in humility. Arrogance can get in the way of the privilege if they get too comfortable. It's like this: we have fun playing, but the moment they argue with a rule I've set in place, there's a "reminder" of who's rule it is and what happens when we don't follow that rule. So humility is very important as well.
Last week I was working out with another pastor from Radiant Church in town. He was telling me about a lesson he gave to the youth group last Wednesday. He used a really neat example that I've never thought of, even though I've seen the movie a few times. He pointed that every time Thor introduced himself in the movie, he mentioned who his father was. He associated himself with his father. It gave him identity, power, and confidence. But the moment he became arrogant, his father did was necessary to teach him the importance of humility even though he had a very close relationship with his dad.
There's a lesson in there. Knowing our Father, being found in Him, gives us an identity, power to overcome, and confidence in this life and the next. But with our interaction with our heavenly Father, humility is of utmost importance. Remember what He's done to make a way for us to call Him our Father.
Prayer is about relationship.
Going back to parenting, I've also noticed how I treat my Father most of the time. My children do it too. A majority of the interaction with my children comes from them asking me for things. All day long sometimes, they come up with questions like, "Can I have a drink? Can I play the Wii? Is alright if I go outside? What are you making?" Then there's the other side of things, the tattling, "He hit me! He's not sharing! She took that from me! He won't play with me!" When I come home, these are some of the things that greet me.
What I long for is deeper than the asking for stuff and permission, more than the tattling. I want to know about their day, their school, what they've learned and the fun they've had with their friends. Rather than the tattling, I want to train them how handle situations where things aren't going the way they'd like. I want to be involved in more of their lives than just the "genie" who makes their trouble go away and give them what they want.
This hurts when I put it in comparison with my relationship with God. If prayer is about relationship, then I've failed at developing the relationship with Him as my Father. He wants to know about my day. He wants to train me to develop godliness. Maybe, instead of being nosy about God's plan for our lives, we're supposed to develop a relationship with Him that demonstrates trust that He knows what He's doing. I think He does want to know about our day. I don't think He's hiding things, but wants to show us what it will all end up turning out to be, something great for Him and us.
I want to challenge you think about what this looks like in your life. I'm not saying that asking God for things is wrong, but if our life is about worship to God and bringing Him glory, I think it's a better idea to begin by working on our relationship with Him as Father so we'll know what to ask for when we come to Him with a request.
Prayer is about relationship. How's it going?
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
"Hi! How are you?"
For what purpose do you greet others? When you shake their hands or say, "hello," what's the reason behind the greeting? Most of the time it's driven by politeness out of common courtesy toward the one you make eye contact with. But when we say, "How are you?" in that casual form, are we really ready to listen to what they're going to respond with? Secretly I'm always hoping that they say, "Great! Yourself?" It means I don't have to stand and ask, "Why? What's going on?" toward a negative or "so-so" response.
Right now I've begun 2 Timothy. For the first time ever a greeting at the beginning of a letter caught my attention. In order to understand the rest of the book it's necessary to understand Paul's greeting. I've found that he hides the overall scope and topic of the letter in his greetings to churches and individuals.
First off, let me begin with a thought that has always bothered me. This could be considered a rant, but I prefer not to think of it that way.
There have been many believers, including myself, who've begun relationships with an agenda of "winning" the other to Christ. Unfortunately, what might happen is that if we're unsuccessful, we'll leave them and move on to the next person who might say "yes" to Jesus. After they accept Him, we'll even leave them and move on to the next! This has undoubtedly left a bad taste in unbelievers' mouths being left with the thought that they are nothing more than a project. They truly are looking for relationship just like anyone else who desires to have a friend. Believers, we need to be bigger than this!
But the one thing that bothers me is what's happened in all this. Now we've been labeled as a people with a "hidden agenda." What's up with that? Why's is "hidden" in the first place? Why are we ashamed to bring it up from the very beginning? The fact that we've been saved by Christ is not something to be "hidden" in our lives but lived out. Freedom from sin and God's wrath because of the cross should give us reason to celebrate and tell the world of this awesome gift He's given us! "Hidden with Christ in God" doesn't mean that we are to hide, but to shine brightly the Light and Life we've been given!
Later in chapter 1, Paul charges Timothy that he should not be ashamed of the testimony of Christ, although preaching that God came to earth as a man to die on a cross and then to rise from the dead to save us from our sins seems like a very unrealistic idea, but to take pride in the Message of Jesus! For those of us who believe, there is no reason to be ashamed because "God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love, and discipline."
And here's the humility side of it, the awesome truth of it all: God "saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity" (2 Timothy 1:9). There's nothing about us in the whole thing other than we get to experience firsthand the grace and love of God!
So, when we greet people, when we develop relationships, is the "agenda" hidden? Or are the motives of our greeting grounded in the realization of the promise of life? Our purpose is because we've been saved! Our motive is because we've been smothered in God's grace and love, and we're thankful!
I'm convinced every relationship we have is another opportunity share God's love. Any relationship without the purpose of the promise of life is superficial and will only go as deep as the surface response: "Great! Yourself?" We need to come to grips with the fact that Christ is intrusive. He wants it all. He's given everything. And the connection we share because of Christ needs to draw us deeper, more together, and display truth brightly to the world. Can we do this all the time? Probably not. But the next time we greet someone, maybe we could be genuine about it. And if we're unwilling to go there, maybe we should revisit our commitment to following Christ. Remember, there was not one person He greeted that He didn't genuinely love.
Thanks be to God for His grace! May Your love and grace drive my motivation in relationship building and greeting new people! May the promise of life in the present and eternal reside in Christ in my life.
Right now I've begun 2 Timothy. For the first time ever a greeting at the beginning of a letter caught my attention. In order to understand the rest of the book it's necessary to understand Paul's greeting. I've found that he hides the overall scope and topic of the letter in his greetings to churches and individuals.
First off, let me begin with a thought that has always bothered me. This could be considered a rant, but I prefer not to think of it that way.
There have been many believers, including myself, who've begun relationships with an agenda of "winning" the other to Christ. Unfortunately, what might happen is that if we're unsuccessful, we'll leave them and move on to the next person who might say "yes" to Jesus. After they accept Him, we'll even leave them and move on to the next! This has undoubtedly left a bad taste in unbelievers' mouths being left with the thought that they are nothing more than a project. They truly are looking for relationship just like anyone else who desires to have a friend. Believers, we need to be bigger than this!
But the one thing that bothers me is what's happened in all this. Now we've been labeled as a people with a "hidden agenda." What's up with that? Why's is "hidden" in the first place? Why are we ashamed to bring it up from the very beginning? The fact that we've been saved by Christ is not something to be "hidden" in our lives but lived out. Freedom from sin and God's wrath because of the cross should give us reason to celebrate and tell the world of this awesome gift He's given us! "Hidden with Christ in God" doesn't mean that we are to hide, but to shine brightly the Light and Life we've been given!
"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus" ~2 Timothy 1:1 (NIV)Did you catch it? This is exciting...Paul's whole reason for writing this letter to Timothy is because of the promise of life in Jesus! There is no hidden agenda, but it's labeled from the very beginning, proudly announcing and declaring in humility that he is not ashamed, not hiding the fact that his calling and his teaching is because of the promise of life! Such thankfulness!
Later in chapter 1, Paul charges Timothy that he should not be ashamed of the testimony of Christ, although preaching that God came to earth as a man to die on a cross and then to rise from the dead to save us from our sins seems like a very unrealistic idea, but to take pride in the Message of Jesus! For those of us who believe, there is no reason to be ashamed because "God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love, and discipline."
And here's the humility side of it, the awesome truth of it all: God "saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity" (2 Timothy 1:9). There's nothing about us in the whole thing other than we get to experience firsthand the grace and love of God!
So, when we greet people, when we develop relationships, is the "agenda" hidden? Or are the motives of our greeting grounded in the realization of the promise of life? Our purpose is because we've been saved! Our motive is because we've been smothered in God's grace and love, and we're thankful!
I'm convinced every relationship we have is another opportunity share God's love. Any relationship without the purpose of the promise of life is superficial and will only go as deep as the surface response: "Great! Yourself?" We need to come to grips with the fact that Christ is intrusive. He wants it all. He's given everything. And the connection we share because of Christ needs to draw us deeper, more together, and display truth brightly to the world. Can we do this all the time? Probably not. But the next time we greet someone, maybe we could be genuine about it. And if we're unwilling to go there, maybe we should revisit our commitment to following Christ. Remember, there was not one person He greeted that He didn't genuinely love.
Thanks be to God for His grace! May Your love and grace drive my motivation in relationship building and greeting new people! May the promise of life in the present and eternal reside in Christ in my life.
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