Category: Instructions to the Church

Truth

Re: Verse reading–John 19:28-42 (day four)  Verse 36 says, “For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture…”  God’s Word is truth.  There is no promise, no principle, no prophecy in God’s Word that is not true or will not come about.  Isaiah 55:11 says, “ So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”  Everything about Jesus and His life had been prophesied and planned…His bones weren’t broken, His side was pierced, His body was laid in a new, borrowed tomb.  We can trust God’s Word!  Can you think of any promises in Scripture that could apply to you?  Can you identify any principle that you need to live by?  Are you living your life in the truth of God’s Word?  It applies to our lives, today, in 2015…just as true as when it was written.  Live in His truth!

Abide in Me

Re: Verse reading—John 15:1-17 (day four)  Verse 4 – “Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.”  If you separate the branch from the vine, it will die.  The same is true for the believer.  Once you enter into a saving relationship with Jesus, you must remain in Him.  How do we do that?  We spend time in God’s Word regularly…we pray and communicate with God…we obey…we share fellowship with other believers.  Many try to live the Christian life based on a relationship that they had years ago.  They have allowed their relationship to God to grow stale and have attempted to access the power of God in their lives without the character, love, and wisdom of Jesus having sanctified their lives.  Native knowledge cannot sustain the relationship…the branch severed from the vine dies up…the life that has lost the relationship with Christ will shipwreck on the rocks of life.  “Abide in Me!”

In season and out

Re: Verse reading–2 Timothy 4:1-8, 16-18 (day six)
“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”—v 2.
Paul knows how this fight will go. (see v 7)  He knows that Pastor Timothy will have good seasons (literal reading– eukarios) and bad seasons (akarios).  Ministry (life) will always be a mixture of ups and downs.  Highs and lows, neither of which can have too much influence on the servant of God.  Our task and commitment remains constant in both environments.  We preach the word when it is popular.  We preach it when it earns us enemies and criticism.  We have courage to confront/correct false doctrine.  We are gentle and patient to encourage/ instruct developing ideas about God and duty.  It will be a fight and it will be a privilege.  Paul has no regrets.  Not for himself, not for his young friend.   “In season and out”, we are servants of the Most High.

Thanks for Scripture

Re: Verse reading–2 Timothy 4:1-8, 16-18 (day four)
Today is Thanksgiving…the day when every Christian is particularly thankful for the blessings from God. Gratefulness is a daily experience though…the fourth Thursday in November is no different than any other day of the year for giving thanks to God.  (That is, unless you count the massive amounts of food that accompany this day’s thanks!)  Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of God’s working in the history of America to provide a bountiful harvest for the early settlers.  We use it today to remind us of the myriad of gifts bestowed upon us by our creator God.  In our passage this week, Paul reminds us of the importance of God’s Word in our lives.  Paul says there will come a day when people will not accept the truth of God’s Word and will seek false teachers.  (Are we there yet?)  In many countries the freedom to even read God’s Word is non-existent.  As you are thanking God today for your blessings, make sure His Word is on your list of blessings!

Indestructible

Re: Verse reading–2 Timothy 4:1-8; 16-18 (day three)
“The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.”
Paul at last knew: He was already living the eternal kind of life. He was already beyond ultimate harm. Hostile forces would still attempt to cut short his freedom, his influence, his very life, but those forces posed no threat to him. Even though he would eventually (tradition tells us) undergo beheading, he knew what Jesus promised: “Whoever obeys my word will never see death.”  So Paul knew that he would not know any darkness or isolation or fear or abandonment, not even for one second, at the moment of execution. He knew. And we can know, too. The promise of Jesus is plain: For all who count on him, the eternal, indestructible kind of life begins now.

Validate This!

Re: Verse reading–2 Timothy 4:1-8; 16-18 (day two)
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” vs. 3

I’m not sure Paul had Facebook in mind when he was writing to Timothy, but I’m fairly certain this scripture manifests itself daily on my newsfeed. Angry, confused, and frightened people all seeking some sort of validation for how they feel or what they believe. Without fail I see posts from satirical or even bogus news sites. People glom onto these reports with venom. They find a kernel that justifies their position and they never stop to consider if what they are reading and, worse, disseminating, is true.

When our source of validation is anywhere but the Word of God we will be like these people. Stay strong.

Enthusiam required

Re: Verse reading–2 Timothy 1:6-14; 2:1-15 (day six)
“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you.”—2 Timothy 1:6.
“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years.  We grow old by deserting our ideals.  Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.”–Samuel Ullmer.
I am surprised that this is said to a young man.  Shouldn’t be.  Young and old face the same temptation, do the right thing but without enthusiasm or passion.  Paul’s picture is of a fire that is allowed to gradually die.  Starts out strong.  Then it flickers.  Finally goes out completely.  Because no one looked after it.  Same with believers who do not fan themselves/their gifts into hot, enthusiastic flame.  “ZEAL for thy house will consume me” says the Bible about Jesus.   How can we not be like him?
“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”–Ralph Waldo Emerson.  So true. So true.

Farming Lessons

Re: Verse reading–2 Timothy 1:6-14; 2:1-15 (day five) 

6 The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.

Paul uses the image of a farmer as a picture/example to teach Timothy (and us) lessons about the Christian Life.  What is it about the farmer that helps us better understand that Christian Life?  Hard Work?  Yes!  Certainly effort and energy are required.  But consider Paul is also illustrating a blueprint for growth and strength in the relationship between God and each believer.

Jerry Bridges writes, “Farming is a joint venture between the farmer and God.  The farmer cannot do what God must do (sunshine, germination, rain), and God will not do what the farmer should do (plow, fertilize).  We can say just as accurately that the pursuit of holiness is a joint venture between God and the Christian.  No one can attain any degree of holiness without God working in his life, but just as surely no one will attain it without effort on His own part”.

 

 

Higher Perspective

Re: Verse reading–2 Timothy 1:6-14; 2:1-15 (day four)
I am writing this today at 6500 ft. altitude. It gives you a very good perspective of the landscape. In our Re:Verse passage this week, Paul is sharing a higher perspective of life to Timothy. The believer views life differently than others. We have a spirit of power and love and discipline. There is also suffering to endure. We are involved in the affairs of God instead of the affairs world. Diligence is a valued quality. Paul admonishes Timothy to not only live life in the reality of God’s Word, but to teach others to do the same. A life well invested in the Word of God is a life well lived.