Wednesday, August 8: 2Timothy 4 - the battle for truth.

As I read the opening verse, I immediately heard it in the context of the life I live. Note my addition in parenthesis and I believe my readers will understand.

Verses 1-4: In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. 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. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths (political correctness and cultural norms).

The primary defense the church has in the battle for truth is God’s Word. What does the Bible say?  What is its plain meaning? If every Word is from God and is inspired (God breathed, verse 3:16), then it carries truth. Unfortunately, from the beginning, people have distorted its meaning to suit their desires. Timothy was warned of this and it still happens to this day.

My best defense against people distorting God’s Word is to sit with God’s Word myself and to allow it to speak. Here are a few keys I use to increase my hearing and attention to God’s Word….

1. As best as I am able, I need to turn off my presuppositions and listen to what it actually says. Calvin once astutely commented, "Moses wrote in a popular style, which without instruction, all ordinary persons endued with common sense are liable to understand."
2. Another key is to allow the whole of Scripture to speak on a subject. There are 66 books spanning 2⁺ millenia, listen to what the whole says. Often one verse in not the sum total of what God has said on a matter. Listen to the whole.
3. Another key is that I try to understand what it meant to the first hearers before I bring it into my life and times.
4. I read the verses I am studying in a couple of translations. Different translators use differing approaches on how they take words from one language and era and translate them into another. I have a number of translations in my study beyond the NIV. The New American Standard and the New Revised Standard are excellent more literal translations built on the best scholarship. The English Standard Version, like the NIV, is another fine translation for the modern reader. I sometimes consult more ‘free-less’ literal translations, like the Message or a simple English version called the International Children’s Version. When it comes to Psalms, I still love the beauty of the King James. Using multiple translations help me hear the text well.

These are four things I do to help me hear what God intended to say when He authored the Bible.

 

Happy Reading… and remember, the Bible is our best defense against error and the best tool we have for knowing what God wants us to know for life and faith and living.

Lord, thank You for Your Word, for giving me this gift. Help me to treasure it all my life long and so keep my life and thinking in line with Your Will and Way. Through Jesus, I pray. Amen.

 

Monday, August 6: 2Timothy 2 - Stay connected to Jesus.

Another trustworthy saying appears in this chapter. Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself (11-13).

I love three of the four pairs… God is with us, and even when we are weak and struggle with faithfulness, He will not give up on us…. if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

It is the third pair that troubles me, If we disown him, he will also disown us. What makes disown so different from unfaithful? Then again, this pair does reflect Jesus, Himself, who said, But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven (Matthew 10:33).

So I thought some more about disowning. Disowning has permanence to it. When a parent disowns a child, they sever the family and inheritance tie. Disown is a rejection. And people who reject Jesus will be met with rejection when they stand at their final hearing before God.

This statement sends chills down my spine.  Stay connected to Jesus! Hold fast to Jesus! Imperfect in my faithfulness as I may be, I still confess Jesus as my Lord!

Lord, I know I am far from perfectly faithful. I fail and fall repeatedly. Please forgive me. But even in my failings and fallings, Lord, I still commit myself to following You. And I trust that You will keep me. Through Jesus, I pray. Amen.

 

Tuesday, August 7: 2Timothy 3 -. Thoroughly equipped

If ever there was a theme sentence for my daily devotionals it would be verses 16-17. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

All Scripture: Old and New Testaments, historical books, poetry, prophetic writings, letters, gospels, all Scripture, every sentence and word is from God and is useful to help me know and follow God.

Every bit of God’s Word is, well, God’s Word, which by definition is useful. By reading the whole of Scripture, I hear everything God says, even the harder teachings, which left to myself I might avoid.

Another key thought, the sentence reads ‘thoroughly equipped.’ By attending to the whole of the Bible we are thoroughly equipped. I have an acquaintance who is a Navy Seal. He explained once that their training, in general and training for a particular mission, is much more difficult than the actual mission itself. They rehearse and train for the worst of conditions and events so that they can handle anything that happens in the field. No surprise they are arguably the best soldiers in the world. Navy Seals are thoroughly equipped for every mission.

By attending to God’s Word with diligence we, too, will be thoroughly equipped for every good work that God has prepared for us to do (see Ephesians 2:10).

Lord, as I spend time with You in Your Word, equip me for life and service. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

Saturday, August 4: 2Timothy 1 - Staggered by God's plan.

For more than 35 years I have been walking with Jesus and I am still staggered by God’s plan and grace. It takes my breath away. [God] who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace (9). God did it all. He chose me, a lowly sinner, saved and called me for His purpose. That truth never ceases to blow me away!!! And God did it for you, too!!!

And God’s grace was sent forth before the beginning of time… talk about a mind-bending thought! This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (10).

I sat and marveled.  Before time God did this! How can there be anything ‘before time?’ I am so puny compared with God and He still loves and graces and calls me for His own purpose. WOW! What an incredible thought to start my day! What an incredible thought to have on the eve of worship!

Oh, God, marinade this truth into my life so that tomorrow, in worship, it bursts forth with flavor and vigor as I gather with Your people and sing Your praises and worship You -Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Friday, August 3: 1Timothy 6 - .

Slavery & work-ethic; money & chasing after money; personal living; and finally a word to the rich; these are the topics of today’s chapter. Anyone of these could easily speak into my life. I sat wondering where the Lord would take me.  I did not have a strong draw to any particular topic as I read through the first time. Maybe you do, if so, go back and ponder where God prompts.

I scanned the chapter again, more quickly a second time. Verse 11 and the opening of 20 caught my attention. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness (11). Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care… (20).

Paul was not only coaching Timothy on how to lead the church under his care, Paul was teaching Timothy about life and living. But you, man of God, flee from all this… Timothy, guard…. Timothy was to guard his own life and to flee from all those things that were causing problems in his community.

God’s instructions are first and foremost for us and then for us to pass along.

Timothy was to be a living example of following God. God’s Word is not given so that we can have knowledge or information per se. God’s Word is given to us so that we can take it to heart and into our lives and live according to it.

So I needed to ask myself, am I fleeing the ‘God-dishonoring’ aspects of my culture? Am I guarding my heart and the truth of God’s ways in my life?

Are you? Think about it.

Oh, Lord, give me strength and your Holy Spirit in fullness that I might orient my life to Your will and way… fleeing what is not of You and what does not ultimately lead me closer to You. Also guard my heart and the truth You have placed in my life through the promised Holy Spirit.

Lord, I cannot do this on my own.I can only move closer to You when I align my will to Yours and seek Your help and strength to overcome the still carnal portions of my life.

This I pray. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

Thursday, August 2: 1Timothy 5 - Good and bad deeds.

I found myself fascinated by Paul’s final 2 verses, a closing comment on our deeds.  How we live our lives reveals who we truly are on the inside. Consider these words of Scripture: The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden (24-25). Eminently practical.

Verse 24 sinful deeds: The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. Some sins are so garish that they are obvious to all (or at least to many). These people live in such a way that they are almost flaunt their sins or get exposed by making the front pages of the papers. You have a list and so do I; the ‘Hitlers’, and ‘Mansons’ top the list of hardened criminals whose sins are obvious to the world.

It was the second group that really set me thinking. People whose sin shows up later, people who live the lie of goodness only to be discovered later, possibly after they have died. Interestingly, in all cases their sins become known and of course they are always known to God.

As a general rule the deeds of our lives will become known. Eventually the evidence comes out. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.

The same is true, obvious v. hidden, with good deeds as well. They, too, generally become known. Some good deeds are hard to hide or perform in secret, so be it. They are done to help and bless people, which is the point after all. Mother Teresa, one of my ‘top-of-the-list-good-deeds’ people of my lifetime is an example. She never flaunted her good deeds but eventually word got out. Other people are able to remain far more stealth about their good-deed living but the stories often surface posthumously. And again, God knows all the time.

I began thinking about my life, particularly the cloaked parts of my life. Are they filled with good or sin-filled deeds? What does the record book of my life –hidden as it may be right now- show?

Lord, help me to be a’ good-deeds’ person. For the sake of others helped and in the power of Jesus, may this be so. Amen.

 

 

Wednesday, August 1: 1Timothy 4 - Another trustworthy saying.

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance… (8-9).

Maintaining physical health through training and regular exercise adds value to our life. Bodies are healthier and minds are sharper. It is a good thing to do this side of eternity. But applying the same discipline to our godly living has value on this side of eternity and throughout eternity!

It sounds so simple, so I spent my time with Jesus thinking about what godliness looks like and what training for godliness might be. Here are a few thoughts.

Godliness is both an inner attitude and the manner of life that flows from it. What others see is the manner of life, what I often have to work on is the attitude that produces the manner of life. So what are the things that lead and direct me to life as God would have me live?

ü Being in the Word daily so that my mind is filled with God’s thoughts not merely my thoughts.

ü Prayer informed by the Word… learning to pray as we see displayed in God’s Word. Left to myself, my prayer is often highly self-centered. Yet what I see in scripture is prayers that challenge my selfish prayer life.

ü Developing the discipline to say ‘no’ willingly to things that harm my walk with God or open me up to unhelpful or ungodly attitudes, thoughts or desires.

There is nothing particularly new here but it is good to be reminded why these habits are good and help develop godliness…

Lord, it is one thing to think about these things, it is another to live them. Help me live them. And, Lord, if one is more appropriate to my life at this time than others, I believe it is learning to pray more selflessly. Help me, Jesus. Amen.