ARGUMENTS LEAD TO FIGHTS

ARGUMENTS LEAD TO FIGHTS

II Tim. 2:23 Again I say, don't get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights.  NLT

      Fighting over words is foolishness. Only those who are immature will get sucked into it. Arguing with someone you don't agree with accomplishes nothing but creating a rift between you. We get emotional with our convictions and allow our emotions to drive us instead of our heads. We tend to forget that we will not convince anyone of anything while they have their defenses up. We dig our heels into the sand and will not listen when we feel our convictions are being threatened. It is not our role to convince anyone of the truth. Only the Holy Spirit can do that, and He can't do that when we have stirred up the pot.

      No one has perfect knowledge, not even you. We now see through a glass darkly. Because of our limited capacity to understand the things of God, we will always be able to learn new things. Some things we think we know are refined over time as our maturity in Christ grows. No matter how well-grounded we may be, we learn new things as the Spirit works in our lives. He leads us to sometimes change our thinking on things. So, we need to be careful how much we hold onto in our understanding of truth. There are some things that are undeniable and true for all believers for all time, and there are some understandings of truth that the Spirit changes in us as we grow in Christ.

      It is foolish to hold onto and argue about things that are not clearly spelled out in Scripture. The Church has been divided over details for centuries and you or I are not going to settle the issues. We must realize that there are reasons why there are so many different church bodies worshiping the same Lord we do but in different ways. If there was no room for different understandings, the Lord would have fixed it a long time ago.

      Wisdom would teach us to let those things go which are not essential to faith. Hang onto your convictions with an open heart and mind. Listen to the Spirit if He is changing your thinking on some things. But, whatever you do, don't be argumentative over things. It will not change anyone and it will only prevent you from having godly fellowship with others. Agree to disagree agreeably on non-essential matters and let the love of Christ bind you together as one to the glory and honor of our Lord.

        Arguing leads to fighting over words.  Fighting causes divisions in the church.  We argue, fight, and divide over things that don’t matter and it keeps us from fulfilling our mandate to go into all the world and make disciples—not of ourselves, but of Christ.  As far is it is humanly possible to do, strive to live at peace with fellow believers and work together for the glory and honor of Christ until He comes.

PURSUE GODLINESS

PURSUE GODLINESS

II Tim. 2:22 Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Follow anything that makes you want to do right. Pursue faith and love and peace, and enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.  NLT

      Run; don’t walk from anything that stimulates youthful lusts.  Don’t pause to think about it, just run.  If you take the time to think about it, it may be too late to get away.  Make up your mind beforehand that you will not hang around where you will be tempted to lust.

     Follow anything that makes you want to do what is right.  Fill your mind and heart up with those things that stimulate your desire to become holy and pleasing to God.  He who lacks a passion for spiritual growth lacks it because he chooses to seek after sinful things rather than godly things.

      Pursue those things that stimulate your soul and cause you to want God’s presence in your life.  Faith must be an action verb in your life; you live it and not just talk about it. Love must be an active force in your life.  You must choose to love God, others, and yourself on a daily and consistent basis.  Peace must be your goal as you relate to God and others.  Fellowship with others who are seeking God with pure hearts is essential for your spiritual well-being. 

      Living a life that pleases God doesn’t just happen.  It takes a commitment of the heart.  It requires work and sacrifice.  It is a way of life that never changes.  We must seek to be right with God always.  He is our primary focus in life.  Losing your focus on Christ is a slow death for your soul.

      Pursue godliness and run from all wickedness.  Do this and you will live in victory in Jesus.  You will feast on the riches of His grace and bask in His love, both now and forever.

FOUNDATION FOR LIVING

FOUNDATION FOR LIVING

II Tim. 2:19 But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his” and “Those who claim they belong to the Lord must turn away from all wickedness.”  NLT

      There is no foundation worthy of building our lives upon other than God’s truth.  A life built on any other foundation is weak and will crumble in the midst of the storms of life.  It is imperative for a healthy walk with God to stay grounded in the truth of God’s Word.

      The Lord knows who are His and those who aren’t.  We are easily fooled by the appearance of others.  We cannot see the heart of man and so we must be very careful when we make judgments about their hearts.  We can even fool ourselves about ourselves.  Just because we live like a child of God, believe the Bible to be true, pray and go to church doesn’t mean we are children of God.  These things are important and should characterize a believer’s life, but they do not make us a child of God.  A child of God is one who sincerely confesses his sins before Christ, asks Him for forgiveness and then lives like it.  No one will make it to heaven by bypassing the cross.

      Those who are truly children of God will turn away from all wickedness.  There will be an obvious changing of lifestyles, both publicly and privately.  There will be conscious choices made daily to turn away from sin.  There will be a desire to not sin.  There will be consistency in the way he does what is right before God and shuns what is evil.  There will be consistency in his desire to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. 

      A child of God MUST turn away from all wickedness.  He is compelled to do so because the Spirit is at work in him to make him holy.  You cannot be a child of God and live in fellowship with Satan.  You will hate sin and be determined to be a victor over it instead of a victim of it.  God hates sin and knowing that motivates us to turn away from all wickedness.

CANCEROUS DISCUSSIONS

CANCEROUS DISCUSSIONS

II Tim. 2:16,17a  Avoid godless, foolish discussions that lead to more and more ungodliness. This kind of talk spreads like cancer.  NLT

      There's a lot to talk about isn't there? People talk about everything, nothing is too holy or degrading to express our opinions on. Some things are good for us to discuss, and some things are bad for us. Scripture reminds us over and over again to think about the things that edify us and draw us closer to God. We also are reminded that we speak what is in our hearts. If our heart is right with God, our talk with be alright with Him.

      Any conversation that glorifies sin or degrades others is godless talk. Any conversation that just goes around in circles and goes nowhere is foolish talk. There are many good things to talk about that are not spiritual in nature and there is nothing wrong with it. But when our talk is governed by our sinful nature, we must take responsibility for it and allow the Lord to change us.

     We know how fast word gets around. We like to repeat what we think we hear, whether we hear it right or not. We pass on what we think we heard as being gospel. We interject our own words and often change the intent of the original conversation. Each person who hears what has been repeated filters it through their own minds and passes it on. Before you know it, it's all over town and way off base from what was really said. Often this scenario happens at the expense of the original parties. Like cancer, it can destroy the reputation or character of innocent people.

     Godless, foolish discussions are cancerous discussions.  They eat away and destroy relationships.  There is nothing good that comes from them and they should be avoided whenever they pop up.  They only add fuel to the fire of negativity and they breed ungodliness. 

     So, heed today's advice. Watch your heart, mind, and tongue. Let the Spirit control you. Let Him guide you. Let Him teach you the things of God. Strive to let nothing but good and helpful things come out of your mouth. If you do these things, God will be well-pleased.

GODLESS DISCUSSIONS

GODLESS DISCUSSIONS

II Tim. 2:16 Avoid godless, foolish discussions that lead to more and more ungodliness.  NLT

      If a spiritual conversation does not help to enhance spiritual understanding and growth, then avoid it.  It is non-productive to debate Scripture simply because we know we are right on how we interpret it and we are not willing to see it any other way but how we have been taught and believe.  We are defensive by nature and are not open to a different way of seeing things.  It is best to not get into discussions that we are not willing to learn from.  It is true within church circles and especially true in the world.

      Non-believers who are more interested in picking a fight over truth rather than listening to it will never let truth lead them to godliness.  It is a waste of time to try and argue people out of darkness.  The only way godless people will ever come into the Light is through the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.  Rather than get into discussions with them that go nowhere, we should pray for them and ask the Lord to convict them of sin.

       Godless discussions are those where the mind shuts out any consideration of God.  The ears may hear, but the mind doesn’t listen.  It is futility at its best.  No matter how convincingly truth may be presented, if the hearer doesn’t have ears to hear, it won’t get through.  The heart is hardened and will do anything it can to deny the truth.  

      People will pay more attention to how we live than what we say.  Godless discussions can be shut out and refuted, but living Christ-like lives cannot be.  Unless our living backs up what we say, we will not be heard.  People will respect what you say when they learn to respect your life.

SHAMELESS

SHAMELESS

II Tim. 2:15 Work hard so God can approve you. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.  NLT

       It takes hard work to get to the point where you can correctly handle the Word of God. The Scriptures are not easy reading. You cannot read them like you might a novel or a newspaper. The mind and heart of God are very deep and require great effort on our part to even begin to understand them. The Spirit helps us to understand many things, but He never goes deeper or faster than what we can handle.

      Much harm is caused by those who have a superficial knowledge of the Word. Many things are taken out of context and misapplied to suit personal tastes. Many times people will use the Word for their own advantage and purposes. Many things are taught that go contrary to the nature and heart of God. Many things spoken of by God are overlooked and never talked about. Many blessings of God are missed because of our ignorance or misuse of the Word.

      We must commit ourselves to working hard at our quest for an understanding of God, how we relate to Him, and how we relate to the world we live in. We are limited by our capacity to learn because we are human and not God, but we can do a much better job of it than we usually do. It takes a lot of hard work to become a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

      How much effort do you put into growing in your understanding of the things of God? In an age in which many churches are cutting back on what they require of their people, we must be all the more diligent. We must take advantage of the many resources God gives us to learn. There is no valid excuse for us to be slothful in our efforts to be worthy servants of our Lord. Understanding never is gained by looking at a Bible that does nothing but gathers dust between Sundays.  A dusty Bible usually characterizes a worker who needs to be ashamed.

       There are many things you won’t ever understand in the Word.  There are going to be times in which you don’t correctly handle the Word, but never let it be because you did not put forth the effort to learn.  Shameless are those who work hard to correctly know and handle the Word of God.

WORK HARD

WORK HARD

II Tim. 2:15 Work hard so God can approve you. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.  NLT

      Hard work never killed anybody.  It is good for the soul to work hard, especially as it pertains to your spiritual life.  The harder you work at becoming a godly person, the more you will enjoy the riches of God’s grace.  Only those who work hard meet with God’s approval.  It takes great effort to overcome our sinful natures and live righteously before God.  We must never think that we can coast and rest on our laurels.  Satan relentlessly is waiting for us to relax so he can catch us off guard and attack us. 

      When we work hard on our relationship with God it results in our working hard to serve Him. A hard worker for Christ will never be ashamed before Him.  He will do what pleases the Lord.  He will not be perfect, but he will become whom the Lord wants Him to be.

       A hard worker handles correctly the Word of God.  He is a student of the Word and becomes a good teacher of it.  It takes much more than a casual reading of the Word to be able to handle it correctly.   We must meditate on it and allow the Spirit of God to give us an understanding of it.  There is a need to know what God means in the heart of those who diligently are seeking Him.

      There is no place in the Kingdom of God for laziness.  We must always strive to do our best to be our best for Him who is the best.  God approves of those who work hard at their salvation for He knows that it leads to godliness of heart.

       We ought to be ashamed of ourselves when we don’t have a workable knowledge of the Scriptures.  It ought to shame us when we can’t in good conscience share our faith because we fail to make it work in us.  We ought to be ashamed when our walk of faith does not back up our talk of faith.  Work hard and God won’t be ashamed of you, and neither will you.

FIGHTING OVER WORDS

FIGHTING OVER WORDS

II Tim. 2:14 Remind everyone of these things, and command them in God’s name to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them.  NLT

      Paul wanted Timothy to remind the church that the most important issue in life is one’s relationship with Christ.  Seeking Christ in His holiness trumps every other endeavor in life.  He then wanted Timothy to intervene and stop the fruitless arguing going on in the church. 

      We don’t know what was being said to create such a ruckus, but evidently, it was disrupting the fellowship of the church.  People were taking a stand contrary to what others were taking.  It probably had something to do with an interpretation of how to best live out the faith.  They didn’t have the written Scriptures that we do today, so it had to be more with practice than doctrine. 

       Or perhaps they were taking sides over basic doctrinal positions that were a problem in the early Church regarding Jewish customs and Gentile believers.  Many of the Jewish believers had a hard time accepting the fact that Gentile believers did not have to conform to the Jewish way of living.  Whatever it was, there was a verbal sparring going on.

       Fighting over words has plagued the Church ever since its formation.  The reason why the Church couldn’t stay together as one Church was because people simply couldn’t stay in fellowship with those who disagreed with them.  The need to be right trumped the need to live rightly with each other.  People have struggled with the concept of agreeing to disagree agreeably for centuries.  We talk a lot about grace, but we are poor to practice it with those we don’t agree with.

       If as much energy were to be spent living out faith in a lost world as we spend on trying to be right, we would revolutionize the world for Christ.  Arguing over Scripture is useless and a waste of time and energy.  Seldom will anyone be convinced they are wrong through argumentative discussions.  We dig our heels in and won’t listen to anyone who disagrees with us.  We let our emotions drive us and not reason.  Arguing just drives people away from each other and often ruins the faith of those who observe it. 

      The love of Christ ought to bind us together and not tear us apart.  When we get into an argumentative mindset, we are not being driven by the love of God.  We are not living what we preach and unless we repent, all we will do is to damage or destroy the fellowship of the brethren that should be the way of life in the church. 

       The world is quickly slipping into hell and we are so busy arguing with each other in our holy huddles that we scarcely notice or care. 

FOLLOW THE RULES

FOLLOW THE RULES

II Tim. 2:5 Follow the Lord’s rules for doing his work, just as an athlete either follows the rules or is disqualified and wins no prize.  NLT

       We have our own ideas on how things should be done.  Sometimes our ideas are in agreement with other people’s ideas and sometimes they are not.  We tend to want to do things our way.  Experience teaches us that when we follow the rules established by others who have already been where we are at and found them to work, we are better off.  It is never a good idea to make up our own rules as we go along in life.

      When we follow the Lord’s rules, we are following one who has the knowledge and wisdom to know what is best for us.  He knows all the details of how to best live to get the best results.  He knows the end from the beginning of all things and has established the guidelines for us to get there.  He IS the way and wise is he who does things His way.  We cannot know God’s rules unless we read His rule book, the Bible, and study it well.

      The rules of the Lord can be summed up simply in this: live a holy life before God.  All that God desires for us to do is to be a holy people.  A holy people are an effective witness for Him in the world.  They are the movers and shakers of the Kingdom.  They are the ones who get the work of the Kingdom done.  They are the ones who are truly blessed by God.

      Failing to become holy before God is lethal for the soul.  God commands it for His children and all who fail to pursue it are disqualified for the race of life.  Think about it.  Paul makes it clear in I Corinthians 1:30 that Jesus is our wisdom, righteousness, and holiness from God.  Now if we are truly saved, we are made holy by Christ.  If we are not living a holy life, then it is safe to say that we are not saved and ready for heaven. 

       It then behooves us to follow God’s rules for living and strive to be holy in every area of our lives.   Everything we do should be characterized by holiness. 

TEACH TO PASS ON

TEACH TO PASS ON

II Tim. 2:2  You have heard me teach many things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses.  Teach these great truths to trustworthy people who are able to pass them on to others.   NLT

      The Gospel message was never meant to be hoarded.  We are to learn it well from others and teach it well to others.  We know the Gospel is true when we see it at work in others.  It's not enough to just hear it preached and taught; we need to see it lived as well.  When the two mesh together, we know indeed that it is true and necessary for us to live. 

       Paul mentions reliable witnesses.  It is important that we listen to those whom we know are reliable.  We need to be cautious when listening to people we don't know anything about in their personal lives.  It is easy to be fooled by what people say so as much as it is possible, strive to discern a person's reliability before ingesting what they say.

      Once we learn what we need to know, we are to in turn pass it on to others who are trustworthy, people who are sincerely wanting to learn the truths of the Gospel.  It is not possible for us to know another's heart, but we can usually tell whether or not a person really is interested in learning the truth.  And if they do want to know what you know, you are responsible for passing it on.

      Our goal should always be to keep the flame burning.  It is essential for the cause of Christ to instill the Gospel message in each new generation.  The more we pass it on, the more people will be brought into the Kingdom of God.  Disciples make disciples. 

       Are you a hoarder of the Gospel message or, are you passing it on to others?  Hoarders bear no fruit and the Lord warns us that those who bear no fruit will not make it to heaven.  Teach those who will listen to pass it on for the glory and honor of Christ in the world.

WE CAN'T DO IT

WE CAN’T DO IT

II Tim. 1:14 With the help of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard what has been entrusted to you.  NLT

      We can't do it alone. We need the Spirit's help if we are going to effectively protect that which God has revealed and given to us. Left alone, our sinful nature will take that which we have and cause us to misuse or abuse it. We are easily influenced by our sinfulness and must not ever think we don't need God's help at keeping ourselves pure in thought and deed.

     The Spirit lives in every believer, but I wonder just how much we allow the Spirit to really live in us. What the Spirit is capable of doing and producing is amazing, yet we limit His work in us. His work includes pointing us to Christ, presenting the truth in a way we can understand, producing fruit in us that others can see, and putting gifts in each of us so that we can serve the Lord more effectively. The Spirit gives us all the resources we need to live holy and productive lives before God.

      We must not take for granted His presence and power. We must let Him work freely in us and with His help protect that which has been entrusted to us. No matter how far along you are in faith, make it a priority in your life to cooperate with the Spirit as He works in you to make you a workman that does not need to be ashamed. Let Him change you and lead you into godliness so that you will be a servant whom the Lord can say, "Well done, with you I am well-pleased."

      He who fails to carefully guard his walk with the Lord and all that is entrusted to him will soon fall into sin.  We cannot stay out of sin on our own, but with the Holy Spirit’s help, we can do all things.  He will stand guard over your soul if you will surrender your soul to Him.

NOT ASHAMED

NOT ASHAMED

II Tim. 1:12 And that is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.  NLT

      Paul was a powerful witness for Christ.  Everywhere he went he made sure that he preached and taught the truth about Jesus.  Some people accepted his message and many didn’t.  Those who rejected Paul’s message often rejected him.  They would go out of their way to make life miserable for Paul because they themselves were miserable.  They would make Paul suffer physically in ways that most of us will never have to experience.  Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter simply because he would not shut up.  He was compelled to preach and teach the Word of God.

      Paul considered it a privilege and joy to be in prison for the sake of the Gospel.  He felt like he did because he was totally committed to Christ.  He loved Him as much as any man could possibly love Him.  He was not ashamed of the life he lived because he knew that to the best of his ability he was living rightly before God.  Paul was absolutely confident that his life was not in vain, that God was pleased with him and would keep him safe in Him not only in this life but in death as well.

     The issue that we must consider as well is how confident we are that we are living a life in Christ that pleases God.  In light of God’s Word, are you living a consistent, godly life?  Are you living a life that pleases God, or do you have things that you are ashamed of?  Are you absolutely sure that God is protecting your soul and will welcome you into His presence someday?

       If there is any doubt at all in your mind today about the life you are living, today is the day that you need to get things straightened out with God.  Don’t put it off.  The longer you mess around the farther away from God you will drift.  He wants you to know that you know that all is well with your soul.  Entrust your soul to Him who is the keeper of the soul and you will never be disappointed.

      Suffering may very well be a part of your faith walk.  If it is, there is no shame with that.  It is a badge of honor to suffer for the Lord.  If you do suffer because of your faith, it means that you are living the faith and others are noticing.

       Don’t give up.  The Lord is coming and when He does, He will take all who faithfully live in Him home to be with Him in heaven.

GOD CHOSE US

GOD CHOSE US

II Tim. 1:9  It is God who saved us and chose us to live a holy life.  He did this not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan long before the world began--to show his love and kindness to us through Christ Jesus.  NLT

       No one can save himself from God's wrath.  No one can earn their way into God's favor.  No one can live a holy life on their own.  There is absolutely nothing we can do that is going to help us to become a child of God.  We are saved and made holy by what Christ does for us.  Period. 

      Why would Jesus do what He has done for us?  He loves us eternally and before He ever created anything, He made the decision to make it possible for us to be saved.  God knew what it would take for us to be made holy before Him and committed himself to doing it.  He knew before He created us that we would reject Him and spurn His love.  He knew that sin would captivate our souls and condemn us to hell.  He knew that only He could change our sinful hearts and make us holy.  Because He created us in His own image to be the objects of His love and to have fellowship with Him, He made the decision to come to earth to die for our sins at Calvary.

      There is no greater display of love than the love God showed us through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.  Jesus is God's display of love for all humanity for all time.  No one can love God and live for Him apart from Jesus.  Calvary makes it possible for us to be saved and made holy before God.  Jesus is the ONLY way we can have life in God for all of eternity. 

FEAR AND TIMIDITY

FEAR AND TIMIDITY

II Tim. 1:7-8a For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. So you must never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.  NLT

      God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, so why do we have it?  Why is it that we are afraid to share the Gospel with those outside of the church?  Why do we avoid conversations that require us to take a stand for the Gospel?  Fear does not come from the Lord, so guess where it comes from—Satan.

      God gives us the power to speak out for Him.  We don’t speak out because we don’t have it, it’s because we don’t claim the power we have or use it.  We have it, but we don’t cooperate with God and use it.  We think too much about the circumstances and not enough about what we can do through Christ who gives us the strength and power to obey Him.

       Perhaps another reason why we aren’t being active witnesses for Christ is that we lack genuine love for the lost.  Let’s be honest; a lack of love for people plagues us.  If we truly love others as Christ loves them we would care that they are lost and going to hell.  If we were motivated by love we would do what we could do to help them see the Light and be saved.

      Another thing that holds us back is we lack self-disciple.  We do not train ourselves to be witnesses for Him.  We are sloppy in our spiritual disciplines and thus too self-centered.  We need to discipline ourselves in the things of God and if we do, we will want to share Him with others.

      We should never be ashamed to tell others about Christ.  We should always count it a privilege to be the Lord’s mouthpieces.  Let us be bold, put to use the power of God within us, and boldly be witnesses for Christ with both our words and deeds.

VALUE YOUR GIFTS

VALUE YOUR GIFTS

II. Tim. 1:6-7 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.  NLT

     The thing that really speaks to me from these verses is Paul's admonition to Timothy to fan into flames his spiritual gift that God gave him. I believe it is imperative that we value greatly the gift(s) God gives us. We should accept our giftedness with thanksgiving. We should be moved by our love for Christ to develop our giftedness to the best of our ability. We should determine in our hearts to give the Lord our best efforts in using our gifts in His service.

      When we fail to properly value our gifts, we are insulting our Lord who gave them to us. Whatever you have been given to use for the glory of Christ, don't take your gifts for granted. Don't go around thinking that anything less than your best is good enough.

       For Timothy, God gave him the gift of being a leader in the church. He was a pastor. And Paul was telling Timothy to let it be seen by all that he was gifted by God to lead. In the same way, we must strive to excel in how we exercise our giftedness in the church. Be the best that you can be for the glory of Christ and all will see and give God the glory.

      Gifts vary in type and function. We are all different and serve the Lord differently. Whatever we do in service to Christ is our gift. It is offered up to the Lord in love. Using our gifts is an act of worship that pleases the Lord. Each of us have things we can do for the Lord. Whatever you do, discipline yourself to do it well. How we use our gifts is a reflection of our heart for the Lord. If your heart is right with God, you will willingly and eagerly do what you can for Him.

      You have things you can do to serve the Lord. It is your responsibility to identify them and use them. The Lord holds us accountable for what we do for Him.

FAN INTO FLAMES

FAN INTO FLAMES

II Tim. 1:6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.  NLT

      First of all, do you know what your spiritual giftedness is?  What do you do well that enables you to effectively communicate with others the Gospel message?  Every believer is equipped with a spiritual gift.  The Lord enables every believer so that they can serve Him and share with others the faith.  It is important that you know what your gift is.  If you don’t know, ask the Lord and others what it is.  There is no excuse for not knowing.  It is our responsibility to use our gift(s) and if we don’t know what they are, how can we use them?

      We are to fan into flame our gifts.  We are to develop our gifts so that we are most effective in our witness and service that we can be.  In order to develop our gifts, we must first be in training.  We must discover ways to be the best we can be for Christ.  We must strive to improve upon our gifts. 

      The Lord doesn’t make us the best we can be the moment He redeems us.  He molds and shapes us into better servants as we grow in Him.  He gives us opportunities to hone our skills.  It is our responsibility to fan into flame our gifts.  We must keep the flame burning brightly by feeding our souls and using our gifts. 

       Failing to use our gifts for the Lord will cause us to wither away and die as far as usefulness in the Kingdom of God is concerned.  God saves us for usefulness, not uselessness.  We must always heed the warnings of Scripture about the fate of those who are useless servants of the Lord.  The Lord holds us accountable for what we do and what we don’t do with our gifts.

RUN FROM EVIL

RUN FROM EVIL

I Tim. 6:11-12 But you, Timothy, belong to God; so run from all these evil things, and follow what is right and good. Pursue a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for what we believe. Hold tightly to the eternal life that God has given you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses.  NLT

      The first and most important thing for you to know today is that you belong to God.  If there is any shred of doubt in your mind about this, don’t mess around and waste another moment of your life.  Make sure that you know that you are a child of God.  Base your knowledge on God’s Word and not your feelings.  If you acknowledge your sins before Christ, believe in your heart that He can save you, ask Him to forgive you, and claim His forgiveness for your soul, you belong to God.  If you let feelings drive you, you will never be settled in your soul about your salvation.

      A child of God runs from all that is evil.  He doesn’t mess around.  He doesn’t stand around or walk in the midst of it; he runs from it.  He understands the effect evil can have on his soul and has nothing to do with it.  Instead, he pursues a godly life.  He endeavors to live by faith in Christ.  He endeavors to let the love of God flow through him.  He never gives up and always seeks to be gentle in spirit.

       A child of God understands how powerful the draw of evil is.  It can overpower us and pull us in no matter how good our intentions are.  He recognizes when he is beginning to slip, to give in, and takes action to stop his downward spiral as soon as he can.

A child of God is not a bystander.  He fights for what he believes in.  He stands strong and fights well because he is well prepared to fight.  He knows that the Gospel is true and well worth fighting for.  He is not afraid to readily share with others that he is a child of the King.

      A child of God holds on tightly to his eternal life.  He is not swayed by the allurements of this life.  He stays focused on that which is eternal and lives in readiness daily for his entrance into it.  He understands the temporary pleasures of sin are death to his soul.  When he is surrounded by evil or plagued by evil thoughts, he regroups and focuses on Christ and His Word.

MONEY AND FAITH

MONEY AND FAITH

I Tim. 6:10 For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.  NLT

       Most of us are very familiar with this verse of Scripture.  We have heard many sermons that have reminded us of its truthfulness.  We notice the effect money has on people and often cringe at how it has wreaked havoc in their lives.  We look at ourselves and if we are honest we have to admit that it has more power over us than we care to admit.

      What always strikes me about the power of money over us is that it can cause some people to get so wrapped up in it that they have wandered from the faith in their pursuit of it.  There is just something about money and the things it can do that draws us away from God.  We develop a passion for money and it consumes us to the point where we lose grip on our passion for God.  God gets replaced in our lives and we find ourselves suffering from spiritual starvation. 

      We get caught up into money’s grip and discover that there are many sorrows associated with it.  The more we have, the more we want.  The more we want the more debt we are willing to incur that we might get it.  The more debt we have, the harder we discover it is to get out of it.  On and on the cycle goes.

      Wise and satisfied is the soul who seeks to find his satisfaction in the Lord and not what He provides.  Wise is he who knows that his relationship with the Lord is all that really matters in life.  Wise is he who is able to live in peace and be content in God.

      Thank the Lord for what you may have, but don’t let what you have be more important to you than Him.  Let the Lord have control of all you have and the desires of your heart and you will not be held captive by the things of the world.

MORE IS NOT BETTER

MORE IS NOT BETTER

I Tim. 6:8-9 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.  NLT

      It’s hard to be content with what we have in life, isn’t it?  We live in a culture that promotes discontentment.  We are told daily that we don’t have enough, that life would be so much better if we had more and better things.  We are conditioned to think that more is better.  We live our lives with the distorted belief that a lot of “stuff” will satisfy our souls and then wonder why we can never find peace and joy in our living when we get it. 

     The trap of pursuing more is so subtle that few are even aware of its dangers.  In order to get what we think we want, we have to compromise so much of our souls.  When corners are cut to get ahead, they soon become a part of our thinking.  When we let ourselves do things that we know are wrong for personal gain, we soon lose our consciousness about them being wrong.  Soon we begin to do other things that are wrong in other areas of our lives and we become a people barely recognizable from whom we were before we started out on our journey.

      It is imperative for the health of our souls that we operate always from godly principles.  Compromising God’s ways for personal gain will not only damage but eventually, it will destroy our souls.  We will become hardened to the truth and become enemies of God. 

      I challenge you to examine your heart today.  Is there any area of your life where you have taken the easy and convenient path at the expense of the integrity of your heart?  Are you living a godly life in all you do?  Are you striving always to please God rather than yourself or others?

      God blesses those who learn to be content and thankful with what He provides.  More is not better.