“Now the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.” (1 Timothy 1:5 CSB)
When Paul left Ephesus after the riot, he left Timothy to remain there and serve as the pastor and leader of the Ephesian church. The church was experiencing some problems with some personalities who were intent on teaching some doctrines that were false. These doctrines had to do with myths and genealogies and the law. Timothy’s responsibility was to deal with these folks especially and command them to not teach such doctrines
Paul had a word of advice for Timothy with regard to his leadership in this effort. He told Timothy that the goal of the instructions he was giving to Timothy was love. “Agape” was to be central in all of this, and Paul wanted this love to spring forth from three launch pads: 1) a pure heart, 2) a good conscience, and 3) a sincere faith. He wanted to be sure that what Timothy was asked to do would be understood by those receiving Timothy’s leadership as having the highest of motives with the highest of goals.
At least one “take-away” we receive from this is that HOW we do something is at least as important as WHAT we do. That is true in communication as well. How we communicate is as important as what we communicate. If Timothy were to use heavy-handed tactics in accomplishing his task, the goal of love would not likely be reached. Timothy needed to understand the importance of positive and lofty motives, so that the goal of love could be reached. There was no guarantee that the goal would be reached, of course, but whether reached or not, Paul knew that accountability calls for leaders to carry out ministry from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith, because if motives are doubtful, the outcomes will also be in doubt. Having the possibility of achieving the highest goal is made all the more reasonable by having the highest of motives.
Lord, Help us today and each day to base all our actions and ministries on a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith as we attempt to bear witness to You in our world today. Amen.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
When God Is Silent
“God of my praise, do not be silent.” (Psalm 109:1 CSB)
Sometimes God is. Silent. Sometimes it only seems that way, since we have the Word of God at our fingertips, but even then we can find ourselves longing from some direct, specific word from Him. That is especially true when we find ourselves entering into deep, uncharted waters. When life may not be going as well as we had hoped it might, when life that has been going great suddenly seems to go south, or when we find ourselves encountering problems, difficulties, struggles, and agonies we never thought we would, we find ourselves feeling desperate for some word from the Lord.
Whether God is being silent or it only seems that way, still we go to Him, and we go in faith, praise, and worship. Who else is there to go to? There is no other. And our history with Him tells us that when we go to Him, He will stand with us and help us, because He is a compassionate God and knows that we are “children of the dust.” If He is being silent, we simply need to abide in Him and wait for His word, and it will come as it always does – at just the right time, according to His sovereign will.
Lord, There is no one else we can go to. You are the Lord. We come to You with our praise and worship, and we come in faith. And we trust ourselves to You, even if what we hear is silence. For we know that in Your time, You will answer. Amen.
Sometimes God is. Silent. Sometimes it only seems that way, since we have the Word of God at our fingertips, but even then we can find ourselves longing from some direct, specific word from Him. That is especially true when we find ourselves entering into deep, uncharted waters. When life may not be going as well as we had hoped it might, when life that has been going great suddenly seems to go south, or when we find ourselves encountering problems, difficulties, struggles, and agonies we never thought we would, we find ourselves feeling desperate for some word from the Lord.
Whether God is being silent or it only seems that way, still we go to Him, and we go in faith, praise, and worship. Who else is there to go to? There is no other. And our history with Him tells us that when we go to Him, He will stand with us and help us, because He is a compassionate God and knows that we are “children of the dust.” If He is being silent, we simply need to abide in Him and wait for His word, and it will come as it always does – at just the right time, according to His sovereign will.
Lord, There is no one else we can go to. You are the Lord. We come to You with our praise and worship, and we come in faith. And we trust ourselves to You, even if what we hear is silence. For we know that in Your time, You will answer. Amen.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Loving Regardless
“I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35 CSB)
The Passover celebration for Jesus and His disciples began normally that evening until Jesus took a towel. What followed amazed His disciples, and it obviously even upset some of them. He washed their feet. His example was intended to teach them that love and serving go together. Then, later in the evening, Jesus gave them His new commandment to love one another as He had loved them.
We sometimes overlook an important point in these interactions. Who were those included in having their feet washed? We can understand mostly what Jesus did, this side of the story at least, but what we sometimes do not notice so much was that Judas Iscariot was included among those whose feet Jesus washed. It is important that we notice this.
“Agape” love is indiscriminate. We don’t pick and choose those were are going to love and serve. We love because the Holy Spirit dwells within us prompting us to love and to serve, and we cannot simply love some and not love others. To take that route is to go a way Jesus did not teach. We are to love our enemies as much as we love one another. That, you see, takes love to another level. It’s easy to love those who love us, and anybody can do that; but loving those who do not love us very much and who may, in fact, hate us or wish to harm us or our faith in some way takes a love that is beyond ourselves to produce. That is why Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit. We are dependent on Him to help us do this. So, obeying the commandment Jesus gave us requires that we depend on the Holy Spirit to enable us.
We may not like the “Judas Iscariots” of the world or their actions, but “agape” love requires that we love them as much as we love anyone.
Lord, We recognize, or at least we think we do, the difficulty of loving others as much as You have loved us. We only know that apart from You and Your Spirit, we do not have this capacity, so we ask You to fill us with Your Spirit and enable us to carry out this commandment. Amen.
The Passover celebration for Jesus and His disciples began normally that evening until Jesus took a towel. What followed amazed His disciples, and it obviously even upset some of them. He washed their feet. His example was intended to teach them that love and serving go together. Then, later in the evening, Jesus gave them His new commandment to love one another as He had loved them.
We sometimes overlook an important point in these interactions. Who were those included in having their feet washed? We can understand mostly what Jesus did, this side of the story at least, but what we sometimes do not notice so much was that Judas Iscariot was included among those whose feet Jesus washed. It is important that we notice this.
“Agape” love is indiscriminate. We don’t pick and choose those were are going to love and serve. We love because the Holy Spirit dwells within us prompting us to love and to serve, and we cannot simply love some and not love others. To take that route is to go a way Jesus did not teach. We are to love our enemies as much as we love one another. That, you see, takes love to another level. It’s easy to love those who love us, and anybody can do that; but loving those who do not love us very much and who may, in fact, hate us or wish to harm us or our faith in some way takes a love that is beyond ourselves to produce. That is why Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit. We are dependent on Him to help us do this. So, obeying the commandment Jesus gave us requires that we depend on the Holy Spirit to enable us.
We may not like the “Judas Iscariots” of the world or their actions, but “agape” love requires that we love them as much as we love anyone.
Lord, We recognize, or at least we think we do, the difficulty of loving others as much as You have loved us. We only know that apart from You and Your Spirit, we do not have this capacity, so we ask You to fill us with Your Spirit and enable us to carry out this commandment. Amen.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Angry in Spirit
“When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, He was angry in His spirit and deeply moved. ‘Where have you put him?’ He asked.” (John 11:33-34 CSB)
This particular translation of John 11:33 translates a word as “angry in spirit.” It’s an interesting word. It literally means “to snort like a horse.” The King James Version translated it as “groaned in His spirit,” while the New American Standard Bible renders it as “troubled.” This word is used elsewhere to describe the emotion of Jesus, for example, in the Garden of Gethsemane.
When Jesus came to the outer area of the place where Lazarus, Martha, and Mary lived, Martha went out to greet Him. In that conversation Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.” Martha then went to get Mary, who came crying, with some of the Jews who came with her also crying. Then occurs this verse that when Jesus saw this He was “angry in His spirit and deeply moved.”
We might wonder what prompted this strong emotion in Jesus. Could it have been the fact of the death of Lazarus, and, if so, what about his death brought on this emotion? Could it have been the apparent victory of sin at that moment, represented in the disbelief of those He saw and their sense of hopelessness? And we might also need to ask whether this emotion was anger in the sense we understand anger or whether it was really more of a deep groaning related to sorrow as a result of all the disbelief and sin that was at work in the lives of these people.
We actually may not be able to answer these questions to our satisfaction, but it is clear that there was a deep feeling of indignation and groaning in Jesus’ spirit in this event. It seems that this emotion was prompted by the reality that these folks still had such little comprehension of who He was, that they still did not get it. Their lack of discernment, resulting in a sense of hopelessness, is likely what caused Jesus to feel this indignation.
Before we come down too hard on these folks, we should probably take a little stock on our own levels of discernment. It may well be that there remains a serious lack of faith in us, a serious lack of discernment about just who Jesus is and what He can do. We say we believe, but belief requires action. Someone who prays for rain should be going out to buy an umbrella. Faith in Jesus trusts all of life to Him. And there is no room for hopelessness in that kind of faith.
Lord, Help us to act out our faith in You, and help us to be more discerning about who You are and what You can do. Let there be no room in us for hopelessness. May Your victory over sin on the cross also be our victory. Amen.
This particular translation of John 11:33 translates a word as “angry in spirit.” It’s an interesting word. It literally means “to snort like a horse.” The King James Version translated it as “groaned in His spirit,” while the New American Standard Bible renders it as “troubled.” This word is used elsewhere to describe the emotion of Jesus, for example, in the Garden of Gethsemane.
When Jesus came to the outer area of the place where Lazarus, Martha, and Mary lived, Martha went out to greet Him. In that conversation Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.” Martha then went to get Mary, who came crying, with some of the Jews who came with her also crying. Then occurs this verse that when Jesus saw this He was “angry in His spirit and deeply moved.”
We might wonder what prompted this strong emotion in Jesus. Could it have been the fact of the death of Lazarus, and, if so, what about his death brought on this emotion? Could it have been the apparent victory of sin at that moment, represented in the disbelief of those He saw and their sense of hopelessness? And we might also need to ask whether this emotion was anger in the sense we understand anger or whether it was really more of a deep groaning related to sorrow as a result of all the disbelief and sin that was at work in the lives of these people.
We actually may not be able to answer these questions to our satisfaction, but it is clear that there was a deep feeling of indignation and groaning in Jesus’ spirit in this event. It seems that this emotion was prompted by the reality that these folks still had such little comprehension of who He was, that they still did not get it. Their lack of discernment, resulting in a sense of hopelessness, is likely what caused Jesus to feel this indignation.
Before we come down too hard on these folks, we should probably take a little stock on our own levels of discernment. It may well be that there remains a serious lack of faith in us, a serious lack of discernment about just who Jesus is and what He can do. We say we believe, but belief requires action. Someone who prays for rain should be going out to buy an umbrella. Faith in Jesus trusts all of life to Him. And there is no room for hopelessness in that kind of faith.
Lord, Help us to act out our faith in You, and help us to be more discerning about who You are and what You can do. Let there be no room in us for hopelessness. May Your victory over sin on the cross also be our victory. Amen.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Powerful Praise
“My soul, praise the Lord, and all that is within me, praise His holy name. My soul, praise the Lord, and do not forget all His benefits.” (Psalm 103:1-2 CSB)
All of the psalms are wonderful, but psalm 103 is one of those that soars with a crisp, majestic beauty. It points us to powerful praise that impacts the deepest reaches of our souls. Note the content.
“All that is within me” is to praise the Lord. So, what is in me? This would include my: soul, spirit, heart, personality, thoughts, emotions, attitudes, and values, to name a few. We bring all of this that is within us before the Lord so that all of it may give praise to God.
We also must not forget all of His benefits. Throughout the psalm, the writer points to many of these: forgiveness, healing, redemption, love, compassion, goodness, and strength. All of these God provides to us for building us up in our relationship to Him and in our service to Him.
Note also what the writer says in verse 10, “He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our offenses.” Based on His absolute holiness, we deserve death for our sins, so for God to forgive us calls for Him to express a profound compassion. His compassion holds back the requirements of His holiness. We call this “grace.”
The thoughts of this psalm point us to the reality that God is the Source of all that is good in our lives. That makes Him worthy of praise from our viewpoint, but from the viewpoint of reality, God is worthy of praise simply because of who He is.
As God has graced us, so we must grace one another.
Lord, Thank You for allowing us to soar with Your Spirit today through the inspired Word You have provided. We join in Your praise and give thanks to You for the all-encompassing grace You have given us. As we have received Your grace, help us to grace one another as well.
All of the psalms are wonderful, but psalm 103 is one of those that soars with a crisp, majestic beauty. It points us to powerful praise that impacts the deepest reaches of our souls. Note the content.
“All that is within me” is to praise the Lord. So, what is in me? This would include my: soul, spirit, heart, personality, thoughts, emotions, attitudes, and values, to name a few. We bring all of this that is within us before the Lord so that all of it may give praise to God.
We also must not forget all of His benefits. Throughout the psalm, the writer points to many of these: forgiveness, healing, redemption, love, compassion, goodness, and strength. All of these God provides to us for building us up in our relationship to Him and in our service to Him.
Note also what the writer says in verse 10, “He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our offenses.” Based on His absolute holiness, we deserve death for our sins, so for God to forgive us calls for Him to express a profound compassion. His compassion holds back the requirements of His holiness. We call this “grace.”
The thoughts of this psalm point us to the reality that God is the Source of all that is good in our lives. That makes Him worthy of praise from our viewpoint, but from the viewpoint of reality, God is worthy of praise simply because of who He is.
As God has graced us, so we must grace one another.
Lord, Thank You for allowing us to soar with Your Spirit today through the inspired Word You have provided. We join in Your praise and give thanks to You for the all-encompassing grace You have given us. As we have received Your grace, help us to grace one another as well.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Give Thanks in Everything
“Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 CSB)
One person receives news that his stock has split, resulting in a windfall profit, while another person receives news that it’s leukemia. One person’s children all live highly productive lives, while another person’s children seem to always struggle with one thing or another.
We read the text above, and we are to give thanks for everything, no matter what? Well, that’s not exactly what it says. It says we are to give thanks “in” everything, not necessarily “for” everything. There’s a big difference between those two little prepositions. The idea is that, whatever is going on in your life, whether it is something you take as good news or not so good news, it is important for your spiritual well being to bring all of it before God in a spirit of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, you see, is more of an attitude we have toward God.
All of our experiences help us to grow. Whatever the experience, or event, or news that comes our way, God is able to help us grow, and we give thanks to Him simply because He is with us to sustain us, strengthen us, and challenge us, as well as to comfort and encourage us. Giving thanks to God in the midst of any and every experience actually has a way of lifting us up and pointing us toward hope. It is an affirmation of faith and an acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty. And that serves to build up our relationship of trust with our Lord.
Father, Help us through this day to give thanks to you in the midst of any experience we go through. Amen.
One person receives news that his stock has split, resulting in a windfall profit, while another person receives news that it’s leukemia. One person’s children all live highly productive lives, while another person’s children seem to always struggle with one thing or another.
We read the text above, and we are to give thanks for everything, no matter what? Well, that’s not exactly what it says. It says we are to give thanks “in” everything, not necessarily “for” everything. There’s a big difference between those two little prepositions. The idea is that, whatever is going on in your life, whether it is something you take as good news or not so good news, it is important for your spiritual well being to bring all of it before God in a spirit of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, you see, is more of an attitude we have toward God.
All of our experiences help us to grow. Whatever the experience, or event, or news that comes our way, God is able to help us grow, and we give thanks to Him simply because He is with us to sustain us, strengthen us, and challenge us, as well as to comfort and encourage us. Giving thanks to God in the midst of any and every experience actually has a way of lifting us up and pointing us toward hope. It is an affirmation of faith and an acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty. And that serves to build up our relationship of trust with our Lord.
Father, Help us through this day to give thanks to you in the midst of any experience we go through. Amen.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Ask
“God said, ‘Ask. What should I give you?’” (1 Kings 3:5b CSB)
What if God asked that question to you?
God appeared to Solomon in a dream and told him to ask. He said, “What should I give you?” You know the rest of the story. Solomon asked God for wisdom, for a discerning heart, so that he could rule Israel wisely and render good judgments. God gave him that and much more.
But what if God said to you, “Ask. What should I give you?” How would you answer? If you were sure that God would give you one thing that you asked of Him, what would you ask for?
Your answer to God would speak volumes about you, just as it did for Solomon. If you say to God what you value. It would speak of what drives your life.
In the New Testament we read, “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and don’t receive because you ask wrongly, so that you may spend it on your desires for pleasure.” (James 4:2c-3 CSB) We hear Jesus say, “Keep asking, and it will be given to you.” (Matthew 7:7a CSB) So, in the realm of possibilities, we might ask Jesus for that one thing we would like God to give us, and it might be granted. Thus it is important that we think about what is so important to us that we would ask God to give it to us. Who knows, He may just do that.
Lord, Help us to evaluate in our hearts and minds today those “things” of this life that drive us, so we can better know how to ask. Amen.
What if God asked that question to you?
God appeared to Solomon in a dream and told him to ask. He said, “What should I give you?” You know the rest of the story. Solomon asked God for wisdom, for a discerning heart, so that he could rule Israel wisely and render good judgments. God gave him that and much more.
But what if God said to you, “Ask. What should I give you?” How would you answer? If you were sure that God would give you one thing that you asked of Him, what would you ask for?
Your answer to God would speak volumes about you, just as it did for Solomon. If you say to God what you value. It would speak of what drives your life.
In the New Testament we read, “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and don’t receive because you ask wrongly, so that you may spend it on your desires for pleasure.” (James 4:2c-3 CSB) We hear Jesus say, “Keep asking, and it will be given to you.” (Matthew 7:7a CSB) So, in the realm of possibilities, we might ask Jesus for that one thing we would like God to give us, and it might be granted. Thus it is important that we think about what is so important to us that we would ask God to give it to us. Who knows, He may just do that.
Lord, Help us to evaluate in our hearts and minds today those “things” of this life that drive us, so we can better know how to ask. Amen.
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