Footholds of the Devil

"and do not give the devil an opportunity." Ephesians 4.27 in the New American Standard Bible. The New International Version says, "and do not give the devil a foothold." While the King James Version says, "Neither give place to the devil." To really get at the meaning of this word, to get the correct translation, we have to go back to the original text.

The word in Greek is topon which is a form of the word topos meaning, "place, opportunity, position, room, space, dwelling, or seat." Every translation of the Bible has this word correctly translated, we are told not to allow Satan into our lives. We can't give him an opportunity to enter our lives, we can't give him a chance to get a grip.

As I look at the different translations of this word I think about what they mean. Place, room, space, and dwelling are very similar. At my parent's house I had a room. It was my space to unpack, to live. At college I had a dorm room, a dwelling place where I could set up and work on projects. We aren't supposed to let Satan have this space in our lives. When we let the devil have a place in our hearts he is able to unpack his equipment, he can work on projects and begin his work at destroying our relationships.

When I think of the word position, my mind immediately goes to a battle, and a place of strategic advantage, like a hill top, or a cliff face looking over a beach as enemy troops attack. Position is a strong hold that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. When we let the devil in, he immediately goes to the hill top and sets up his base. Once he's there it is difficult to get him out because he has a well defended position. From there he can pick his targets and take them out at will.

Seat is a word that is close to my heart. A seat is at a table, you occupy one as you have a meal. The best times to build relationships are at meals, because everyone has to eat. Everyone will come into the kitchen, not everyone will get to your living room. A seat requires an invitation, you invite someone to join you at the table for a meal. At the table you sit and talk as you enjoy a meal. You share stories and deepen relationships. If we allow Satan into our lives we've invited him to the table. He's a dinner guest who monopolizes the conversation and ruins the evening.

Don't allow Satan to have an opportunity to unpack in a room. Don't allow him to have the opportunity to climb the hill and set up his base. Don't allow him to have the opportunity to ruin relationships by taking over a meal. When we allow him into our lives we've given him all of these opportunities, and once he's there he begins his work of destroying our relationships.

As I look at this I think about the different ways we give Satan a foothold. In Ephesians it says that Anger can become a foothold. It's the only place the word is used, but it's not the only foothold. Philippians tells us not to be anxious, Anxiety or worry, is another foothold. There is Fear, the Bible tells us to "Fear not" dozens of times, because fear is a foothold of the devil. Pride is another one, along with Greed. In talking to my wife she mentioned Ignorance, and I thought of Apathy. All of these give Satan on invitation to the table, and all of them lead to broken relationships with others and with God.

Over the next few weeks I want to look at each one, and the scriptures that talk about how they destroy our relationships and therefore our lives. As we look at these, it is my hope that we can remove them form our lives. Some of them have positive qualities that we need, but Satan tries to corrupt them so that he can work. Others are fully negative and have no place in our lives and we need to do away with them.

God created us for relationships, and if we allow Satan to have a foothold he will begin to destroy them. So let's look at these so that we can remove the footholds, and keep Satan out.

Peace be with you

Theme of the Year

Today I was sitting at the local coffee house going over some stuff for Sunday night. I'm doing a brief look at 1 Timothy before we start Mere Christianity. This week is chapter 5 and 6. As I began to look at the blog I wrote a few weeks ago a word hit me, relationships. As I thought about it, that word has been hitting me a lot recently. I wrote it at the top of the page next to 2011.

I began to think about last year, the word for 2010 was "Christlikeness". Everything I studied, preached, read, focused on that. This year I've realized that the word is "relationships". It's a fitting topic really seeing as how I just got married.

I'm seeing the importance of relationships more and more. I'm seeing how so much of the Bible's teachings are about relationships. I shared some of this in my 1 Timothy findings. Now as I begin my next study this word has come to the forefront again.

Right now I'm at the beginning of a study on the different "footholds" of the devil. If you've read Ephesians you're familiar with 4.26-27, "Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity." (NASB) The NIV has the word "foothold" in place of opportunity, but I'll get into that more in the near future. Anger that leads to sin or that is allowed to stew is not the only foothold of Satan, and again my current study is looking at several of them.

The thing that I've noticed this year is that relationships are what life is all about. God said in the beginning, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;" God exists in relationship, He always has. We are made in the image of a relational God. He created us to exist in relationship with Him, but also with each other. "Then the LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.'" Genesis 2.18.

Satan hates God and everything He has done. His sole purpose is to attack God in a vain attempt to defeat Him. If everything is based on relationships, then that is the thing sin attacks the most. The first result of sin is death. Death is separation from God, it is a broken relationship with God. Secondly we see that sin attacks the relationships of humans, predominately the marriage relationship.

The foundation of society is the family, and the foundation of the family is the marriage. If a foundation is weak, then the entire structure is unstable. If the relationship between God and man is broken, then every human relationship is unstable because there is no foundation. If a marriage is weak, then the family is unstable, and if the family is unstable, society cannot function.

Look at America today and you'll see exactly what I'm saying. Our society is full of divorced parents, single mothers, pregnant teenagers, and broken families. Our society is full of corruption, filth, financial trouble and tolerance. We are waiting to fall apart because we have no foundation. Sin has done it's job, and it's been able to because we've given Satan an opportunity.

Jesus came to restore relationships. He came to die to pay the price for sin so that our relationship with God could be healed. He came to lay a new foundation for us to build on. He showed us that God is approachable and that He desires this relationship with us. He showed us how to live in relationship with others. Jesus came to model life to us in every way.

Life is about relationships. We weren't made to live in isolation, but in fellowship with our Creator and our fellow creatures. When we live in relationship with God and each other the foundation of our world is strengthened. A strong foundation will not give the devil a foothold.

Peace be with you

Desires of your Heart

My wife and I got back from Branson, Missouri very early this morning. We spent the first week of our marriage in the "Christan Vegas". It's funny how we ended up in Branson. My aunt and uncle let us use their time share and the only thing available last week was Florida or Branson. Neither of us are big on Florida, so we opted for Missouri.

Over the last week I've learned a lot of things. I learned that sales tax is really high in Missouri, 9.6%. I learned that Indiana has really high gas prices, close to $0.20 more per gallon than Ohio. I learned that 5 hour energy really does work. I learned that every country radio station between Canton, Ohio, and Branson, Missouri plays the same 12 songs over and over. And I was also reminded that God provides.

Janette and I got to Branson planning just to do some inexpensive things, and a lot of free hiking. On Monday, our first full day in Branson, we got invited to a sit in on a time share pitch, the company knowing we weren't going to buy, and they gave us very inexpensive passes to two of the attractions there. Later in the week we had another invitation to another time share company that gave us free passes to another attraction. It was stuff we had been interested in, but couldn't have afforded.

One of the things we got cheap tickets to had a pre-show with a juggler. Part way through the show he had a kid come up on stage and was trying to teach him how to juggle. It ended up being part of the act. The kid was a world famous juggler, and the guys step son. It was really neat to see. But as the juggler was introducing his step son and talking about how he had started juggling it hit me. God gave this kid a talent to throw several objects in the air and catch them, and then He gave him a step dad to help him develop that talent.

I look at how Janette and I ended up in Branson. My aunt had given us a book with over 2,000 resorts to choose from, and said "Pick". Our first choice had been Williamsburg, Virginia, followed by either of the Carolinas, Branson was no where on our list. Early last week I had the news on looking for the local weather, and I saw hurricane Irene moving towards Florida, Janette and I both were really glad we both had no desire to go there. As the week progressed and Irene moved up the east coast, into the Carolinas and Virginia, it hit me, God sent us to Branson so we could have a full week together, away from everything.

Planning a wedding is stressful, and I didn't even do much. We had been looking forward to this past week for months. Getting away from everything, having our phones turned off, just being together. We would have hated for that to have been cut short. We wanted last week together, it was a desire of our hearts, and God gave it to us. We didn't get it at first, but now we see, God provided.

I look back over the past year, August 2010 to August 2011, and it's been an unbelievable twelve months. Last year at this time I had no idea that I would be married to my best friend and the senior pastor of a church in just twelve months. Both of those things have been the desires of my heart for years, and God gave them to me.

Psalm 37.4 says, "Delight yourself in the LORD;and He will give you the desires of your heart." Janette and I have really made that our verse, because it's the only reason for our story. That same Psalm says in verse 25, "I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread." As I look on the desires of my heart that God has given me, and I begin to look at the uncertainties of the future I simply need to remember verse 25, the righteous will not be forsaken. Anyone with a right standing relationship with God will not be forsaken. God will provide.

One thing I forgot to mention when I first posted this is somthing I didn't realize until I was leaving the office yesterday. When we walked out of the second time share pitch we were told that one of the things that we were being given for our time was a free two night stay at one of eight other resorts owned by the company. One of them was Williamsburg, Virginia, the place we had originally wanted to go. God provided a week in Branson, and trip to Williamsburg. "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Peace be with you

The Cross at the Beginning

As I've been reading and studying about the first miracle, I've found that this is so much more than Jesus simply saving a young couple from the embarrassment of running out of wine.

The water into wine is an incredible miracle. Initially I thought it was simple gesture of grace to save a young couple from the embarrassment of failing to plan for a wedding celebration. But this is Jesus we are talking about, when does His life ever stop at a simple gesture of grace? This miracle goes so much deeper, and it points to Him as the Lord and Savior of mankind.

The six ceremonial jars were there for cleansing, according to Jewish law. The water in them was to fulfill the Old Covenant. The Jews had to wash their hands before eating, and to be really clean, in between each course of the meal. The water was there to keep the law. Jesus takes that water that would be used in repetitive washing for continuous cleansing, and He transforms it into the wine that satisfies and allows the celebration to continue.

"Old covenant water became new covenant wine. Jesus came to exchange the Mosaic law for the higher law of love. He takes the ceremonial water that enslaved the people to the legalism of the law, and turns it to wine allowing them to celebrate the grace and power of God. Jesus’ cleansing blood is the wine that satisfies forever. Christ fulfills the requirements of the law, He shed His blood to free us from the law, so that we may live lives not concerned with following the rules, but lives focused on glorifying God. 'Christ transformed temple-cleansing water into eternal-saving wine.'” (Holman New Testament Commentary)

This miracle, this simple act of grace, points to the greatest act of grace that has ever been demonstrated. As Jesus stood in the corner watching the trusting servant hand a glass of water, (remember the text tells us the servant drew out some of the water and handed it to the head waiter, and then it became the wine) He probably reflected on the purpose of His presence on earth. There at the very beginning of His ministry He is confronted with His mission. Here at the beginning He is reminded of the death that He will die in three years. He has come not go abolish the law, but to fulfill it so that the people could be freed from the condemnation of the law. The only way to do this was the cross. There at the very beginning, He saw it, and He continues knowing that this path lead to Jerusalem, and in Jerusalem, to Calvary. The cross was there at the beginning.

This is the mindset He goes into His earthly ministry with, knowing that He would face death. But at the same time He sees the joy of the celebration that the wine has provided by allowing the celebration to continue. And in this I think there was encouragement, His death, His shed blood, the wine of the New Covenant, would bring about the greatest celebration that the universe has ever known.

Peace be with you

To the Brim

We're working through the Gospel of John, this week I'm not preaching due to getting married, so I'm trying to take advantage of the time and get a week ahead on sermon prep. Each week the sermon writing process begins with repetitive reading of the text, and writing down things I notice, questions I have, insights that God gives me. My mentor told me, "Don't make the mistake of consulting commentaries too soon. Once you look at one, you don't know what is you and what is someone else."

The next text I'm working with is John 2.1-12, the first miracle of water into wine. It takes place at a wedding in Cana of Galilee, fitting for my current life situation. Reading the text several times I noticed the three words at the end of verse 7.

"Jesus said to them, 'Fill the water pots with water.' So they filled them up to the brim."

Mary, it's thought that she was possibly the wedding coordinator since she is handling the issue of no more wine, tells Jesus of the issue. She then tells the servants to do whatever He says. There are six stone water pots that each hold twenty to thirty gallons of water. And then Jesus says, fill them with water. They do, they fill them to the brim. They put as much water into these jars as they can. They give Jesus as much as they can for Him to work with.

They had no idea what Jesus would do, John 2.11 tells us that this is the first miracle Jesus has ever performed. Three years later they would have expected something like this, but not now. Now He is just a simple carpenter from Nazareth. He hasn't fed the 5,000 yet; He hasn't healed a leper or restored the sight of a blind man. He hasn't driven out a demon or given a dead man back his life, right now He is just a man who said, "Fill these with water."

The servants didn't hold back, they filled them to the brim. Getting water wouldn't have been easy, they would have had to either take the water pots to a well, or get water from the well in a smaller jar and carry it back several times to fill these pots. Regardless, it's a lot of work. But they don't slack off, they don't hold back. They put as much water as these pots will hold in them.

How often do we go to the brim? With our time, how often do we make God a priority and truly focus on Him during our prayer and devotional time? With our money, do we give exactly what God requires to the cent,($231.73 an example), or do we fill it to the brim?

God always does His best. We read that the wine Jesus makes is the best wine. We see this with every miracle. Jesus always does the best. People who receive healing and healed fully. When Jesus makes food to feed the multitude, there is extra left over to provide for His followers. Jesus went to the cross and died there. He took the beating, carried the cross, and hung on it for hours. Jesus always fills the water pot to the brim. Why don't we? Why do we hold back form the one who has given us so much?

When Jesus says "Fill this pot" fill it to the brim. Give Him your best, He deserves it because He always gives us His best.

Peace be with you

Broken Glass

One of my hobbies I discovered by accident. In Mount Vernon where I went to college there is a river that flows past the edge of campus. At the beginning of my senior year I asked one of my brothers if he wanted to go wading with me on Saturday morning. It became an event we would do every couple weekends just to escape for a while.

On one trip we got to a small island in the middle of the river and I noticed a large chunk of green glass. I don't know how it forms or what it comes from, but I refer to it as kryptonite. I found a few pieces like it, and then began to notice other pieces of glass, most of them green and brown from old beer bottles, but there are clear pieces and different shades of blue as well. Some are old bleach bottles, others are old medicine and tonic bottles. Sometimes you find an intact bottle, other times, pieces that have some how been compressed and shaped into incredible shapes. Other times it's just fragments with no special shape at all.

Over the years I've gotten good at finding the pieces. Sometimes you can be fooled by leaves on the bottom of the river or algae growing on rocks. I still get fooled on the occasion, but it happens a lot less then when I first began. I love wading for glass. The pieces have been carried by the river and the edges are now smooth so you don't have to worry about cutting yourself. I never realized I'd still be doing this two years later, I thought I'd collect some, and put it in a jar. I've now got five jars.

Two weeks ago I took Janette. It was nice to get away and just have some time completely away from everything. She got pretty good at finding the pieces. And I noticed that she picks up the pieces I intentionally leave behind. The old dishes that are solid white or solid blueish green. I don't want them because the light doesn't shine through them, but she loves them, so they get placed in the jar. I love that I have a girl who loves wading with me.

On this last trip I took I began to really think about the glass. Though the edges aren't sharp they are at times rough and jagged. Sometimes they are half buried and covered in dirt and mud. Occasionally you find the mouth piece of a bottle and it has a crayfish living in it, or a few rocks that have gotten wedged in. The pieces of glass are just like us.

There are different colors, different shapes, different sizes, each one is unique. But all of them have something in common. They are all pieces of broken glass that have ended up in a river. Glass doesn't belong in the river. It shouldn't be dirty and buried in the dirt. It should be clear so that light can shine through it. It should be collected and displayed.

Our lives have been broken by sin. The river of sin has dragged us far from where we should be. It has covered us and buried us in the mud so that we can't escape. That's not how we were made to live. God comes, and he picks us up out of the river. He cleans us up, and then He displays us so that His light can shine through us into the darkness of the world.

When I first started collecting glass I had thoughts of polishing each piece until it shined. That proved to be a harder task than I imagined, so each piece gets cleaned of the dirt, but a lot of the time there is stuff on there that won't come off. There is evidence that it's been in the river. Sin scars us. I've written about scars. They tell where we've come from, they tell where God has rescued us from. Scars are important, and scars are beautiful.

We are all like broken glass buried in the river of sin. But God is wading through the river pulling out the pieces that call out to Him. He takes them, and cleans them up, and then they display Him to the world. They display His love, His forgiveness, His grace and His mercy. Each of us is a piece of broken glass. But each one of us is beautiful and desirable to God. He wants every piece in the river.

Peace be with you

Let Me Handle it

"Come, behold the works of the LORD, who has wrought desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold." Psalm 46.8-11

This is a verse I've been reading a lot over the last few years. It's my go to verse when I visit people in the hospital. It focuses on the power of God. It tells us not to worry, and that we don't have to fight the battle because God has taken away all of our weapons. He tells us that we simply need to know that He is God, that He will be exalted. We simply need to let Him be God and lay humbly at His feet.

Why do we struggle with this? The God who spoke the universe into existence, and maintains it says, "Let me handle your problems." He says, "I want your problems. I want them so badly that I'll list my resume to you, then I'll take away all of your tools, and then at that point I'll tell you to stop and simply sit and watch me work. Just let me handle it." And we don't let Him why?

There has been an issue in my life for a few months that I've been trying to deal with. It's caused trouble in so many ways. Over the past few months I've thought of ways to deal with it, some of them would be appropriate and some probably wouldn't be. But to all of them I keep hearing God say, "Let me handle it." Why don't I let Him?

I think there's something about being a guy that makes giving up a situation difficult. It gets even harder if you're a human guy. We like control, even when we only think we have it. We as men, love to fix things, we even try to when we know that we have no idea what we're doing and have no clue where to start. We insist that we can fix it, and most of the time we end up making it worse. That's what happened with me. Right from the beginning, God said, "Don't do it, let me take care of things." I failed to listen, and I made it worse.

It wouldn't have ever become a problem if I had simply listened right at the beginning. If I had simply been obedient. Now here it is months later and I feel that I'm just now beginning to get back to the point of peace that I had before it began. The chaos, stress, and anger that has been caused could all have been avoided had I simply remembered what God said, "Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

When God says, "Let me handle it" let Him handle it. Before any issue ever comes He's seen it coming for thousands of years. He's been waiting for it and is ready to deal with it. The way He'll handle it is for His glory, and if it's for His glory that means it's ultimately the best possible solution for us. Having been there and disobeying, I can tell you it isn't worth it. When God says, "Let me handle it" trust that He will, then sit back and just watch Him work.

Peace be with you

1 Timothy 6

Paul begins this final chapter by talking about another relationship, that of slaves and masters. He says that slaves who are believers should honor their masters so that God and the Gospel are not discredited. If slaves were to rebel Christianity would have been despised as a source for uprisings, Paul works to stop this problem before it begins. Paul wants nothing to be taken away from the Gospel.

He then moves into the centrality of the message of Jesus. If anyone proclaims a different gospel in the church, they are said to be conceited and know nothing. The Gospel of Jesus is the foundation of the church. If that is not what is held on to, we have nothing. Those who proclaim a different gospel are trying to create disunity in the church, they are trying to crack the foundation by bringing falsehood against it. If there is no foundation there can be no unity, with no unity the church can't survive. Paul says, Jesus and His Gospel are the truth, and they are central to the church.

The message of the Gospel brings us to Godliness. As we live out the teachings of Jesus, as we follow the example His life set for us, we become more Christlike. In this there is great gain. It isn't necessarily in financial abundance, but in contentment. Christlikeness comes with the satisfaction of being content in who we are to Christ, knowing that we will be taken care of. Paul said it in his letter to the Philippians, "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." (4.11-13) That is the gain of Godliness, contentment, peace, freedom from worry, it is great gain.

Paul then moves into his closing words for Timothy. His focus here is on encouragement. He calls Timothy a man of God, and he tells Him to flee from unrighteousness and to pursue the things of God. He is calling his focus back to the foundational relationship with God. He is telling him to focus fully on this relationship, to fight for it, to live it out for the glory of God. Paul tells him to guard what has been entrusted to him. Timothy is to guard the Gospel and his ministry. He is to guard the relationships he has been given.

The first letter from Paul to Timothy.

Peace be with you

1 Timothy 5

This chapter begins with instructions about our relationships with others. "Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers, the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity." Remember, relationships are how we accomplish the goal of our message, love. Paul tells us how we are to relate to people of all ages and both genders so that we can accomplish the goal of love.

Paul then moves on to a section that can be confusing. He talks about widows and how to go about deciding which ones the church has a responsibility to help. I honestly believe that this is a good way to determine how to help anyone in need. The emphasis really isn't put on the church, but on the family. There is an obligation for family to help its own members. If the family who are believers fail to take care of the other members of their family, their own blood relatives, Paul says that they are worse than unbelievers. How can a so called Christian family neglect the care of a grandparent?

When there is no one to help, when there is no family to step up and do what they are called to do, that is when the church needs to step in. Primarily we must take care of our own, the members who are part of the Family of God. But as the body of Christ, and since we need to have good standing in the community, we should strive to help with any need we are able to. The reason the family is called to take care of it's own relatives, aside from being the right thing to do that God has commanded, is so that the church can focus fully on giving help to those who have no family to take care of them.

The passage then moves on and talks about how the church is to care for, and protect, it's pastors. I have been blessed with an incredible church board that has my back. I don't have to worry about an attack because I know that they are standing beside me ready to take it on with me. They are a true blessing, and I thank God for them. Along with this, Paul warns Timothy not to put people in church leadership too quickly. I know what it is like to have needs in ministry, there aren't enough people to do everything that needs to be done, and I don't possess the time, energy, or skills to pour into each ministry. But that doesn't mean we grab the first willing person. In chapter 3 it says that an overseer isn't to be a new convert. Just because a person is in living for Jesus, doesn't mean that they are ready for church leadership. People need to grow and mature before they lead the flock. People need to be trained and tested, before they are given leadership roles. We share some of the responsibility for those we place in leadership, so we need to do this carefully with discernment.

Paul then takes a moment, in a side note, like a thought he just had, and it shows his heart for Timothy. He tells him to drink a little wine for his stomach. This shows that Paul isn't just interested in Timothy the pastor, but in Timothy the person. He cares about Timothy's health. We've seen, and will see in chapter 6 that he is concerned with Timothy's own walk with Christ. He takes the time to invest in his life and show that Timothy isn't just filling a pulpit, but that he wants to make sure Timothy is doing well in all areas. I remember a conversation with my own mentor when I was a youth pastor in Michigan. He asked me about my sleep, my diet, my exercise, and my prayer and devotional life. He wanted to make sure that I was taking care of myself, that I wasn't neglecting my own health, both physical and spiritual, for ministry. We must take care of ourselves before we can take care of others.

Paul ends the chapter by going back to his previous thought before his side note to Timothy. He says that no deed will be concealed. Some sins are seen others aren't. But sin will all be seen as sin, and in the same way every good deed will be seen as a good deed. Things that are not good deeds cannot be concealed. That's chapter 5.

Peace be with you

1 Timothy 4

Chapter 4 begins by telling us that people will reject their relationship with God. People who have it will walk away from it. People will listen to lies, they will be lead away by demons. This chapter is Paul telling Timothy to guard himself, and to guard his flock. In chapter 1 Paul tells us to fight for the relationship with God, here he gives us some instructions as to how.

Everything made by God is good. In John 1 we read "All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being." (verse 3) Everything is good. We see here the ugliness and the evil of sin. It can take something so good and beautiful that God has made, and twist it for its own purpose. The guy who has made billions off of pornography saw that women were beautiful. He, being guided by the will of sin, took something God made good, and turned it into an object of lust. That's what sin does, that's what it has to do. But sin does not have the ultimate final say. God will redeem His creation, He already has begun to. We read this also in John 1, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." (Verses 12-13)

We must, as ministers, but more as Christ followers, teach these things. We must be focused on God and filled with God so that we are not lead astray, so that we are not enticed by sin to miss use God's creation. We must be nourished by truth so that we are able to see sin as sin. Through prayer we will see God's intention for His creation, when we know how He intended it to be used, we are able to use it properly.

In truth we will be focused on godliness, we must discipline ourselves in truth for godliness. We can do this not because it's easy, but because we are focused on God who is our hope and or savior. He is the one that shows us truth and empowers us for godliness.

And now comes the part that I have to read over and over for encouragement. "Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe." Let no one look down on me because I am young. I must remember Paul's words in chapter 1, Christ has put me into His service. Because of that I must set an example in what I say, how I live, and in my relationships both with God and with others.

My focus must be on the scriptures, on encouraging and building others up, and on teaching the truth. I must guard myself, but also my flock that I have been in trusted with. To do this I must give them encouragement and solid Biblical teaching.

But as I'm doing this, as I'm ministering to the flock, I cannot neglect my Spiritual gifts. I can't get spread so thin that I neglect my call and the things God has given me the ability to do well. For fruitfulness in ministry prayer is the most essential part, but a close second, I believe, is having a team. You need a t am of people who's strengths are your weaknesses. Focus on your strengths, strengthen your strengths. One of my professors told me many times, "You don't strengthen your weaknesses, you strengthen your strengths." I had trouble with this statement for a while, but after spending some time in ministry I fully agree. I must focus on what God has graced me with the ability to do well. I am not good at everything. For the church to be all it can be, I must surround myself with people whose strengths are my weaknesses. When we have a group of people who have different strengths, things are able to get done because all the bases are covered.

But above all, I must constantly guard myself. I must constantly be growing closer to God. I must make sure every sermon is grounded in scripture because by doing that salvation will come. I must make sure that I model a relationship with God to my flock. I must be sure that I am constantly learning and growing, because you can only lead people as far as you've been.

Peace be with you

1 Timohty 3

In this chapter we see titles. Up to this point it has been general instruction for believers, and to men and women. Here we see instructions given to church leaders. In one sense it is specific to pastors, but these descriptions are ones that all believers should live with.

1 Peter 2.9-10, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."

We all have the responsibility to share God and to live lives that demonstrate we are His, but those who aspire to be church leaders desire to do a fine work. And because of this fine work there is a high standard we are held to. James 3.1, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment."

Here Paul lays out the requirements for overseers and deacons. These are instructions for church leaders. In this list of requirements we really see the need to model, the need to set an example. If we aspire to lead a group of people, we need to go into it with the words of the Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ." (11.1)

An overseer must set an example in his personal life; he must set an example of how a Christ follower lives. He must set an example of being a family man; he must show what a Christian husband and father looks like. He must be an example of what it is to walk with God. A new convert is not supposed to be given this office, but someone who has walked with God through trials and stood firm in Him. An overseer, a pastor, must set an example of how to be in relationship with God. Finally, an overseer must have a good reputation outside of the church; he must set an example for the community of what a Christ follower is.

The requirements for a deacon are similar. They are not spelled out to the same extent, but they carry the same ideas of setting an example in life, the home, and the community.

All of these qualities are given for the leaders of the church. Those who aspire to leadership are to do so in order to lead the church into what it is supposed to be. It is a family, therefore the leaders must be able to manage their own families before they can manage the family of God. The church is a gathering where all people are welcome, we saw in chapter 2 that God is the God of all people, and the one mediartor, Christ, died to save all people. The leader is to set an example in the community so that people will feel both welcome and will see that the Church is different. Finally, the church is to be a display and support of the truth. It is to show what truth is, and stand firm beneath it. The leaders of the church must live the same way. Their lives must demonstrate truth for all to see, and the way they live must support the truth, never giving any reason for it to be questioned or accused.

If the church is going to be the Church it is called to be, it must begin with the leaders being the leaders they are called to be. Pastors, let us model Christ for our flocks to follow.

Peace be with you

1 Timothy 2

I think the climax of 1 Timothy 2 is verses 5-6, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time." There is only one God, and He is for all people. There is one mediator between all people and this one God. The mediator died so that all might be saved. He gave Himself in our place so that we wouldn't need to die the death that we deserved.

Because there is only one God, one mediator who paid the price for all men, we must pray for all men. We must pray that the truth will be seen and known by all. God is the God of all, and He desires all His children to be saved. But we must pray that they come to the knowledge of the truth. We must show love so that they desire a relationship with Jesus based on the one they see in us. Let us pray for that.

Most importantly is verse 8, "Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension." (verse 12) Men must lead the way in prayer. It is the role of a man to lead, "For it was Adam who was created first, and ten Eve." The world is in the state it is because men failed to lead and therefore women had to. "And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression." (Verse 13) Men, we must lead the way, most importantly in prayer.

If men are to lead, then woman are to follow the Godly leadership that men provide. Woman aren't supposed to draw attention to their material possessions, but to God who is working through, and living in them. The attention that your good works get must be directed to God. Women must pass this on to their children. They must influence the children that God has blessed you with, either your own, or those you have the opportunity to love and help raise. Pass on Christ in you.

In the same way, men must pass on Godly leadership. Show boys how men lead. Show your children, or again, those you have the opportunity to help grow, how to pray, teach them why we do it.

The theme of love and relationships continues here. We pray for others because we love God and we love those made in His image. We desire that they come to a knowledge of the truth because they are His image just like us. Men must lead, and lead through relationships. Your primary responsibility is to lead your family. Let us not fail again as Adam did, and we have continued to do for thousands of years. Woman, follow and influence through relationship. Show others how to focus on God and not you. Show your children who God is, and through passing this on, you will influence the future of the world.

Peace be with you

1 Timothy 1

Life has been hectic, today I began my final overview reading of 1 Timothy. The commentaries have been read and put away, notes have been taken; now it is simply me, the Bible, and whatever God decides to show me after all of that.

Today I'm amazed by the simplicity of this. Paul begins his letter with the point, "But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." (1 Timothy 1.5). The goal is love, and it comes from a pure heart, from a heart that has been cleansed from sin. We show love in relationships with others and those relationships come with a good conscience, a life that has nothing to hide and is in good standing with people. Love, the source of love is God, and we receive love with a sincere faith. Through a relationship with God we know what love is and we are able to share love. Love is the point, and it's through relationships that we achieve the goal.

We had the law, but the law isn't the point. The law is there for those who are not in relationship with God. The law is for people who live in broken relationships with others, as the list of verses 9-10 shows. The law is there to show them what sin is, it is there to show them their need for God. When we enter into a relationship with Jesus we are set free from the law and empowered to live by love. In love relationships are healed and restored.

And then there is the best part, verse 12, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service". Christ is the one who has put me into His service. He has strengthened me to do it, and He considers me faithful for His work. It's all about Him, it's all dependant upon Him. I'm just a tool He decided to pick up and use for this part of the project, His weapon of choice for this phase of the battle. What is His work? Love and love in relationships.

This is so important that Paul says to Timothy, "fight the good fight , keeping the faith and a good conscience," He says fight for the relationships. First fight for the relationship you have with God. Get it, and don't ever let it go, because in that you have love. Fight for the relationships with others. Show love to them, even those who are unlovable. Fight for love, fight for relationships. That is the good fight. The work of Christ is to spread the Gospel, and we can only share it with those we know.

The goal is relationships, first with God then with others. In relationships there is love. Love is the message of the Gospel.

Peace be with you