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"But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations" (2 Timothy 2:23a)
The "what if's" of this life come in just about every size and type imaginable, beloved! In fact, they are only limited by the boundaries of a person's mind and how far he or she is willing to let it stray. In the face of the realities of life that we face daily, we as Christians so often begin to speculate and ask ourselves "what if" questions.
The Apostle Paul in writing his second recorded letter to Timothy, his spiritual son in the faith and his younger brother in pastoral ministry, urged him to avoid such speculations. His counsel to Timothy was part of a greater theme dealing with becoming in our walk as believers vessels of honor (vv. 20-26). To become involved, then, in "foolish and ignorant speculations," no matter what size or type, serves only to draw our attention away from the pursuit of a pure life and dedicated service that is God's desire for us.
The Greek word for "foolish" carries the basic meaning of being dull in our thinking and even of thinking and acting in silly ways. The word for "ignorant" refers to that which proves itself to be unlearned and untrained and, thus, undisciplined. The word for "speculations" speaks of that which is by its very nature controversial and, not being founded in truth, stands in stark contrast to the truth of God's Word which ought to be the daily "take one step at a time" focus of every Christian's living.
Satan loves to see us "what if" as we live from day to day! He knows, beloved, that as long as he can entice us to speculate about what might have been or especially what could be, we will remain distracted from what is - that which is God's specific will and purpose for us in the here and now. So what are we to do? If we are to avoid the "what if's" of this life, how are we to live? Paul answered that question just previous to urging Timothy to avoid such speculations when he encouraged him to "pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart" (v. 22).
Whether it is a "what if" about points of doctrine, as Paul has in mind here, or a "what if" about an imagined greener pasture just over the next rise, God's will for us is that we make the personal pursuit of righteousness our primary goal in life. God's Word is immutable, infallible, authoritative, sufficient, and final, beloved. It is quite simply all that we need. The "what if's" of this world all lead to the same place - to the devil's dead-end! Stay the course!
Ron
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Every Knee Shall (Te)Bow?
"Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11)
If by any chance you have never heard the name Tim Tebow, then you certainly have not had your head stuck in those whirling clouds that hover above the world known as the National Football League! For those so uninitiated, Tim Tebow is the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. And as talented as he clearly is in playing that position, it is not his athletic prowess on the football field that is attracting so much national media attention. It is because Tim Tebow is (dare I say it?) a Christian and one who is not ashamed to publicly profess his personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He kneels in grateful prayer on the field after every touchdown scored and in post-game interviews he freely and fully gives the glory to his Lord and Savior.
So why all the controversy that surrounds him? He is not the first Christian athlete to do so. The problem is that the media wants to glamorize Tim Tebow and Tim Tebow wants to glorify the Lord! All of the attention focused upon him has been about him, while little has been focused upon his relationship with Christ and how he came to have such a personal walk with the Lord. In fact, the only connection I have heard made by the media in that direction concerns whether or not he receives divine intervention on the playing field. Apparently, according to a recent poll, as many people believe that God directly intervenes in the Broncos' games as believe that He does not.
To the believers in the city of Philippi the Apostle Paul wrote that the day is coming when every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Tim Tebow is simply doing publicly what every true follower of Christ should be doing: getting a head-start on that coming day in the here and now!
So my word to Tim Tebow is: Go for it, brother! Maybe the rest of us can use your example to both wise up and catch up!
Ron
If by any chance you have never heard the name Tim Tebow, then you certainly have not had your head stuck in those whirling clouds that hover above the world known as the National Football League! For those so uninitiated, Tim Tebow is the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. And as talented as he clearly is in playing that position, it is not his athletic prowess on the football field that is attracting so much national media attention. It is because Tim Tebow is (dare I say it?) a Christian and one who is not ashamed to publicly profess his personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He kneels in grateful prayer on the field after every touchdown scored and in post-game interviews he freely and fully gives the glory to his Lord and Savior.
So why all the controversy that surrounds him? He is not the first Christian athlete to do so. The problem is that the media wants to glamorize Tim Tebow and Tim Tebow wants to glorify the Lord! All of the attention focused upon him has been about him, while little has been focused upon his relationship with Christ and how he came to have such a personal walk with the Lord. In fact, the only connection I have heard made by the media in that direction concerns whether or not he receives divine intervention on the playing field. Apparently, according to a recent poll, as many people believe that God directly intervenes in the Broncos' games as believe that He does not.
To the believers in the city of Philippi the Apostle Paul wrote that the day is coming when every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Tim Tebow is simply doing publicly what every true follower of Christ should be doing: getting a head-start on that coming day in the here and now!
So my word to Tim Tebow is: Go for it, brother! Maybe the rest of us can use your example to both wise up and catch up!
Ron
Thursday, January 5, 2012
But God!
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-7)
Have you ever messed up, beloved, and I mean really messed up big time? In the opening three verses that precede those posted above Paul describes in graphic and even painful detail how all of us as human beings have spiritually and in every other conceivable way "messed up" our lives. Just to summarize those verses, we have managed to find ourselves dead in sin spiritually and separated from the life of God. We have further accomplished as a result being bound in sin experientially and unable to extricate ourselves from that bondage. Not only that but we are also as mankind condemned before God and standing squarely in the path of His judicial wrath. And all of that is on our best day!
The good news is, however, that verse four begins with the glorious words "But God." You see, beloved, when you read such an awful description as we find of ourselves in the first three verses and then come to the words "but God," what you suddenly realize is that God Himself has in mercy done for us what we could never hope to do for ourselves! In verses four through seven we discover what the grace and mercy of God have accomplished for us and in us if we have truly put our trust in Jesus Christ. He has first of all made us alive spiritually with Christ. As God by His power brought Jesus forth from the tomb, so He has given to you and me eternal life.
As glorious as that is, beloved, it is only the beginning of God's grace at work. He has also raised us up with Him. As Jesus was resurrected so we have the promise of our own resurrection when the church is raptured and we will be caught up to be with Him. Thus, not only has God through the ministry of His grace given to us eternal life, but he has assured us of our exaltation with Him in glory.
And in raising us up with Christ, He has also seated us with Him in the heavenlies. We are thus enthroned with Him just as He promised that we would be. Eternal life, exaltation, enthronement because of the work of God's grace in us to bring us to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.
Finally, Paul reveals that all of this wondrous working of the grace of God is intended to show the surpassing riches of His grace that He has lavished upon us. The sense of the word here is that we are "put on display" for all to see for all eternity. In a word, we are the divine exhibition of His grace. And it all begins with two powerful transformational words - "But God"!
Because of the "but God" of His grace, beloved, all of that mess we have made of our lives so graphically described in verses one through three no longer matters. It is all washed away, scrubbed clean, covered in atoning blood, gone forever! As Horatio Spafford wrote in His touching tribute to the grace of God in Jesus Christ:
Have you ever messed up, beloved, and I mean really messed up big time? In the opening three verses that precede those posted above Paul describes in graphic and even painful detail how all of us as human beings have spiritually and in every other conceivable way "messed up" our lives. Just to summarize those verses, we have managed to find ourselves dead in sin spiritually and separated from the life of God. We have further accomplished as a result being bound in sin experientially and unable to extricate ourselves from that bondage. Not only that but we are also as mankind condemned before God and standing squarely in the path of His judicial wrath. And all of that is on our best day!
The good news is, however, that verse four begins with the glorious words "But God." You see, beloved, when you read such an awful description as we find of ourselves in the first three verses and then come to the words "but God," what you suddenly realize is that God Himself has in mercy done for us what we could never hope to do for ourselves! In verses four through seven we discover what the grace and mercy of God have accomplished for us and in us if we have truly put our trust in Jesus Christ. He has first of all made us alive spiritually with Christ. As God by His power brought Jesus forth from the tomb, so He has given to you and me eternal life.
As glorious as that is, beloved, it is only the beginning of God's grace at work. He has also raised us up with Him. As Jesus was resurrected so we have the promise of our own resurrection when the church is raptured and we will be caught up to be with Him. Thus, not only has God through the ministry of His grace given to us eternal life, but he has assured us of our exaltation with Him in glory.
And in raising us up with Christ, He has also seated us with Him in the heavenlies. We are thus enthroned with Him just as He promised that we would be. Eternal life, exaltation, enthronement because of the work of God's grace in us to bring us to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.
Finally, Paul reveals that all of this wondrous working of the grace of God is intended to show the surpassing riches of His grace that He has lavished upon us. The sense of the word here is that we are "put on display" for all to see for all eternity. In a word, we are the divine exhibition of His grace. And it all begins with two powerful transformational words - "But God"!
Because of the "but God" of His grace, beloved, all of that mess we have made of our lives so graphically described in verses one through three no longer matters. It is all washed away, scrubbed clean, covered in atoning blood, gone forever! As Horatio Spafford wrote in His touching tribute to the grace of God in Jesus Christ:
My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought -
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more!
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more!
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Ron
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Chaxting the Truth in Love?
"But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ" (Ephesians 4:15)
All right, I admit it! Out of necessity more than for any other reason I have joined the ranks of "texters." The recent purchase of a new cell phone included a texting keyboard, so I was off and running. Actually, I love keeping up with my kids via the medium of texting though a latecomer to this crazy medium of communication.
Here we are at the outset of a brand new year, beloved! If you are anywhere near my age bracket (or even older, dare I say?) then you will certainly remember New Year's resolutions and how much fun it was to make them, though secretly we all knew we would likely never keep them. So what would be a wonderful New Year's resolution for us to consider seriously, especially those who are followers of Jesus Christ? The Apostle Paul in his letter to the saints in Ephesus has a very clear answer for us. As he challenged the believers of that city, so through the wonder of the written Word he challenges us today to "speak the truth in love."
Speak the truth - now there's a novel thought, especially considering the flow of political give-and-take coming out of the current campaign rhetoric. I don't know about you but I'm having a tough time telling what the truth is and what it is not! But think about it, beloved. Should that not be all the more reason for us as Christians to "speak the truth in love" in all of our relationships, in all of our dealings with a world that seems to have lost the handle on this vital commodity? It seems to me that what is "truth" has become whatever is most convenient to affirm at any given moment!
How important is it for us as followers of Christ to speak the truth in love in our daily walk? Paul went on to say that it is absolutely essential to growing up spiritually and growing into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. For us, then, speaking the truth in love is everything! If we are ever to have the impact upon our world that God has put us where we are to have, then we must begin with this most basic necessity - to "truth it" in all of our communication! Come what may, cost what may, we need to speak the truth of God in tenderness and with a loving heart.
As I was concluding a chat with my west coast daughter recently via my brand new texting machine, I casually signed off with the comment that I would "chaxt" with her later. Now I don't know whether or not that term is original with me, but personally I've never heard it before. So for me it is and I think I'll hang on to it. So whether you are chatting, texting, or chaxting, remember in this brand new year to always speak the truth in love!
What about tweeting? I'll have to hold off on that for a while. After all, I just discovered texting!
Ron
All right, I admit it! Out of necessity more than for any other reason I have joined the ranks of "texters." The recent purchase of a new cell phone included a texting keyboard, so I was off and running. Actually, I love keeping up with my kids via the medium of texting though a latecomer to this crazy medium of communication.
Here we are at the outset of a brand new year, beloved! If you are anywhere near my age bracket (or even older, dare I say?) then you will certainly remember New Year's resolutions and how much fun it was to make them, though secretly we all knew we would likely never keep them. So what would be a wonderful New Year's resolution for us to consider seriously, especially those who are followers of Jesus Christ? The Apostle Paul in his letter to the saints in Ephesus has a very clear answer for us. As he challenged the believers of that city, so through the wonder of the written Word he challenges us today to "speak the truth in love."
Speak the truth - now there's a novel thought, especially considering the flow of political give-and-take coming out of the current campaign rhetoric. I don't know about you but I'm having a tough time telling what the truth is and what it is not! But think about it, beloved. Should that not be all the more reason for us as Christians to "speak the truth in love" in all of our relationships, in all of our dealings with a world that seems to have lost the handle on this vital commodity? It seems to me that what is "truth" has become whatever is most convenient to affirm at any given moment!
How important is it for us as followers of Christ to speak the truth in love in our daily walk? Paul went on to say that it is absolutely essential to growing up spiritually and growing into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. For us, then, speaking the truth in love is everything! If we are ever to have the impact upon our world that God has put us where we are to have, then we must begin with this most basic necessity - to "truth it" in all of our communication! Come what may, cost what may, we need to speak the truth of God in tenderness and with a loving heart.
As I was concluding a chat with my west coast daughter recently via my brand new texting machine, I casually signed off with the comment that I would "chaxt" with her later. Now I don't know whether or not that term is original with me, but personally I've never heard it before. So for me it is and I think I'll hang on to it. So whether you are chatting, texting, or chaxting, remember in this brand new year to always speak the truth in love!
What about tweeting? I'll have to hold off on that for a while. After all, I just discovered texting!
Ron
Thursday, December 29, 2011
10, 9, 8, 7, 6...!
"But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13b-14)
The "big ball" is preparing to drop and 2011 is almost history, beloved, no matter where in the world you might be! Regardless of what you may have done or not done, said or not said, thought or not thought, this year is ending in a matter of hours. And by God's grace a brand new year is at the threshold of our lives.
As we each face the inevitability of another year's passing, another wall calendar stored away in that place where you put stuff you will never use again, how are we to feel? And even more important than how we feel, what are we to do? Note in the words of the Apostle Paul that the onset of a new year is a wonderful time to forget what lies behind. For all of us there are things in 2011 that need to be left there and not carried over to another year. Some good things, some bad things, maybe even some shameful things need to be let go from heart and mind. Whatever they are, though, it is time to deal with them and release them!
And why is it so important for us, as Paul put it, to be "forgetting what lies behind"? Because if we do not we cannot hope to be successful in "reaching forward to what lies ahead"! You see, that is the wonder of a brand new year, beloved. By the grace of God it holds challenges and opportunities for us that we need to meet head-on, to seize and make our own, to use for God's glory and for the advancement of His kingdom. And we cannot reach out and seize such opportunities if our hands are filled with what is left over from the past.
What will be accomplished, then, in 2012 if we are successful in forgetting what lies behind and in reaching forward to what lies ahead? We will be successful in "pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." In other words, we will grow spiritually and develop in Christian character. We will be instruments of God's grace in the lives of others. We will realize that glorious potential for which God saved us in Christ Jesus in the first place.
So let the "big ball" fall, beloved! Let the old year end and a new year begin. Reach out with both hands and a heart full of faith to whatever God may have for you in 2012. Live it with gusto for His glory and for your good! Happy New Year!
Ron
The "big ball" is preparing to drop and 2011 is almost history, beloved, no matter where in the world you might be! Regardless of what you may have done or not done, said or not said, thought or not thought, this year is ending in a matter of hours. And by God's grace a brand new year is at the threshold of our lives.
As we each face the inevitability of another year's passing, another wall calendar stored away in that place where you put stuff you will never use again, how are we to feel? And even more important than how we feel, what are we to do? Note in the words of the Apostle Paul that the onset of a new year is a wonderful time to forget what lies behind. For all of us there are things in 2011 that need to be left there and not carried over to another year. Some good things, some bad things, maybe even some shameful things need to be let go from heart and mind. Whatever they are, though, it is time to deal with them and release them!
And why is it so important for us, as Paul put it, to be "forgetting what lies behind"? Because if we do not we cannot hope to be successful in "reaching forward to what lies ahead"! You see, that is the wonder of a brand new year, beloved. By the grace of God it holds challenges and opportunities for us that we need to meet head-on, to seize and make our own, to use for God's glory and for the advancement of His kingdom. And we cannot reach out and seize such opportunities if our hands are filled with what is left over from the past.
What will be accomplished, then, in 2012 if we are successful in forgetting what lies behind and in reaching forward to what lies ahead? We will be successful in "pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." In other words, we will grow spiritually and develop in Christian character. We will be instruments of God's grace in the lives of others. We will realize that glorious potential for which God saved us in Christ Jesus in the first place.
So let the "big ball" fall, beloved! Let the old year end and a new year begin. Reach out with both hands and a heart full of faith to whatever God may have for you in 2012. Live it with gusto for His glory and for your good! Happy New Year!
Ron
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