Mulling It Over - Part 3

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Once again we are walking slowly through a particular portion of scripture. I love to take a small piece, maybe a few chapters, one chapter or in this case, just a few verses and completely devour it, seeing what we can get out of His Word. I always find it fascinating that God can speak to us anew, even from a portion of scripture that we have read over and over. Just like this horse is chewing up that delectable grass, we too can enjoy the delights of God's word. 

PIxabay

PIxabay

We are looking at 2 Timothy 2:20-26:

“20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.
21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.
22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
23 But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.
24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,
25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,
26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”
— 2 Timothy 2:20-26 (NASB)

If you are just joining me today, you can go back and see the first two posts on: 2 Timothy 2:20 and 2 Timothy 2:21, by clicking on the links. Today we are chewing on verse 22.

“22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
— 2 Timothy 2:22

This verse is pretty straight forward, but lets take a closer look.

Now flee...

Is there anything more able to get your adrenaline churning, than when someone yells, "Ruuuuuunnnnn"? Think about a few of the movies that have been on the big screen, Star Wars, Indian Jones. The Avengers, or how about the iconic Forrest Gump scene:

This is what Paul is telling us to do. Run as fast as you can away from those things that cause us to sin and turn away from God. We are to flee, like those monsters chasing us are going to eat us alive.

...from youthful lusts....

Paul was writing this letter to a young man, Timothy, who had become a pastor of one of the early churches. He encourages Timothy to flee those youthful lusts, or the things that so commonly grab our attention as young people: improper relationships, money, power, popularity and feeding our appetites are all things that constantly pull at us when we are young. It is sad that so many give in to these distractions, rather than waiting on God and allowing HIm to fill their every need. 

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Pixabay

Let me draw this out a bit further. I believe as mature Christians we can also be distracted by many things that are less than God's best for us. Think about the shows you watch, the food you eat, the things you buy. How many of these are done to fulfill our lust. Lust isn't just about sex. It is anything that takes precedent over our relationship with God. Am I saying you can't watch that show you love, or eat that cake or buy that dress? No, but we do need to allow God to monitor our actions and speak truth to us, if these types of things are becoming a problem. For some, moderation is easy, for others, myself included, not so much. Sometimes God has to rip things out of our lives to bring us into line with where He wants us to be. 

...and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace...

I decided to lump all of these characteristics together. These are four things we are to pursue. Behind us are the things we are to flee. In front of us is what we are to pursue. Righteousness or godliness, faith or belief, love and peace. We need to chase after these things as if they are rare butterflies that we are wanting to add to our collection.

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Pixabay

People who enjoy hobbies such as butterfly or bird watching, desire to see species which are rare or very rarely seen. It is their passion, just as a rock climber loves to scale mountains or an artist loves to paint or mold something out of clay. They have a passion about discovering or creating something new. In the same way we are to pursue these specific qualities We are to have a passion about pursuing God. He shouldn't be someone we occasionally think about, but a being we have a living and passionate relationship with. If we are pursuing the characteristics of righteousness, faith, love and peace we will be pursuing the author who created them.

...with those who call on the Lord with a pure heart.

Not only are we to pursue those characteristics, but we are to do it with others who call on the Lord with a pure heart. This seems to encourage us to be in a fellowship with other believers. My husband and I are between churches right now, but we both feel the need to get back into a regular fellowship. It is in the corporate worship and gathering together of like minded people, that we find accountability, stability and the sort of input that encourages growth in our relationship with Christ. 

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Pixabay

That being said, let me say, I know what it is like to feel as though the church let you down. Or, to feel like an outsider because of circumstances you had no control over. I get it, and sometimes God will draw us out of the body, to walk a path through a valley, in which we are alone, but I do not believe He intends that we stay there. We need each other, even if only to aggravate each other enough to pursue God with even more passion! Ha, ha.

I hope you are enjoying this study of 2 Timothy 2 and I hope today you will examine your own life and see what God is trying to say to you. Is there something you need to flee? Do you need to have more passion in your pursuit of God, or like us, do you need to get back into a fellowship with other believers? Seek God for wisdom and help. He is always faithful.

Have a great day. 

Seeing Him Who is Unseen

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I am sure you have all felt the weight of life pressing in on you at some point or other. Maybe you have been blessed to have not felt it as heavily as others, or maybe you have felt as though life weighs on you like the water pressure at 1000 feet below the surface. My husband and I have had an interesting life. Not that we have done so many amazing things or traveled to so many amazing places. Golly, neither one of us has published a book or won the lottery. If you met us you would probably agree that we are not very exotic, however, we have gone through plenty of tough times together. 

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Pixabay

Before we married, we spent a summer in what was then known as Zaire, Africa. We both almost died after contracting cerebral malaria, the most deadly form of that vicious disease. We lived to tell the tale, got married and moved to Ohio, where Mark started working on his PhD. Only a year in, I found out I was pregnant with our first child. We lived in student housing and had no health insurance. God provided a place to live, a little two room shack on a river outside of town with a propane toilet. Piecing together numerous part time jobs, we had, not just one, but two babies in that little home, without health insurance. Our story goes on through various rusty trucks and cars, one of those part time jobs becoming full time and the purchase of the home we currently live in. Over the years we have experienced other heartaches, things that have tested our faith and our limits, not only as individuals, but as a couple. Even now, our hearts are daily burdened by the difficulties of family and loved ones. 

When Moses was born, this was the edict that Pharaoh put forth:

“Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah; and he said, ‘When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.’”
— Exodus 1:15-16 (NASB)
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Pixabay

Moses' parents were not about to let their son be killed. Taking no thought for the King's edict they kept their baby boy hidden for three months. When they knew they could no longer hide the child, his mother put him in a basket and set him among the reeds of the Nile river close to where Pharaoh's daughter came to bathe. When she spotted the basket among the reeds she had her maids get it for her. When she saw the child, I have a feeling, she fell in love. She named him Moses and the rest is history. 

Recently I was reading in Hebrews and came across this story in the Hall of Faith, found in Hebrews 11. These three verses stood out to me regarding Moses' character. 

“24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,
26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.”
— Hebrews 11:24-26 (NASB)

There are several things we can learn about Moses from these verses. Let's explore. 

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PIxabay

1. He grew up in Pharaoh's house. Moses was by all accounts the child of Pharaoh's daughter. He was called her son, because the verse says that he refused to be called her son. Just think about what sort of childhood he had. He was raised in the center of the Egyptian kingdom. He was exposed not only to the wealth, pleasures and education available to the ruling house, but he was also exposed to the religious teachings of Pharaoh's priests. However, we find that Moses was not influenced by any of these things. 

2. He turned away from his position as an Egyptian to take his place among the Hebrews. I was struck by this. Moses had grown up with access to so much, yet he chose to go back to his roots. The Bible is not clear on how much time, Moses got to spend with his birth mother. However, I am sure during those special times she shared stories with him of the Israelite people and their God. Perhaps it was during these times that a flame began in his heart for his people and the One who would become his God.

3. He was looking to the reward. Do we know that Moses knew who Jesus was? No. Do we know that he knew there was an eternal reward? No. But Moses had a deep inner conviction that there was something and someone, much greater than himself or the Pharaoh of Egypt, ruling the universe. Who knows, but that at night, when the sky was black and the diamonds of the universe sparkled in its expanse that something in him, didn't yearn to believe there was so much more than just the grandeur of Egypt. 

This brings me to verse 27 of Hebrews.

“27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.”
— Hebrews 11:27 (NASB)

The morning I read this, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and discouraged. Life was doing its best to wear me down. From the original story in Exodus we are given a slightly different look at this man called Moses. 

“11 Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.
12 So he looked this way and that, and when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
13 He went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, “Why are you striking your companion?”
14 But he said, “Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known.”
15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.”
— Exodus 2:11-15 (NASB)

The man described in Hebrews 11 hardly seems to match the man we find in Exodus. Bare with me, if you will, while I do a bit of comparing and contrasting. 

1. By faith he left Egypt vs. Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh.

2. Not fearing the wrath of the king vs. Moses was afraid. 

Those of you who are familiar with the Old Testament and the full story of Moses and the exodus of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, know there is so much more to the story than just these few verses. There begins a long, drawn out and complex relationship between God, Moses and the children of Israel. I am by no means a Bible scholar. My three years at Moody Bible Institute taught me many things, including how to study God's word, but there are still things that baffle me. 

The book of Hebrews paints Moses as a man of faith, fearless and able to endure, but I believe Moses became those things as he walked through the difficulties of life. I'm sure you have heard the idea that some of us are journey people and some of us are destination people. My husband is all about the end goal. I am all about the journey along the way. The fact of the matter is, we are all, by God's design, journey people. We all are walking along in this life, struggling through the hard bits and hoping to enjoy more of the good bits. We don't get to go directly to go, or to jump ahead to the end. It drives me crazy when my husband will read the last few pages of a book, just to see how it ends without reading the entire book....destination mentality. 

Moses became a man of faith, as he grew to know God. He became fearless as he saw God work and overcome. He endured because he saw Him who is unseen. The same is true for us. We become men and women of faith as we grow to know God better. We do that as we struggle on the journey, giving the difficulties over to Him and allowing Him to mold and shape us to be more like Christ. We become fearless as we see God work. We know there is nothing God cannot do. We also know that He doesn't always do the things we would like, because He has a greater purpose. Our fear disappears as we put our complete trust in Him and His goodness. Finally, we can endure because we can see Him who is unseen. 

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Pixabay

Today, if you are going through a hard time, try to see God. I mean really see Him. Delve deep into His word. Pray to know Him better. Wait on Him in the quietness. Depend on Him in the chaos. Let Him transform your mind, so that you can see with the eyes of your heart. At that point you will endure as seeing Him who is unseen. 

Walking with the Psalmist

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I have always loved the book of Psalms in the Old Testament. Perhaps it is my love of the written word, and poetry and songs are no exception. Of the 150 Psalms, David wrote 73, Asaph wrote 12, the Sons of Korah wrote 11, Solomon wrote 2, Ethan and Moses wrote 1 and the 50 remaining have no recorded author. The Psalms are divided into 5 books. 

Over the next few months I would like to occasionally look at a Psalm. I want to look at the Psalms, not only from a theological perspective, but from a more human and emotional perspective. After all we are emotional beings. We are created in God's image and the Creator gave us emotions.

Take a look at Psalm 1. This week we'll look at verses 1-3 and next week we'll look at 4-5. 

“1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.”
— Psalm 1 (NASB)

While we do not know who the author of this Psalm was we can derive a few things from its inclusion in the canon of scripture. First, we can conclude that it is important. The content of this short psalm starts off the entirety of the book of Psalms. It has something to say and we would be wise to listen. Second, the fact that it was included might infer that God thought it important to include as well. Isn't God the one who inspired the words penned by the authors of scripture? Third, the fact that it ended up on the first page of the first book of the five books of Psalms might mean that it is setting a foundation for all the other Psalms to follow. 

This psalm compares two men (or women). The first described in verses 1-3, is a righteous man. The word righteous refers to one who acts in accordance with the divine or moral law. The second, described in verses 4-5, is an unrighteous man or one who is not following the moral law.

Looking at verses 1-3 we can learn 10 things about the righteous man. 

1. He is happy. The word blessed in this particular passage is referring to the idea of being happy or content. 

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Pixabay

2. He does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. In other words, he is careful who he gets advice from. 

3. He does not stand in the path of sinners. He's careful where he hangs out. You probably won't find this guy at the strip club or the casino. 

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Pixabay

4. He does not sit in the seat of scoffers. What is a scoffer? One who expresses scorn, derision or contempt. It doesn't sound like a person any of us would want to have sitting at our dinner table, but some of us, not only have them at our tables, we are them! This man, does not linger with these types of people. 

5. His delight is in the law of the Lord. Wow! Did you catch that? His delight! What do you delight in? Your spouse, your children, your job, your pets, your chocolate? It doesn't say this man delighted in any of those things. He delights in God's word. 

6. He meditates day and night in God's law. Wow, again! To meditate means to think on, ruminate on, much like a cow chews its cud. It just keeps coming back around over and over, to think on, day and night. I don't know about you, but I'm doing good if God's word comes to my mind once a day. 

7. He is like a tree, firmly planted by streams of water.  From this single sentence we can see that this man is rooted and he is provided for. The stream of water, which I would say could be compared to the Holy Spirit, is always near by, for him to swim in, rest by and drink from. I also love that the word firmly is included to describe how this tree is planted. This tree is not about to be toppled by the first storm that comes along.

Pixabay - trees by water

8. He bears fruit in its season. This man is useful to God. He allows God to use Him as He will to produce fruit in his life. This fruit can be harvested when it is the right season. This fruit is a direct result of his investment and delight in God's law. 

9. His fruit and leaves will not wither. It doesn't mean this man won't age. It means that as long as he is delighting in God's law, he will always be a productive part of God's kingdom. Sure, he will have bad days, but it will be temporary and the result will bring him closer to His creator. 

10. He prospers. It is good to be wise when we start talking about prosperity. Prosperity doesn't always mean financial gain. This man may prosper as a friend, or as a worker, or in his marriage, or other aspects of his family life. Or it may be that his relationship with the Savior is the only thing that prospers. 

When I start looking at these verses, I realize I have a long way to go to be like this righteous man. I am not always happy. I get it, life is difficult, but the things that I so often seek to make me happy are only temporary. This man fully understands that the thing that will make him happy is delighting in God and His law. It is this delight that not only gives him happiness, but roots him deeply and firmly near the source of life-giving water, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

This quick look at the first 3 verses of Psalm 1 are only a slight dig into the rich fertile soil of God' word and the meaning it has for our lives. Perhaps on your own you can do a little deeper excavating and discover more truth. 

Next week we'll take a look at the second man represented in this passage and ask the hard question, Is this who I am?

Check back tomorrow for another installment on my fashion page on Layering Love.