We can sift our words and actions through this

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Colossians 3-4; Psalm 14

TO CHEW ON: "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." - Colossians 3:17

In Colossians 3:1-16 Paul gives his readers back in Colosse and us now, a list of specifics—ways to act Christianly:
- control your thoughts (Colossians 3:1-4).
- stop responding to sinful urges (Colossians 3:5-6).
- clean up your speech (Colossians 3:8,9).
- become blind to race, adherence to religious practices like circumcision, and social status among Christian brothers and sisters (Colossians 3:10,11).
- adopt the right attitude toward fellow believers being quick to forgive, and governed by love (Colossians 3:12-14).
- cultivate peace and gratitude in your own heart (Colossians 3:14,15).
- spend so much time in the word that it flows from your lives (Colossians 3:16).

In verse 17, it's as if Paul is saying, 'If I've forgotten anything'—"And whatever you do in word or deed"—it's included in this command:  "... do all in the name of the Lord Jesus..."

• Doing something in someone's name is to act as their representative or stand-in. In a way, this verse is another way of phrasing the popular saying, What Would Jesus Do?

• Acting in someone's name has overtones of authority. A policeman who levies fines and makes arrests doesn't do this in his own name but in the name of the government that employs him. In Acts we see an interesting example of two parties using the authority of Jesus name to exorcise evil spirits (Acts 19:11-17).

• There is also an ambassador-type relationship implied. As people who call ourselves Christians (Christ-ones) and in this way identify with Jesus, we are ambassadors of the kingdom He represents and is establishing—the kingdom of heaven.

What an awesome privilege—to live ("whatever you do in word or deed") in the name of the Lord Jesus. At the same time it's sobering. This verse becomes a kind of screen through which we can sift all our words and actions, asking: Is this thing I am planning to say, write or act on, something I can do in the name of Jesus?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please remind me of these words and how I am to live in Your name as I go through the activities of this day. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 14

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Dsicipleship's costs

Going forth to Calvary - A. Bida

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 14-16; Psalm 119:1-32


TO CHEW ON: "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it?" Luke 14:28

The tower we're building, the war we're fighting is that of being a disciple—or not. Jesus here names three costs of discipleship. They are things that we should consider before we sign on:

1. The cost in relationships.
A disciple "hates" his family and his own life (Luke 14:26). What? My Bible elaborates:

"A disciple must subordinate all earthly relationships to loyalty to Christ. Jesus' remark is an example of Hebrew hyperbole to emphasize the subject being discussed. To 'hate' one's family is … but a way of expressing the importance of allegiance to Him" - J. Lyle Story, commentary on Luke, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1417.

2. The cost in vocation and destiny.
A disciple follows Jesus carrying his cross - Luke 14:27 (not a suitcase, or a ladder, or a sword, or a throne… ).

I see this as Jesus' way of foreshadowing to the disciples how He would die, and telling them that discipleship may well be their death sentence too (as opposed to a means to security, success, power or glory).

3. The cost in possessions.
The disciple forsakes all that he has (Luke 14:33).

This sounds like turning one's back not only on possessions but also dreams, goals and ambitions.

"Discipleship means the total renunciation of all selfish interest for the sake of Jesus. 'Cannot be my disciple' is dealing with issues of total commitment and maximum realization of Christ's purpose for our lives in this life' - Ibid.

As I try to superimpose my North American lifestyle on this stark template of discipleship, I ask, has my discipleship affected my loyalties? Do I view it as a possible death sentence? Is everything in my life (possessions, home, time, plans) subservient to following Jesus? Now that I've looked at the cost, do I wish to carry on?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, as I compare my life with Your cost, I see that my view of discipleship (at least my way of living it out) may be unrealistic. But with Peter, I say, "To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" - John 6:68.  Help me to be a more realistic disciple. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 119:1-32

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Technology Word-snatch

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 3-4; Psalm 96

TO CHEW ON: "The sower sows the word. And there are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts" - Mark 4:14-15


Jesus' parable describes the ancient practice of sowing but the modern process of snatching. On reading Jesus' explanation of the Sower Parable, something inside me says, the things He's describing—the sown word immediately taken away, the no-root, the preoccupation with the cares of this world, riches and other things—is very familiar. It is how I often feel especially since the coming of the Internet, email, Facebook blogging, twitter, and the smart phone. Something is always vying for my attention—and it isn't usually the Word!

Tim Challies writes about technology and a Christian's response to it in The Next Story. He says:

"Here is one of the greatest dangers we face as Christians: With the ever-present distractions in our lives, we are quickly becoming a people of shallow thoughts and shallow thoughts will lead to shallow living. There is a simple and inevitable progression at work here:

Distraction —> Shallow Thinking —> Shallow Living

All of this distraction is reshaping us in two dangerous ways. First we are tempted to forsake quality for quantity, believing the lie that virtue comes through speed, productivity and efficiency ... Second, as this happens, we lose our ability to engage in deeper ways of thinking—concentrated, focused thought requires time and cannot be rushed" - Tim Challies, The Next Story, Kindle Location 2037.

Isn't that what Jesus is talking about here—letting God's words, thoughts and principles land, penetrate, germinate, sprout, grow, and produce fruit in our lives? We do that as we think deeply and at length about what the Bible says, relating its teachings to our ways of being and acting.

Though our outward ways of relating Jesus' teachings and the Bible to our lives may be different from how people would have done it in the first century, our motivations and trip-ups are so similar. God's word snatched away, shallowly rooted, and choked is something of which we need to be vigilant more than ever!


PRAYER: Dear God, this ancient warning about distracted living is modern. Help me to discipline myself to turn off my devices and listen to You and let Your words preoccupy me. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 96


The Bible Project VIDEO: Mark (Gospel Series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Path to desolation

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 25-27; Psalm 38

TO CHEW ON: “For thus says the LORD God: ‘When I make you a desolate city like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring the deep upon you, and great waters cover you, then I will bring you down into the Pit, to the people of old and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be inhabited; and I shall establish glory in the land’” Ezekiel 26:19,20


Part of our reading today is a prophecy against Tyre. Some facts about the history and setting (gleaned from my Bible’s study notes):

• Tyre was an important Phonician seaport along the northern coast of the Mediterranean. It was in present-day Lebanon.

• Tyre was a city of two sections, one on the mainland and the other on an island half a mile offshore.

• Tyre’s destruction is prophesied in other places: Amos condemned Tyre for selling the Israelites to the Edomites (Amos 1:9), and Jeremiah prophesied their destruction by Nebuchadnezzar in Jeremiah 27:1-6.

• The destruction of Tyre happened in two parts. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the mainland city in the siege of 585-572 BC. The island city was destroyed by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. The prophecies in Ezekiel 26:4,12,14 came true when Alexander captured the city by building a causeway using the debris from the city on the mainland.

Ezekiel describes Tyre as a wealthy, diverse, established, bustling and proud seaport. People hearing his prophecy may have thought, how can his words ever come true? And yet Tyre fell as predicted.

As citizens of wealthy, diverse, established, bustling, and proud towns and cities on a continent of similar communities, we may also feel secure and certain that nothing can take our society down. However, even now in our developed democracies cracks are appearing.

Note, for example, the polarization of the people holding to left-leaning (liberal / progressive) and right-leaning (conservative / traditional) thought and lifestyle in the U.S., illustrated by an ad developed for the Republican party, that plays back threats and calls to action by their left-leaning opponents.

The Left in 2018: Unhinged



 As pressure mounts between the two sides, political watchers predict a blow-up. One can see how the nation could explode and implode in civil conflict.

In Canada the conflict is not as overt. Yet if one listens to talk shows and follows comments on Twitter and social media, one can see the same polarization developing.

Let’s not be smug and secure in our own society's outer beauty, sturdiness, wealth, knowledge, and systems of defense, like the citizens of Tyre were (Ezekiel 27:3-11),  when God sees rot and we’re also marked for destruction.


PRAYER: Dear Father, help me as a citizen of a wealthy peaceful nation to resist putting my confidence in possessions and government, especially when that government turns its back on You and urges me to go along with the breaking of Your laws for right living in the areas of accepting, even celebrating sexual perversion and confusion. Help me to cling to Your word as the standard by which I live no matter what my society and government tell me. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 38

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

Walking in integrity

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 49-50; Psalm 26

TO CHEW ON: “But as for me, I will walk in my integrity.” Psalm 26:11


At a book launch I attended recently, one of the speakers told of a time when he was on his city’s council and citizens were speaking to a development proposal. The land considered for development included some church property. The citizen was against any changes as he and others used the land as a parking lot for a nearby sports field. “Leave it in the hands of the church that does nothing,” he said.

That is how many in our society feel about the church. They see it as irrelevant, an organization that does little more than criticize, whine, make unreasonable demands, but accomplishes nothing constructive.

The book that was launched yesterday was The Church in Surrey and White Rock: The Untold Story (Edited by Neil Bramble, Lloyd Mackey and John Redekop). It shows how the church has done and is doing much in White Rock and Surrey (B.C.’s second-largest city). Chapters on the church’s involvement with the needy, seniors, health care, education, refugees, business, the arts, and politics illustrate how integral the church can be and has been. Churches in the area have developed feeding centres, sponsored refugees, built schools and seniors’ facilities, nurtured educators, business people, and politicians… the list goes on.

Thankfully more than one community leader in attendance acknowledged the way the church and its members not only do a lot of good stuff but also affect the morals and ethics of the community.

I’m sure any community that examined the church’s involvement within it would find something similar. And so in this time when many around us believe the Christian faith and the church that represents it is irrelevant, let’s continue to demonstrate by our acts and our attitudes that this is not so. David’s simple resolve expressed in Psalm 26:11 is a good motto for us to live by in this time: “But as for us, we will walk in our integrity.”

PRAYER: Dear Father, no matter how the Christian faith is attacked and maligned, help me to walk in integrity (adherence to moral and ethical principles, in honesty) before my generation. Amen.
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 26

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

Our real home and native land

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Philippians 3:12-4:1


TO CHEW ON: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be transformed to His glorious body according to the working by which He is able to subdue all things to Himself.” Philippians 3:20,21


The older I get the more I long for the day my “lowly body” will be “transformed” and “conformed” to Jesus’ “glorious body.” That longing is multiplied many times over when I see bodies of family members and friends ravished by disease and crippled by failing parts. We are so fragile. A few moments of insufficient oxygen at birth can determine the course of a life. A trip or fall or crash can maim us permanently. And then there are all those hidden processes of our inner organs that open the door to heart attacks, strokes, dementia, and the growth of malignant cells.

Another reason I long for heaven is because more and more I feel like a social and cultural misfit here on earth. It's just as Paul described it in Philippians 3: 18,19. I have the sense of being an alien in a place populated by enemies of the cross. It’s a place where I am bombarded by advice on how to placate the god of my belly and where much that the Bible teaches me is wrong is my society’s pride.

Anticipating heaven reminds me of planning a trip to the tropics during Canada's harsh winter. When we do that, we feed our anticipation for our trip by reading the travel agent's brochures about our destination.Today, let's anticipate our heavenly destination by reading some of the Bible's brochures about it. 

• It’s where our Father lives and prepares the reward for all the secret “charitable deeds” we’ve performed while on earth - Matthew 6:4.

• It’s a place we’re known. Our names are written in its roster - Luke 10:20.

• It’s a place of honour and work—a banquet and an assignment - Luke 22:30.

• It’s a place of residence, of “many mansions” prepared for us by Jesus - John 14:2.

• It’s a perfect place (of “incorruptible and undefiled inheritance”). Only people whose names are in God’s book are allowed to live there - 1 Peter 1:4.

• It’s a place of purity, reserved (again) for those named in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

• It’s the place of our real citizenship, with our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ - Philippians 3:20 (our focus verse).

What a destination to look forward to!

PRAYER: Dear Father, I’m excited for heaven. While I’m still firmly on planted on earth, help me to envision this final destination to keep me hopeful, focused on what’s real, and unswayed by the tempting voices around me. Amen.


MORE: "Sometimes I Wonder"

Heaven is a very popular subject for gospel music writers. Here's a relatively recent song about heaven, "Sometimes I Wonder" sung by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound.



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

We need each other

Christians come together in Jerusalem / Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Hebrews 10:32-11:2

TO CHEW ON: “But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated.” Hebrews 10:33


Today’s passage was written to first century Jewish Christians. From my Bible’s introduction:

“Apparently they expected Christ to return soon but the delay in His coming and the persecutions against them (Hebrews 10:32-34) caused them to wonder if they had made the right choice in becoming Christians… This epistle was written to wavering Jewish believers, encouraging them to stand fast in their faith” - Guy P. Duffield, “Introduction to Hebrews,” New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1728.

If we’re followers of history, we know that society’s attitude to Christianity, pro- and anti-, pendulums back and forth. In my growing up years, a generation or two after many European immigrants fled religious persecution to Canada as a place where they would be able to live their Christian convictions without fear of arrest, the attitude of society was much friendlier to Christianity than it is now.

Now the pendulum is swinging the other way. For example, a bill was passed in Ontario in June 2017, that gives the state power to apprehend a child from parents who don’t support the notion that gender is fluid, and who would oppose their child’s “human right” to change gender.  And in Camrose Alberta, the school board is attempting to limit which Bible verses a Christian school can use.

Thus the scenario pictured by our reading, of Christians suffering and struggling grows more possible for us. Apparently for the Hebrew believers it wasn’t a struggle of just ideas either but a very real physical set-to, with “plundering of goods” added to “reproaches” and “tribulations.” And this could happen to one for being a companion (friend, known associate) of a despised Christian - Hebrews 10:33.

I love this quote found in The Christian Almanac:

“There is a spiritual cancer at work in the world. The piracy of man’s fallen nature invariably mitigates against freedom and justice. Therefore voluntary associations must needs balance us—without force of state but nonetheless with the force of community—and hold us to accounts” - James Stuart (1849-1901)” - The Christian Almanac, July 3rd entry, p. 393.

What both Hebrews and Mr. Stuart drive home to me is that community is important. We in the church need each other in these times of the world’s increasing hostility.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to remain loyal to You, Your word, and my Christian brothers and sisters. Amen.

MORE: Feast of St. Thomas
Today is the day the church celebrates the Apostle Thomas. (This is a feast day that has two dates attached to it - July 3rd and December 21st).

The liturgy for this day begins with this prayer:

Everliving God, who strengthened your apostle Thomas with firm and certain faith in your Son's resurrection: Grant us so perfectly and without doubt to believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, that our faith may never be found wanting in your sight; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Faith checkup

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Corinthians 13:1-13

TO CHEW ON: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.” 2 Corinthians 13:5

Paul told the Christians in Corinth to test themselves in the context of them wanting proof that Christ spoke through him (2 Corinthians 13:3). The Message phrases it clearly:

“You who have been demanding proof that Christ speaks through me will get more than you bargained for. You’ll get the full force of Christ, don’t think you won’t … Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups… Test it out” - 2 Corinthians 13 MSG.

How would they, how would we “test ourselves… test it out”?

The Reformation Study Bible* suggests this list. It’s a good start. We might ask ourselves:

• Have we put our trust in Christ for salvation (Hebrews 3:6)?

• Are we obedient to God (Matthew 7:21)?

• Are we growing in holiness (Hebrews 12:14; 1 John 3:3)?

• Does our life display the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23)?

• Do we have love for other Christians (1 John 3:14)?

• Do we have the testimony of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:15,16)?

What a great set of questions to ask ourselves when we don’t “feel” like a Christian. It might also be good for someone struggling with assurance.


PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You that our faith is not a vague “I hope so” but a change of direction that impacts all of life and is experienced as you alter and transform me in many ways. Amen.

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Reformation Study Bible accessed through www.biblegateway.com

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

The work of fruitless effort

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Micah 6:1-16

TO CHEW ON: “You shall sow, but not reap;
You shall tread the olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
And make sweet wine but not drink wine.” Micah 6:15


Have you ever experienced fruitless effort—worked hard on a project only to have it fall apart before it was finished; created a product that didn’t sell; put years into training that never yielded a dollar of return in salary?

Fruitless effort is what Micah is predicting here for the people of Judah and Israel? But why? The preceding verses of Micah 6 give us some clues:

• Their worship had become a dead form and ritual (Micah 6:6,7). The attitude of their hearts was far from complying with the three things that God required: “But to do justly / To love mercy, / And to walk humbly with your God” - Micah 6:8.

• Their work was characterized by evil and deceit. Notice the list of things that offended God in the way they went about their day-to-day business: “...wickedness … short measure … wicked scales … deceitful weights … violence … lies … tongue is deceitful…” Micah 6:10-12.

• These practices seemed to have become part of their culture, a culture that developed under ungodly kings: “For the statues of Omri are kept/ All the works of Ahab’s house are done; / And you walk in their counsels” - Micah 6:16.

Could it be that some of our work failures, our fruitless effort fiascos, come about for the same reasons? We shove justice and mercy to the bottom of the priority list (aren’t they more for bleeding hearts?). Instead of walking with God we drag behind or race ahead of Him, working to our own timetables and ambitions? We mimic the work practices of the culture around us. Why not work for cash and so avoid reporting income and paying tax? Why not take a few office supplies home for the kids? Why not call in sick when we feel we need a day off? Everyone else is doing and getting away with it!

A paragraph on this passage in the Theology of Work Bible Commentary sums it up well:

“This is a reminder that the world of work does not exist in a vacuum, separated from the rest of life. If we do not ground our values and priorities in God’s covenant, then our lives and work will be ethically and spiritually incoherent. If we do not please God in our work, we cannot please him in our worship” -  Theology of Work Commentary, accessed through BibleGateway.com (emphasis added).

And if we do not please Him in our work, we should not be surprised if He withholds His blessing from our efforts.

PRAYER: Dear Father, please help me to keep justice, mercy, and walking with you (not ahead or behind) at the top of my work priorities. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A nation under God?

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

May gratitude to God for all His blessings fill your day.

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 67:1-7


TO CHEW ON: "God be merciful to us and bless us,

And cause His face to shine upon us, Selah." Psalm 67:1

In the book The Armageddon Factor author Marci McDonald theorizes that there is a conspiracy of the Christian right in Canada to take over the reins of government, enforce righteous standards, and thus hasten what they believe will be the end of the world, signaled by the Battle of Armageddon. As you can imagine, this book is not sympathetic to Christians.

Among other things, it has unmasked to me the fear and loathing secular society feels at the idea of God's rule. Trouble is, that resistance to Christ's lordship isn't only present in secular society. I have seen evidences of it in my own heart. Do you find it in yours? This psalm reassures us we have nothing to fear. Here are some of the positives the psalmist sees for an individual and nation living in the smile of God's approval.

1. His "way" becomes known, His salvation is broadcast at home and internationally (Psalm 67:2).

[Way - derek means way, journey, direction, manner, habit, course of life (figurative), moral character (figurative).]

What is His way? It is the humble, gentle, free-from-guile lifestyle of Matthew 5, 6 & 7.

What is His salvation? It is Jesus, come to pay the penalty for our sin so we can be reconciled to God - John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19.

2. He is a righteous judge for individuals and nations (Psalm 67:4).
Who of us hasn't been troubled by the apparent unfairness of human legal systems, how slowly their wheels turn, and how they appear to be in the control of those who have the most to gain from things being drawn out? What security to have a judge who sees and knows everything and has the power to administer it fairly - Hebrews 4:13.

3. Under His righteous rule, even the earth—nature, soil, plants—prospers (Psalm 67:6).
The promise of a flourishing natural world where God is honored and obeyed is repeated many times in the Bible: Leviticus 26:1-4, Psalm 85:8-12, Ezekiel 34:26-27, Zechariah 8:12.

So let's not be afraid. Let's put Jesus alone on the throne of our hearts and pray that in our nation He becomes Lord, not through laws that dictate it must be so but because individuals have willingly yielded to Him.

PRAYER: Dear God, I recognize the rebellion and independence of my own heart. Help me to put and keep You on the throne of my life. Amen.

MORE: A mixed bag

The Armageddon Factor has shown me that Christian culture in Canada is a mixed bag. The book is a worthwhile read if you want to:

- Find out about the beginnings and history of many of the faith-motivated organizations and movements active in Canada today. (McDonald delves into the EFC, the National House of Prayer, the Manning Centre to barely begin the naming.)

- Pray intelligently for those in the forefront of political power.

- Understand secular society's opposition to people of faith and their presence in Canada's political arena.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Christian's job description

Image from Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Timothy 4:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and teaching." 2 Timothy 4:2


"Preach the word [as an official messenger]; be ready when the time is right and even when it is not [keep your sense of urgency, whether the opportunity seems favorable or unfavorable, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether welcome or unwelcome]; correct [those who err in doctrine or behavior], warn [those who sin], exhort and encourage [those who are growing toward spiritual maturity], with inexhaustible patience and [faithful] teaching" - 2 Timothy 4:2 AMP


The job description Paul gives Timothy here is one we can all adopt. It addresses  three W questions and one H.

WHY?
When we look at the context we see the reason why the job Paul is about to describe is important. It's because someday he (Timothy) and all of us will appear before our King and Judge Jesus (2 Timothy 4:1).


WHAT?

• "Preach the word!"

The "word" here is logos the same word used in John 1:1, 14 etc. It's the message of Jesus and His incarnation as God's communication to us. It's the message of our sin penalty paid and our relationship with God renewed. It's the word that Jesus equates with truth in John 8:31,32.

"It's not their own notions and fancies that they are to preach, but the pure plain word of God" - Matthew Henry's Commentary.

It's the word that's becoming increasingly unpopular in our culture. Beth Moore, in her September 2015 simulcast, speaking of living as an audacious Christian acknowledged this:

"We need the audacity to live the tension that comes with loving in truth … I want to love like Jesus, but Jesus never loved but with truth. We are going to do the greatest disservice to our culture if we deny the truth. If we think we're better for the world without the word, we'll end up looking just like the world" - Beth Moore, from my notes.

• "Preach the word"

Preach (kerysso) means to proclaim publicly.

• "Convince..."

Convince (elencho) is to convict, confute, find fault with and correct by word or deed.

• "...rebuke ..."

Rebuke (epitimao) means to tax with a fault, chide, rebuke, reprove, censure severely.

"He must tell people their faults" - Matthew Henry's Commentary.

• "...exhort..."

Exhort (parakaleo) means to call to, call upon with entreaty, comfort, instruct, encourage. 

"He must direct, encourage, and quicken those who began well" - Matthew Henry's Commentary.

WHEN?

• "Be ready in season and out of season." The way the Amplified puts it is better than any commentary: "… be ready when the time is right and even when it is not [keep your sense of urgency, whether the opportunity seems favorable or unfavorable, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether welcome or unwelcome]…"

HOW?

• "…with all long-suffering and teaching"

That is with patience (makrothymia) - endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance, slowness in avenging wrongs.

and

teaching (didache) - doctrine.

"He must do it rationally, not with passion but with doctrine" - Matthew Henry's Commentary.

I ask myself does the way I live my life fulfill this assignment? What about you?



PRAYER: Dear God, if anything, this job is more challenging than ever. Help me to know how to carry it out in the moments of this day. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible,
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Hated

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 John 3:11-24

TO CHEW ON: "Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you." 1 John 3:13

There is within the DNA of the gospel, something that "the world" finds intrinsically offensive. I'm not sure if I can put my finger on it exactly but it seems to have something to do with:

• Jesus' claims of uniqueness ("'I am the way the truth and the life.'" John 14:6) and Christianity's tone of certainty about Jesus as the only way to God ("Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” Acts 4:12).

• Jesus' certainty about the fate of anyone who doesn't believe in Him (" 'He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.' ” John 3:36)

• God's authority versus our human dislike of anyone being the boss of us (Satan tapped into that when, in answer to Eve's objection to eating Eden's forbidden fruit, he contradicted God and said " 'You shall not surely die' " - Genesis 3:4,5)

• The way the gospel cancels out our human efforts to save ourselves ("But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away" - Isaiah 64:6).

Though western societies have long tolerated, even upheld Christian beliefs, a new definition of "tolerance" is chilling the atmosphere toward Christians. Increasingly attempts to defend a lifestyle that corresponds with the Bible's standards are even labeled hate speech (in that such defenses are seen as intolerant of alternate lifestyles). (For an exposé of this new intolerant tolerance, read Albert Mohler's interview with theologian D. A. Carson after the release of Carson's new book The Intolerance of Tolerance.)

To those of us who have grown up at a time and in a place where Christian ideas were mainstream, this is a shock. We're not used to being disliked, ridiculed, made fun of, even hated. But in the grand scheme of history, love of Christianity and Christians is the exception rather than the rule.

What do we do about this? Our gut reaction—my gut reaction—is to pray that things will change, that the climate toward Christians will warm. But that's not what the early Christians did. Look at how they prayed after Peter and John were imprisoned, then hauled before the Jewish rulers and told to shut up or else:

"And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus” Acts 4:29-30 NLT

Do we dare pray the same way?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I love such boldness in the face of persecution. Help me to have the mindset that isn't cowed by criticism and hatred, but takes courage in who You are and what You can do. Please give me New Testament boldness. Amen.

MORE: D. A. Carson says...

"...I want to argue that people have the right to believe or not to believe, to believe what they want, and yet the secular wants our beliefs to be so privatized that they have nothing to say to the public arena. ...But Christians can’t live that way. ... What Christians cannot allow is to keep their voices silent just because they’re Christians" - D. A. Carson, "Tolerance on Trial: A Conversation with D. A. Carson.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What authority determines your course?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Timothy 4:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables." 2 Timothy 4:3,4

Such a time has come for the church, especially over the issue of blessing same sex marriages. Numerous books have lately come out by professing Christians that are pro same-sex unions (see this Publisher's Weekly article).

Writers of these books usually argue that Bible passages that speak clearly against homosexuality* have been misinterpreted and are saying something different than what they seem to say.

Dr. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has put together a book (God and the Gay Christian? A Response to Matthew Vines**)) refuting one of these books (God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines). In Mohler's book, Mohler and four other theologians speak to the arguments Vines makes.

In the chapter titled "What Has the Church Believed and Taught?" Denny Burk quotes liberal theologian Luke Timothy Johnson who, to his credit, is one who admits that the Bible doesn't come out favoring same-sex relationships. In fact, he names the authority that proponents of gay marriage are really following. He says:

"I have little patience with efforts to make Scripture say something other than what it says, through appeals to linguistic or cultural subtleties. The exegetical situation is straightforward: we know what the text says. But what are we to do with what the text says? … I think it is important to state clearly that we do, in fact, reject the straightforward commands of Scripture, and appeal instead to another authority when we declare that same-sex unions can be holy and good. And what exactly is that authority? We appeal explicitly to the weight of our own experience and the experience thousands of others have witnessed to, which tells us that to claim our own sexual orientation is in fact to accept the way in which God has created us" (quoted in God and the Gay Christian - A Response to Matthew Vines? p. 54)

More and more churches and individual Christians that hold to the traditional interpretation of the Bible on contentious issues like gay marriage are being pushed into a corner by the powers of political correctness and public opinion. In this context it's really important that we settle for ourselves (corporately and personally) who and what our authority is in these matters.

Do we set our course by the Bible's authority or are we too heaping up for ourselves fables (new authorities like experience)? We need to determine to set our course by the true North Star of God's word, not the flashy satellites of experience and public opinion that orbit the sky of our culture.

PRAYER: Dear God, in these times when the authority of Your word is being questioned, help me to stay true to it and You. Help me to live my life by Your standards, not the standards of the society around me. Amen.


* Bible passages that speak about homosexuality are: Genesis 19:5; Leviticus 18:22; Leviticus 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; and 1 Timothy 1:10. 

** Download the free pdf of God and the Gay Christian? A Response to Matthew Vines HERE.


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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.