Thoughts From 1Timothy - Day 7

 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.  But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.   1 timothy 2:11-15

         There are a number of different passages in the Bible that deal with gender roles both in the family and in the Church. I leave out society because I don't think the Bible restricts roles in society. Any discussion on egalitarianism (everyone is equal in regard to roles) versus complementarianism (men and women are equal in worth but not in roles), to be intellectually and biblically honest must deal with these verses. My hero, Mike Winger from "Think Biblically" has recorded close to 40 hours on this topic, and to be perfectly honest, I tried but can't listen to it all, but the bottom line is that complementarianism is the proper interpretation of scripture.

       The first thing we see is that there was an order in creation. If you know anything about birth order especially as it correlates to first born and authority in scripture, the fact that he was first is a big deal. The Bible states woman was made for man as a help meet. My study of this leads me to picture something that's leaning and the help meet steadies it or rectifies it. In otherwards, man left to his own frailties will get off balance and needs a woman to stabilize him. Women are essential in the family and the Church to keep it on course. Their advice should not be ignored but it looks to me like it shouldn't be a flagrant public undermining of authority but a more behind the scenes advisory capacity in the family and church. This thinking is certainly contrary to modern sensibilities, but just the fact that sin entered the world through Adam when Eve was the one to do it, demonstrates an authority, headship, responsibility role of men. I believe that families and churches that violate this headship rule will be dysfunctional and anecdotally, I think it bears out.

       The second thing I see is the great gift God gave women, that He didn't give to men and that is to be able to bear children. If it was dependent on men, a savior couldn't have come and we'd be lost in our sin. Actually we wouldn't even be here because MANkind would have lasted one generation. It's interesting in our society that instead of this unique ability to have children being celebrated, it is rather a point of contention in the struggle for having the autonomy that men have. The argument might be that man has total freedom with his body while a woman can be told by the government that she has to carry a baby and therefore is not really free. This beautiful gift that God has given women, to have children and raise them in Godliness to keep the faith going into the next generation, has been turned into a battle for equality and a desire quite often to forfeit this gift.

        I understand that as a man, discussing women I have a ton of blindspots, but my conclusion is that the Bible and Christianity, and especially here with Paul and 1Timothy lifts up women. These passages tell us that without women, the family and church would be messed up and the whole human race along with our opportunity at salvation would be lost. I think Complementarianism has a tremendously high view of women.

Thoughts From 1Timothy - Day 6

  For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles. Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

                                                                                          1 Timothy 2:5-11

        If you could summarize the Bible, these verses do it. There is a God and there is only one. Anything else is not God but a decoy put there by someone who hates God and doesn't want Him to be worshipped. 

       There is mankind who is at odds with God and needs someone to mediate for them and that mediator is Jesus who is man and God at the same time. He can both relate to us and bear our guilt because He is a man yet be in the presence of God the Father because He is God and holy. That's why Jesus is the only option available to mankind because no one else could bring us into the presence of the Father. He is uniquely qualified. We were kidnapped by sin and Jesus paid the ransom which was His blood and death on the cross.

          Why did this happen when it did? It was the proper time. There was a common language, there was a time of peace where the gospel could go into all nations, there were roads to take it to the nations, Israel was centrally located, and all prophecy had to be fulfilled which made it happen at this date.

        So what should be our response to this good news that our relationship with our Maker can be restored.

1. Fall into the arms of Jesus! Let Him bring you to the Father.

2. Be a herald. What's that? Announce the good news. Tell people by word or even put up signs like you see them doing in medieval movies. Heralds come and nail signs to things and blow trumpets and say "Hear ye, hear ye!"

3. Pray. the one who made decoys isn't going to just stand by and let people be told the truth. Recognize that you are entering into spiritual battles.

4. Put on a united front. Look past superficial differences and join with other believers in this endeavor to win souls. This is truly the thing that matters most.

5. Lift Holy hands - live a life of worship. Yes witnessing is extremely important but how can you be a true witness telling people that they need a relationship with God when you are neglecting yours?

6. Live a life consistent with the truth. What's the truth? We are aliens here. We are only here for a short time. If our eyes are focused on the things of this world and we are living like everyone else, we haven't let the truth of the gospel change us. Live as ambassadors of another kingdom.

Thoughts From 1 Timothy - Day 5

  I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.  1Tim 2:1-4

            It's 2024 and we are having a presidential election. Funny how that happens every 4 years. As usual there is the vitriol from the right and left saying each other's candidate is the worst thing for America. It's so easy to see the other side as enemies and spend our time praying that our candidate, God's clear choice, gets in. On a side note, I've often encouraged people to rethink their religion on the basis of do you believe because your parents raised you in that faith or do you believe it because you have examined it to be true? Most people blindly accept their family's faith, but I'm pretty convinced more people accept their family's politics blindly.

        This passage tells us that we should not be praying against the other side but for

   #1. Their salvation - I actually think Trump is more hardened to salvation than Kamala. He was just at a prayer rally with over 50,000 people praying for him to get elected and he was there and posted a video on Twitter. He continues to be in the presence of Christians yet refuses to commit his life to the Lord and evidence it by his behavior. But then again, how many times did it take Nebuchadnezzar to finally humble himself before the Lord. Kamala has been rejected by Christians and probably has rejected the gospel less times. We were just in the mountains fishing and the guide told us the more remote you go the easier it is to catch the trout because they don't reject the lure as easily as they have never seen it before. Do you get my fishers of men analogy? Pray for our leaders' salvations. God is not willing that any should perish.

  #2. That they might keep us at peace - War is horrendous and although I'm not a pacifist, killing fellow creations of God should be a last resort. I don't want my grandkids to be drafted. I was one year from being drafted for Viet Nam. Also for peace in our streets and communities that the leaders would restrain evil and violence from within our nation. Pray for a strong yet humble and moral police force. I have one, Nate Wyrick, in my Sunday School class and if all the police were like him, you would never hear a call for defunding.

   #3. That they might restore quietness - I hate to say it but if Trump gets in we will have 4 more years of attempted impeachments ... basically he will bring anger out from the left and  will be the center of everything news. If Harris gets in, pray that the right might honor her and submit to her authority unless it violates the Bible. But I look forward to the election being over and hopefully more quiet. I can't call my family without hearing political rhetoric and I just long to live a peaceful quiet life.

Review of Netlix's Nobody Wants This

 

        #1 on Netflix for several weeks was a rom com 10 episode series called "Nobody Wants This". Each episode is 30 minutes so binging it is possible and my wife can usually stay awake for 30 minutes. The worst is setting aside a romantic evening to watch a romantic movie and 20 minutes into it she is asleep, and I end up watching a movie I really didn't want to watch instead of say "Extraction 2".

        Episodes 1 and 2 were great. His breakup seemed to be sort of ill defined especially as we see the beauty and depth of his ex in later episodes. It does seem like she is the better catch and Joanne is just the "forbidden fruit".

       Which leads me to the problem I have with this series, which actually is somewhat fixed at the end where he decides to leave "the ministry". The rabbi is not a good spiritual leader. Being a Christian, I am understandably bothered by this with all the hypocritical leaders in our ranks. From Catholic priests abusing thousands of young boys, to Camp Kannacuck, to Ravi Zacharias, the Southern Baptist scandal of abuse, to Steven Lawson in the last few months, Bill Gothard, and dozens more, hypocrisy is despised by us. Noah (the rabbi) goes for the forbidden fruit and by episode 3 is having sex which according to the Torah is wrong. He even brings her to a Jewish youth camp where he is going to teach about the Torah to these youth while having premarital sex in his cabin. I googled to see if Jews were bothered by this and it seems the only thing they are bothered by is the stereotypical portrayal of Jewish women as being bossy. Along with this he uses the Lord's name in vain and has a love relationship with a gentile which is forbidden in the Torah multiple times.

          This isn't to say Noah is a bad person. He is just a bad rabbi. If love is considering other's needs above our own, he puts everyone first including leaving his job for Joanne. Joanne's mom is hurt by her ex-husband's new relationship and he comforts her. Instead of burning Rebecca's things he takes them to her and doesn't avoid the hard conversations. He refuses to gossip, won't eat unclean food, and forgives Joanne easily for lying to him. Also he understands the female mind and gets to core issues in a way that only Hollywood script writers could fabricate.

          Don't get me wrong, I'm not bothered by these people having premarital sex. If I were, I couldn't watch any movies. I have problems with a speaker and leader of people, on God's behalf, having premarital sex and like I said before, now that he has quit his job, they are two people following their own morality having sex.

         Will he leave his Jewishness? No, that is his culture. Will he be troubled by his decision? Yes. Will they find out that chemistry, sex, lust, passion, and the thrill of scandalous behavior wears off only to leave two people who have nothing in common who have given up everything to be together trying to pick up the pieces of their life? If it is a true story, yes. What would be great is if he goes back to Rebecca and she won't have him. We will see in upcoming seasons.

        We see young boys and girls in the Church Youth Group who get enamored with someone who isn't a follower of Jesus. If they pursue this relationship, the first thing you will hear is, "I don't believe the Bible anymore; it's outdated." (Code for I want to have sex) They will gradually disappear from the fellowship but their cultural Christianity will someday marginally bring them back to raise their kids in Church because they have fond memories of those days. It's so sad because God had great plans for their life and they gave it up for lust. I guess this along with being a hypocritical leader representing God is the crux of the objection to this show in my review.

Thoughts From 1Timothy - Day 4

 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 1Tim. 1:13-17

         I've heard objections to Christianity that go like this - "Your God says, 'Worship Me or I'll send you to hell.' I can't and won't worship a narcissistic being like that." Here are a few thoughts on that.

        1. God doesn't need anything. He doesn't need your worship. If you choose not to worship Him it's sort of like refusing a medical treatment. OK, your loss. Where I work now, in downtown Memphis, we have so many very sick pregnant women who come in for evaluation and they need to be admitted and they just leave AMA (against medical advice). I think this is a proper analogy because the worship of God is what our sin-sick soul needs. We were made for this but unfortunately substitute the worship of other things because we are all worshipping something. Isn't that right, Swifties.

      2. God doesn't send you to hell for not worshipping Him, you were already on your way because you are following Satan and that's his home. You might say, "I'm not a Satan worshipper." If you are on the throne of your life, that's all Satan wants. Law #1 of the Satanic Bible is not worship Satan but rather, worship yourself. There are just 2 sides, God and Satan and if you aren't worshipping God you are worshipping Satan. It's like your parents saying, "You have 2 choices. You can go to college or not go to college." You respond, "Neither. I'm going to get a job." There is no third option, you have chosen not to go to college.

     3. Paul was aware of how evil he was and the depth of his sin and rebellion toward God and the realization of the mercy bestowed upon him led him to worship. People with the above objection just don't realize their depravity and the grace and mercy of God offered to them. They don't understand the Love of God for them to offer up His Son in their place. We don't worship God because he have to. We worship God because we want to. We love because He first loved us.

       Jesus asked Paul,"Why are you kicking against the pricks?" A prick was a pointy goad that was used to keep the oxen moving. It would be foolish if the oxen got the pointy stick in his behind to lift his hind leg and kick the stick because his hoof would just get stuck like his rear. This objection is an illustration of that. You refusing to worship God is just hurting yourself.

Thoughts From 1 Timothy - Day 3

 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.  1 Tim. 1:8-11

         For every negative there is a positive. For example, don't lie is negative and tell the truth is positive. Don't eat from that one tree is negative and eat from thousands of others is positive. Don't have sex with someone your same sex and don't have sex until you are married is negative, while have sex with someone of the opposite sex when you are married is positive.

       Prior to accepting by faith Christ's forgiveness on the cross, the law was all negative to us. We saw it as a bunch of "dont's" because God was seen as a cruel taskmaster out to ruin our fun and freedom. Paul said in Romans 7 that once he learned coveting was wrong, all he wanted to do is covet. Even though there was only one rule in the garden, Satan came to Eve and focused on the one negative rather than every positive created for them in paradise. Not only did we focus on wanting to do the negatives when we were unsaved, if we did try to do something good, somehow in the midst of that we were breaking a negative. For example, giving to the poor - positive. Seeking recognition for being a good person - negative. Loaning a possession to someone - positive. Expecting reciprocation - negative. Jesus talks a lot about things like this in the sermon on the mount as He exposed people's (especially Pharisees) goodness as fraudulent saying unless we are perfect, we can't get to Heaven.

      When we by faith receive forgiveness of sins and salvation, Christ's perfection is granted to us. Now those desires to do the negatives gradually get replaced by desires to do the positives because God's Spirit lives in us and changes our desires to His. When we do positive things, it isn't done for self-seeking reasons but rather a desire to please the one who made us and gave His life for us and it is actually the power of the Spirit, who has only pure motives, doing it through us. When we do the things that reflect His character and His design for humans, it gives Him glory. It makes Him happy.

      I was thinking, the law is a bit like a policeman. The policeman has a negative function- punish law breakers, and a positive function - create a safe environment for law abiding citizens to live in. If you are a law breaker, the last thing you want to see is a cop. If you are obeying the law, it gives you a sense of freedom when you see him and encouragement to continue to do the right thing.

     The real question is - Is the main desire of your heart to do whatever makes God happy or what makes you happy? The surprise is that the only way for you to be happy is to make God happy. That's how He designed us.

Thoughts From 1 Timothy 1 - Day 2

 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.  1 Tim. 1:3-7

        Paul sent Timothy to oversee the Church in Ephesus which was being threatened in two ways. First was doctrinally. The early Church was threatened by Satan messing with the essentials of the gospel in order that people could believe but believe the wrong gospel and thus not be redeemed. The essentials are

   1. The deity of Christ

   2. Salvation by grace through faith that is evidenced by obedience

   3. No other means of salvation but Jesus

   4. Resurrection of Christ and the dead

   5. The Bible is the inspired word of God (the Old testament scriptures for Timothy)

These are hills to die on and Paul sent Timothy to make sure that error didn't creep in. Today, Satan uses the same tactics and progressive Christianity includes a number of these errors. Church leaders must be aware of these and discerning and confrontational when exposed to them.

       The second attack to the church was geneologies and I'm not quite sure what that is but the results of it were 5 fold

      1. It caused arguing and quarreling

      2. This caused division - didn't lead to love

      3. Those who knew more than others were prideful

      4. Discussing it didn't go anywhere. Didn't lead to sanctification but was an intellectual exercise only

      5. Took away from faith alone. Wasn't violating the essentials but may have been chipping away.

   What are those things today? End times discussions, modes of baptism, incorporation of Jewish customs into Christianity, Calvinism or Arminianism, KJV only, political party allegiance, cessationism or not, old earth vs. young earth and many others are all areas where some people are much more knowledgeable about than you. As they pontificate it usually leads to pride, division, arguing and frankly usually doesn't increase anyone's faith. Paul told Timothy that this was already happening in the church and nip it in the bud.

    Is your church on the right track?

Thoughts From 1 Timothy - Day 1

  Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.  1 Timothy 1:1,2

             Paul must have been amazed every time he called himself an apostle of Jesus, being a previous persecutor of all who believed in Jesus to the point where he was probably instrumental in the death of people in the early church. Yet God saved him and commanded him to be a sent out one (apostle) to Jews and Gentiles in unreached areas.

           No wonder this title led him to speak of mercy, grace and peace. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Paul deserved the same thing back that he dished out and he didn't get it. Actually he sort of did but it wasn't from the church; it was from the people whose side he was previously on. The world loves you when you are singing their tune but they hang you out to dry when you quit.

       Grace is getting what you don't deserve. Paul deserved wrath from God, yet he received a calling, a new family, and a home in Heaven where I believe he will be rewarded with the same honor as the 12, taking Judas' spot. (Just a theory)

        Finally he received peace. Jesus said "why do you keep kicking against the goads?". In other words Paul's life prior to conversion was one of pain, frustration, inner turmoil. After salvation he knew the Truth and didn't have to fight against God and be His enemy but rather His friend and be empowered by Him. Christians should be characterized by a sense of peace. We don't have to fear like the world does because we know who is in control and we know how the story ends, and it's a happy ending.

       The other consideration with the "apostle" title is why this is preserved for us today. In order for books/ letters to be included in the Bible, they had to be penned by someone with apostolic authority. Paul, by calling himself an apostle, God ordained not self ordained, is lending God's stamp of approval to this epistle and everything you read from hereon in this letter, even though he was penning the words, it was equal to God penning the words. It is truth and should be received that way.

Milwaukee Brewers Top Prospects 2024

 So here goes my annual evaluation of all the Brewers farm systems based solely on the basic stats such as batting average ,on base percentage ,slugging percentage ,earned run average ,strikeouts, walks, win- loss, OPS , and WHIP. Also I have not seen these players play so I am basing it only on basic statistics. I don't have any fielding statistics either so take these for what they are worth but these are the players that I am excited about.

SP  

   Hayden Robinson 19y/o RH  ACL  ERA  2.41  WHIP 1.13  AVG .209 Injured

   Dariel Jaquez  17y/o RH  DSL  ERA  1.74  WHIP .94  AVG .129

   Ayendy Bravo 17y/o RH  DSL  ERA 2.38  WHIP 1.04  AVG .194

   K.C. Hunt  24y/o RH AA  ERA  2.12  IP 106  K 145  WHIP 0.95

   Logan Henderson 22 y/o RH AAA ERA 3.11 WHIP 0.98 AVG .199

   Chad Patrick 26 y/o RH AAA record 14-1 ERA 2.90 WHIP 1.09 AVG .215

RP

     Tyler Bryant High A  25y/o RH   ERA 1.82  AVG .182

     Sam Gardner AA  27y/o RH  ERA 2.20  IP 81  K 112 WHIP 1.10  Avg .185

     Jacob Misiorowski 22 y/o RH AAA  ERA 2.55 WHIP 0.85 AVG .088

     Shane Smith 24 y/o RH AAA   ERA 2.69  WHIP 1.05 AVG .200

     Craig Yoho  24 y/o RH AAA ERA 0.94 IP 57 K 104 WHIP 0.94 AVG .151

INF

     SS  Jesus Made  17y/o  DSL  S/R  .331/.458/1.012  BB 39  K 28  SB 28  CS 4

     SS  Luis Pena  17y/o DSL R/R  .393/.457/1.040   BB 15  K 15  SB 39  CS 4

     1B Josh Adamczewski  Low A  19y/o L/R  .307/.445/.909 

     2B Jadher Areinamo  High A  20y/o  R/R  .301/.349/.791  33SB

     Inf  Mike Boeve   AA  22y/o  L/R  .338/.415/.886

C  Jeferson Quero AAA injured all year but preceding year won platinum glove for best fielder in minors

OF

     Juan Ortuno  17y/o DSL  R/R   .344/.464/.945

     Braylon Payne 18y/o Low A  L/L  .438/.526/.625/1/151 (only played in 4 games but straight out of high school, pretty impressive)

Honorable mention - Pratt, Hicklen, Collins, Adams, Black

   Good hitting additions to Brewers are a few years off except for Boeve. Hunt, Henderson and Patrick could contribute as starters next year and Misiorowski, Yoho, Smith could be in the bullpen. Talent is down a little in the minors but Brewers have called up a bunch this year.

Thoughts From 2Thessalonians - Day 3

                                 2 Thessalonians 2:6-17

 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. Stand Firm. But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

       Having been a believer for so long, it's hard to think like an unbeliever. What makes them tick? Why would they reject the Gospel or Good News of salvation, not condemnation, of grace not wrath, of truth not lies, of God not Satan?

       The problem is not intellectual but spiritual. Satan has deceived them and they think that wickedness is more fun than Godliness. They think that lawlessness is freedom and obedience to teachings means rules or bondage. We see it playing out every 4 years where the left emphasizes rights to do whatever they want with their bodies even to the point of castration or the killing of a life inside them in the name of freedom. Lest the right go blame free, they see America first! Stop worrying about other country's affairs and stop accepting their refugees, especially if they don't contribute anything to us. Both sides are guilty of self seeking, self service, selfishness because Satan has convinced mankind, because he is a liar, that this is freedom. This is fun. This leads to self fulfillment. The antichrist will appeal to this and people will swallow it hook line and sinker.

       Paul teaches that people can break out of the matrix by swallowing a different colored pill. The pill that says freedom is found in submitting your life to Jesus Christ. Self dies and is replaced by the Spirit of God inside you who glorifies Himself through you by sanctifying you to start looking like Jesus. Freedom and fun and fulfillment comes in obedience to the Word of God.

       What are the results of submission to Jesus Christ? First of all, eternal glory. We get eternal life in Heaven. We have hope in this life and don't have to fear death but can embrace it. Second, isn't it nice to know you aren't being duped or brainwashed anymore? Do you really like being gaslit or living with the Stokholm Syndrome. No! You want to believe the truth not a lie. Three - we become loved by God. Satan doesn't love us. He's totally using us to get back at God and discards us when he is done. 

       Lastly, we have encouragement. I got to thinking about this whole topic because an unbeliever I know asked me to pray that they would get the job that they had applied for and I would know the results next week by whether they would be in for work or not. If they got turned down, they were going to take a day off because they would be too discouraged to work. I told them I would pray that they would get the job but now I'm thinking the best prayer is that they would know the Truth and if getting accepted leads to that- great. If getting rejected leads to that - great. Satan's ways in the end lead to discouragement but knowing Christ and having the Spirit inside us is a well spring of encouragement flowing up from inside of us.

        Truth or Lie? Which do you choose? Ask your heart because your brain is being deceived.

       

Thoughts From 2 Thessalonians - Day 2

             2Thessalonians 2:1-5

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?

              I remember coming home from school at a young age and no one was home. That could never happen now because at the age of 8 kids aren't even released from school without a preapproved credentialed guardian to escort them home. Of course, back then we just walked  down the sidewalk 3 blocks to my ranch styled middle class home. When I arrived, I entered the unlocked door and called out for my mom or my sister but no one answered. I had recently been scared to death at a YFC (Youth for Christ) meeting where they showed A Thief in the Night, a 50 year prequel to Left Behind, where the rapture occurs and a group of teens get saved during that post rapture time and it ended with a guillotine. I was concerned that my family had been raptured and I had been left behind, an 8 year old, to endure the wrath to come.

           So much for my psychotherapy, but this appears to be why 2 Thessalonians was written. A fake Pauline letter had arrived in Thessalonica saying the rapture had occurred and they missed it and the reason that they were having so much persecution was that they were already in the tribulation. Paul goes on to explain why this isn't true, although just to get a letter from Paul should be proof enough. He could have written, "Hey, I'm still here. Love, Paul.", and that should have been sufficient. However, just in case they thought it might be a forgery, he gives them reasons why they couldn't have missed it and that they aren't in the tribulation, namely if they were they would be seeing the antichrist on the scene.

         There has been a lot of debate about whether there even is a rapture among theologians, but to me, the existence of this letter along with the fact that Paul, spending only about 3 weeks there, then fleeing, felt the end times was essential doctrine to teach, shows me that this is true and a doctrine important enough to put in a church's doctrinal statement. Not to say it is essential for salvation and it's a doctrine we can agree to disagree on, but I think a church needs to unapologetically teach it from the pulpit.

        Maranatha! When's the last time you heard that? 

Thoughts From 2Thessalonians - Day 1

              2 Thessalonians 1

 Paul, Silas[a] and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."

            In baseball, when you are a small market team, you keep players the allotted number of years that you can pay them the league minimum and then when those years are used up, they usually can go to free agency and the teams with lots of money acquire their services. This can be somewhat delayed by giving them a "large" contract early on in exchange for more years of service. It's a gamble from the team's perspective because they are paying a player before they have proven anything in the big leagues large sums of money, betting that they are going to be successful in the majors like they were in the minors. It is also a gamble for the player because 5 years from now, he may be so good that he could be making $25 million per year instead of $10 million he committed to as a wide-eyed newbie.

         What does this have to do with the passage? My mind went there when Paul talks about when the Day of the Lord comes, his prayer is that we may be found worthy. I remember when the Brewers signed Aaron Ashby, a pitcher, to one of those contracts. Instead of receiving $400,000 per year, he was getting  $7 million. His response was," I hope I can prove myself worthy of the cost they are paying for me." To be honest, up until this year, he hasn't. Now, 4 years later it has all come together and he "is worthy" and playing a big role in our playoff run. However, during those 4 years, he has been terrible. Imagine his shame around management, fans he'd see in public or even teammates in the minors bitter that he is getting so much money while they are doing so much better and making a pittance of what he is.

          God has paid a big price for you - his only son, and as He looks at you is He thinking, "What a waste."? When the angels see you are they thinking, "What did God ever see in them?" When fellow believers see you are they thinking, "(S)he is a waste of pew space."? Paul encourages the believers in Thessalonica, those "on the team", that they are to act on every good deed that has been prompted by the Holy Spirit and every desire for goodness that the spirit brings to their minds. He tells them that God's desire for them is to look like a bunch of little "Jesuses". His Son came to die in order to form His likeness in people all over the Earth who receive Him. If we are looking like Jesus, God is glorified. His investment was worth it. If we are not any different from the unsaved people in our life, you can almost sense His disappointment.

         When you stand before God someday, is He going to say "Well done, my good and faithful servant!" or will you be ashamed on that day?

Thoughts From 1 Thessalonians - Day 7

  As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.  For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;  that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable. 1Thes. 4:1-4

And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery Ex. 20:1-2

        Before God goes on to give Moses the 10 Commandments He says, "I am the Lord your God". They are already His before they obey anything. Why? Because they applied the blood on the doorposts in an act of faith trusting the blood of the lamb to save them. In 1Thessalonians 4 Paul calls them his brothers and sisters while they are practicing sexual immorality. Why? Because it says in Chapter 1 that they received the gospel. It's like now that you are saved, here is how you should live.

       Quite often we see repentance as turn from sin and follow Christ. That is more sanctification than repentance. Repentance is turning from following self to following Christ. To admit that you are wrong and He is right. Once you have done that, the rest of life is a process of becoming like Christ and one area is our sexuality. People don't have to quit living together, quit pornography, leave homosexuality to get saved. However, once they become His, then God will start convicting them of sinful areas in their life that need to change.

       I illustrated it like this to the grandkids. I have a 5 inch bendable Jesus figure that I covered with Play Doh so it looked like a big oval lump of clay. I said, "This is you and you just got saved. You asked Jesus into your life. As God starts revealing sins to you, with His help and sometimes others keeping you accountable, you start removing sins from your life. For example your desire to have your own way, be first, always win even if it means cheating... as you master those a piece or 2 of clay gets removed." I then peel off 2 or 3 pieces of play doh and they start to see bendable Jesus underneath. You get the point. This is sanctification. This is God's will for us - to start looking like His Son. 

      Let's not try to clean people up before they get saved. Just present the simple gospel and let God do the cleaning up later.

         

Do The Work

"  But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. 2 Tim. 4:5

        The first time I heard "do the work" I was regrettably watching The Bachelor. Pictures surfaced of a female contestant in college going to a plantation in a period dress with her sorority where they pretended they were in the Gone With The Wind era. The black bachelor was then faced with what to do with his favorite girl who was now a racist. In the end they broke up and she apologized for her ignorance and she was told to "Do the Work." What that seemed to mean was to read black history, the stuff we aren't taught in school, go to museums like civil rights museums, watch documentaries... Whatever... it wasn't spelled out the what, the time, the end, it was just "Do the work".

       Paul is telling Timothy in this passage to "Do the work." It wasn't to educate himself on racism in the 1st century, although that is a good thing, but rather to do the work to evangelize. We are all familiar with the great commission and realize being an evangelist was not just the job of Timothy but all believers so it behooves us to figure out what he means here. We usually think of evangelism as talking, debating, apologetics, reasoning, preaching, speaking or whatever else it takes to lead someone to make a decision to follow Christ. But what is the work?

       You've heard it said that "People will care what you know when they know that you care." That takes work. I must confess that as I look ahead to a long flight then drive to our clinic in the Phillipines for a Medical mission, at the age of 68, going to a hot climate in July looking in kid's mouths and ears as an OB/GYN doesn't thrill me. Yet probably over 100 will pray to receive Christ. It strikes me that I am doing the work of an evangelist. Over the past number of years we have done free car washes, wrapped Christmas presents at the mall, had free oil changes and gone through a neighborhood changing light bulbs, built handicap ramps all for the opportunity to share Christ. Having a neighbor over for supper that you have nothing in common with is work,  wouldn't you agree.

         Then getting up an hour early to pray for the lost or fasting takes some work.

     Why not call someone today and offer to watch their kids so they can go out for dinner in hopes of someday sharing the gospel. Let's do the work!

Thoughts From 1 Thessalonians - Day 6

  "How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?"   1Thes. 3:9

             It's easy to lump this verse in with all the others in this whole theme of "to lead someone to salvation and then actually see them following Christ is the greatest pleasure one can have here on this planet." If we rush through it, we miss the other greatest pleasure one can have on this planet which leads to the previous greatest pleasure one could experience on this planet.

       Paul definitely has great joy in seeing "his children" growing up. Don't we all? What a pleasure. As tough as it can be to raise kids, now that it's done we wish we could time travel back and relive moments but we can't so we relive it through our grandkids. The thing we miss in this verse is that Paul has this joy... "in the presence of our God"!

      Do you ever go to church and certain days you are overwhelmed with the presence of God and other days you are going through the motions? Or the same goes for your quiet times? Isn't this the greatest thing in life when you bask in the presence of God? When Paul is praying or worshipping, his mind goes to his children in the faith and it sends his heart into an attitude of thanksgiving and offering praises to God which is rewarded with an overdose of God's presence. When your week is filled with the cares of this world and you go to a place where you might find God's presence ... crickets. But when you are about His business and living for His kingdom, hang on because you are going to experience what we are made for.

       The question is, are you looking for the presence of God?

Thoughts From 1 Thessalonians - Day 5

" So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. 2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. For you know quite well that we are destined for them. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. 5 For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain.6 But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you. 7 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. 8 For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord." 1 Thes 3:1-8

            I can hear my dad (who is in Heaven) saying, "Now that's really living". He loved to say that quote and I feel like it was in response to usually something food related. An exotic chocolatey warmed dessert with ice cream melting over the top and after the first bite, "Now that's really living"! If the good things on Earth are just a foretaste of what Heaven is going to be like, I wonder what he is saying, "Now that's really living", to now?

          We see in this passage what would get Paul to say that in verse 8. If I could paraphrase Paul would be saying, "So they rushed to Jason's house looking for me to assault me and possibly kill me in mob violence, but when they couldn't find me, they beat you guys up? I warned you that people don't like Christ followers. But Timothy tells me that this didn't dissuade you at all and you are still grateful for me and the gospel and are following the Lord even stronger! When I heard that, I clasped my fingers behind my bald head, leaned back in my chair and said to Timothy, 'Now this is really living'".

        What is going on in your process of following Christ that elicits that response? Maybe basking in the presence of God as you worship. Maybe you have led someone to the Lord recently. Maybe you are discipling someone and seeing them grow. Someone came to me after class the other day and said she was just at a friend's daughter's 10 year birthday party. Her friend, who is 50 said I went to this doctor I didn't know (me) pregnant and 40 years old looking for him to recommend termination. Instead he prayed with me. Now I'm a Christian, and I have a 10 year old daughter to celebrate! Now that's really living! Aaaah