As I finish reading Paul's first letter to Timothy, Paul's words on teaching are emphasized in my mind as I seek to become a better teacher for my small group.

Timothy is warned not to waste his time with those who have "an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people." A commentary I read explained that the term to cause "constant friction" referred to how sheep rubbed up against each other when their wounds scabbed over, spreading disease and infection through the flock. What an apt metaphor for false teaching that seems legitimate to the naïve and immature. My heart hurts to see Christians stagnate in a shallow faith which stymies growth. We must know what we believe and allow it to make a lasting effect in our hearts, springing forth into new life and action.

One can be surrounded by God's truth; one can even memorize the Bible, and not have it effect the life for eternity. Curiosity or interest in God's Word without submission to it is a grave danger.

Some may think that if they know enough about godliness, they will gain all they desire. If only they understood what true gain is! If only I show them with my own life how miraculously content Christ makes us as we rest in His strength, in His character, in His eternal promises and grace. We are to flee from false teaching and discontent. Our pursuit must focus on the substantial, not the perishable material. This pursuit ends only in life, eternal life—it is our destiny to grasp it! We are called to it by the only One who can give life to anything.

My prayer for myself and my co-leaders is the same as Paul's exhortation to Timothy:

O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called "knowledge," for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you.

And as something completely unrelated, I liked this quote by Spurgeon, relating to rebukes in I Timothy 5:1:

A sensible friend who will unsparingly criticize you from week to week will be a far greater blessing to you than a thousand undiscriminating admirers if you have sense enough to bear his treatment, and grace enough to be thankful for it.

November 12th, 2008

This day is full of misery. My vision blurs; my ducts leak at inopportune moments. My heart is quite heavy, weighed down with confusion, uncertainty, blame, and pain. Sleep only came in the early hours of the morning, only when my body overcame my racing mind and whirring emotions with utter exhaustion. Melancholy does not become me. Depression is not to blame.

I long to see the Joy of Christ restored to my girls. I long to see their redemption and continued sanctification on this earth. O that I had words for this ache! Perhaps they would understand their value, their infinite worth. Do they not know they were crafted for eternity? Do they not know they are redeemed from desolation? How shall I live and speak that they might know? "Please! I implore you! Taste and see—the Lord is so good!"

"Restore us again, O God of our salvation!"

By His grace the hurt and anger subside. I will forgive. But I cannot forget what once was so lovely and strong, now struggling to flee safety. I will find joy. But I will mourn my sins and those of whom I deeply love.
The relief is beautiful. The healing is gentle. The storm subsides, withering into soft trickles of remorse, yet the pale light of hope strengthens as darkness wanes. Resentment and pain dissolve in tears of compassion. What is this? From where does this change come? This is the restoration I long for, I pray for.

Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
Show us your steadfast love, O LORD,
and grant us your salvation.
Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
that glory may dwell in our land.

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.

"There is hope in the cross.
God is in the business of redeeming and restoring.
There is still hope for your girls"

Do I truly know what faithfulness is?  The answer is an absolute negative.  I fail to understand anything fully because my cognitive faculties are merely human, too limited and weak to store, let alone analyze and comprehend, the immensity and intricacy of the universe.  Faithfulness is simply amazing and mysterious to me.

I read a blog about a beautiful baby girl awaiting organ transplants to save her life.  The last blog post was written while she endured hours of surgery, but I believe she did not come out of it in this world.  A mother lost her precious baby girl; a young boy lost his adorable sister; a father is without his little princess.  Even so, God is faithful.  The parents believe it.  The mourning friends proclaim it. 

If this is a picture of true faithfulness, I am sorely mistaken.  

I have many questions right now; I know I will find answers.  Perhaps I will glimpse true Faithfulness.

I read this today, I needed to pass it along.

"For me, using drugs wasn't the real problem. I mean the actual taking of the drug and the moments or hours that came after that was not a miserable experience. If it was, if it was devoid of pleasure and completely miserable, no one would ever take them in the first place. No, miserable always waited around the corner. It was never far away. It was always there lurking, but for at least a brief time, the drugs pretended to work. I was numb. I was not sad. I thought I was good.

 

But much like Lot in Genesis 13, I thought temporary green pastures meant permanent prosperity. Lot didn't plan on ending up in a city that God would destroy. I'm not sure anyone really makes that decision. But that is where he landed. I know this is kind of a spoiler, but things don't work out well for the city of Sodom. So how did Lot end up there?

 

From first glance, the land he entered is described as looking like "the garden of the Lord." Wow, that's just about the most extreme compliment you can give in the Bible. On the Biblical scale of awesome, the garden is near the top of the list. So I imagine that when Lot saw that, it was an easy decision to head that way.

And everything looked great. He was on his way. He parted company with Abram. He was moving up in the world like the Jeffersons. But, less than 40 words later, he's camping near Sodom. And the men of Sodom are described as being wicked and sinning greatly against the Lord. (By the way, let's talk about that word "against" later. We sometimes think we can be the sinning version of Switzerland, hurting no one.)

The simple truth is that Lot chased green pastures and found Sodom. I chased getting high and found the bottom. You're working a ton of hours and will find that every promotion in the world won't fill that space that needs filling. You're shopping for another pair of shoes without taking the last pair out of the box.

We all have our own pastures. We all find our own Sodoms. Today, as you enter the weekend, my hope is that you'll remember that sometimes, even the places that look like the garden of the Lord, turn out to be the city of Sodom. "

Read more here

Please, PLEASE, do not settle for what is good in place of God's best!

"Dear Father,

I need You.  I acknowledge that i have been directin my own life and that, as a result, I have sinned against You.  I thank you that You have forgiven my sins through Christ's death on the cross for me.  I now invite Christ to again take His place on the throne of my life.  Fill me with the Holy Spirit as You command me to be filled, and as You promised in Your word that You would do if I asked in faith.  I now thank You for directing m ylife and for filling me with the Holy Spirit."