Consider: 2 Timothy 2

This entire chapter is one of challenge. Paul doesn’t beat around the bush, he gets straight to the point with Timothy and he encourages him in his faith and relationship with God.

First Challenge:

2 Timothy 2: 4 – “And as Christ’s soldier, do not let yourself become tied up in the affairs of this life, for then you cannot satisfy the One who has enlisted you in His army.”

How plain and simple is that? So often we allow things of this life to entangle our hearts. Notice Paul didn’t use the normal Christian cliche of just “keeping God first”. He said if we got focused and distracted by this life, we then could not truly satisfy Jesus. It’s more than just trying to keep God first but actually living your life so that you are satisfying the heart of God.

Second Challenge:

2 Timothy 2:10 – “I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.”

Again, a plain and simple challenge. Paul is letting Timothy know of his suffering for the Gospel, yet he is making sure Timothy knows that it is worth it!

Is it worth it to us? We barely know what suffering is here in America because of our freedoms. Would you be willing to endure anything?

Third Challenge:

2 Timothy 2:19 – “Those who claim they belong to the LORD must turn away from all wickedness.”

Where do we even get the idea that sinning is OK for Christians? I’ve heard many believers talk of since Jesus has forgiven all of our sins for all time then it doesn’t matter what we do after we believe. Need I remind you that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks?

Paul says that we MUST turn away from all wickedness…

Fourth Challenge:

2 Timothy 2:22 – “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust.”

He didn’t say walk, he said run. And he didn’t just say run, but run from. Get away from the junk. Sin is so not worth it. It will destroy our lives.
There are a few other challenges in this chapter, but I felt it important to focus on those above.

In this middle of this chapter, Paul gives us a look at part of our reward for meeting these challenges and fulfilling them.

2 Timothy 2:21 – “If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for His purpose. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use for every good work.”

I don’t know about you, but I like being used by God. I like being ready when Jesus says GO. The challenges that Paul laid out in this chapter will keep us ready.

Consider: 1 Timothy 1

Paul is laying out an interesting challenge here to Timothy, his son in the faith. Listen to what he says in verse 19:

“Cling tightly to your faith in Christ, and always keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.”

That verse speaks to a lot of things, but primarily it simply says our faith has to be the solid thing in our lives. What are our lives founded on? Stuff? The pursuit of happiness? The American Dream? What is it that keeps us going everday?

Paul told Timothy to cling tightly. He didn’t say hold loosely. Or get around to working on your relationship with God when you feel like it. NO. He said cling tightly.

I kind of picture how little kids will latch on to their mom or dad’s leg and just hang on with all they have. That’s clinging.

So what happens if we don’t cling? Check out verse 20:

“Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples of this. I turned them over to satan so they would learn not to blaspheme God.”

Not clinging is a big deal. Not being grounded in your faith in Jesus is a big deal. It’s not just a nice little raise-your-hand-once decision. This faith is life-altering and eternity-changing.

Cling to your faith. Cling to Jesus. He is the only One who never changes and He is the One who pursuing your heart.

Consider: Colossians 3

A few days ago I posted a few thoughts on how Paul was encouraging the believers and their thought life.

Our thought life is important… it really impacts our entire lives.

Now here in Colossians 3, Paul lays out that we should: “set our sights should be on the realities of heaven… let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth” (see Colossians 3:1-2).

What does it mean to think on the realities of heaven? It means to constantly remind yourself and bring to the forefront of thought the truth about it.

Here are some of the realities of heaven:

• The LORD sits on the throne in heaven; He’s in control!
• The angels surround His throne singing Holy, Holy, Holy; He is worth all of our worship and more.
• His will is done the moment it is spoken; Instant obedience.
• There is no veil and He is not hidden; His face is in plain site!

Can you see why it would be important to fill our minds with these things? The realities of heaven are not just golden streets and pearly gates… but a place

I challenge you today to set your sights on the realities of heaven; let heaven fill your thoughts, because in that, your mind will be change and transformed. No longer will you be content with what’s here on this earth, but a desire for more and a desire to be with Him where He is will fill your life!

Consider: Colossians 1

We live in “the home of the free”. There’s a lot that goes into that statement, but one of those things is, for the most part, we don’t have to do everything the government tells us to do. We don’t have to go to a certain government sanctioned church, we have the choice of which church to go to. We have the choice of which store we want to shop at… where we want to buy gas… we have the choice of who we want to be our next leader.

In freedom we have a lot of choices.

In Colossians 1, Paul briefly touches on the freedom we have in Christ. In verse 13 & 14 he says this:

“For He has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and He has brought us into the Kingdom of His dear Son. God has purchased our freedom with His blood and has forgiven all our sins.”

This freedom that Paul was talking about is not just any old good American freedom. It goes beyond anything our military could have shed their blood for. It’s freedom from sin and freedom from the one who wants us bound in sin, satan.

The choice we have through freedom in Christ is that we have the opportunity to live like Jesus and overcome sin. One of the lies the enemy likes to use is that “oh, you’re human. You’re gonna sin anyways. Just go for it.”

BUT through freedom in Christ, remember we are a new creation. We’re not just “normal” humans any longer. We have the Spirit of God dwelling in us. We have the ability to reject temptation and live our lives in a way that is pleasing to Him.

So as in America we have free choices, so you have the choice with your life as a believer. You don’t have to give in to the devil’s temptations. You don’t have to sin when the opportunity arises.

The moral of the story: you CAN say no to the devil and his ways and you CAN say yes to Jesus and a life of purity.

Consider: Philippians 4

The whole book of Philippians is a challenge to live the life that we’ve been called to live as believers. Paul finishes up this challenge by encouraging the believers to check their thoughts.

Philippians 4:8 says: “Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think abou tthings that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

There are so many things that can occupy our thoughts. The cares of this life. Good memories of “how things used to be”. Worries about tomorrow. Truth from God’s word. Lies from the pit of hell. The list could go on forever.

Paul is not just saying have a good thought life. Some have taken this passage and made it in to that… they think it’s a challenge to have “happy, fluffy thinking”. What He is really saying (especially in context with Romans 12:1-2, Colossians 3:1) that we need to have a holy thought life.

He simplifies it and basically just sums it up for us: think on truth and righteousness. Think about pure and “holy things”. Think about things that are worthy of praise.

Worry is not truth. Sinful things are not righteousness. And really, only Jesus is worthy of praise.

The challenge: set your mind on Jesus.

“May the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” – Philippians 4:23

Consider: Philippians 3:4-11

This passage of Scripture is very challenging. Paul starts off by letting us know who he was and details about his life that were very important to him.

Some of those things were:

• He was born into a “pure-blood” Jewish family, that is a branch of the tribe of Benjamin
• He was circumcised when he was 8 days old (a big deal!)
• He was a Pharisee
• Zealous for his faith
• He obeyed the Jewish law so carefully that he was never accused of thought

All of those things sound fine… right? Wrong.

Once Jesus came into the picture, he let’s us know in verse 7 “I once though all these things were very important, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.”

Here we have another challenge to examine the “stuff” in our lives.

From the list Paul gave, nothing could have been considered “sin”. So when it came to him giving up those things… he wasn’t doing it just to get sin out of his life. He did it because He realized Jesus wanted to change everything, not just the “sin areas” in his life.

Relationship with Jesus is about a complete life change, not us just coming to the point of staying away from sin and waiting for our entry to Heaven. There may be things in our lives, not necessarily sin, but when it comes to Jesus and knowing Him, those things are worthless… and it could be He’s wanting us to give up those things.

Jesus is into new. He is into change. He loves to do both in our lives… in ALL of our lives.

Consider: Proverbs 4:23

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.” – Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)

Solomon, the writer of Proverbs is laying it out straight. He made it clear at the beginning of this book that the whole point of Proverbs is to help people in life (see Proverbs 1:2-6).

In Proverbs 4 we have a challenge that above all else we’re to guard our heart.

Well, that’s easy, if Jesus lives in your heart, then you’re all good right? And you only need to make sure you “stay saved”. That’s guarding your heart, right?

Wrong. Dead wrong.

To live out your life that way is limiting the work of God in your life. Giving Jesus our hearts and lives is more than a stay-out-of-hell card. It is life and life more abundantly! And by not guarding your heart, you are giving the enemy an open target to derail that life.

The challenge to guard our heart is not so that we have to follow more rules and do’s and don’ts, but so that we can continue to move forward in this new life we have.

So how do we guard our hearts?

One way is to guard what you look at.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:22-23 “Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be!”

What Jesus just said there is, whatever you look at will affect you. And He even said that we can be looking at something thinking it’s light, but really it’s darkness… then He said “how deep that darkness will be”. It’s deep because we do not realize it’s darkness. We have let stuff into our heart unreservedly because we think it’s OK when all along it is bringing destruction and working death in our hearts.

This is not a cry for legalistic do’s and don’ts, but for each of us to raise the bar high in our personal lives so that our hearts will be guarded and we will be able to abundantly live the life Jesus came to give.

Because above all else, guard your heart.

Consider: Psalm 56

David was a man who really trusted the LORD.

He REALLY put his trust in the LORD.

The psalms he wrote make it clear there were several opportunities throughout his life where the only One he relied on was the LORD.

David wrote this in verses 9: “On the very day I call to You for help, my enemies will retreat. This I know: God is on my side.”

God was on David’s side… and He is on yours as well.

David understood and lived the fact that God was on his side.

Did things always go right or exactly how David wanted them to go?

Definitely not.

This passage was actually was written when David had been seized by the Philistines. So he was in the middle of a trial, yet he still declared that God was on his side.

He didn’t say “this I believe” or “this I hope” BUT he said THIS I KNOW. He was sure of who his trust was in. And the One who had his trust came to his rescue.

Consider: 1 Samuel 15

We’ve been talking about identity over the last month on Wednesday nights at Awaken. We’ve seen how God sees us and what He says about us. We’ve also seen how Jesus paid a huge price for our new identity in Him.

With that in mind…

There was a couple of lines that stood out to me in 1 Samuel 15 this morning and it deals with our identity and our obedience in walking out that identity.

Saul had been instructed to completely destroy the Amalekite nation… everything. And we find in verse 9 that Saul and his men only destroyed what was worthless to them or of poor quality. Anything they felt had value they kept.

Enter Samuel, the prophet of God.

Samuel confronts Saul about this disobedience. Checkout the conversation between the two men after Samuel initially confronted Saul (verses 16-19):

Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Listen to what the LORD told me last night!”

“What was it?” Saul asked.

And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The LORD has anointed you king of Israel. And the LORD sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ Why haven’t you obeyed the LORD…?”

The conversation goes on with Samuel telling Saul that obedience is better than sacrifice, the point we’ve heard many times from this passage, but I wonder if we have overlooked a point that Samuel made to Saul?

Samuel reminds Saul of who he is and who God made him to be… the leader, the king of Israel. The main issue is Saul’s direct disobedience of the LORD’s command concerning the Amalekites, but could it also be Saul’s disobedience in living out his calling and identity from God?

God made Saul to be the king. He put him in that position and God expected Saul to lead. He expected him to fulfill the responsibilities of his calling.

In our own lives, God has given us a new identity. He’s made us a new creation. The very basic expectation is that we LIVE OUT that new identity. Could it be that we are disobeying God simply by not living the new life He’s given us?

No longer should it be about: “is this a sin or is that a sin”. It now should be: “are we living the life God has created for us?” Are we being the person He’s made us into?

It is vital that we live out our new identity. Jesus paid the price for it… so let’s go for it!

Consider: Psalm 77

What a passage of scripture! Asaph just lays it out. He starts out by simply crying out to God. And cry out he does… he says he does it without holding back. He just goes for it.

Through this chapter we see a man who is in deep trouble (see verse 2). His life wasn’t exactly going smoothly. And it seemed that God had forgotten him (or so is the implication – see verses 7-9).

But then he reminds himself of who God is and how God has acted on behalf of His people in the past. He starts worshiping God for who He is and then reminds God of what He has done.

Check out verse 16: “When the Red Sea saw you, O God, its waters looked and trembled! The sea quaked to its very depths.”

Think about that.

The waters looked and trembled. What an amazing picture.

When the Israelites had left Egypt on their way to freedom were confronted with a barrier, a roadblock (a BIG roadblock). And there seemed to be no other way.

So often we feel like that… maybe we’re up against a wall. It seems like there’s no way out. There are no other options.

Oh, but there are.

Verses 16-19 lays out God’s surprise for Israel.

Verse 19 says “Your road led through the sea, Your pathway through the mighty waters-a pathway no one knew was there!”

A pathway no one knew was there.

So often we rely on the visible or logical solution… when all along God’s solution is there… He’s simply waiting for the moment He wants to reveal it to us. And while we’re waiting… it takes faith and trust on our part…

In this day and age… it’s very easy to find our own solutions to life problems. But with every situation in our lives the LORD has a way prepared for His children. And His way is always the best way.