Month: June 2016

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine.  Titus 2:3 At first glance, I find this verse amusing. I picture a church small group of drunken little old ladies, wearing bonnets, hiccupping and gossiping the day away. We however, should not miss the pointed instruction, as it…
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Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.  Titus 2:2 Do you ever read a list of virtuous behaviors and think, That is pretty much the opposite of me? I have found that the first impulse of my flesh nature is almost always wrong. I am impulsive…
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They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works.  Titus 1:16 There is a vast difference between knowing a reality and having faith in that reality. I can know that my doctor exists, but if I don’t do what he tells me, I have no faith in him. As evangelicals, we have…
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There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.  2 Timothy 4:8 As Paul sensed his day of judgment approaching, he faced it with a reckless boldness.…
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I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.   2 Timothy 4:7 Nearly thirty years ago, as I mowed our church’s cemetery, I read a headstone with this verse on it. I did not know the man buried there so I was left to wonder if he…
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For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.  2 Timothy 4:6 Perceiving that the end was near, Paul reflected on the purpose of his life. He talked about his days on earth as an offering to God. How different this is from our view…
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As for you, always be sober-minded…  2 Timothy 4:5 It would be convenient if Paul were speaking of alcohol or drugs here, but I think he was getting at something beyond literal intoxication. In the context, Paul is teaching that we need to strive for truth. To me, it seems that he is insisting on…
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Itching Ears Part Two For the time is coming when people will have… itching ears… and will turn away from listening to the truth.  2 Timothy 4:3,4 Yesterday I wrote about itching ears. I wrote that crucifying the defects of others may feed my own ego but it will not make me closer to God…
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For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth.   2 Timothy 4:3,4 At first glance at this passage I am tempted to look outward. It would be…
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I charge you…preach the word; be ready in season and out of season… 2 Timothy 4:1,2 I have disliked these verses in the past. I felt like Paul was insisting that I needed to sermonize everyone I met. I’m no preacher. My father is (though he would never use the term), and a rather excellent one I…
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