10.24.13

2 Timothy 2:25-26 Gently instruct those who oppose the truth.  Perhaps God will change those people's hearts, and they will learn the truth.  Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil's trap.  For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.

My Thoughts
When I read the words, "held captive by him" I thought of Elizabeth Smart.  I watched her in an interview recently talking about her days of being held captive by an evil man.  People has ask her why she didn't run when she had a chance.... she said that his word were stronger than any chains that had held her.  And she had been held by chains too, so she knew how powerful words were.  Her captor had said that he would hurt her family if she ran. But first he had broken her, before he had ever let her go unchained. 

Sometimes people we meet have been held captive so long by Satan that they are easily lead around.  They can appear like they want to live like they are living, when in fact they are crying out for somebody to save them. So often we can do that with kindness, with loving words and actions.  Sometimes we can get through enough that they can hear God again. 

Once a police officer asked Elizabeth if she was Elizabeth Smart, she said no and he walked away.  The police officer that saved here didn't give up... he kept talking long enough to make her feel safe, he saved her life. 

What if you or I were held captive? Would we want somebody to judge us for who our captors made us be... or would we want somebody to see deep inside us and know that it was us?  I would hope someone would know that I was somewhere deep down inside and would stay around long enough to change my life. 

We never know what kind, loving words we say are the very words that make someone able to walk away from Satan. Our words may not seem to matter at the moment, but when day when we are way down the road, too far to see, our words make make somebody able to break down a door and run. Our words may want someone want to pick up their Bible and see what God has for them. If we share the truth of God, the love of God those unseen chains my fall away and that person may be able to run into the arms of the Almighty. 

That police officer that stood there and made Elizabeth Smart feel safe made her able to run into the arms of her earthly father... we need to be as kind and stand as firm as that man stood. Doing so could make all the difference. 

10.23.13

2 Timothy 1:14 Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.

My Thoughts

Oh wow... look at this... it is a precious truth!!  How do we guard this truth?  Why do we have to guard it?  We guard it by renewing our minds daily. By putting the word back into our brains...by thinking on God's word and forming it in a way that we can remember... I used word pictures whenever possible...then I am better able to use what I have learned.  Satan is always trying to steal the truth from us... he will do things to make us question of what we believe is true...that is when we go back to God's word and read it again... that is when we get with a godly friend that we trust and ask them what they think.  

Right here it tells us that we have been entrusted with the God's precious truth.  When I think of being entrusted with something special, I think of my grand-baby, Ripley. Her mom and dad trust me with her...they trust me to take care of her, to watch over her, to do the best that I possible can with her. When we are entrusted with God's word, with God's truth we are to treat is like it is precious, like it matters, like it is important. We are to guard it...make sure that it stays put in our hearts...we are to make sure that we use it wisely.  We are never to treat it like it does no matter... like it is something that we just put over into the corner and ignore.  The Holy Spirit will help us know what is true... the Holy Spirit will help us to know how to use what we have learned.  But first we must treat the truth like it is important enough to seek after.  

Once God makes us interested in knowing about His word, in knowing about Him, in knowing about Jesus, He has entrusted us... we do not ever need to take that lightly.  We need to treat it as something precious. It is, after all, a gift to us a treasure passed down to us. An important truth.  It is the secret to life, that God gives us all an opportunity to know...but we must do our part and seek after that truth. Then we are to hold tight to it once we have it!  It matters! It is life changing! 

10.24.12

2 Timothy 2:25-26 Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will changes those people's hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then the will come to their senses and escape from the devil's trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants. 

 

My Thoughts

This is the line that really struck my heart, "For they have been held captive by him (the devil) to do whatever he want."   It made me think of Matthew 5:44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!  People are never our enemies, the devil is our enemy.  He will use any means that he thinks will work to get out mind and our actions off of God and what God desires for our lives.

 

It always saddens me when something awful happens... somebody shoots up a crowded place or somebody kills a child and I hear people say, "They will burn in hell for that!" I hear Christians say this. When what happened to these people is that the devil held these people captive. Somehow the devil was able to get such a hold on these people that he caused them to do terrible things!! God's word tells us in several places, James chapter 4 comes to mind, that a sin is a sin..that if we want forgiveness we have to be forgiving of others.  We surly don't need to damn them to hell. We need to send up prayers that their lives are changed. We need to be sad for them that Satin got such a hold on their lives that they got lost enough to do terrible acts. When we all react with unkindness the devil has killed many, many birds and only used one stone. Not only has he cause one human to do a terrible thing...he has cause thousands of us to react with hate or indifference.  If we reacted by getting on our knees and praying for the victims and the killer, a victims of Satin himself, Satin would loose interest in cause such devastation. 

 

We need to be totally aware that bad things come from Satin.. not people. We need to get on our knees and ask God to help us all to stand against Satin.  We need to pray for our enemies ... we need to pray for those people so lost that the only voice they hear is Satin's voice.  Our prayers for the people that we see as enemies can have a huge impact on our lives... Our prays can change the world.  We just have to learn to pray like Jesus teaches us to pray.  It is easy to pray for the people we loves and those prayers are good and wonderful prayers... just think how strong our prayers will become when we begin to pray for the unlovable. We need to be a part of loosening the chains of Satin... no people who add another link to the chain. 

10.23.12

2 Timothy 2:20-21 In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay.  The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use.

 

If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use.  Your life c can be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.

 

My Thoughts

Our actions, the way we choose to behave...the time we put into knowing what God would have us do...then acting on that knowledge determines if we are special.  It is our choice to be special!  We all want to be special... right here in God's word it tells us how to be special.  Now it is up to us. 

10.24.11

2 Timothy 3 16-17 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

My Thoughts

The more I read God's word and mediate on it, the more I truly know how true this passage of scripture is!  The more I study God's word the simpler my life gets.  You would think with all those pages and all those scripture that it would get harder... be almost impossible to do.... but for me it has simplified my life in amazing ways.  All for the good. My life just gets better every day.  The joy in my life is more every day. I am amazed each time as I put what I am learning into practice how much my life improves. Making a choice is so much easier now because God's word is becoming so much a  part of my heart that often something that use to would have been a decision between many choices is now narrowed down quickly. What I ask myself what would God want me to do instead of what should I do... the answer is so often just there. No choices to make at all. Instead of wondering over what would be the right thing to do...I know what is right, because I now know what God has told me is right.  Do I always make the right choice? No... but do I make more right choices? Absolutely!!  I find when I choose to do what God would have me do I never worry later...I don't loose sleep, I feel content and comfortable.  Instead of asking myself "Would this make ____________ happy?" I can ask myself "Would this make God happy?" ... people don't have a book of instruction to help us out... our answer, no matter how hard we try to please people can always be wrong.  But when we ask "Would this make God happy?" we have a book to go to, the Bible, that tells us what God does want from us.  Have I though I was hearing from God when I wasn't" Sure I have!!...But, the more I read and learn the better I get at knowing what God would want, or at hearing what God is telling me. The more I recognize God's words when they are spoken in my heart.  God is preparing and equipping me to do good work.  Good work is never wrong!!  God's word can only teach me if I pick it up and read it, learn it, make it a part of me.  I have to do my part, and as always God does the rest. I have heard  God's grace  defined as God's ability working in us to help us do what we could not do otherwise.  I am learning that God's grace is powerful, amazing, and produces only good things...even on the worst of day.

10.23.11

2 Timothy 2:16-17a Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior. This kind of talk spreads like cancer.

My Thoughts
We so often talk to be heard... just to be heard.  All of us have been guilty of thinking about what we can add to a conversation instead of really, actually listening to the conversation.  We all want to be heard... we all need to be heard. But, we don't always need to be talking.  Oh, and I do love to talk!! I am learning to listen, to stop and think "Do I really need to be adding to 'this' conversation?" If the conversation is about somebody, or about how people act I am learning to keep my mouth shut. To just be a listener. If the conversation is complaining, complaining about anything and everything I am learning to keep my mouth shut.

In my quite I have noticed how conversations of complaining just spread like wildfire.  People jump on those conversations like they are a new roller coaster at the amusement park.  Before you know a happy room full of people have traveled down the tracks at a breakneck speed and before you know it they are at the end of the ride with a changed attitude.

When the talk is about people the ride seems to take a turn into dark places ... a lot like haunted houses getting worse with each turn of the ride.  Before you know it somebody that was having a bad day and didn't speak to somebody, has become somebody too stuck up to ever speak to anybody. 

Now that I am learning to keep my mouth shut when I see that a conversation is going in a direction that would make God shake his head I hear so much of what happens to to those kind of conversations.  It is amazing to watch and listen when you are not intent on being heard. Now I am not saying it is always easy!!  But in the end I am finding it so worth it. I am learning when I don't add to conversation about people I feel better about me!! When I don't add to conversation about how lousy our government is... I feel better about me.  I have also noticed how my thought pattern has changed when I know I am just going to keep my mouth shut.  So often I see how I can improve.  For instance the other night I was at a place where people just keep talking bad about our government.  Mind you our government could use some improvement... but this conversation just lead to unhappiness and grumbling and complaining. Then a room full of women who were having a good time up until this point lost all their joy and people started going home.  They were having fun!! I thought as I sat there about how the Bible says that we are not to talk about our leaders ( Ecclesiastes 10:20).  I also though about how the Bible says that we are to pray for our government. Jeremiah 29:7 says  "Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” I knew that I would never change what I didn't like about our government by sitting there complaining... in fact I could add to the destruction of our nation by compiling and speaking destruction over our country.  Instead of complaining about our government I needed to be in prayer about our government. Right then and there I knew that each time I heard people complain that my job was to say a prayer, to ask God for help.

Our words have the power to destroy peoplem lives and cities. Or our words have the power to build each other up.  To compliment, to encourage to teach. Our prayers have the power of God behind them... and there is nothing more powerful than God. I am learning that I want my words to add strength to the people around me...I want my words to make my country stronger... I want my words to make people feel loved.  I must avoid worthless, foolish talk, God tells me to avoid worthless, foolish talk. God wants only good for us!!  When we learn to be quite and listen he tells us so much!

12.6.10

2 Timothy1:3 Timothy, I thank God for you—the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.

My Thoughts

Wow to have somebody to constantly remember you in their prayers, what a gift that would be!!... what a gift that is!!... I had lots of prayers during my surgery and my recovery and those prayers where wonderful gifts to my life!  Most all of us have had that Grandmother that prayed for us, always!.... but did we stop to think how important that was in our lives?... how much those prayers  helped us will never be truly known but there is no telling how many good steps we made... how how much evil was chased away from our days by those grandmother's prayers! Those quick prayers so they won't be forgotten can change a day!!... Imagine what those prayer over us daily can do for our lives.... I know starting my day every single day in prayer has changed me!... I know that learning to pray for others has changed me...I know that prayer works! and when somebody says they are praying for me that touches me deep within my heart and makes me feel loved!...I use to send a quick prayer up when I told somebody that I would pray for them...and that was a good thing...but now I take time to write that person's name down on my prayer list... I assign them a certain day of the week and pray for them each and ever day that was set aside for them.... I try to keep in touch with people I am praying for, try this, it is amazing when I do this how I get a chance to know how much my prayers are working... that strengthens my resolve to keep others in my prayers... it is important that we never underestimate the power of prayer... when you see a friend in need, never think "I wish there was something I could do for them!"... there is always something you can do... you can always, always pray, prayer is the most important thing you can do for somebody!.... and when somebody tells you they have prayed for you thank that person, love them, know that what they did for you is the most important thing a person can do... know that they took some of their time with God, asking him to take care of you... their prayers for you, our prayers for others are no less important than if we were standing face to face with God and asking him to do something for us...imagine how much that would touch your life!

10.24.10

2 Timothy 2:24-25 A servant of the Lord must not start fights.  A servant of the Lord mus not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.  Gently instruct  those who oppose the truth.  Perhaps God will changes those people's hearts, and the will learn the truth.

My Thought

If we do our best to be like Jesus... to do what Jesus would do ... People will see God in our lives... they will see the difference God has made in our life... they will want what we have... the best way to make people want what we have is to be what love is.. and the Bible tell us that "Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8... God is love... and the Bible tells us this is what love is... if we are these thing to all people it will change the lives around us.

10.23.10

2 Timothy 2:20-21 In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay.  The expensive utensils are used for special occasions.  If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use.  Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for God to use you for every good work.

My Thoughts

Oh we all want to be special to somebody!!... and all of us could be special to God.. we can be his pride and joy... we can be the person God wants to use when he wants to show off... how exciting is that!!... God gives us free will and with our free will we can make the decision to keep our life pure and clean and ready for God to use.... if we do this.. if we stay pure and clean for God when God wants to show off he will use us we will be his something special!!... This verse just makes me happy!

10.22.10

2 Timothy 1:6-7 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.  For God has not give us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

My Thoughts

I have learned so much in this year thought the Bible... I have heard often God does not give us a spirit of fear misused.... one time it was used in such a way by somebody trying to straighten our my life (which was not bad), by a "Christian" that it kept me out of church for years... so when I ran into this verse in context today during my Bible reading I was so excited to see what it really meant... because I knew there are things we need to be afraid of... like standing in the middle of the road... or a bear in the woods... fear is a gift in lots of situations... but we should never ever be afraid to share the love of God... to use the gifts he has given us so let people know how much God loves them..... when we feel we should tell somebody about God... he give us the power and love to do so... he puts that nudge in our hearts when it need be done and he supplies us with the words and spirit at the right time when somebody needs it most... when Jonah went to Nineveh he spoke like 8 words to the people that is all and their hearts were open!!... They heard all they needed to hear to change their lives... God will give us our 8 words or our 50 word... but we should never, ever be afraid to share with people how much God loves them.