Continuing on in the book of Mark. I am taking scripture by scripture with no study notes, no sermons, no other books….just me and the Holy Spirit, asking for fresh eyes and a new Spirit while reading. Where the Lord leads who knows! I have taught, preached most of these scriptures over the last 20 years and now I’m looking for new revelations of Jesus through them………new revelations of MY life today and yesterday.

¹⁶ One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon^[g] and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. ¹⁷ Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” ¹⁸ And they left their nets at once and followed him.

¹⁹ A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. ²⁰ He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men.

This is after Jesus went through the temptations in the dessert, after his baptism…..how long? I don’t know but the Word here says “one day…..” He calls out to these two fishermen and it appears they hear him and just drop what they are doing and leave with him. I don’t know about you but to me this seems very strange and not in the character of any man I know.

Did they hear John the Baptist? Was they at the river when Jesus was baptized? Did they know who He was already? When they saw him heading towards them did they get excited, hearts skip a beat? What makes a man do such a thing? Just drop everything in his life and go………leave family, friends, work, everything!!

In today’s world I think most people take this as it is meant for men and women he calls into full-time ministry…..it’s not for the average Joe. When Jesus calls a man to preach, or be a missionary, or…….well then it’s expected of them to “drop” everything and follow Him. But for the rest, for the most part and usually at best we fit him into our lives as it is…….we create another box and neatly put him in it. We go to church on Sunday and do all the “churchy” things to follow him. BUT……..is that what it means?

If your husband, wife, son, daughter, grandson, or even best friend came to you and said God asked me to follow him………I saw JESUS and I’m going to give up everything I have to follow Him and see where it takes me! Most people would tell them that they are NUTS?

I have been in both places in my life when it comes to the Lord. I believe that when Jesus calls us to follow Him that we should follow Him at any cost. It’s about OUR hearts more than our physical being, but if it takes losing all in the physical before our hearts can really see him, hear him, and fall IN LOVE with Him………then that is the cost and I will say it is worth it.

A few years back I was part of a service in a newly planted church, I was there as a guest and helped this young pastor get this ministry going. It was an Hispanic ministry in the church I pastored. On the opening day of this new church as after months of preparation, prayer and money it was “Grand Opening” day and the excitement was high for all of us. I was on the front pew with the pastor during worship and man the worship was awesome!! All in Spanish but I worshipped hard and deep that day. The pastor of the new church leaned over to me and says “I have a guest speaker for today” I thought WHAT???????????? This is YOUR MOMENT why in the world did you bring in a guest speaker? Inside I was angry at him, all the work and prayers and the place was PACKED full of people…….I am assuming to hear this new pastor preach.

Well the time comes and he gets up and welcomes everyone, and then introduces the speaker………I assumed he was up front somewhere and I’m looking every where for him……. from the back of the church walking down the center isle is a little boy dressed in a suit………I mean maybe 10 or 11 years of age……..he steps up on the stage and before I knew it he was preaching his heart out….. all over the place, reading the Word, pacing around and the crowd is responding big time……I couldn’t understand a Word he was saying but I knew that it was powerful, my SPIRIT WAS JUMPING inside and I was “amazed and perplexed” as he preached. He probably preached for an hour that seemed like 20 minutes and before I knew it the altars filled up with people weeping, broken and praying out loud for help, forgiveness, healing….he laid his hands on each one and prayed powerful prayers over them, one by one they stood and wept, laughed, danced, ran the church, and give Jesus all the GLORY!!! IT was by far the most amazing service I’ve ever been in.

After service I met the boys father and sat with him for a long time talking to him about his son. I said you must be so proud of him……He tells me “I don’t know what to do with him……..” says, that since a little boy of 4 years old all he does is read the Bible and preach. WILL NOT GO TO SCHOOL, study, anything………the school districts are on them, the state of California is all over him…..but his son locks himself in his room with the bible and spends HOURS reading, studying, worshipping, praying etc. It turns out he has preached all through Mexico, S. America and most of California……..and he is ONLY TEN YEARS OF AGE. How do you force a boy like this to learn history? Math?

Thousands of men and women have accepted Jesus under his preaching, thousands healed, and the list goes on and on.

How many people in this world just ignore the Voice of Jesus? Or never even hear it? I sometimes say “well this is an extreme case…” Is it really? Heck most churches do not even encourage a deep love relationship with Jesus………church has become all about “fellowship and blah blah blah” When the NUMBER ONE CALLING IN OUR LIFE is to be CHRISTLIKE!!! This is the will of the Father in each persons life……and that my beloved friends takes a DEATH.

Well that is my thoughts on these few short Scriptures – don’t just read over them and think “oh that’s cool, if Jesus walked up to me and said “follow me I would do the same thing”

Well I guess the bottom line on all of this is what is it I believe? Let me go back to my dream…..Dr. D is sitting on my bed weeping telling me “no, no this is not how it works….” This next thought is out of my life but I also think it’s part of the make up of the church and one of the MAJOR downfalls of the church…..and it’s such a HUGE thing that it will be shocking to many when the Lord returns.

When I became a Christian it was an amazing experience….I knew that I knew many things had changed with me……..deep inside me……my heart….my Spirit was awoke. I did not know Scriptures at all, the only thing I knew was what people would tell me, point me to in the Word. I was taught about deliverance, the new man, being set free. These are the things that I was told happens to a new believer!! I KNEW that something happened, no doubt about it….so I claimed each one in my life I WAS NOW A BORN AGAIN BELIEVER!!!

I got plugged into church quickly and started my journey. I screamed out that I was SET FREE……..I was DELIVERED to everyone I met and started learning about God. So in my head, I submitted to God, He responded, I was NOW free and a changed man. So when things in my life would pop up, old ways, old habits, old thoughts……..I would bury them saying that is NOT ME any longer………after awhile I would have to hide them from the world, my friends, family, church because it would make God a liar or me a liar. I loved HIM…….I trusted Him… I wanted this life I heard about. There were even times when I thought it just wasn’t for me….I was not chosen to be saved etc…..in this thought process I would explain it away because of the “doctrine” I was taught to believe in…..it was the opposite of what I was feeling or thinking.

I have to believe that there are millions more just like me…..the other day in a class I’m taking I read this and thought man oh man this is such truth in the church today and we don’t even realize it…..

“You can be certain that God wants us to have right doctrines, but we must never content ourselves with merely the accumulation of correct information. For some, Bible study may seem like nothing more than religious facts, where the Word of God is viewed more as a museum than a power plant.

When we halt our spiritual ascent toward God at the plateau of doctrinal knowledge, we become people who never really change. Instead, our old nature simply pretends to be new. The longer we settle for just head knowledge, the more our Christianity begins to degenerate into a religious spirit.

It takes God to change our stubborn, rebellious natures. And our mighty God does not want us to fake our Christianity. He wants us to be real, where the knowledge of our head becomes the reality of our heart. You see, truth, in God’s view, is more than doctrines. It is reality”

There is NOTHING I can add to this….

So, here is one of the ways I can explain it today. All of my “pastoral” career I spoke negative about AA and NA….I had many friends and people that went through my church attending AA or NA — we held meetings at our church but my thought was this: IF God sets you free, you are FREE!!! AA and NA say that you are always an addict or alcoholic, I said if you are set free you are NO LONGER an addict or alcoholic, that is the “OLD YOU” and there is truth in that statement but ……..

I am a sinner, I cannot be trusted with my life, my thoughts, my marriage, my career, I NEED HIM every minute of every day!! When the “old me” creeps in the Holy Spirit will call me out on it……..I can no longer bury and deny that I am a BROKEN MAN in need of HIM in my life. Any other way of living is denying that I’m broken………and when that happens I / You have to hid things from the world, family, friends, church. We set ourselves up to lie and deceive people. Just as an addict hides when he falls……..I am DONE living that way. I rest in HIM today.

My way of thinking has been wrong! This is why the world see’s Christians like hypocrites – we say one thing and live another……all these dirty little secrets that always come to light sooner or later……….I believe that the world wants to know that there is a REAL God, that REALLY Loves and REALLY makes a difference in a life. My reality will be lived out in the light for the rest of my life………and I will teach this to anyone I get a chance to teach it to. 

Resting in Him  

A couple weeks ago I posted on my facebook this message….;

I am coming to some conclusions in my life with the Lord…..I have been wrong about so many things…..wrong idea’s………wrong thoughts…..wrong perceptions…….wrong beliefs…..I am thinking that the little verse that says “come to Jesus as a child” is much huger and much more important than we can even imagine. “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ~Luke 18:17  ~ Bottom line most of us make Christianity fit our belief system rather than what it is….this creates hypocrites, hidden things in our lives, deception and manipulation…….
I will probably write a blog on this….keep your eyes open — feeling sorry.

What brought this on was a dream I had……..I’ve been praying and pondering over this dream and can’t seem to get a “full” picture of it again. Man, I sure wish we had a record button in our minds when we have dreams that have MEANING to our lives. I know that most dreams are just crazy, some are scary, some are funny and some make NO sense at all. I ALSO KNOW that God speaks to us in our dreams. I am not one to make more out of a dream than is intended……you know every detail and thing that happens in a dream has to have meaning…..BUT with that said I know that I know when a dream is from the Lord. So I pray and think about it hoping to catch what He wants me to hear. This dream has meaning for ME……….but it’s in pieces and not totally clear. Here is what the dream was….

Diane and I were in a room and I think we were fighting over something…..well maybe more like she saw something in me that she didn’t like, she said “it’s the OLD you……what happened? I thought God changed you….I thought that you were delivered from this…..” I do not remember what it was about though…..maybe it really doesn’t matter. In the next scene my counselor, Dr. D was sitting on the edge of my bed weeping……..I mean weeping very deeply. And through his sobbing he was saying “no, no, no it’s not like this….this is NOT how it works….” and then I woke up. That is about all I can remember. But I woke with a feeling of I’ve had it all wrong all my life. (spiritually speaking)

One of the questions that Diane has always had and I have and I’m sure many others have is this: If God delivered you, changed you 33 years ago……….what happened? How did you do the same thing again……..how could you be so deceitful?

These are good questions that really deserved an answer. The problem is I have not had any answers to them. GOD did do a great work in my life so many years ago…..I was delivered……I was freed up in so many area’s. And yet all this happened again years later. How can this be?

I was brought up “spiritually” in a denomination that is of “Wesleyan” persuasion. I love where I was, I loved the teaching and always thought it to be RIGHT ON!! I believe that the intent of the doctrines are much different than the teaching of the doctrines. I hope that makes sense……I read this the other day…

According to the Scriptures, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). So, if we are divided in our hearts from other churches, if we instinctively look down on other Christians or if we are at all self-promoting in attitude, we are walking in pride. As such, the Spirit that stands to resist our endeavors is not demonic; it’s God.

The Lord will not excuse our pride just because we sing three hymns on Sunday and consider ourselves “saved.” God resisted Lucifer’s pride in heaven and He will oppose our pride on earth. What is most sad is, religious pride has been so homogenized into our Christian experience that we don’t even perceive it as being wrong. Yet it is without doubt the most offensive blight upon God’s people.

In denominations we become proud……..our way of thinking is the “correct” way of thinking….if you think any other way we are WRONG…….and in danger. It’s not spoken but it is always implied in sermons, teachings, school etc…. I was taught about “Entire Sanctification” —  a GREAT MESSAGE, a GREAT doctrine but sure has been mis-used over the years. Made to believe that God eradicates our sin nature. Once we are SET FREE through the Holy Spirit we are FREE forever.

I sat on a board in our district that I LOVED …. the purpose of this board was to test men and women as they go through school to become full time ministers within our denomination. The “KEY” to passing the test was being able to explain “entire sanctification” to our satisfaction. Memorize what has been written about it, what has been taught about it, what our belief is and you pass. With this said, I must say that my last District Superintendent was wanting to move past this mentality and find the place where it was a reality in the lives of the men and women coming through.

The Lord does not want the lost added to churches where they must assimilate the poison of pride at the same table as salvation.

Part 2 in the next few days….

Continuing on with the book of Mark – my last post put me in a “stand-still” mode for a couple weeks. I worked hours on that blog only to loose most of it!! Put me in a funk when it came to writing. So now I’m back at it…….I must remember to SAVE SAVE SAVE all drafts. LOL

Mark 1:9-15

⁹ One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. ¹⁰ As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him^[e] like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

¹² The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, ¹³ where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him.

¹⁴ Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News.^{[f] 15} “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”

In this writing it doesn’t go into any detail about this or about the forty days in the wilderness……but it is in the story to confirm and agree with the other gospels. He says “one day Jesus came…..” was John surprised by his coming? Did he know him? Did he recognize him? How did John know his purpose in life?

All this really doesn’t matter in the big picture but…..does it have meaning to my life or your life? How does this scripture make sense to our lives?  I believe that every human being has a purpose in this life…..a MAIN purpose that is, with many other side lines that come along in our life. But in the center of all of it God has created us for one thing…..relationship with Him and being a LIGHT in this world. As we go through life things get pretty tangled up and most of us end up so far off course…….but in the end it’s the same for everyone. I’ve held the hand of so many people as they passed on….young, old, children, believers, atheist, haters, addicts, alcoholics, and everything in-between. There is something very simple yet deep, something that takes place in the life of a person when facing death. There is NOTHING more important to them then making peace…….question if there is a God, loving their family even if they have been separated from them through hate, anger etc…..I personally have found it true in each one……they finally see what their life is about and most of the time how it’s been wasted. It is really a beautiful experience for the most part. Sometimes it is very sad.

John the Baptist knew!!! Why? How? Was he special? I believe he was hand picked by the Father – He was special but let’s not forget he had TOTAL FREE WILL to live his life however he wanted to live it….he would have walked away….he could have been whatever or whoever he wanted….HE CHOSE to walk the path he walked! The same is true for you and for me! We have total free will to live, act, be anything or anyone we wish to be…..walk any path in life we want. Your life, your birth, God’s will for you life is JUST AS IMPORTANT AS JOHN’S was!!! Not an ounce of difference…..John with purpose walked out what the Lord has asked him to do….most of us have NO clue what the Lord wants from us……sadly most Christians do not even KNOW JESUS!! They know about Him…..but most do not have REVELATION KNOWLEDGE of Him. You can be an artist, dancer, president, lawyer, salesman, or a street person and still fulfill exactly what God wants from you in your life.

When Jesus was led into the wilderness where he was tempted for 40 days……I love that it says “He was among the wild animals, and angels took care of Him”. We can’t forget that Jesus was FULLY man, he emptied himself and became fully man. He was subject to the elements just like us! I take great comfort knowing that the angels took care of him…..knowing that I’m taken care of when I’m in the wilderness or when I’m on the mountain. But even more encouraging is when I’m in-between them….. walking through life on level ground….that’s the dangerous place! We can’t live on the mountain top…..we can’t live in the wilderness…..but when we are walking through life day to day…….not in trouble, or in a barren place, not on the mountain top in victory…..but just life……that’s the place where we forget about God…..when we don’t really need Him.. (or so we think) — 

And this is where Jesus ministry begins…..”The kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News” — carrying on what John has prepared — JESUS IS THE GOOD NEWS!!!!

One last thought on all of this….. You and I should pray for the Spirit of John the Baptist in our lives…. spend our life “preparing the way for a coming King”

Will continue on with verses 16-20 in a few days…..

⁴ This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. ⁵ All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. ⁶ His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.

⁷ John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. ⁸ I baptize you with^[d] water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”

In my last blog I wrote about most of these scriptures, but there are a couple things I want to bring out in these…..

John preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven…..The question arises, was there baptism before John the Baptist?

The answer is YES, well kinda sorta…. this was not new to Jews but it had a different meaning….well kinda sorta. The Jews practiced what is called  “mikvah” – it is an act of cleansing oneself. It was done by self emersion into water. This had to take place before they could enter the temple, if they touched a dead thing etc…. another example would be child birth. Mary after giving birth to Jesus went through a time of purification if you remember……Mikvah is what took place. The Jewish people would have to “cleanse” their selves through this act.

John comes along and preaches that they are to be “baptized” with water when they repent from their sins and are forgiven by God. Here is where the gentiles are invited into the kingdom!! The beginning of the teaching that JESUS is the one who cleanses us of our sins, not only will this Jesus cleanse us, a sign when we are baptized in water but he will baptize us with the gift of the Holy Spirit who will empower us to walk in this forgiveness, we will remain clean before God and will no longer need the ritual of “Mikvah”.

I love the thought of “ALL OF JUDEA, including ALL of the people of JERUSALEM, went out to see and hear John” I wonder how many were baptized and how many walked away shaking their heads. John had to know what the end result would be….. I would love to have heard some of Johns prayers……conversations with God as he walked into his calling. He had to know how angry the religious leaders would be………what is it that drives a man to such things? A sure CALLING, understanding why he was on this earth….why he was born? When did he learn this about himself?

A little over a week ago I wrote this entire blog….I save it to here!!! After this I wrote another 3 paragraphs and when I went to save it, it would not save, I tried to publish it and it went to the sign on screen. When I signed on I LOST ALL I had written……….that has been almost 2 weeks ago and I cannot get back the words I wrote…..I am bummed but I’ve decided to post what I have and to move on….

This is how I write….in the moment off the top of my head as the Spirit speaks to me about it….I’ve tried and tried to re-create it with NO success…..so here it is 🙂

1 This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.^[a] It began ² just as the prophet Isaiah had written:

I finished 1Timothy a couple weeks ago and have been so busy since. Diane and I shared our testimony at the church a couple weeks ago, we had a new grandchild and then I preached this last week…..I also started a class put out by Francis Frangipane’s ministry – “In Christ Image Training” – I have been pretty wrapped up in that.

I have spent over a year with no other studies, no commentaries, no notes, no sermons to read, no study notes. Just me, the Word and the Holy Spirit. It’s BEEN fantastic and I’ve learned so much. So I decided to take this class and dig in deeper and I must say I think it was a good choice at a perfect time in my life. The funny thing is Diane and I signed up a few years back and I DO NOT remember a thing about it — I probably didn’t even care to do it….just wanted to keep up my “spiritual” appearance I would imagine. This study is hitting me right where I need — it’s about becoming Christlike, humility, submission, and having a redemptive heart. I am loving it and seeing so much of who I was and what I was created to be!

Any ways, I think it’s time to dig back into the Bible and go through a book – I have been praying and praying about it, where to go, what to study, what to write about and I can only hear my nephews voice, David Corbet, “the book of Mark” so that is where I’m going!!

Looking forward to it!!! It will be slow going as I work many hours, I’m taking another class and we just had a new grandchild…. 🙂

Blessings

 

I decided to take a class from “In Christ Image Training Center”  – I had forgotten that Diane and I started this a few years ago and just let go of it…..so when I signed up for it she told me about how we started and never was able to pay for it and just let it go…. another example of where I was spiritually.

Anyway, I’m now taking this class as part of my daily devotions in the morning and I must say it’s be INCREDIBLE – I read this chapter today and I just felt like it was important to post it……these are NOT my writings or my thoughts. But I am in agreement with them 100% and it opened my eyes to a few things this morning!!!

The Goal Is Christlikeness, Not Warfare

There is a time when the Lord will call us to confront the strongholds of hell over our churches and our communities. There is another time, however, when to engage in much spiritual warfare is actually a distraction from your obedience to God. Jesus defeated Satan in Gethsemane and at the cross, not by directly confronting the devil but by fulfilling the destiny to which He had been called at Calvary. The greatest battle that was ever won was accomplished by the apparent death of the victor, without even a word of rebuke to His adversary! The prince of this world was judged and principalities and powers were disarmed not by confrontational warfare but by the surrender of Jesus Christ on the cross.

There are occasions when your battle against the devil is actually a digression from the higher purpose God has for you. Intercessors and warfare leaders take note: There is a demon whose purpose is to lure one’s mind into hell. If we were to name this spirit, we would call it “Wrong Focus.” You may be fighting this very spirit if you are continually seeing evil spirits in people or in the material world around you. The ultimate goal of this demon is to produce mental illness in saints who move in deliverance. Listen very carefully: We are not called to focus on the battle or the devil, except when that battle hinders our immediate transformation into Christ’s likeness. Our calling is to focus on Jesus. The work of the devil, however, is to draw our eyes from Jesus. Satan’s first weapon always involves luring our eyes from Christ. Turn toward Jesus and almost immediately the battle vanishes.

I knew a man once who owned a record company. Besides running the operation, he also spent many hours in production listening to the “mother disk,” which was the master from which all subsequent recordings were produced. Over the years, his ears became adept at catching the “pops and sizzles,” the imperfections that had to be eliminated in the master. I remarked one day that I thought working with music must be enjoyable. His response was enlightening. He said, “You know, I haven’t listened to music in years. When I turn on my sophisticated home stereo, no matter what recording I’m listening to, all I hear are the pops and sizzles.”

In the same way his thoughts were bent toward musical imperfections, so Wrong Focus will seek to turn your thoughts continually toward the enemy. Suddenly, all you will see are demons. The true gift called “discerning of spirits” is a balanced gift which enables you to recognize at least as many angelic spirits as you do evil spirits. The proper manifestation of this gift has a much more positive focus and influence than what commonly masquerades as discernment.

An example of the proper balance in discernment is seen in 2 Kings. The Syrian army had surrounded Dothan, a city in Israel, much to the consternation of the prophet Elisha’s servant. To calm his attendant’s fright, Elisha prayed that his servant’s eyes would be opened. He then encouraged his servant, saying, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16). As the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, he saw what Elisha saw: “The mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (v. 17).

In spiritual warfare, the battle is never limited to an “us against them” human affair. It always includes “those … with us” against “those … with them.” True discernment is as fully aware of the vast multitude of angels loyal to God as it is aware of the activity of the demonic realm – and it is aware that the angelic hosts on our side are both stronger and more numerous than the enemy. Remember, if you fail to “hear the music” in your times of warfare, your discernment is incomplete.

We must learn that, on a personal level, it is better to develop godly virtues than to spend our day praying against the devil. Indeed, it is the joy of the Lord that casts out spirits of depression. It is our living faith which destroys spirits of unbelief; it is aggressive love which casts out fear.

As we continually yield ourselves to Christ, surrendering ourselves by faith to His nature and His words, we literally build the impenetrable stronghold of His presence around us. The way into the fortress of the Almighty is simple. Victory begins with the name of Jesus on our lips. It is consummated by the nature of Jesus in our hearts.

Let’s pray: Lord Jesus, help me to keep my eyes fixed on You. You are my strong tower and my fortress. Show me areas in my soul that are easily manipulated by the enemy. Reveal to me where I am harboring darkness, that I might dwell in the impenetrable shelter of Your light!

I am going to try and do a couple of verses today….let’s see how far I get.

6 All slaves should show full respect for their masters so they will not bring shame on the name of God and his teaching. ² If the masters are believers, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. Those slaves should work all the harder because their efforts are helping other believers^[a] who are well loved.

In today’s world there are so many “Christians” – some are real, some are trying, some do not know any better, some are only doing what they have been taught etc…. so when it comes to the work place (masters and slaves) or school, or even a volunteer some place these words penned by Paul are powerful. We are to work hard, study hard, do all we do with integrity and honor showing the LOVE of Jesus by our work ethics, our closed mouths, (gossip, talking negative etc) and our ability to do what we are told to do or asked to do.

If we have an employer that is a Christian it is so easy to start judging them when they are trying to do their job or run a business, when they may not do it the same way you would etc…..it’s easy to say they are not a “real Christian” or they wouldn’t have done or said this or that………. Paul says it’s NO EXCUSE to be disrespectful!! In the work place employee’s talk and usually think they can do the job better — claiming to be a Christian and yet speaking death into their employer!

I have seen the shift in my lifetime – I’ve been a slave and I’ve been an owner  – the atmosphere in the work place is really very disrespectful in today’s world. It’s turned into a ME ME ME world, my rights, my rights, my rights — what I deserve etc…. Paul says WORK HARDER because it makes a difference in other believers and in other slaves.

False Teaching and True Riches

Teach these things, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them. ³ Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life. ⁴ Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions. ⁵ These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy.

WOW — such powerful word and are truer today than ever before. Paul says point blank that the teachings of JESUS and JESUS only promote a godly life (Christlike). Yet in today’s world there are a million teachings, some a blatantly different and others are not. There is a GREAT danger of becoming legalistic in all of this and that causes an entirely new problem. So what is something different when they use the Bible?

Taking a scripture and creating a doctrine out of it, a “new” truth, a new revelation. When I was in Bible College we had an exercise on class, we were to take ONE SCRIPTURE and build a denomination upon it……… it was FUN and it was EASY. We created a religion that anyone would love and yet it was based on the Word of GOD!!  Paul gives us ways to know (besides the Holy Spirit) —  Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions. ⁵ These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy. Ever know anyone like this? Takes our minds off the things of God and draws us into silly and useless arguments that you will never win!!

THE WORD OF GOD IS COMPLETE – are there new revelations? YES – Is the word opened up to us by the Holy Spirit and revealed to us in His Time? YES YES YES!! Always put it to the test — the test is: Prove Scripture with Scripture — with the Word. If you can’t throw it away!!!  The word is COMPLETE.

I had a friend who would come up with really out there idea’s about the Word — and if I didn’t go along with his way of thinking – OMG life was horrible – he would get so offended, want to argue for weeks, challenge me on every level – and he could make it make sense with the Word………but COULD NOT PROVE IT WITH THE WORD. He fit this perfectly and I wasted a lot of time, energy and anger on this man. I do love him but whoa!!!

⁶ Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. ⁷ After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. ⁸ So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

AMEN!!! Nothing to add to this — says it all.

⁹ But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Verses 9 and 10 describe me to a tee – I always wanted to have more than I did– always wanted to live beyond what I could afford. And now, I am in the years in my life when I should retire soon and I have NOTHING!!! I’ve lived a very foolish life when it comes to this area — did not plan, always thought it would fall into my lap…..spent way more than I ever had and that caused more problems —

I can’t change this – not sure what will happen if I can’t work one day but today I’m trusting God 100% – He has blessed me with a job that I can make a living and through this I will learn humility, faith, trust, and able to teach my children the importance of this attitude…..living for the Lord in EVERY AREA of your life — honor him with your money as well as with your time. AMEN!!!!