It all ties together

30-Dec-2010 2 Tim, Psa 15, Col 1:9-10

Hello brothers,
I'm looking forward to seeing you again 3-Jan at 5 P.M. at Adagio on Railroad. As I was studying 1 Tim 2 and thinking about the call to pray, Psa 15 and Col 1:9-10 came to my attention. Please study these passages, ask the Holy Spirit for insights, and share with us on Monday what you see. I noticed a couple of things:

• Psa 15 - our behavior, walking as men of integrity (or not) impacts our relationship / access to God


• Col 1:9-10 The daunting, high call of vs. 10 is predicated on vs. 9 - can we really live this way?

21-Dec-2010
Here is Toby's email from a couple of weeks ago. I've added some notes at the bottom, please add your thoughts, research, comments, suggestions etc.

"As I was looking through different passages that discuss what it means to be a disciple, I found several. However, I also just started at the beginning of 2 Timothy to refresh my memory on the context of the original passage 2 Timothy 3:16-17. I actually had a great time just reading through the entire letter! I think a lot could be learned about discipleship just in studying through the few short chapters of 2 Timothy... I will just pull out a few verses that stood out to me as I read through the letter.

-2 Timothy 1:3, Paul serves "with a pure conscience." I know I do not have consider myself having a pure conscience before God, so to be able to make that statement is a testament to Paul's devotedness (discipleship) in body and mind. I'm not sure I even know what a pure conscience is!
-2 Timothy 1:8, "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord..." A disciple should not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ and should be willing to share that testimony.
-2 Timothy 1:9, God, "who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace..." To be true disciple, we must understand that our salvation comes solely from God and not our works, and that our calling as a disciple is to be instruments for His purpose on this earth - not our agenda.
-2 Timothy 2:2, As disciples, we should pass that which we've heard (the Scripture, the teachings of God's chosen pastors, etc.) to other "faithful men who will be able to teach others also."
-2 Timothy 2:15, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Discipleship is akin to work, and hard work at that! Even though 2 Tim 1:9 says that it is not according to our works that we are saved, we are still clearly called to "work" by spreading the gospel and understanding the Scripture. I think this is what it means, perhaps to have a pure conscience before God - to not be ashamed of His gospel.
2 Timothy 3:12, We are told by Paul that as a disciple, "all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." However in vs. 14, we are encouraged to "continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of..."
2 Timothy 3:16-17, The passage that you outlined for our discussion, encourages us as disciples to study to Word so that we may be complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work...that comes through the working of the Holy Spirit in us.
2 Timothy 4:2, This may perhaps be the pinnacle of the letter - "Preach the Word!" he says to Timothy. Although some disciples are called to be pastors, teachers, prophets, etc., it seems that we are all to be "preachers" or evangelists (i.e., the Great Commission)."

2 Timothy 4:2 "Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction."

Preach: Strong's g2784 kēryssō

Word: Strong's g3056 logos (I love this! Logos is the root translated in John 1:1 as "the Word" and in other places referring to Christ)

Acts 4 - satan meets Faith

Acts 4 provides some insights into how satan attacks us, responds to the Gospel being communicated, and how we are to respond to him.

Peter and John were with the man who had been miraculously cured, explaining the Gospel, and many people in the crowd were coming to faith.

Satan response:

• Brought the religious authorities and the guards to attack and imprison them, to stop the teaching – he uses worldly authority.


• Gathered in a crowd of like-minded people opposed to the Message – he is a coward.


• Surrounded Peter and John and began verbally attacking them – surround and attack is a common tactic.


• Recognized that Peter and John as “having been with Jesus” – when we spend time with Christ, it is apparent.


• Summoned them again, and told them not to speak the Gospel – satan will keep attacking if we keep communicating the Gospel.


• Satan continued to call out to them, to threaten them – he never tires of opposing God’s elect.

Faith:

• Peter and John were proclaiming that Jesus was the risen Christ.


• People listening heard and believed, joining the fellowship of faith.


• Peter responded to Holy Spirit's prompting and explained the miracle, giving credit to Christ.


• Peter and john ignored satan’s threats, and continued “speaking about what we have seen and heard”.


• Reported to the other Believers what was happening, glorifying God.


• The Believers were encouraged and continued to speak the Word of God with boldness and power.


• They gave out, sharing all they had, not pulling inside themselves in fear.

Be bold, respond to the Holy Spirit's leading, expect the attack, and respond in faith. Christ has ALL the authority!

Living well in the work place

I know, I know, for many of us, combining the words "living well" and "work place" in the same sentence is an oxymoron and probably sacrilegious. My desire is to live well, and since a significant amount of my life is spent in the work place, I desire to live well in that space. I believe this is possible, that some of the communities we read about in Jerusalem and Corinth near the start of this millennium experienced this. A couple of questions:

• What sort of experiences in the work place would make it a place you want to be, and look forward to?


• What are the top three core beliefs and attitudes are central to creating a "well" atmosphere at work?

Living Well is....?

I recently had someone challenge me with the question "So, what is living well?". My initial response follows, addressing living well in my smallest of communities, my family. I'd also like to explore with you what it means to live well in two other communities: Working together vocationally (see related blog) and living as families together . First, my response to the initial question:

When I think of recent 'living well' events, I think of:

• As I am walking down a tree lined path to the beach, my daughter slips her arm into mine, our steps become as one; the deep love, acceptance and respect we share goes straight to my heart.


• Standing in the airport as our son returns from yet another over-seas adventure - as he comes around the corner and sees mom and dad, his face lights up, his eyes dance, and the wonderful reunion begins once again.


• Standing on the top of a mountain with a couple of climbing companions, looking down on all the other peaks, watching the eagles far below us sail among the clouds...


• Sharing a cheese fondue and a bottle of wine on the beach as the sun sets across the bay, at peace and deeply in love with my beautiful bride and companion.


• Watching the face of a man I have discipled as he recounts how he is now leading other men into a fuller, larger life, once a boy, now a man, leading men.


• Hearing God whisper in my heart, "I love you".

For me, it's about my heart, contentment and relationship - and for you?