Something Greater

Contentment in Every Circumstance "The battle against covetousness is a battle against unbelief in God’s promise to be all we need in every circumstance..." Too good to not pass along! www.desiringgod.org/articles/i-can-be-content-in-every-circumstance Photo by Rostyslav Savchyn on Unsplash

A New Folder - An Illustration of Faith | Hebrews 12:2-4 The image above is an illustration of faith. It's a reminder of how in one way I've expressed my faith...faithfully. It's evidence of my confident expectation that I'll continue to express my faith next year. Today is December 31, 2017. It's about 9:00 am. I'm not feeling especially well now...struggling with symptoms of a head and chest cold...head heavy, runny nose, tired, sneezing and coughing. But I'm working on next Sunday's podcast . I've recorded and posted an audio podcast weekly (nearly weekly...life sometimes happens and I've skipped a few weeks here and there). It's a podcast of me reading aloud four different passages from The Holy Bible, based on the Common Revised Lectionary. I started the podcast in 2016. My first post to SoundCloud was for Sunday, March 6, 2016. It's no longer available on SoundCloud because I have only the free account, which limits my pos...

Psalm 12: The Godly One Is Gone To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David. Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man. Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, those who say, "With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?" "Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise," says the Lord; "I will place him in the safety for which he longs." The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times. You, O Lord, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever. On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Tell about a time when you felt alone in...

1 Timothy 4: The Value Of Godliness 1 Timothy 4:1-16 (ESV) What's gone before... Paul described our faith in Christ as a mystery, urging the church in Ephesus to make Christ the foundation of their godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world and taken up in glory. Moving on... "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. "If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Chri...

The Mystery of the Faith 1 Timothy 3:9 What has gone before... Paul described a second level of church leadership: deacons. The definition of the word, as well as the context, imply that the early church had appointed specific people to assist or act as "waiters", supporting whatever was needed to be done. Deacons were to have some, but not all, of the character qualities listed for overseers. The term "deacon" was applied to a wide variety of people, implying that nearly every one in the church who helped or served could be called a deacon. Moving on... Paul describes our faith in Christ as a "mystery": 1 Timothy 3:9 (ESV) "They [deacons] must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience." MYSTERY: mysterion "moos-TAY-ree-on" (a secret or "mystery", through the idea of silence imposed by initiation into religious rites); from muo (to shut the mouth) Early in His ministry Jesus referred to ...

Caulkers: Fastening Onto God 1 Samuel 30:6 I am easily discouraged, easily frustrated and easily disheartened. David also felt overwhelmed by discouragement, distressed by circumstances of loss and weakness, or confused about what to do and where to go. He often felt pain from circumstances that were allowed and orchestrated by God. Recently I read of an instance in which David responded to a horrendous experience of loss and violence by "strengthening", or fastening, himself in God: "David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God." 1 Samuel 30:6 (ESV) David's small army had been on the front lines of war, away from their homes for three days. During that time, Amalekites had raided their hometown of Ziklag, burning it with fire and taking captive the women and all who were in it. David and his men re...

Baptism of the Holy Spirit What has gone before... Simon the Magician was a big fish in the small pond of Samaritan mystics , but that all changed when Philip came to town. Now it was Simon's turn to be amazed. "But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed." Acts 8:12-13 (ESV) Philip's preaching transformed Samaria . Moving on... BELIEVED: pisteuo (to have faith, to credit or entrust); from pistis (persuasion or credence; conviction of truth or reliance upon; constancy); from peitho (to convince by argument, whether true or false; to pacify or conciliate; to assent to or rely upon) Philip preached about the kingdom ( the royalty, rule and realm ) of God and the name (history, teaching, reputation and fame) of ...

Stranded and Forsaken Timothy was made a leader of a war, a good war, a war based on the love of God and the lordship of Jesus Christ . His ministry was a part of God's plan, a component of the overall strategy that envisions thousands of churches, millions of Christians filled with the knowledge of God's love, controlled by God's Spirit, displaying the power and mercy of God in Jesus Christ. Spiritual warfare fights for something positive. The battle is not ultimately to defeat evil, but to uphold good, thereby defeating evil. Paul's charge to Timothy began with a call to love , expressed with a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith. Now, at the end of this first chapter, Paul again recalls this over-reaching goal, exhorting Timothy, to hold to faith and a good conscience. Paul had two men specifically in mind when he entrusted this charge to Timothy: "By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and A...

Good Warfare Paul called himself the foremost of sinners , the most important...not the most important sinner, but the one with the most important sin. His blasphemy, persecution and insolence, above all other sins, deserved punishment from God. But God, through Jesus Christ, displayed perfect patience and mercy. In that moment, Paul saw Jesus as King of his life, his sovereign Ruler , deserving honor and glory forever. Paul now returns to the primary reason for writing this letter: "This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience." 1 Timothy 1:18-19 (ESV) "This charge" refers to three specific errors that were undermining the faith and love of Christians in the Ephesian church: Different doctrine (using heresy to control others) Myths (using fantasy to control others) Endless genealogies (using lineage to ...