Rachel Workman: 12 Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an
example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your
love, your faith, and your purity. 13 Until I get there, focus on
reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and
teaching them. No matter your age, if you claim the name you should
be living your life as an example to others. You should stand out in a
good way. The way you live your life should be the only testimony you
need that you belong to Christ.
______________________________
Krista Cook: I love using this to show my kids that even they, at a young age, can do things for Christ.
And
then the last verse says to be careful about what you teach and how you
live - for our own sakes as well as for those we are teaching. Always
teach the truth and the truth only.
______________________________
Mike Grimm: 12
Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example
to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love,
your faith, and your purity.
God only really asks two things from us; to love Him with all our
minds, hearts, bodies and soul; and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
If we believe and practice these two commandments we will then be an
example to all believers and unbelievers, in the way we live, in our
faith and in our purity. As far as our age goes, we are never too old
for God to use us.
13 Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.
The scripture Paul speaks of here is the Old Testament.
Today
Gods wants us to use both the Old and New Testament. There is so much
that we can take, and give, from the Old Testament. I particularly enjoy
the prophecies and the
history.
14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. Timothy was not a self-appointed leader. His commission as a church leader was confirmed by prophecy (see 1:18) and by the laying on of hands by the elders of the church. If you desire to be a leader of men seek the counsel of other wiser people. When I have times of trouble and strife in my life, I seek the counsel of a good Christian friend who knows me very well, will give me scriptural advice, but most importantly, will hold me accountable. If we are to succeed as true Christians we must have a source of accountability AND we must be able to take any criticism as it was intended…in a loving manner. In the same respect we must never hesitate correcting a fellow Christian who is drifting off of Gods path. Again, this must be accomplished in a loving manner. 15 Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. If we don’t constantly use our spiritual gifts we will eventually lose them. At that point we are simply going through the motions. Our talents can only be strengthened when we exercise them. We must use them regularly by serving God and others. We can also accomplish this by reading our Bible, sharing scripture, becoming active in the church, and even some as simple as PARTICIPATING in an open Bible study. I fall. I go through periods when I don’t feel like doing this Bible study, and 9 times out of 10 I don’t. But then along comes “accountability” and I start back up. FYI, 99% of the things I post I am directing at myself. Two weeks ago my posts were very angry and I was using them to get my attention. These were topics where I have really slipped and I was so frustrated that I was not living up to Gods word. It’s very frustrating calling myself a Christian and then still being an ass in my personal life. So, I hope nobody ever thinks that I’m on my soapbox, preaching a mightier-than-thou sermon to you as my posts are just the opposite. However, if you do take something from it that’s great, but never feel that they are directed at you or anybody else. 16 Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you. It is very important that we watch our lives very closely. We must be on constant guard against Satan. Is it very easy to fall into sin, We can walk 10,000 steps away from God but it’s only one step back, but the deeper we fall into sin the harder it is to take that one step. We must also watch what we believe (“doctrine”) just as closely. Remember how the Pharisees took the teachings of Jesus and added their own twists to them. By adding their own rules, they turned Christianity into religion. If we look back at when we were studying the Gospel comparisons, we read several scriptures of the Pharisees plotting to kill Jesus for healing the sick and lame on the Sabbath. God want’s us caring for others regardless of what day it happens to fall on. It is the additional, man-made rules that make me get on my soapbox when it comes to Catholicism. But that’s another rant for another day. We also need to be on guard against those who would persuade us that HOW we live is more important than WHAT we believe. If we believe and practice what’s important to God; how we live and treat others will just naturally fall into place.
14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. Timothy was not a self-appointed leader. His commission as a church leader was confirmed by prophecy (see 1:18) and by the laying on of hands by the elders of the church. If you desire to be a leader of men seek the counsel of other wiser people. When I have times of trouble and strife in my life, I seek the counsel of a good Christian friend who knows me very well, will give me scriptural advice, but most importantly, will hold me accountable. If we are to succeed as true Christians we must have a source of accountability AND we must be able to take any criticism as it was intended…in a loving manner. In the same respect we must never hesitate correcting a fellow Christian who is drifting off of Gods path. Again, this must be accomplished in a loving manner. 15 Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. If we don’t constantly use our spiritual gifts we will eventually lose them. At that point we are simply going through the motions. Our talents can only be strengthened when we exercise them. We must use them regularly by serving God and others. We can also accomplish this by reading our Bible, sharing scripture, becoming active in the church, and even some as simple as PARTICIPATING in an open Bible study. I fall. I go through periods when I don’t feel like doing this Bible study, and 9 times out of 10 I don’t. But then along comes “accountability” and I start back up. FYI, 99% of the things I post I am directing at myself. Two weeks ago my posts were very angry and I was using them to get my attention. These were topics where I have really slipped and I was so frustrated that I was not living up to Gods word. It’s very frustrating calling myself a Christian and then still being an ass in my personal life. So, I hope nobody ever thinks that I’m on my soapbox, preaching a mightier-than-thou sermon to you as my posts are just the opposite. However, if you do take something from it that’s great, but never feel that they are directed at you or anybody else. 16 Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you. It is very important that we watch our lives very closely. We must be on constant guard against Satan. Is it very easy to fall into sin, We can walk 10,000 steps away from God but it’s only one step back, but the deeper we fall into sin the harder it is to take that one step. We must also watch what we believe (“doctrine”) just as closely. Remember how the Pharisees took the teachings of Jesus and added their own twists to them. By adding their own rules, they turned Christianity into religion. If we look back at when we were studying the Gospel comparisons, we read several scriptures of the Pharisees plotting to kill Jesus for healing the sick and lame on the Sabbath. God want’s us caring for others regardless of what day it happens to fall on. It is the additional, man-made rules that make me get on my soapbox when it comes to Catholicism. But that’s another rant for another day. We also need to be on guard against those who would persuade us that HOW we live is more important than WHAT we believe. If we believe and practice what’s important to God; how we live and treat others will just naturally fall into place.
No comments:
Post a Comment