From some turn away

“. . .from such turn away.” 2 Timothy 3:5

As we’ve seen, sins must be purged that we may become gold and silver vessels for use by the Master. Here in the third chapter of 2 Timothy, Paul tells Timothy about some very unsavory people. He lists them as “lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.

These now are things other that sin that affect our lives. And now we hear Paul tells Timothy, and us, to turn away.

Previously, Paul had written about people within the church that, through teaching with patience and instruction with meekness, “might recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” 2 Timothy (2:24-26) I believe the people of chapter three that Paul wrote about, the people from whom we are to turn away, are not people within our Lord’s Church. They may enter a congregation, a church, but their names are not written in the Book of Life; they are not true-born believers in Messiah, Lord, Y’shuaJesus. They are of reprobate mind. They will not receive teaching or instruction in the Truth. Their future is only doom and gloom. We are to turn from them; for their aim, whether or not they intend it to be so, is to bring us closer to doom and gloom ourselves, should it be possible.

So isn’t turning from people because we think they are doing wrong things unkind of us? Isn’t it unloving? Aren’t we guilty of that which we accuse others, of self-love, perhaps, for wanting to not be around them because we are too good, too holy? Have you ever been told that something you do isn’t what the Bible teaches? And told by someone who hasn’t read, let alone accepted, the Bible and its Author. The perilous times aren’t perilous for those committing acts of evil, but for us, the People of G-d. We will be accused. We will be the ones doing wrong. And Paul tells this to Timothy. He tells this to us, also.

Lord help us know Yours. Help us know for whom we are to instruct and pray, and from whom we are to turn away. Give us the strength so to do. Amen.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Show Yourself Approved

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2Timothy 2:15

Show yourself approved. We show ourselves this in our work. We study that we might rightly divide the word of truth, that our work is appropriate, correct. Approved unto G-d. Workmen that are unskillful or unfaithful or lazy have need to be ashamed. An what is their work? To divide the word of truth. Not to invent a new gospel, but rightly to divide the gospel that is committed to their trust. The author of it is the G-d of truth. It requires great wisdom, study, and care to divide this work of truth rightly. Timothy must study in order to do this well.
–Matthew Henry

This is how we show ourselves approved or acceptable in our work of rightly dividing the word. This study doesn’t make us saints; it doesn’t provide salvation. Y’shuaJesus died on the cross that we may have life, abundant life, and eternal life with G-d. And while we wait for Y’shuaJesus to bring us to Him, or to return to Earth, our work is our study of the truth. We show ourselves approved by doing this work right.

Once, long ago, three men sat on a train bound for Darjeeling. One, a pastor, began to explain some things to a German fellow named Jurgen. He went on an on and on. The third man, an American pastor, teacher, part-time evangelist, sat quietly trying not to get involved, not wanting to be rude. After all, it isn’t nice to contradict a pastor in public. Finally, something that the pastor that was speaking said struck this American. “No,” he cried out. And then he spoke the truth to these men.

We study the work and in becomes part of us. When the time comes, the word comes out through our words, our actions, who we are. The Spirit at work within us, transforming us into the saints that we became when we placed our faith in Y’shuaJesus, when we turned from our former lives to the truth.

Now let us be clear. We are being transformed. We have not yet arrived. One day we will. What a glorious day that will be. For on that day we will see Y’shuaJesus face to face. This is our hope. This is what gives our lives meaning. Come, Lord, Come! Maranatha! Praise the Name of the Lord.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Study the Bible

: Image by waɪ.tiː via Flickr

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

Study.On the wall of the Palo Alto High School Main Library are bold signs: SQ3R.

SQ3R is a mnemonic device (memory helper) for a study method that has been used in education since the mid-1940s. Each letter stands for the first letter of a word (there are three “R” words). Here is the translation:

Survey (or scan) the material (homework or job-related work), looking for the most important points and the basic flow of the content — or just the headings.
Question — Write down several questions as if you were a teacher preparing a test for someone else.
Read the material, looking for the answers to the questions you wrote down. (Don’t underline.)
Recite — Write down the answers.
Review — Check the answers against the material.

This description of a method of study is taken from the Palo Alto Medical Foundation website. I want to adapt it to our study of the Bible. I will add a “P” before the “S.” This “P” is for pray. The Lord is with us; His Spirit resides within us. Yet we pray as we begin our study of His Word. Our pray is like greeting our teacher before class. We greet our Lord in an attitude of praise for His deeds and worship of Who He is. We commune with our Lord. We “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.” (Isaiah 60:1)

Now we open our Bible. Perhaps we continue from a previous reading, or we find ourselves led to a different place, a Psalm perhaps. We “survey” the material. Perhaps we don’t really know how much we will read. But we scan through a few paragraphs or a few pages looking for at headings. Anything pop out at us? Does a question form for which we will want to discover the answer?

As a bit of an aside, let me say that there are times when I read a chapter that I don’t want the chapter headings or sub-headings to interfere with what I read. I want to delve into the Word without preconceived notions of what the Word is going to say. And that’s okay, too.

The initial reading, or survey, should bring about some things that we want to know more about. We then jot down some thoughts, questions that arise. Then we actually read, looking for answers. It is during this reading of the scriptures that we can also read comments if we have a Bible that has comments. We can look at places that are referred, usually notes in the margins.

Now is the time we make our own notes in the margins, jotting down our own thoughts to go along with the questions. Hank Hanegraaff, who hosts a radio show on the Bible, promoted a Legacy Bible in which extra room was provided to make notes. These Bibles were intended to be handed down to our children so that they might see what we saw. It is a way to fulfill the command to teach our children: “Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons.” Deut 4:9.

Finally we must review. I really think this is conducted throughout the day. We review in our minds what we’ve read. We can return to the pages of our Bible later in the day, looking over the notes. We can reflect upon the Word that is sinks deeply into our soul. It becomes part of our life. It comes out of us in our actions. “For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:24, 25.

As Hank Hanegraaff often exhorts us, let us study the Bible for all its worth.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Who’s the Deceiver

“Amid honor and dishonor; in defaming and evil report and in praise and good report. We are branded] as deceivers impostors, and yet vindicated as truthful and honest.” 2Co 6:8

“For there are many disorderly and unruly men who are idle vain, empty and misleading talkers and self-deceivers and deceivers of others. This is true especially of those of the circumcision party who have come over from Judaism.” Tit 1:10

“For many imposters seducers, deceivers, and false leaders have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge confess, admit the coming of Jesus Christ the Messiah in bodily form. Such a one is the imposter the seducer, the deceiver, the false leader, the antagonist of Christ and the antichrist.” 2Jn 1:7

Here in America, shortwave radio isn’t too popular. While many cars in other parts of the world are able to receive shortwave broadcasts, most cars in America only receive “AM” and “FM” bands. There are a lot of good broadcasts on shortwave, too. There is a shortwave broadcast around 9 MHz that I listened to the other day on my ham radio that I’m not too sure is good, however.

The “pastor” spoke about deception. He called Mr. Scofield and Mr. Ryrie liars and deceivers. He quoted from Acts 2:38: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” He then “explained” how the Mr. Ryrie in the Ryrie Study Bible mistranslated a word from the Greek, and that he used that to say that Baptism wasn’t necessary for the remission or rolling back of sin. This “pastor” then quoted Mr. Ryrie as saying: “[the word] for [in the scripture] may here mean “because of,” as in Matthew 12:24.” Again this “pastor” called Mr. Ryrie a liar.

This “pastor” spoke about the false belief that we need not be baptised to remove our sins. He spoke about Christian sects that believe that way, and that it is so wrong. He said baptism is for the forgiveness of sins.

Okay, so I got home in the afternoon and dug out my Ryrie Study Bible to have a look. The complete comment on Acts 2:38 is as follows:

Repent. To change one’s mind; specifically, here, about Jesus of Nazareth, and to acknowledge Him as Lord (= G-d) and Christ (=Messiah). Such repentance brings salvation. There is also a repentance needed in the Christian life in relation to specific sins (2 Cor. 7:9; Rev. 2.5). be baptised. . . for the forgiveness of sins On baptism see note on Matt. 3:11. Water baptism is the outward sign of repentance and forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness is through faith in Christ, not through the act of baptism (for may here mean “because of,”. . .

So, this “pastor” crying out about deception and liars took a small piece of Mr. Ryrie’s comment on Acts 2:38 to run off about. What I hear happening is this: Tear down the work of such people as Mr. Scofield and Mr. Ryrie and substitute a dependence upon themselves for the “correct” interpretation of the scriptures. This, I believe, is happening all over today. Little by little, earlier work is being denigrated, maligned, abused. Eventually these pastors and leaders and teachers gain a foothold in the minds of G-d’s people and will lead them astray. Y’shuaJesus said this was going to happen. And so it is.

What I “hear” Mr. Ryrie saying is that we are forgiven by Lord Y’shua and this is a work within us; We then outwardly display our faith and forgiveness through baptism. Don’t you see the difference?

Let us beware. Let us take all things in devout prayer to our only Savior, our Lord Y’shuaJesus. Let us be gentle yet also wise. Let us investigate what we hear, what we read, what we are encouraged to believe. If we were to be asked by our Lord, “Why did you. . .” What would we reply. Would we say, “Well, the pastor said this was the truth.” Would Y’shua just say, “Oh, sure, okay, no problem.” If we are questioned, we must be able to give answers based upon what we believe, and what we believe must come from our faith, and our faith must come from our Lord.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

A Forward Look Behind

In looking back through notes written several years ago, this one stands out to me today. It was written on January 10, 2007. It was Tuesday in North Bend, WA, at Ken’s Restaurant in the Seattle East T/A truck stop.

“And Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, Today you shall be with Me in Paradise.'”
(Luke 23:43 MKJV)

This verse is used in the Our Daily Bread devotional for today. And in another devotional, a verse is used about Peter, who after walking and sinking into the water, calls out to Jesus and is helped.

This day I set out to ascend and descend Snowqualmie Summit, [it is snow covered, and I’d waited until early in the morning to leave, avoiding the worst of the snow storm that passed through on Monday] to go to Salt Lake City, then on to Las Vegas. Y’shua has been with me on this journey–this journey ‘Into the Highways.’ And this day I’m reminded that any day might be my last on Earth, and might be my first in Heaven.

It is a time to remember there are things undone, left undone, that are worth noting. And once noting [them], it is worth undertaking these things so that they can be things done. This takes me back to “Be Prepared.” [The previous year, I spent quite a bit of time reading through Y’shuaJesus’s teachings on being prepared, and thinking upon this idea, trying to practice it.]

I think about my life examined. Not an examination by The Judge, however. I think about people I don’t know going through my things scattered along the road, if I were to be in an accident. It reminds me of Randy Travis’s song, “Three Wooden Crosses.” And I think, “It’s not about me living, but what is left behind.” It’s about what good was there. Did I reach out and grasp the hand of another who struggles on the hike up the hill of life?

Lord, take me from today, where I am, and guide me to where I am to be, until the time I join you at The Feast. Amen.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .