This is the start of (hopefully) ongoing series on Timothy.  I have been studying this book and have been intrigued by Paul’s emphasis on the purity and stability of the man of God.  Before, I had always taken this book to be somewhat of an “instruction booklet” to Timothy on how to run his ministry.  As I delved in a bit deeper, it seems to me that Paul was really honing in on Timothy himself.  Yes, there are specific instructions on the running of the church in the later chapters, but chapter 1 really seems to be directed towards Timothy.  Paul saw Timothy as his “true child in the faith” (1.2), and he did not want Timothy to fall.

Twice Paul mentions his “charge” to Timothy (1.5 and 1.18).  There’s a phrase found in verse 5 that is mirrored somewhat in verse 19 that I want to concentrate on.  Paul says “the aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

Definitions

The aim of Paul’s charge is love.  In the KJV, this is translated “charity.”  According to Strong, the definition is “brotherly love, affection, good will, benevolence.”  The aim of all of our work as ministers of God’s grace should be love, affection to those around us.  If our work is motivated by anything else, if love is not part of our actions, we are nothing but a “clanging cymbal,” we are “nothing” and “gain nothing” (I Corinthians 13.1-3).  Our aim must be love.  If the man of God does not act in love, Satan can use his message to offend and push outsiders away from the Gospel.

If our aim is love, the basis, the foundation of our lives must be “a pure heart (rather than one filled with sinful desires), a good conscience (rather than one laden with guilt), and a sincere faith (rather than pretense and hypocrisy)” (quoted from the ESV Study Bible).  If the man of God has blemish, Satan can destroy him.  If he has guilt, Satan can undermine him.  If he is not solidly cemented in his faith, Satan can cause him to doubt.

One of Strong’s definitions of “pure” is “free from corrupt desire, from sin and guilt.”  Our focus should be wholly on God and our walk with Him.  Yes, we still have the old man and Satan attacking us, but our hearts must be “free… from sin and guilt.”  We must be pure.

Our conscience must be held “upright, honorable.”  Satan cannot be able to knock us down.  All of us have sin in our lives, yes, but all of us have been freed from that sin through Christ!  Look at who is writing this: Paul tormented the church.  If anyone had an excuse to remain on the sidelines, it was Paul.  But God carried him above his past sin and guilt as an example to us.  Paul was pure, Paul had a “good conscience,” and so can we if we take God at His Word.

Lastly, our faith must be “sincere.”  The KJV uses the word “unfeigned.”  Strong defines this word as “undisguised.” Our faith must be firmly planted in God’s Word.  We have all heard of “men of God” falling by the wayside, and often the faith of these men were “disguised.”  They were fake; against their outward appearance, they were not trusting in God.  We need to make sure our faith is in God and His Son, not only for our salvation, but also for our daily growth and dependance.

An Example

Paul lists some unnamed and named examples of those who do not walk according to his charge.  I won’t delve into these verses in detail, but I think they should at least be mentioned.  In verses 6-7, Paul says, “certain persons, by swerving from these , have wandered into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.”

If we do not check our aim, heart, conscience, and faith against God’s word, this is one direction in which we may sadly go.  How many of us know that guy who rambles dogmatically about who-knows-what, trying to prove wrong any who disagrees with him.  Often, it is not enough for him to win the argument, but he has to paint all who oppose him as someone who is not right with God.  This man’s aim is not love, his aim is to win.

Another direction we can go in is like those who “by rejecting this… have made shipwreck of their faith” (1.19).  “Hymenaeus and Alexander” are two such individuals who Paul had to “hand over to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.”  Whether they followed their unpure heart, or whether they let their conscience go bad, or whether their faith wavered to this point, they had fallen.

Conclusion

Please check your heart, conscience, and faith.  Please make sure your aim is love.  I think Paul started this letter talking about these four things because he knew that all the instruction he was about to give is based in these four things.  Really, all of our lives descend from our heart, conscience, and faith.  All of our actions are determine by our aim in life.

I hope this was an encouragement to you.  Studying this passage has been a challenge to me, and I hope God uses my ramblings for at least some good in your life.

I’ve been reading a magazine on writing. Writing is an interesting form of communication, it allows one to collect his thoughts, edit them, organize them, and place them on a paper (or in this case, a computer screen). Much unlike speech where his words leave, never to return, ready to do whatever ill on the world they are able to accomplish.

Organized thought has left our culture’s communication. Even in this forum, this way of communicating, the general populace has forgotten to collect, edit, and organize their thoughts before publishing them. The key advantage of the written word has largely been throne out. How often have we sent that writhing email to a friend, family member, or worse, a boss, and regretted it all too late. Or, how many people’s surprise party, important announcement, or sensitive news been thrown into public knowledge, and all the damage of that stupid Facebook post or twitter line is never to be retracted.

Two seconds of review, rethinking, looking back can mean a world of difference. Read what you are writing a second time. What immediate consequence might fall if I send this, post this, throw this out there for all to see?

I made the Chicken Chilindron recipe; it’s a Spanish stew made with onion, tomato, bell peppers, and chicken.  It actually came out pretty nice!

It was easy to follow, the directions were clear… I was happy how it turned out.  The only suggestion I would have is to turn off the voice commands.  It has a feature where you can say commands like  ”continue” or “last step” to listen to each step of the recipe.  The only problem with this was that it interpreted any loud noise (such as chopping vegetables) as “continue.”  Jeremy and I heard the instruction “Finely chop the onions” about 15 times before I turned off that feature.

All-around a good product, I really enjoyed using it.  It has around 250 recipes from all over the world, so if you’re feeling like some French ratatouille or Indian keema curry or good ol’ American chicken pot pie made from scratch, this game has it all.  If you want easy-to-follow, tasty recipes with a lot of variety, this game is a winner.

Oh, by the way, I found that using white grape juice is an ok substitute for white wine…

There were lots of blessing, fun presents, and good memories.  God is good.

By the way, I think I’ve decided to post mainly on weekends, so check my site every Saturday or Sunday and *hopefully* I will have updated.  Have a great 2009, everyone, be safe, and don’t do anything stupid this year!

Well, as I said before, I’ll try to update if I’m able, but I’m not expecting to. I should be back home the 29th, so I’ll probably start posing more then. Merry Christmas!

This Psalm led me to think about Isaiah 52. Isaiah 52 is a prophecy of the coming Savior, calling on Israel to stand up and rejoice, prepare for rejoicing, Someone who is bringing good news, and “publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, and publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’” is coming! Even the watchmen of the city are rejoicing, for “they see the return of the LORD to Zion!” Israel is commanded to “break forth together into singing… the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem!” Israel is to rejoice! Her Savior is coming!

We know her Savior is Christ, the Messiah. When He comes in the Gospels, a theme appears, running through the Gospels about “His hour” or “His time.” Try to think as one of His disciples right their with Christ in His day. They have been waiting for liberation from outside control for centuries, and now one who appears to be the Messiah, one who works incredible miracles has come, and He keeps alluding to His time which is about to be at hand. He is announced before His ministry begins by John the Baptist, who in Matthew 3.2 proclaims that “the kingdom of Heaven is at hand” – still future.

Christ Himself proclaims the same thing–”The kingdom of God is at hand”–in Matthew 4.17 and Mark 1.15. Christ’s disciples were told to proclaim around them that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” in Matthew 107.

In John 2, Christ works His first miracle by turning water into wine. Yet, in spite of this incredible sign “[His] hour has not yet come.” In John 6, Christ feeds 5000+ people with a few loaves of bread and a few fish. In that same chapter, He walks on water. Yet, when confronted by His brothers in a mocking way in John 7: “Go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing… If you do these things, show yourself to the world. Christ responds in verses 6 and 8, saying, “My time has not yet come.” On two occasions, John 7.30 and 8.20, as the crowds begin more and more to believe He is the Messiah, the Pharisees tried to arrest Him, but Christ supernaturally got away “because His hour had not yet come.”

As the disciples travel with Christ, they see miracle after miracle and hear the teaching of this incredible man, who claims and shows signs of being the Messiah… yet they know “His time” is not yet… soon to come, but not quite here yet. But at a point, they notice a change in His words.

In John 12.23-24, after a group of greek men ask to see Jesus, Christ says, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified…. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies…” Wait… Did He just say “Has come”?  It’s coming?  It’s coming!

The disciples were probably getting excited here.  They didn’t really understand or care about the wheat grain part, they just new their Messiah was about to be glorified, and they thought something incredible was coming. 

A few verses later, something spectacular happens.  In verses 27-28, Christ says “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’?” Teacher, why are you troubled, you’re about to be glorified! ”But for this purpose I have come to this hour.  Father, glorify your name. Then voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’”  Everyone there heard the voice.  Disciples were probably getting excited. It’s coming!  This is it!

Something else happens to spark their curiosity in what was about to happen.  In Matt 26.18, they were told to tell the owner of the upper room that Christ’s “time is at hand.”

But what is shocking is the “the hour” of this Man, the Man who made the blind see, rose the dead to life, changed water into wine, fed 5000 with one boy’s lunch, walked on water, and confronted Satan Himself and came out victorious, the hour of this man was not some spectacular showing of His all-encompassing power.

No.  It was something the disciples never expected.

John 17.1 – Jesus was praying the night before He was to be crucified, and He prayed “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.”

Matt 26.45, Mark 14.41 – Judas was coming, Christ woke up the disciples and said “take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand.”

In chapters 18 and 19 of John, Christ is tortured, killed, and buried.

Let’s look back at the passages in Psalms and Isaiah.  Psalms 118.27 - “The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us.  Bind the festal Sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!” – the sacrifice didn’t just celebrate the coming of the King, the Messiah, Christ was the sacrifice.

The passage after command Israel to rejoice in Isaiah 52 sounds normal enough.  “My servant shall act wisely, he shall be high and lifted up, and hall be exalted.”  Ok, His Servant will be exalted for His service.  That makes sense…  But it goes onto say: “As many were astonished at you—His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind…” What…?  What…?  He… dies? Chapter 53 is a very well know prophecy about Christ.  “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief… surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.  But He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.”

Psalms and Isaiah both cary this idea of rejoicing in connection to Messiah’s sacrifice.  But, when you think about it, Christ died.  He was tortured… Should I rejoice about that?  Yes!

His death was like giving birth (John 3).  Giving birth is excruciatingly, horrifically painful.  There is much agony, but through the agony and torture, a new life is brought into the earth.  Soon after the pain is nearly forgotten in the sight of a new soul experiencing the world for the first time. (John 16.21)  Christ was beaten, tortured, whipped, and hung on a cross so we could have new life.  This was His time.  Though we weep at the remembrance of His pain that we caused, we must rejoice because of what this pain brought forth.  We have new life, a loving God dwells within us, and we have the power of His Spirit in us, guiding us through the reading of Scripture.  We have a new hope of heaven that could not have been guaranteed any other way!  Though Christ died, He Arose!  The remembrance of His death should not be primarily a time of solemn thoughtfulness, though there is a time for that, but a time of unparalleled rejoicing!  We are saved!  We are His children!  We have new life!  God loved us so much He provided a way to restore fellowship with Him!  The pain and suffering of Christ is over, He is in heaven at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us.  Rejoice, the Lord is King!  The birth pains are over, and we are growing children in the family of God!

Christ’s power over death is obvious from the passage. Lazarus was dead. He said it plainly to his disciples ( v14 ), his sisters and the crowd were in morning, and the passage says twice that he was in the tomb for four days ( v17, v39 ). Even though a man had been in a tomb for four days, past the point where an odor would come ( v39 ), Christ called out to him, and he rose being fully restored. This was a sign for those around Christ foreshadowing His own death and resurrection.

God often orchestrates or allows events to come into our lives in order to test us. The torturous events of Job were allowed just to prove to Satan that Job was righteous and would not falter. The death of Lazarus not only occurred to show Christ’s deity, but also to test and increase Mary’s, Martha’s, and others’ faith.

When Christ heard about Lazarus’s illness, He waited two days before leaving for Bethany ( v6 ). The sisters would probably have had a hard time understanding why Christ delayed, but neither of them accused Christ for anything. They did, however, both tell Jesus “If you had been here, my brother would not have died,” Martha in verse 21, and Mary in verse 32. Martha showed an amount of faith, saying that she knew Christ was the Son of God and had power over death and resurrection, but she thought Lazarus would not be resurrected until “the resurrection on the last day” ( v24 ). Mary also showed some faith in that when Christ came (after a number of days delaying), she did not attack or accuse Him, but mere ran to Him and wept at His feet. I think this idea of “why didn’t Christ come sooner” must have been spreading around in the four days after Lazarus’s death, because even the crowd, after seeing Christ weeping, said “Could not He have kept Lazarus from dying?” ( v37 )

Christ allowed seemingly impossible circumstances to occur, and though people trusted Him, no one knew how He was going to work or what He was going to do. He shocked everyone there by raising Lazarus, and many believed on Him because of this miracle.

It is unbelievable to me, though, that in spite of smack-you-right-in-the-face evidence, some just refuse to believe. Some in the crowd that day ran to tell the Pharisees what had happened. They, instead of admitting their pride, admitting they were wrong about Christ, and repenting of their sins, they began plotting to kill Him. Not only that, chapter 12 tells us that they even plotted to kill Lazarus! Instead of coming to the obvious logical conclusion these miracles showed, they refused Christ and tried to cover up His miracles so others would also not believe. It is somewhat comforting to know, I think, to know that when we’ve explained the Gospel to someone clearly, and they still don’t believe, they aren’t rejecting us, but Christ. Some people will just refuse, because they don’t want to submit to Him.