03
Sep '20
Ever Faithful: The Athlete Pt 2
03
Sep '20
The Athlete Part 2
2 Timothy 2:1-7
Open Competition
The church is a church of athletes, we are continually running our race, boxing with the flesh and competing with ourselves for the prize of hearing God say, “Well done, My good and faithful servant (Matt. 25:23).” But we do not compete by ourselves, we have other more nefarious enemies to contend with. They too serve a master and his name is Satan. They claim to serve themselves or perhaps no one, but we the Christian know that while some may claim that there are no “sides” and no “Teams” we truly know there is. You are either a slave to the world, to the flesh to death or a slave to Christ and there is no in-between (Rom. 6:15-23). We compete in this day and age not against governments or policies, not against taxes and legislation, we compete against teams of a different nature altogether (Eph. 6:10-20).
What are the other teams? It would take me more than a lifetime to go through all of them but some of the major contenders of this day are Pantheism, Secularism, and Relativism. Pantheism is to make the world God, Secularism is to make science God, and Relativism makes self God. All of these things are our competitors and yet they follow only one rule that of Idolatry. The Christian must be well drilled to deal with these cheaters but here we must make an important choice: Will you follow the rules or will you try and subvert them?
Read more...
02
Sep '20
Ever Faithful: The Athlete Pt 1
02
Sep '20
The Athlete Part 1
2 Timothy 2:1-7
Based on the Paul’s writings, he was a great lover of sports, or at the least, his audience was. He uses analogies of the athlete often throughout his letters. This is almost certainly due to the universal popularity of the Olympic games in the Greek/Gentile world. Athletes were rigorously trained and the ancient Greeks were proud of athleticism. They admired strength and talent, but all of these things were mute if the competitor refused to follow the rules. Here in 2 Timothy chapter two, Paul focuses this trait: Obedience to the Rules.
Subverting the Rules
There was no prize in winning the bout through unfair means because it undermines the purpose of competition. If all athletes abided by the same rules, their talents would shine and the prize would be won according to their ability in the activity, not the subversion of it.
Read more...
01
Sep '20
Ever Faithful: The Soldier
01
Sep '20
The Soldier
2 Timothy 2:1-7
Marching
The Roman soldier was called a legionary. He was typically armed with a sword called a gladius and a shield called a scutum. All of his equipment together weight approximately 45 pounds. Discipline was the order of the day resulting in hours of arduous drills. A legionary could walk up to 20 miles a day in full equipment. He was molded with others in his cohort to be a well oiled machine totally in step with his unit knowing his place in the operation.
This seemingly simple task of marching was the first step for a roman soldier. Before being trained in combat, you first had to learn to march in step with your unit fully equipped. When Paul is commanding endurance, he uses the soldier as his example, and it becomes abundantly clear why. As the soldier marches in step, we are also to keep in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-25) as He is our spiritual commander.
This leads us to the next point, we need to focus on the commander’s cadence.
Read more...
31
Aug '20
Ever Faithful
31
Aug '20
Day 1: Ever Faithful
2 Timothy Chapter 2:1-7
Paul begins this chapter encouraging Timothy to be strong. Paul called for strength no less than twenty-five times throughout his letters to Timothy. This call is not just for Timothy, but it is for “All faithful men.” Let us pause and consider what that truly implies: Paul did not say powerful men, he did not say wise men, and he did not say charismatic men. He says FAITHFUL men!
The Greek word “Faithful” is “Pistos” and it describes “one who readily believes.” This word is also a business term for someone who is dedicated to their work and can be trusted to fulfill their duties. God needs men who are consistent. He is not looking for intelligence because God takes the foolish things and confounds the wise (1 Cor. 1:26-31). God is not looking for the strong, for in our weakness He becomes our strength (2 Cor. 12:9). God is not looking for the beautiful, for He sees the measure of a man’s heart, rather than his looks (1 Sam. 16:7).
Read more...
23
Jun '19
The Power of Forgiveness
23
Jun '19
The Power of Forgiveness – Bill Crawford
Honestly, I’ve always struggled with forgiveness. It is alien to me. Yet as I grow a little older and realize just how little I deserve grace, it compels me to imitate Christ and forgive others. Holding a grudge means saying long after an offense, “I am hurt.” But forgiveness allows you to say, “I was hurt”. There is a huge difference.
Everyone has been burned, cut, bruised, or injured. But imagine never allowing a wound to heal to spite the one who dealt it to you. That’s what a grudge is. It’s refusing to heal until you get to inflict an injury on someone else. When I refuse to forgive others, I am condemning myself to re-live that pain every day until I forgive them.
Don’t delay! Don’t waste time and energy on a grudge that only hurts you. Forgive and be healed because Christ forgave you and is willing to heal you.
