Musing: 026

2 Timothy 3

New International Version (NIV)

3 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

A Final Charge to Timothy

10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Excerpt: Matthew 24:34-36 (New King James Version)

³⁴ Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. ³⁶ “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

Excerpt: Why Does God Allow Evil?

by Rick Warren

The horrific mass murder of innocent Americans on 9/11 left all rational people shocked, angry, grief-stricken and numb. Our tears flowed freely and our hearts carried a deep ache.

With pain is so heartfelt and so personal, it’s only natural to ask, Why does God allow such evil to happen? If God is so great and so good, why does he allow human beings to hurt each other?

The answer lies in what is both our greatest blessing and our worst curse: our capacity to make choices. God has given us a free will. Made in God’s image, he has given us the freedom to decide how we will act and the ability to make moral choices. This is one asset that sets us apart from animals, but it also is the source of so much pain in our world. Every one of us is capable of making selfish, self-centered or even evil choices. Whenever that happens, people get hurt.

Sin ultimately is selfishness. I want to do what I want, not what God tells me to do. Unfortunately, sin always hurts others, not just ourselves.

God could have eliminated all evil from our world by simply removing our ability to choose. He could have made us puppets — marionettes on strings that he pulls. By taking away our ability to choose, evil would vanish.

But God doesn’t want us to be puppets. He wants to be loved and obeyed by creatures who freely, voluntarily choose to love him and each other. Love is not genuine if there is no other option.

Yes, God could have kept the terrorists from completing their suicidal missions. He could have short-circuited their ability to choose their own will instead of his. But, to be fair, God also would have to do that to all of us. While you and I aren’t terrorists, we do hurt others with our own selfish decisions and actions.

In a world of free choices, God’s will is rarely done! Doing our own will is much more common — much easier. Don’t blame God for the tragedy of 9/11. Blame people who ignored what God says to do: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

In heaven, God’s will is done perfectly. That’s why there is no sorrow, pain or evil there. But this is earth, a fallen, imperfect place. We must choose to do God’s will every day. It isn’t automatic. That is why Jesus told us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

The Bible explains the root of evil: “This is the crisis we’re in: God’s light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness … because they were not really interested in pleasing God” (John 3:19, Message). We’re far more interested in pleasing ourselves than we are in pleasing the one who made us.

Many other questions race through our minds during dark days, but the answers will not come from pollsters, pundits or politicians. We must look to God and his Word for comfort and direction, for answers to our questions. We must humble ourselves and admit that each of us often chooses to ignore what God wants us to do.

I suspect houses of worship across America have been packed this weekend, as they were the weekend after 9/11. In times of crisis we cry out to connect with our Creator. The urge is deep-seated and universal. The first words uttered by millions on Sept. 11, 2001, were, “Oh, God!”

We were made for a relationship with God, but he waits for us to choose him. He is ready to comfort, guide and direct us through our grief. But the choice is ours.
 

♥jindra 

Excerpt: Fear

Fear is the emotion that keeps you stuck in the past. Fear paralyzes you. Fear is the number one problem most people face — fear that they’re not going to make it, fear of the future, or fear of what other people think.

There are three antidotes to fear:

• Fill your life with the truth. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 KJV). The more you fill your mind with God’s Word, the more it will drive fear from your life.
• Fill your life with love. “Perfect love casts out fear …” (1 John 4:18 NKJV). The more you get to know God, the more you will understand his unconditional love. As you understand his deep love for you, you will see that his perfect love drives away your fear.
• Fill your life with faith. As you begin to trust God and his perfect love for you, you will begin to overcome your fears. Faith is God’s antidote to fear.

If you are afraid that your life has fallen apart and your best days are behind you, you’re wrong. God can always turn things around. He sent his son, Jesus Christ, to “seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10 NIV).

No matter what you’re going through, no matter how bad your circumstances appear, turn from your fear and expect Jesus to restore your life.

Pray this prayer of Jeremiah: “Restore me, O Lord, and bring me back to you again! Give me back the joy I once had!” (Lamentations 5:21 NLT).

♥jindra

Excerpt: Jesus Reinstates Peter

JESUS: Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?

SIMON: Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

JESUS: Feed my lambs.

~~~

JESUS: Simon son of John, do you truly love me?

SIMON: Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

JESUS: Take care of my sheep.

~~~

JESUS: Simon son of John, do you love me?

SIMON: Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.

JESUS: Feed my sheep

***

Jesus did not ask him three times just to be sure that Simon really loves Him. He wanted Simon to understand his answers.

♥jindra

Excerpt: Temptation by Rick Warren

Temptation begins by capturing your attention. What gets your attention arouses your emotions. Then your emotions activate your behavior, and you act on what you feel. The more you focus on “I don’t want to do this,” the stronger it draws you into its web.

Ignoring a temptation is far more effective than fighting it. Once your mind is on something else, the temptation loses its power. So when temptation calls you on the phone, don’t argue with it, just hang up!

Sometimes this means physically leaving a tempting situation. This is one time it is OK to run away. Get up and turn off the television set. Walk away from a group that is gossiping. Leave the theater in the middle of the movie. To avoid being stung, stay away from the bees.

Spiritually, your mind is your most vulnerable organ. To reduce temptation, keep your mind occupied with God’s Word and other good thoughts. You defeat bad thoughts by thinking of something better. This is the principle of replacement. You overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).

♥jindra

Excerpt: What is Love?

The healthiest human emotion is not love but gratitude.

Today we’ve bought into this myth that love is uncontrollable, that it’s something that just happens to us. In fact, even the language we use implies the uncontrollability of love. We say, “I fell in love,” as if love is some kind of a ditch. It’s like I’m walking along one day and — bam! — I fell in love. I couldn’t help myself. 

But I have to tell you the truth: That’s not love. Love doesn't just happen to you. Love is a choice, and it represents a commitment. Love is more than attraction and more than arousal. It’s also more than sentimentality, like so many of today’s songs suggest. By this standard, is love dead when the emotion is gone? No — not at all — because love is an action, and a behavior.

Over and over again in the Bible, God commands us to love each other, and you can’t command an emotion. If I told you right now, “Be sad!” you couldn’t be sad on cue. Just like an actor, you can fake it, but you’re not wired for your emotions to change on command.

If love were just an emotion, then God couldn't command it. But love is something you do. It can produce emotion, but love is an action.

♥jindra