Image from newlifenarrabi.wordpress.com
Hear Here: http://bit.ly/2nvhGcI
8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, 9 for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. 11 The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. 14 Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2: 8-15 NRSV)
A Happy Tuesday to you dear Friend. I pray this finds you and yours doing well. I should mention if you have any prayer requests, please share those with me by replying to this email. I encourage you all to pray for one another and for yourselves. I also recommend you listen to my latest podcast on pimples and wrinkles on "Set Apart-The Gospel of Paul," for in it I begin to discuss how Paul understood the gospel of Jesus Christ to be about. In today's passage we will see reference to that as Paul shares in verse 8; Paul understood the gospel to be Jesus' resurrection; the new and radical idea that death was not the end and that Jesus offers new life to all who believe. It was like being on the ground floor of something the world had never seen before. Imagine having stock in Coca-Cola when it was first offered? Or Apple or Ford? Paul was on the ground floor of the world hearing that death was not the end and that Jesus had defeated death. And further Paul says that Jesus is a son of David, and he preached this to any who would hear him and in the process angered a lot of people and as he wrote these words he was in jail, "even to the point of being chained like a criminal." But he's urging his spiritual son Timothy, to know the gospel cannot be chained, and he, like Paul, should endure anything and everything that may come against him (and us), so that more could continue to be be saved. Paul stresses our faith: "If we have died with Him, we will also live with Him." Our enduring with Him will result in our reigning with Him; but if we deny Him, He will also deny us. Even if we are faithless, Christ will remain faithful. And in all things, present yourselves as persons approved by Jesus, workers who have no need to be ashamed, living in a way that shares the truth of God's love.
Paul knew the things of earth are temporary, and the things of God are eternal. The things of the world may bring some glorious temporary things, great feelings and experiences, but soon the truth wins out and those things fade, sometimes with the damage already having been made. The things of God on the other hand sometimes go way further than we expect or believe we can endure. Paul's life was an example of what someone could suffer for the sake of Christ. Yet, he was willing and we know he was victorious. Paul knew the harvest was ready and was willing to work as hard as he could to win as many souls as he could.
What about us? What are we willing to do? Are we aware of the challenges that we face and what will happen to so many if we don't reach out? An old illustration that you may have heard before that serves as a challenge is the story of a community that had a beautiful, but strong, river running through it. One day a villager spotted a baby drowning as it floated by. The villager jumped in and rescued the baby. Many gathered to see the baby and to thank the villager for his courage in risking his own life for saving this baby. The next day another baby floated by, and this time another villager jumped in to save the child. Again, the community gathered to see the baby and congratulate the rescuer. The next day two babies were in the river, and again the community responded to the need. But now, the question was asked, what can we do about this problem? Where are the babies coming from? What is causing them to fall into the river? What can we do about each once we have them? Do we raise them or seek a way to return them? Soon the community was split. Some wanted to build a permanent baby rescue station by the river with the appropriate life-saving apparatus so that not one baby would be lost to drowning. Others said that the real need was a training center for those who didn't know how to swim and properly rescue the baby. And another group wanted to create a proper celebratory committee to plan each rescue. And yet another group wanted to form a search committee to go and find out where the babies were coming from and seeking a way to truly respond to the need.
The modern church is kinda like that. We have a basic responsibility of saving souls. We have the need to disciple the new converts, as well have in place a continually training system of small groups, Sunday school, after school activities, etc. All working together towards the same goal. At the leadership are those, who like Paul, preach, witness, evangelize, and make disciples. Alongside the leaders are those called by God as baptized believers to also witness and share Jesus. We have many openings, all leading to our meeting the need of bringing in new disciples. Where will you plug in?
PRAYER: Lord, the good news is new each time we share it. Grant to us the courage and boldness of sharing it with those who have not yet heard. Let us not be blind to the need, or lulled into complacency of our having done enough. Be glorified in us is our prayer. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be the joyous hands and smiles of Jesus!
Blessings of love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
To listen to the podcast on Set Apart - The Gospel of Paul to to click here pimplesandwrinkles.org, then under Media section find podcast and listen. Share it with others after you hear it.
