2 Timothy | Paula Wiseman

Cleaning

trash bag Lately, I've been cleaning out my office. It's amazing (and disappointing) how much stuff accumulates in such a short time. Once I'm through carrying out bags of junk, and vacuuming and dusting, I'll have neater, more functional space. All the stuff I need will be close by making it easier and faster to accomplish what I need to each day.

It's not just my living spaces that need periodic cleaning- my hearts does, too. I know I've picked up a lot of junk- a box of frustration there, a folder or two of fear stacked on the bookcase, a bad attitude cluttering up my workspace. Sometimes things like joy and peace are hard to find underneath all that other mess, (I know they're in here somewhere… I remember bringing 'em in and putting them right over there by that big pile of doubt…)

For a packrat like me, determining what needs to go is often a challenge, but in the right mood, I can toss out with the best of them. However, when it comes to de-junking my heart, I need outside help.

I have to rely on God and His word to identify the junk in the first place. (Search me, O God… and see if there be any wicked way in me. Ps. 139:23)

I have to make the effort to let go of the stuff. (Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us… Heb. 12:2)

Finally, I need Him to vacuum and clean out the place, so He has room to work. (Create in me a clean heart, O God… Ps 51:10)

Therefore if anyone cleanses himself… he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master 2 Timothy 2:21

Filed Under: Living Tagged With: 2 Timothy, Cleaning, Hebrews, Psalms

Misdirected Accolades

By Paula

clapping hands [This is a repost. Thanks for understanding]

Thus says the Lord:
“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the Lord.
(Jeremiah 9:23-24)

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. (2 Timothy 2:20-1)

Who doesn't like to be recognized for hard work, and a job well done? The trick is not allowing that to degenerate into prideful egotism. So how do we let go of that desire for encouragement, affirmation and attention (and I admit, mine is pretty strong) in favor of humble submission to God?

1. Revere God. The verses in Jeremiah outline what we should get excited about- our great God who demonstrates His lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth. I know the Lord, and He reveals Himself to me, wants to be known.

2. Examine my motives. Why am I doing this? Is it to show off my wisdom, or talent? Is it to get rich?

3. Cleanse myself. Technically, I can't cleanse myself, but I can be diligent about asking for forgiveness and cleansing from God. His Word is key to becoming conformed to the image of Christ.

Filed Under: Devotional Tagged With: 2 Timothy, Jeremiah

Study Tip Tuesday: I Don’t Know

By Paula

Many times, my Sunday school kids will read a verse or two, and then I’ll ask them what the verse said. We have a long awkward silence, then they give me any number of blank looks. It’s not just kids either. Scripture is written in English, usually on a 6th to 8th grade reading level depending on your translation, but for some reason, when we read Scripture, the words don’t connect. We read too passively. Most of the study tips I pass on are to help us become active readers, to interact with the text so that not only do we understand it, we remember it. Two weeks ago, we looked at ‘who’s on first?’ and examined all the ‘whos’ in a passage- the author, the folks being addressed or the subject. Last week, we did ‘what’s on second?’ to examine what the purpose, the main idea or event in the story or passage. So this week, we’ll take a look at ‘I don’t know’. (By the way, if you’ve never seen the Abbott and Costello bit, or if it’s just been a while, it’s worth a look.)
Active reading is not like the beach read you skim through. It takes time, and it needs to be done in small chunks. Unless you’re a Pharisee and already know everything, reading should bring up questions. Maybe they’re about factual information, like background, and history. I chase these rabbits often. It helps me picture the events if I have some historical or cultural context. (I also like to compare them to our culture, especially with my kids. For instance, in John 21:7, after Jesus’s death and resurrection, Peter has gone back to Galilee to fish with some of the other disciples. At daybreak, Jesus appears to them from the seashore. The verse says, “[Peter] put on his outer garment (for he had removed it) and plunged into the sea.” I told the kids Peter was out fishing in his boxers.
Some of the questions will be a little deeper. 2 Timothy 3:16 says “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction , for instruction in righteousness,” (Okay- if you’ve been with me you know that stopping in the middle of a sentence is a bad idea, but for the sake of giving an example, give me a pass. Thanks.) What’s the difference between reproof and correction or between doctrine and instruction? There must be some difference or Paul wouldn’t have listed the four so specifically. The quick answer, at least as I read it, is that doctrine is ‘theory’ and instruction in righteousness is how to put it into action. Reproof is ‘don’t do that’ while correction is ‘do this instead.’
Here’s one from my notes- I never thought of joy and shame being opposites, but the question led to some uplifting realizations.
Isaiah 65:13 “Behold, My servants shall rejoice, But you shall be ashamed;”
So- is joy the opposite of shame? I would have said “pride”. From what I’ve studied on pride, though- it’s shame wearing different pants- all about the self. Joy is a confidence that is future focused. No matter what happens NOW, I know what will be (through faith, I know it). Shame dwells on the past. Shame says, Because of what happened THEN, I know what I am… (through experience or through someone else telling me, I know it) Joy is to trust God. Shame is to trust man -self or someone else. Joy empowering. Shame is debilitating.
The other implication here – My servants =REJOICE you=ASHAMED
Being one of God’s children cannot co-exist with being ashamed. He removed the shame when the salvation transaction was completed. I’m the only one who can allow the shame back. Satan will carry it, but I have to open the door. Again shame comes from the outside, joy from within.

Filed Under: Study Tip Tuesday Tagged With: 2 Timothy, Contingency, Isaiah, John, Peter

Study Tip: Making Lists

By Paula

j0434929 Most of us concede that if we really have to remember something, we write it down. Important information seems to come at us in lists. If you watch, Scripture is no different. Some of the lists you’re already familiar with- Ten Commandments, Fruit of the Spirit and so forth. Sometimes though, the lists are a little more subtle.

They can take the form of instructions, like in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 “Go… teach… baptize… teach.”

They can be attributes, as in 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

It might be an action plan. “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord and to do it and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel.” (Ezra 7:10) Yesterday we discussed being prepared for worship, and today, we’re prepared to work. Here’s our mission. We find out what God says, we do it, and we tell others. Why would we want to make it more complicated than that?

One of my favorite lists is in Ephesians 1:3-6. Check out the blessings in those few verses! “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”

1. Every spiritual blessing (We could actually stop there. The rest of it explains some of what that entails.)

2. Chosen in Him before the foundation of the world

3. Holy & blameless before Him in love

4. Adopted as His children

5. Accepted by His grace, according to His will.

Now we could dicker about exactly how many things should or could be on the list… ‘Holy” and ‘blameless’ could be two separate items, but no matter how you cut it, that’s a pretty fantastic list. There’s another in Romans 5:1-11. Check out all that ‘we’ have, what ‘we’ were and what ‘we’ are now.

Noticing and even writing down the lists that are in Scripture cause us to slow down and consider the truth for an extra moment or two. I number them in the text or write them in the margin. Watch for lists in Scripture, and spend some time with them, at least as much time as the grocery list or that to-do list. After all, these will last much longer.

Filed Under: Study Tip Tuesday Tagged With: 2 Timothy, Ephesians, Ezra, lists, prepared, Romans

Fighting Fear

By Paula

Today starts the second week of camp with the high school kids. We use the same lessons, but try a little more depth and a little more intensity (mess, that is) with the games.

We’ve discussed with the kids that they received superpowers as soon as they were saved, including the indwelling Holy Spirit to help them accomplish the mission God gives us to evangelize the world. We warned them that the Enemy has plenty of weapons of his own to hinder us, including anger. Another huge weapon- the one that works on me- is fear.

We don’t usually think of it this way, but fear is the absence of trust. When we don’t trust the quality of our studying, we are afraid to take a chemistry test. When we don’t trust physics and Boeing, we don’t get on airplanes. When we don’t trust people, we are afraid to invest ourselves in friendships and relationships. When we don’t trust God… nothing else works.

My gracious Father knows that fear is a major issue, so He talks about it a lot in the Bible. There are hundreds of references dealing with fear, worry, anxiety- all different heads of the same monster. Here are a few to implement:

(2 Tim 1:7 – KJV) For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Fear NEVER comes from God. He gives us a spirit of power (yes I can do what He gives me to do) a spirit of love (loving others is the key to carrying out the mission) and a sound mind (thinking clearly and truthfully about ourselves and our situation.)

(Psalm 118:6) The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

That’s IS. Present tense. Right now. Count on it. Not “I hope He’s with me”, or “He might be if…” If I get the IS part, the ” I will not be afraid” part is a piece of cake. And that’s GOD with me. What can a man do to frustrate the purposes of Almighty God? Nothing… (Why don’t I remember that?)

(1 John 4:18) There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

GOD IS PERFECT LOVE. He defines it. He loves me perfectly and so seeks only my best interest. Granted His definition of ‘my best interest’ and mine often clash, but that’s my lack of trust popping up again. His perfect love carries an eternal perspective that I can’t always see or wrap my mind around.

This is one of those lessons the teacher needs more than the students. God called me to go forth and conquer, not stay home and whimper.

Filed Under: Devotional Tagged With: 1 John, 2 Timothy, church camp, fear, Psalms, trust