The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Timothy 5:15,
"Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan."
These "some" are younger widows within the fellowship, Christians who have turned from the counsel of Paul to marry, have children and manage their homes. Rather, they have given "the enemy" opportunity to slander the kingdom of God here on earth by choices they made to follow godless ways. We can imagine the accusation, "See? Here are God's people living like hell! God can't change people! This whole gospel thing is a hoax!"
Here is a sobering thought: we believers can provide Satan opportunity to exact damage against what God is doing in the world if we neglect apostolic counsel and direction as found in the Scriptures! How many times I have heard someone rail against all the hypocrites and phonies in the church when attempting to share the gospel message! I'll bet you have too.
It is not just young widows either. I suspect when any of us succumb to the temptation to sin, we often fail to calculate how our actions may bring damage to the gospel effort. I have to confess I find myself in that number. What we do as believers carries weight in the campaign of God's kingdom.
On the flip side, Jesus acknowledged a choice we can make that would have positive impact in the world around us for God's kingdom. In his prayer to the Father on our behalf he said, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." What we do, such as living in harmony, forgiving one another, bearing with one another, living in unity, impacts the world around us for God's kingdom.
"Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan."
These "some" are younger widows within the fellowship, Christians who have turned from the counsel of Paul to marry, have children and manage their homes. Rather, they have given "the enemy" opportunity to slander the kingdom of God here on earth by choices they made to follow godless ways. We can imagine the accusation, "See? Here are God's people living like hell! God can't change people! This whole gospel thing is a hoax!"
Here is a sobering thought: we believers can provide Satan opportunity to exact damage against what God is doing in the world if we neglect apostolic counsel and direction as found in the Scriptures! How many times I have heard someone rail against all the hypocrites and phonies in the church when attempting to share the gospel message! I'll bet you have too.
It is not just young widows either. I suspect when any of us succumb to the temptation to sin, we often fail to calculate how our actions may bring damage to the gospel effort. I have to confess I find myself in that number. What we do as believers carries weight in the campaign of God's kingdom.
On the flip side, Jesus acknowledged a choice we can make that would have positive impact in the world around us for God's kingdom. In his prayer to the Father on our behalf he said, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." What we do, such as living in harmony, forgiving one another, bearing with one another, living in unity, impacts the world around us for God's kingdom.
While I am certain God intervenes at times, I am also certain of what I read here. How horrific to find a member of God's kingdom following Satan! It is startling to recognize how God grants us the freedom to make all the choices we do make, for good and for bad. In musing on it, were he not to allow us to make sinful choices, we could never express our love and desire for the Lord through the right choices we might make to delight him. We simply cannot have one without the other. Something to muse on here...
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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