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 2:8-10,
"Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God."
I sometimes wonder if we miss the point from time to time, of what is being said in Scripture. With the above passage in mind, I have often heard it said, and I have often thought myself, that men need to knock off the arguments and anger and to pray. That is the moral way God wants us to live. The same for women: don't dress provocatively. That is the moral way God wants us to live. That is simply the long and the short of it.
While I am still sure these things are true, there is something else afoot here. What I see in Paul's letter to Timothy is that fussing and fighting is not what we should be pursuing as believers in this life, that adorning ourselves in effort to impress or attract is not what we should be pursuing here... Why? Because God has his agenda for us. A focused agenda that he wants us plugged into and he wants us to further. That agenda is God's program of redemption with the priority of pursuing the faith of everyone. There are those things in life that work toward that agenda, and those things in life that simply take time, talent, treasure and strength from that agenda, that effort.
There is much in this letter from Paul to Timothy about the damage done by false teachers. What is interesting is that Paul observes the false teaching as that which mitigates against the promotion of the gospel, the potential to reach others for "the faith." Paul says, "Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith." It is the advancement of God's work Paul has in mind. God's work. God's agenda. Paul refers to a goal in his concerns, "The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."
There just may be those things in our lives that detract from the priority God has given us to advance the gospel, or that do not contribute toward it. Paul addresses some of these things in this letter.
Paul speaks of the strength the Lord gave him to pursue this agenda as one of his apostles, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service." 1:12. Paul speaks of fighting the battle well, and those who hindered this agenda were dealt with in firm manner by Paul, "Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme." 1:18-20.
Paul told Timothy to promote the agenda, 4:6, to command and teach accordingly, 4:11 and to be diligent in these things, "Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." 4:15-16.
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
"Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God."
I sometimes wonder if we miss the point from time to time, of what is being said in Scripture. With the above passage in mind, I have often heard it said, and I have often thought myself, that men need to knock off the arguments and anger and to pray. That is the moral way God wants us to live. The same for women: don't dress provocatively. That is the moral way God wants us to live. That is simply the long and the short of it.
While I am still sure these things are true, there is something else afoot here. What I see in Paul's letter to Timothy is that fussing and fighting is not what we should be pursuing as believers in this life, that adorning ourselves in effort to impress or attract is not what we should be pursuing here... Why? Because God has his agenda for us. A focused agenda that he wants us plugged into and he wants us to further. That agenda is God's program of redemption with the priority of pursuing the faith of everyone. There are those things in life that work toward that agenda, and those things in life that simply take time, talent, treasure and strength from that agenda, that effort.
There is much in this letter from Paul to Timothy about the damage done by false teachers. What is interesting is that Paul observes the false teaching as that which mitigates against the promotion of the gospel, the potential to reach others for "the faith." Paul says, "Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith." It is the advancement of God's work Paul has in mind. God's work. God's agenda. Paul refers to a goal in his concerns, "The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."
There just may be those things in our lives that detract from the priority God has given us to advance the gospel, or that do not contribute toward it. Paul addresses some of these things in this letter.
Paul speaks of the strength the Lord gave him to pursue this agenda as one of his apostles, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service." 1:12. Paul speaks of fighting the battle well, and those who hindered this agenda were dealt with in firm manner by Paul, "Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme." 1:18-20.
Paul told Timothy to promote the agenda, 4:6, to command and teach accordingly, 4:11 and to be diligent in these things, "Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." 4:15-16.
Jesus Christ, our Lord, has an agenda and he wants us all to be focused on it. It is the promotion of his kingdom, to populate it with all who are willing by faith. Something here to consider...
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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