Guard the sound teaching - Ruminating in the Word of God

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 2 Timothy 1:14,

"Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us."

The "good deposit" Paul asks Timothy to guard is the "sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus" that Paul imparted to him. Verse 13. I notice that Paul asked Timothy to guard it, to protect it. Sound teaching has a way of being challenged and corrupted. Paul's request of Timothy to guard it speaks of the need we all have to not only avail ourselves of the good apostolic teaching we find in the Scriptures, but to guard what we have learned and insure it is maintained within us in faith and love. It is important we not allow it to be adulterated, twisted, manipulated, or even simply lost.

Here is one of the many things the Holy Spirit can and will participate with us in, as a collaborative effort. I note that although the Holy Spirit can aid in guarding good teaching imparted to us, we, as believers, have a responsibility to set ourselves to this task.

Do you ever get the feeling that God is simply not going to do all the lifting with everything we encounter as believers? It is apparent to me that he desires to engage us in what he has for us as a participants, not spectators. There may be many reasons why things go awry, but one of the things I have learned to ask of myself is "...have I done what it is the Lord expects of me in this?" Participating with the Holy Spirit in guarding sound teaching given me is certainly within that possibility.

In any event, here is something the Holy Spirit does within us that we hear little of: he participates with us in guarding the good teaching we have received, couched in faith and love. With so many folks given to poor teaching, given to false and misleading doctrine, to misunderstandings of God, it is apparent that there is a vital need for this ministry of the Holy Spirit today - a ministry that we reap the benefits from if we initiate and actively engage the Holy Spirit in our lives - to participate with us in.

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!

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Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com