Boating....

I saw a commercial for boating (yeah I know it's in french but you'll get the point) where a family waved at everybody they passed, on the escalator, in a store as they drove by, or to their neighbors. In each situation outside of boating, the person they were waiving to didn’t want to wave back (except the toddler which is another blog). Is it the experience of boating that causes a person to wave to another? What is it about a boat and a body of water that would prompt someone to wave to another? I would venture to say it has nothing to do with the water but what is expected of the person because they are boating. In the same way if you golf there is certain attire that you are supposed to wear, or Monday morning at the office there is a certain cliché you are supposed to say. It is not the person that determines the action but rather the situation that determines the action. Is that what Christ taught? Do we require an activity to prompt us to reach out to people, to let people we know they are valued, to demonstrate that the grace of Christ has no boundaries? I thought we were supposed to love our enemies, teach truth, admonish evil and in all things love Him and our neighbors as ourselves. So regardless if we are on a boat or golf course, shouldn’t we all wave to each other?

Powerful Encouragement

God is absolutely amazing, perfect in every way, wisdom, love, grace, and timing. We’ve heard it before that His timing is perfect and we often accept it as a cliché, a truth that is not applicable, especially in the midst of storms. Well, I have been spiraling out of control recently, under the weight of the burden of others without a way to help, not seeing the burning bush with His marching orders, wandering aimlessly in the desert. How often have we thought of the books of Timothy as part of the pastoral letters and simply brush them off as too lofty for us? I mean who thinks they can be like Paul, Peter, Steven, or even Timothy? We have no problem associating with Doubting Thomas, but Paul or Timothy? Then, I read 2 Tim 1:1-12 http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?new=1&word=2+Tim+1%3A1-12&section=0&version=nas&language=en and God in His perfect timing speaks. So often I’ve read this scripture as command, command, command but what is it that Paul is really saying? Is that what he was intending? It seems as if Paul knew Timothy was discouraged to the point of tears and that he was sincere in his grief; it wasn’t a show. But what made Timothy cry? Was it the hungry starving for food? Was it the political junk of the day? Was it that the evil of this world was overshadowing the grace of Christ to the point where it was hardly recognizable if the Holy Spirit was at work? Was it the persecution of the position of prophet, pastor, teacher teaching the testimony of Christ? Or maybe, just maybe it was his passion for the lost, and more importantly those of whom he has either lead to Christ or those that already know Christ and Timothy has had the privilege to teach and he is grieved that they’ve have fallen away. Could that be a possibility? What is it that Paul takes confidence in? His confidence is in God in that He IS ABLE (not necessarily that He will) care for those that he has entrusted to God (of which Timothy is a member of) in the same way Christ entrusted His disciples to Him. If that be the case, man can I relate to Timothy and it encourages me to get back up, brush myself off, and jump back into the fray. I have looked back across the field far too long instead of look forward towards His purpose. So with resolve for the Lord has not given us a spirit of timidity but one of power, love and discipline, the next time I’m avoided, the testimony I share is rejected, the elect condemn my passion for knowledge of the Holy, (all of which have already happened since I’ve made this decision), I will stand tall, charge into battle and with resounding fervor embrace the encouragement Paul gives to Timothy and declare “I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day”!!!!