1 Timothy 2-3 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is 1 Timothy 2:1-3:16.

“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling…” (I Timothy 2:8).

Well, I know I’m going to get in trouble for this one. But I just can’t help but think about this in my reading today.

I am all about scriptural authority. I think the basis for everything we do as congregations and individual Christians should be anchored in Scripture. I want book, chapter, and verse preaching. I don’t want think-sos, I-feels, or I-just-can’t-believes. And I am part of a spiritual fellowship that feels the same way.

Of course, the big trouble with all this is consistency. I’ll be clear. I’m sure I’m inconsistent in places. I don’t think inconsistency means the basis of my plea is wrong. It just means I get it wrong in places. However, some inconsistencies are obvious. When they are, they cause a severe chink in the armor.

I think this passage represents one of those. Like it or not, this passage says that lifting our hands while praying is absolutely, unequivocally, and undeniably scripturally authorized. I don’t care what you say about this text. I don’t care if you point out that Paul’s main point was about keeping our hands pure from wrath and quarreling. I don’t care if you hone in on the fact that it mentions men. I don’t care if you want to highlight the emphasis on prayer. No matter how you slice it, dice it, spin it, or flip it, this text says holding hands up during prayer is authorized.

Why then do we conservative Christians buck against what is so clearly authorized? Why am I going to get private e-mails about this post sharing the fear from some that I’m slipping? Why will some even make public comments about it below? Why will someone call my shepherds and suggest they give me a talking to? Because we fear what people will do with this. No, this passage does not authorize worship that is governed by emotionalism. No, this passage doesn’t authorize much of what goes on in charismatic and Pentecostal churches. No, this passage does not authorize jumping, shouting, dancing in the aisles, speaking in tongues. Yet some of us are scared that if we start letting people lift holy hands while praying it will lead to that. Apparently Paul wasn’t afraid of that. Maybe we shouldn’t be.

I suggest that instead of trying to manipulate outcomes by twisting what the Scripture says or neglecting it, we learn to be honest with the text. Will people abuse things in the text? Sure. But that is their problem, not mine. All I know is if we are going to be people of the book, speaking where it speaks and silent where it is silent, then let’s go ahead and speak where it speaks. Let’s not rebuke what the Scripture itself authorizes explicitly. Let’s be honest with ourselves, with the Bible, and with our motives, even if that leads us some place we didn’t want to go.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? Click the following link to add your input: Post a comment.

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Today’s illustrations are provided by the wordle tool at Wordle.net. You can find my wordles here.

Acts 3-4 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Acts 3:1-4:37.

“Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and one soul, and no one said that any of the thing that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common” (Acts 4:32).

I’m not alone. I have a fellowship on which I can rely. What are my needs? I can turn to my brethren and lay them out. God will provide through them. Is my need material? We can help each other. Is my need spiritual? We can rely on each other. Is my need emotional? We can rejoice and weep with each other.

Only when I share my neediness and rely on the fellowship of God’s people are my needs met. I need to quit waiting around for someone to read my mind and heart. Instead, I need to partake in the fellowship of God’s family. I need to reach out and let someone know what is going on. Then I find the help that I need.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? You can give your input by clicking here.

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*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

Today’s reading is 2 John 1:1-13; 3 John 1:1-15.

“Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God” (3 John 1:11).

I don’t know how Diotrophes weaseled his way into the preeminent spot in that congregation. However, I know how easy it is to become really impressed with someone and then turn a blind eye to any of the wrong they say or do. I also know how easy it is to be prejudiced against someone and therefore interpret everything they say and do as bad. If I’m impressed with a person, I can let them become the standard. If I dislike the person, I can reject anything and everything they do.

John shows a different approach. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. When someone is doing wrong, I should not be impressed with them. If someone is doing right, I should not be prejudiced against them. I don’t need to indiscriminately imitate or reject people based on my feelings about them. I need to imitate the good that anyone does and reject the wrong that anyone does. God’s standard is my standard.

Of course, before I simply accept one someone says, or reject it, I need to examine all the evidence. Sometimes I think a person has done wrong because of a report I’ve received second-hand or because I’m judging what I’ve seen with my own eyes through the filter of someone else’s gossip. I need to take care.

Keep the faith today and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Ephesians 3:1-4:32.

“Be angry and do not sin; do not let he sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27).

Many of us learned the #1 rule of dysfunction as we grew up.

RULE #1: Don’t Feel

Few of our parents meant to teach us this rule, but it gets passed on pretty often. Perhaps we gathered that the only legitimate feelings were our parents’ feelings. If we didn’t feel as they did about things we were punished, scorned, belittled, lectured, yelled at. We learned quickly to get rid of those feelings. Even in churches this rule gets passed on. Almost without thinking the rule is taught that Christians are supposed to always feel great. “How are you doing?” we ask someone. “Great!” the other says. “Couldn’t be better,” another says. “God’s blessing my socks off,” says a third. We wonder what is wrong with us for feeling lousy, angry, sad, hurt. But we refuse to let them see our supposedly unChristlike feelings.

But wait. Look again at what Paul says. He doesn’t say, “Don’t be angry, it is a sin.” He says, “Be angry and do not sin.” Anger is not a sin. It is simply an emotion. Anger happens. So does sadness. So does hurt. So does fear. So does regret. So does guilt. So does shame. These feelings are not sins. We don’t have to hide them. Certainly, none of these feelings is a justification for sin. Just because I’m afraid, hurt, sad, or angry doesn’t mean I get to yell at my wife and kids, calling them names, beating them. That would be sin. But the feelings themselves are okay.

But I must not let the sun go down on these emotions. I don’t think that means I have to eradicate these emotions before I go to sleep. I’m not always sure that is possible. Rather, I think I need to express these emotions in a proper and healthy way as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the stuffed emotions will come out in sinful explosions or in sinful escapes later.

It’s okay to feel. But be honest with your emotions. Define them to yourself and share them with those closest to you so you can work through them without sinning.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Acts 23:1-24:27.

“And looking intently at the council, Paul said, ‘Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day’” (Acts 23:1).

How important this is. I understand this is Paul’s defense of his whole life. I also understand that our conscience can be wrong as Paul’s conscience allowed him persecute Christians at one time. But this verse reminds me of something I have learned. I have to live with a good conscience (cf. I Timothy 1:5), not simply because God requires it. Rather, I’ve learned that when I’m living in violation of my conscience, it sets up a dreadful cycle.

I violate my conscience. Even though I try to cover it up on the outside, my inside is in disparity. I may not even consciously know what is wrong, but something isn’t right on the inside. It is like a splinter is festering in my heart. There is pain, discomfort, depression, perhaps despair. Wanting to get rid of these feelings, but not wanting to face what is really going on inside, more sin becomes appealling to try to numb the pain I’m feeling. I sin. Having gone against my conscience again, the process continues in a downward spiral.

The only solution I’ve found is to face the reality of my actions. Confess my wrong to God and to another person, making amends with whomever I sinned against and then surrender my life and actions to God. God can and will purify my conscience. If I don’t have that good conscience, I’ve learned I’ll be a in a world of hurt. Today, I’m going to work on living with a good conscience before God.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Romans 13:1-14:23.

Paul gives me some very practical help today. I need to read Romans 13:14 every day. “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

Today, I must not make provision for the lusts of my flesh. Whenever I go on a trip, I have to make provision. I gas up the car. I pack some bags. I check maps. I print out directions. I run through the ATM. I pack snacks and purchase food. None of these things is the same as going on the trip. They are making provisions for the trip. 

Sometimes I make provisions for the lust of my flesh. Making those provisions is not the same as pursuing the lust of the flesh, but I’m preparing the way for it. I heard a great phrase to describe this. A friend of mine called it making “lust based decisions.” Making these decisions themselves may not be sinful. I can even justify making them because no one can prove they are wrong, but they are packing the bags and paving the way for sin.

Consider an alcoholic. Walking into a bar is not the same as drinking alcohol. I’m not sure anyone can actually prove that walking into a bar is wrong. Sitting at the bar when the restaurant is crowded is not the same as drinking alcohol. I’m not sure anyone can actually prove that sitting at the bar is a sin. But if I’m an alcoholic, what am I doing? I’m making lust based decisions. I’m packing my bags to drink. I’m making provision to sin. I must not be surprised when I actually do what I’ve committed not to.

Consider sexual lust. I’m thankful that alcohol has never been a problem for me, but lust has. I am learning to take God’s way of escape long before I get to the point of lust. I can’t walk down magazine aisles in grocery stores or book stores. I’m not saying that is a sin or that you can’t. I’m simply saying I’ve learned I can’t. For me, that is packing bags and providing to lust. That is a lust based decision because I know the magazines my eyes will find and what my mind will do with them. Is walking down that aisle the same as lusting? No. But for me it is providing for it. As much as I wanted to see it, I had to pass on watching the second Transformers movie. I had seen a trailer and learned very quickly that there was at least one scene that I simply couldn’t handle. Is it a sin to watch that movie? I doubt it. Can others watch it and not be bothered? I’m sure. But for me, going to that movie would have been packing my bags and making provision to lust. There are certain search terms I simply can’t put into Google images no matter how badly I need an illustration picture for a powerpoint presentation or blog post. There are certain streets I simply can’t drive down because I know the billboards that are there. I’ve learned I can’t drink coffee on the sidewalk of the downtown Starbucks in Franklin. You’d be amazed what some women wear down there. (I know some of you are saying, “Man, Edwin, you just need to buck up and get stronger.” I’ve tried that and it hasn’t worked for me. Instead, I’ve got to learn not to even pack those bags because I’m not strong enough to make provision for my lusts and then decide not to lust.)

What about other fleshly lusts? What about hanging around in conversations that have turned to gossip? What about going to lunch with those who slander the boss? What about continuing to listen in on conversations that belittle the church’s elders? What about listening to music or watching shows that increase wrath, vengeance, hate? 

Too many times I get caught up in arguments about drawing lines of what is actually a sin. I become convinced something is not a sin so I think I can pursue that, but eventually it leads me to sin and I wonder how it happened. The fact is, if I pack my bags to sin, if I study the map to sin, if I gas up my car for sin, if I make provision to sin, I’m probably going to sin. 

Today, I need to remember that half-measures will avail me nothing. I’m not trying to be good enough to get into heaven. I’m hungering and thirsting for righteousness and I don’t want to do anything that will turn me from that. So, for today, I’m going to put on Jesus Christ. I’m going to pave the way, pack my bags, and make provision to pursue faith in Him. That is part of why I’m doing this reading every day. I hope it is helping you as well.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is John 19:1-20:31.

Doubting Thomas. What a bum. Why couldn’t he just accept the testimony of the other apostles. They said they had seen Jesus, but he wouldn’t believe unless he saw the hands and feet. We’ve held that over poor Thomas’s head for centuries. We completely forget Courageous Thomas who encouraged the disciples to go with Jesus to Jerusalem even if it meant they all died (John 11:16). We don’t remember him for his greatest moment. We remember him for his weakest moment.

Of course, it would have been different if he had not stood out as so unique. If the others had doubted like him, maybe we wouldn’t remember him that way. Ooops. There’s the problem. We have a tendency to talk about Thomas as if he was so alone in his doubts. But didn’t the apostles hear testimony from Mary? Didn’t some of them go to the tomb and find it empty? Yet, they didn’t believe. 

(Yes, yes, I know John 20:8 says John believed. However, based on vs. 9, I don’t think the text means he believed Jesus was raised from the dead. The next verse says he didn’t understand the scripture. I think it just means he believed the tomb was empty. If he believed in a resurrected Messiah, why is he holed up with the other apostles “for fear of the Jews” [John 20:19]?)

When did they believe? John 20:20, “When had had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.” When were they glad? Not when Mary reported it. Not when they saw the empty tomb. They were glad when they saw Jesus’ hands and side for themselves.

Did you see that? Thomas actually wasn’t alone. Every single one of the apostles believed when they got to see Jesus’ hands and side for themselves and did not believe before that.

Why am I going into all this? Because I often treat myself like I have treated Thomas. I know my own doubts, fears, struggles, temptations, failures. I have a tendency to think I’m alone in that. I attend the church’s assemblies and see smiling faces and hear polite conversation. I think that no one here faces the battles I do every day. No one here knows what I’m going through. No one can help me. I’m alone. I’m so very alone. But I’m not. We’re all dealing with this stuff. Perhaps what we need to do is take the masks off. Be up front like Thomas and share what we are facing. Only then can we help each other.

***Question: What do you do to get help from brethren spiritually?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Today’s reading is Acts 23:1-24:27.

As Paul defended himself to Felix, he made one statement that really caught my attention today. In Acts 24:1 he said, “So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.”

This really struck me because I’ve learned over the past two or three years how truly important this is. Having a clear conscience is not simply important because I need a clear conscience to be right with God. A clear conscience is important because an unclear conscience sets me up for defeat and failure on Christ’s narrow way. 

I have come to recognize that when I think I’m being smart and pooling the wool over other people’s eyes, I still know what I’m doing. When I state a half-truth or tell a story in such a way that is technically true but still deceives, I know I’m lying. If I blow up at my family and try to go on like it was just no big deal, there is a prick in my heart. The problem is, I have found that I can’t just move on from those things like nothing happened. In years past, I simply covered them up, buried them, and moved on. However, more recently, as I work harder at staying on the strait and narrow, I realize that those little conscience splinters sit there and get infected. They cause discomfort on a level I don’t always recognize. 

When that happens I only have two choices. I either have to escape through some means that will make me forget. That happens by medicating through sin. Or I have to pull that splinter by making amends to whoever it was and setting things right. 

Those are my only two choices. If I don’t remove the splinter by making amends and setting things right, I’m just going to end up going deeper and deeper into sin. There is no way for me to have just a slight foray into sin that I can control and enjoy. No, I have to keep my conscience absolutely clean or I nose dive into more and more sin.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t keep my conscience clean by being perfect. No, this means I have to do a lot of amends making. Even with that I’m on a path of progress not perfection. But I find that victory over sin comes more readily when I am keeping my conscience clean and not letting even the little things go by as if they aren’t that big of a deal.

***Question: How do you go about keeping your conscience clean?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Today’s reading is John 21:1-25; I John 1:1-10.

I John 1:6, 8 provides an interesting balance. It’s a balance we Christians today need to remember. In my experience it’s very easy for us to fall off one side or the other of this middle path.

In I John 1:6, John says, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” Then I John 1:8 says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

On the one side of this middle path is the danger of acting like we are so righteous and sinless. With the exception of one nutball I talked to on a radio program I used to do, I don’t think I’ve ever met or talked to anyone who would consciously claim they didn’t sin. However, I’ve seen us Christians subconsciously act that way. I’ve seen Christians talk down their noses about someone who has sinned, perhaps someone mentioned on the news, perhaps someone at work, perhaps someone in their family, or perhaps some struggling brother or sister in the church. Often these Christians will offer a throwaway statement that says, “Oh, I know I’m not perfect,” but all the while their conversation says, “But at least I’m not like them.” John wants us to remember that we are all sinners. We have no right to look down on anyone no matter how great we think their sins are. If we act like we are above them, we are liars and the truth is not in us. By the way, while I have no doubt John is saying “the truth” in reference to the information that is true, I can’t help but recognize up in I John 1:2, his reference to Jesus was “the life.” Jesus said He is “the way, the truth, and the life.” If the truth is not in us, we are not just saying true information is not in us, we are saying Jesus is not in us.

On the other side of this middle path is acting like since everyone sins, walking in sin is no big deal. We can’t claim to have fellowship with Jesus while simply continuing in our sins. I don’t believe John is talking about the struggle with sin that we have while we grow in Christ adding virtue and self-control and growing within them (II Peter 1:5-8). In my mind, the concept of walking in sin is that continual devotion to sin. Once again, I doubt many of us would admit to being continually devoted to sin. Yet, I’ve seen Christians, I’ve been the Christian, who claims to simply be a struggling grower who really wasn’t doing anything to overcome a sin. It is easy for us to tacitly just let sin have control and repeatedly excuse it because, “Nobody’s perfect.”

The important thing is God recognizes both sides of this. Jesus died because “nobody’s perfect.” However, His death is not a license to sin for those who want to walk the path with Jesus. Let’s walk on the middle path with Him, neither puffing ourselves up as if we are the righteous ones in the midst of the rabble or excusing ourselves for our own sins.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What did you get out of today’s reading?

Agrippa

Today’s reading is from Acts 25:1-26:32.

Perhaps because the issue of lying jumped out at me yesterday, Acts 16:32 hit me today. After hearing Paul, Agrippa’s conclusion was, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

Hmmm? Really? Are you sure, Agrippa?

From beginning to end, Paul attested to his innocence. Nobody could find guilt in him. Claudius Lysias couldn’t find any guilt in Paul. Yet, he didn’t set him free, he sent him on to Caesarea to stand before the governor, Felix. Felix couldn’t find any guilt in him, but he kept him prisoner for two years to do a favor to the Jews and then left him in prison for Festus to deal with. Festus didn’t find any guilt in Paul, but he didn’t set Paul free either. Instead, he tried to play into the Jews’ hands and let Paul be taken back to Jerusalem. Finally, in a ploy of self-preservation, Paul was forced to appeal to Caesar. He knew exactly what would happen if he went back to Jerusalem. They would kill him whether he was guilty or not. So, he appealed to Caesar. It was the only option he had.

Now Agrippa comes along without knowing the whole picture (or maybe he knows more than is revealed and he too is just lying to put them all in a better light) and says, “Wow! Paul, you made a huge mistake appealing to Caesar. You could have just been set free.” I’m sure Paul’s response would have been, “Have you seen what I’ve gone through for the past two years? I would never have been set free.”

I know. There’s nothing earth shattering here. No devotion that just makes me want to go out and serve God. But it did catch my eye and I thought I’d share.

Keep reading and keep the faith,

ELC

P.S. What did you get out of today’s reading?