datethewordtest

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  • RUN!

    2 Timothy 2:22 “Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

    As the Apostle Paul mentors Timothy he calls on him to be a clean, sanctified vessel that is prepared and useful to God.  (2 Timothy 2:21).  To be clean and sanctified Paul now teaches Timothy three actions to take that involve the word “run.” 

    To become a clean, sanctified, useful vessel there will be things that you must run away from.

    To become a clean, sanctified, useful vessel there will be things that you must run after.   
    To become a clean, sanctified, useful vessel there will be people you must run with.

    As we battle temptations some battles are best won by resisting while retreating is the best way to win other battles. Yes, we win some battles by retreating.  We win by running away.  Our verse tells us to “flee” youth lust. The Greek word for “flee” gives us the English word “fugitive.” We are to be a fugitive with youth lust.  As a fugitive, we are to run away from and hide from temptations! 

    A principle I use here is don’t stay at places where temptations are prone to win.

    While running away from temptations Paul teaches Timothy and us that we should be running after those things that strengthen our walk with the Lord. We are to pursue – be running after righteousness (doing what is right); faith (trusting God in every area of our lives), love (the action we take with both saved and lost, peace (keeping calm with one another even during storms).

    So we are running away from sinful things, and we are running after sanctified things. 
    We are running away from hurtful things, and we are running after helpful things.
    There are temptations we are running away from and there are godly actions we are running after! 

    Paul gives one more teaching to Timothy and us, that is very crucial in being successful in becoming a clean, sanctified, useful vessel. His last statement of this verse tells us to consider who we choose to run with as who we run with will influence our lives. You will want to run with those who are saved and who are seeking to be a sanctified vessel. (Call on the Lord with a pure heart.)

    In applying our verse of 2 Timothy 2:22 we suggest asking three questions every day:
    What do you need to be running away from?
    What do you need to be running after?
    Who do you need to be running with?
    The answers to these three questions will greatly determine if you will be a clean, sanctified, useful vessel to the Lord.

    Personal note: 2 Timothy 2:22 is one of the most important verses I have ever learned.  I encourage you to memorize, meditate, and apply.  

    Continue Strong run from the bad and run after the godly,
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • My Soul (Sole) Desire – Useful For The Master

    2 Timothy 2:21 “Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.”

    Many years ago, a singer would sing My Soul Desire on a Wednesday night before I would preach at Liberty’s Campus church.  I usually listen to the singer and the song as they start out but then I turn my attention to look over my opening statement and outline one last time and then bow my head to pray but this night I was captivated by the opening words of the song.  As I heard the words, my mind went to 2 Timothy 2:21 where a few years earlier I had underlined USEFUL for the MASTER and had written in the margin “Lord, I want to be a vessel in your hand, prepared for You to do whatever you want, wherever you want, whenever you want.”  I guess I would say if there was ever a theme song for my life it would be MY SOUL DESIRE IS TO BE USED BY YOU. 

    Lord, when you placed Your hands upon me
    I knew that I would never be the same
    For in that moment I became your servant
    And since that day I only have one aim
    [Chorus]
    My soul desire is to be used
    An empty vessel longing to be filled by You
    My soul desire is to serve You, Lord
    To do Your perfect will
    To work each day and build Your Kingdom
    This is my soul desire
    Lord, I do not seek to claim the glory
    I only wish to be under Your control
    For I know that You alone are worthy
    And it’s You who placed this longing in my soul
    My soul desire is to be used
    An empty vessel longing to be filled by You
    My soul desire is to serve You, Lord
    To do Your perfect willTo work each day and build Your Kingdom
    This is my soul desire

    What is your soul’s desire?  

    Lord, may we be vessels in your hand, prepared for you to use to make You known to the world for your glory!

    Continue Strong prepared and useful for the Master,
    And remember to DATE the Word  

  • Caring Deeply to Deeply Care

    Philippians 2:20 “For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.”

    It has been said that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.  As the Apostle Paul needs to send a representative to the Philippians (he is in a Roman jail as he writes this) he knows his representative needs a reference.  He tells them he is trusting in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to them shortly (2:19) and in sending Timothy Paul tells them how he and Timothy are on the same page when it comes to how to handle people.  Timothy would have seen how Paul handled the Thessalonians with delicate care.  When Paul wrote them and said, “But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children.” (1 Thess. 2:7).  Now to the Philippians he tells them that Timothy will sincerely or genuinely CARE for them.  Paul conveys that they can trust Timothy because he cares deeply about deeply caring about people.  

    Do you care about people?  In having a reference written for you to a potential employer where would they rank you on not just people skills but caring, genuinely caring, about people?  Would they write that you HANDLE ALL PEOPLE WITH CARE?

    From Proverbs 27:23 we learn valuable principles about caring for people the way a shepherd takes care of their sheep.  Proverbs 27:23 says, “Be diligent to know the state (condition) of your flock (your people) and ATTEND to (care for) their needs.”

    People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. HANDLE WITH CARE!

    Continue Strong sincerely caring for others,
    And remember to DATE the Word  

  • Evaluating Your Experiences

    Luke 2:19 “But Mary treasured up all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”

    Mary reminds us to pause to ponder and evaluate our experiences with God.  Think about how much her life had changed in 9 short months. One day she is doing her daily routine in Nazareth, thinking about becoming a wife to a great guy named Joseph. Next thing you know, the angel Gabriel appears to her and announces she will have a baby boy, but it will not be any ordinary child. Matter of fact she is told “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32 “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 “And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:31-33)  Overwhelmed with this news she now asked how this was going to happen since “she did not know a man?” She then hears “the angel Gabriel answer and say to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”  This has become no ordinary day!

    Mary then makes the life-changing decision to say she is the Lord’s maidservant.  In other words, she surrendered all having decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. Nothing would ever be the same.  

    We fast forward in her story and we find her and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem where she gives birth to a SON.  With no room in any of the inns, her precious child is born in a manger, in a shepherd’s cave, where lambs are born.  Soon afterwards their rest is interrupted by visitors. Shepherds who were tending sheep not far away came to see what they had been told by an Angel and then angels.  Most likely, upon their arrival, they tell Mary that angels showed up and announced that “there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  They most likely told her how “a multitude of the heavenly host were praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”   For Mary, it was another day that was anything about ordinary.

    Luke now writes of two interesting actions Mary did in Luke 2:19. He writes, “And Mary treasured up all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”   She TREASURED UP every action of the last 9 months.  Think of a BABY BOOK. Mary KEEPS everything she hears and everything that happens in her heart.  (One has to wonder if she “showed” her baby book to Luke.)  

    She not only treasured the moments she PONDERED on them.  She sought to compare and understand the things she had heard, the things she experienced, and the things she saw.   She PONDERED.  She thought about these things.  More than just keeping a journal, she sought to understand how God was working and what it meant.  Make no mistake Mary is a deeply spiritual woman.  She is evaluating what God was doing and how His actions impacted her.  

    Are you racing through life and not thinking on what is happening with your life or how God is working in and through your life?  Or are you running the race that is set before and as you run you have time to recap what has been happening as well as PONDER the meaning of what has been happening? Do you evaluate your experiences to see how God was working? By the way, a teenager named David did.  He realized a lot more was happening when he killed a bear, and he killed a lion. As he evaluated those experiences, he realized that God was working to protect him and strengthen him.  Having evaluated those experiences he knew that he could kill an ungodly giant because God would deliver Him as He had with the bear and the lion.  

    From Mary (and David) we learn about a growth tool for our spiritual lives in which we EVALUATE our EXPERIENCES. 

    Are the actions of treasuring up and pondering by Mary happening occasionally with you?  Take time to pause right now to ponder what God has been doing in you, around you, and through you. What has God been doing in your life lately? What lessons is He teaching for you? What prayers are He answering? Pause to ponder and to praise Him. 

    Continue Strong journaling and pondering about the journey He has you on,
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • All-Access To The Heavenly Father

    Ephesians 2:18 “For through Him (Jesus Christ) we both (Jew and Gentile) have access by one Spirit to the Father.”

    CLOSED.  CLOSED.  Think about the meaning of that word, CLOSED.  Think of a time you SAW that word and what your immediate feelings were.  Like a time you just pulled off the Interstate to go to the bathroom and the sign on the bathroom door read CLOSED.  UGH! CLOSED! How does that word hit you? What does it say to you?  BLOCKED –  UNAVAILABLE – NO ACCESS  – INACCESSIBLE!

    INACCESSIBLE.  Let that word sink in. INACCESSIBLE That is a powerful word to describe our ability to enter heaven.  To the lost person, it is CLOSED.  HEAVEN is INACCESSIBLE.  Let that thought sink in.

    HEAVEN is INACCESSIBLE except FOR —- EXCEPT for – – Jesus Christ made it ACCESSIBLE!!! Jesus Christ OPENED (what a beautiful word) the door of heaven and gave to those who ACCEPT Him ACCESS – I repeat – ALL ACCESS to the Father!!

    For a believer – one who has repented and received Christ as Savior – one who is born again – one who has called on the Lord and is saved now no longer faces the CLOSED sign of heaven’s door.  Heaven is no longer INACCESSIBLE!! The believer has ACCESS!!!  

    The believer has so much ACCESS to the Father as the believer gets to “Come boldly to the throne of grace, that they may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  (Hebrews 4:16)

    What a SAVIOR!! What a SALVATION!! 

    By the way – if you have not received Christ the opportunity is still open!  Christ offers an INVITATION.  Revelation 22:17 says, “And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”

    Do you have your ALL-ACCESS pass for Heaven? 

    Continue Strong knowing what you have in Jesus!
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • A Call To Actions

    1 Peter 2:17 “Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”

    As Peter has been providing instructions to believers he decides to give a quick summation writing “Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”  Talk about covering lots of areas in one verse we sure get a lot of actions to take.  We will look to break down each action so that we might put them into action.  

    First, we are to honor all people.  The idea is that every person has dignity and is to be treated with dignity. 

    You might recall that Jesus was adamant that we do not disrespect any person. Matthew 5:21 says, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22  “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”  

    We are never to devalue what God has valued and every person is valuable to God because His Son died for everyone everywhere. 

    Secondly, we are to Love the brotherhood.  We are to love one another.  It will be by our love for one another that others will know we are Christ–followers.  I have said it before and I say it again, the time a person needs love the most is when they deserve it the least.  Peter says to love one another fervently!

    Third, Fear God!  As Peter instructs us about how we treat people he also tells us how we are to treat God. While all people are to be treated with RESPECT, God is to be treated with REVERENCE.  And remember that when we come to the bottom line of what life is all about, Solomon wrote FEAR GOD and KEEP HIS COMMANDS!  

    Fourth, Honor the King.  Those in authority are to be shown RESPECT.  We don’t worship the authority but we do respect the authority.  And on this President’s Day in America we are reminded to PRAY FOR ALL WHO ARE IN AUTHORITY.   1 Timothy 2:1 says, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2  for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”

    Ultimately, as Christians, we view God and people differently as all people are to be treated with dignity and shown love.  Human authority is to be shown RESPECT and God is to be shown REVERENCE.  

    LOVE IS NOT RUDE!  It is not rude to people, authority, or even God!

    Continue Strong with respect for all and reverence for God,
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • Faith Alone In Jesus Brings Salvation/Justification

    Galatians 2:16 “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”

    We find in the Bible that a person is NOT – listen- IS NOT saved by works!! WORKS DO NOT WORK! The opening sentence of Galatians 2:16 says, “Knowing that a man is NOT justified (saved) by the works of the law” and the last sentence of Galatians 2:16 says, “For by the works of the law NO flesh shall be justified.” My friends, you cannot be good enough nor do enough good to cause God to save you.  Salvation is obtained by trusting the WORK of JESUS that HE DID. As one BELIEVES in Christ Jesus, believing in the gospel which is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, one is saved.  One is saved by FAITH ALONE in Jesus!

    So, if someone like me were to ask if you are going to heaven when you die, what would your answer be? I was asked that question as a teenager and I said that I hoped I would. The person then asked why I was hoping that I would get to go to heaven.  Before I could answer they asked if it was because I was concerned I had not done enough good work.  Then they told me that I could never be good enough or do enough good to pay off my sin debt to God but that God had sent His Son to earth to die for me then He arose from the dead and now offers to those who would believe the GIFT of eternal life.  I was told that by believing I could be saved.  

    On that, I didn’t give saved that day but it sure got me to thinking and later I would trust Jesus by faith for salvation and I went from hoping I was saved to knowing I was saved.

    Are you concerned you are not good enough or have done enough good to be saved? Well, you are right and you should be concerned.  Today, do not have a “hope so” salvation. Today, you can have a “know so” salvation by trusting in the work that Jesus Christ did!! Put your trust in Jesus! 

    One more time: Your works don’t work to be saved! Only His work works!! 

    In regards to working and salvation; We don’t work for our salvation but once we are saved we go to work for our Savior!

    Continue Strong knowing you are justified by faith, FAITH ALONE!
    And remember to DATE the Word  

  • Living A Life That Shines Light In Darkness

    Philippians 2:15 “That you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,”

    Believers at Philippi were instructed to live lives that shined as a light to the world of darkness around them.  Now for the Philippian’s light to SHINE brightly Paul taught them to stop complaining (or murmuring or grumbling) and arguing with one another.  (Phil. 2:14) To shine and shine brightly meant they needed to be BLAMELESS.  To be blameless is not perfect but it does mean having a good testimony before those who were not saved. It has the idea that the door for attacking one’s character is closed.  As one looks into the believer’s life one will not find anything that would discredit the believer’s testimony.  Daniel and Job are examples of living blameless lives.  

    He not only wanted them to be blameless but also HARMLESS.  The believer’s beliefs and behavior match.  They are not a stumbling block to the lost.  Much damage has been done to a believer’s evangelistic outreach by those who profess to believe but then do not live what they believe.  

    What Paul is ultimately after is that the Philippian believers would be without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse world.  To be without fault is to be without blemish. Not perfect, but living in such a way there is nothing for the lost to say bad about them.  In other words, they have a good testimony.  

    With the good testimony, they can now SHINE in the DARKNESS!  And the place for LIGHT to SHINE is in the DARKNESS.  Believers are to be AMONG those in darkness. Let that sink in. A light shining where there are many lights is not really noticed but a light shining where there are few lights, if any, will shine out brighter.  Christians need to be shining in the areas where the perverse and the crooked live. 

    While we must not be like the lost, we must be with the lost so we can witness to the lost.

    When we ISOLATE ourselves from the lost, we are hiding our light under a bushel basket! 
    We are still in the world to be a witness to this world.  

    What changes do you need to make to shine your light brightly to the lost world?  

    Now sing This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Hide it under a bushel – NO! I am going to let it shine until Jesus comes!

    In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus instructs His disciples (this includes you) to be lights in the dark world.  Recall His words from Matthew 5:14-16.  It states, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” The Apostle Paul here in Philippians 2:15 makes the same appeal to “SHINE as lights in the world.”  

    Continue Strong SHINING BRIGHT for JESUS
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • With God, Love Is Spelled G A V E!!

    Titus 2:14 “Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”

    On this Valentine’s Day, (2/14), our thoughts naturally turn to LOVE.  While Titus 2:14 does not have the word LOVE in it, it is saturated with LOVE as it tells how Jesus Christ GAVE HIMSELF for us.  HE GAVE HIMSELF SO WE COULD HAVE!  He GAVE HIMSELF so we could be REDEEM as we could never pay the price that was owed.  His death PURCHASED us out of the slave market of sin.  He GAVE Himself to CLEAN us from our filthiness and stains of sin that we could never get clean.  He GAVE Himself so He could HAVE us as His own special people, called in Ephesians His BRIDE.  As His special people we now worship Him and work for Him!

    On this Valentine’s Day let us be reminded that Jesus LOVES you! Notice some of the best verses about God’s LOVE  (sometimes spelled G A V E)
    1 John 3:1 Behold what manner of LOVE the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!
    Ephesians 5:2  And walk in LOVE, as Christ also has LOVED us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
    Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have LOVED you with an everlasting LOVE; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
    Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great LOVE with which He loved us,
    Revelation 1:5  From Jesus Christ…who LOVED us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,  6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
    1 Timothy 2:6 who GAVE Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
    Ephesians 1:7  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
    Romans 5:8  but God shows His LOVE for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
    1 John 4:9 In this the LOVE of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
    1 John 4:10 In this is LOVE, not that we loved God, but that He LOVED us & sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
    John 10:11  I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd LAYS DOWN His life for the sheep.
    John 15:12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have LOVED you.
    John 15:13  Greater LOVE has no one than this than to lay down one’s life for His friends.
    John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that you also LOVE one another. 
    Titus 2:14  who GAVE Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
    1 Timothy 1:15  This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
    John 3:16  “For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
    1 John 3:16 By this we know LOVE because He laid down His life for us. Thus we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
    1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the spirit,

    On this Valentine’s Day remember that with outstretched hands upon a rugged wooden cross, Jesus Christ shouts I LOVE YOU.  He calls to you to BE MINE!   Have accepted Him? 

    OH, HOW JESUS LOVED and LOVES US!!  OH, HOW JESUS LOVED YOU AND LOVES YOU!

    Continue Strong knowing JESUS LOVES YOU! 
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • WELCOMING THE WORD

    1 Thessalonians 2:13 “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.”

    What is your RESPONSE to RECEIVING the WORD of God? The apostle Paul gave thanks to the Thessalonians because they WELCOMED the WORD as he proclaimed God’s messages.  Would your pastor describe you the way Paul did the Thessalonians?  Would your pastor or Bible Study leader say you are ATTENTIVE with a WELCOMING spirit to what God’s Word has to say? 

    Why should we be welcoming to the Word of God?  Well, think about how the Word of God is portrayed.  God’s Word is like a seed. When it is planted (shall we say, received) in the ground it begins to grow and to produce fruit. Paul was THANKFUL for people who not only heard but RECEIVED the Word or another way of saying it is,  they WELCOMED the Word.

    Why is it so important to welcome God’s Word into our lives? Because GOD’S WORD goes to WORK.  It TRANSFORMS LIVES! 

    Are you rolling out the welcome mat for the Word of God?

    Continue Strong welcoming the Word of God into your heart,
    And remember to DATE the Word