As one approved...

Week 22:

2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

What does it mean to be one approved? I believe that many have taken this out of the context of the whole passage and have preached a works oriented doctrine for Christians. It is easy to look at this passage and feel you have to earn your way to be approved by God. But if you look at the whole context, Paul gives examples of what it takes to be approved and conversely, what it takes to not be in favor.

Earlier in vs. 11-13 he talks about dying to live, enduring to reign and keeping faith. These are traits of one who follows the gospel of Christ. This is not necessarily a checklist, but a set of traits that should show up in the life of one who follows God. Later on in vs. 22 he encourages Timothy to pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. Combine all these qualities and you have a set of character traits to be lived. When I am living out these qualities, I am living in accordance to God’s will and therefore living as one approved.



Furthermore, one who is approved is a workman in the kingdom. This person is a servant and a worker for God. Walking hand in hand with this work is knowledge of scripture. Not only is knowledge required but also a correct handling of the word of truth. Satan even takes scripture and twists it to fit his deception. We must be knowledgeable of scripture and its proper use as well as its proper context. There is a delicate balance between taking scripture out of context and using it as 2 Timothy 3:16-17 states, “All scripture is…useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…”

Some traits listed that we assume would keep one form being approved show up throughout this context as well. In verse 12, if we disown Jesus, he disowns us. Quarreling about words (vs. 14) becomes a barrier to God’s use of us. Possibly a hidden negative trait is within verse 15. We are not to be ashamed of our work in God. Do we hide our work at times due to some sort of shame in our lives? Finally, Paul spends three verses of explanation of godless chatter (vv. 16-18) and its result.

The challenge for me is to live the traits that show me approved by God and not use those traits as a checklist. Of course, if I were using them as a checklist, I believe that the truth would seek me out. I would be living by law and not by spirit. If that is the case, my workmanship for God would not be successful. I also must avoid the pitfalls of a quarrelsome attitude and godless chatter. These seem somewhat benign on the surface but are deeply damaging to the Christian walk.

What does it take for you to be able to present yourself as one approved? What traits are you living and what traits is a checklist for you? What do you need to rid yourself of? “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

Questions/challenges:

1. Have you been a person who lives these traits or a person who used these and others as a checklist for “approval”?
2. Explain your answer to question 1.
3. What are your weakest traits to live out?
4. Which of the negative traits has the strongest grip on you? Explain.
5. What changes are you willing to make in your life to live these positive traits more fully in your life?
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Do what it says...

Week 21:

James 1:22-24 22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus addresses this as well. Jesus calls the man who hears his words and put them into practice wise…and the man who hears the his words and does not put them into practice a fool.

How many times have you experienced someone asking for your wisdom and advice in a situation, received it, and then proceed to do the exact opposite of what you told them? How frustrated were you? Now imagine how God feels when He speaks through His word and yet we do whatever feels best for us at the time. Of course, this is nothing new…otherwise it would not be a part of the book of James. This was happening in the early days of the Church.

I have a friend that when he teaches from the Matthew passage asks the question, “What is the difference between the wise man and the foolish man?” It amazes me how many people’s answers are around the houses built on the sand and on the rock. And there are some great lessons and teachings about building your life and Christianity on the solid rock of the Church or God’s word. But I agree with my friend, the gist of this passage is the wise man heard and put into practice Jesus’ words. The foolish man did not. Yes, it is that simple.

 



Since it is that simple…why do we have such a hard time listening and doing what the word says? Perhaps busyness and worldliness gets in the way. We get so caught up in routine and our own selfishness that we just use God’s word as a quick pick me up and view the words as wise but never really apply them. Or maybe we try to do God’s job and make the decisions on our own according to the situation. Another possibility would be we just do not read and incorporate the word in our lives enough. Finally, it could be that our culture is so based on our knowledge and a “can do it” attitude that we do not see the word as credible.

The challenge is to hear the word and put it into practice. A friend of mine used to say that we approach scripture from a wrong angle. We tend to read a passage and ask, “What does this mean to me?” The proper approach would be to ask, “What does this mean and how does it apply to me right here and right now?” Therefore, we must change that approach. Another challenge, as I have mentioned in another article, is to be the same person wherever we are in life. In doing so, we must incorporate scripture into our everyday walk. Don’t just memorize, use it, apply it, live scripture. Finally, we really need to do a heart check on ourselves. Am I rebellious? Am I worldly? Am I distracted? These are some of the questions we need to ask ourselves around the application of scripture in our lives.

Don’t just read and know the word…live it? Do what it says! 22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

Questions/challenges:

1. Have you been guilty of knowing scripture but not living it? In what ways? Be specific.

2. What are some steps you can take to put the word into practice as opposed to merely hearing it?

3. What do you think about the phrase, “What does this mean and how does it apply to me right here and right now?”

4. Spend time this week with a passage that you feel needs to be applied in a better way in your life. Read and memorize the passage. Look for ways it applies to you in this time and this place. Pay attention to what God is speaking through this passage into you.
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Heart work...

Week 20:

Matthew 12:34b …For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

In the prior verses to this passage, Jesus has just been accused by the Pharisees of casting out demons through the power Beelzebub, the prince of demons. This eventually leads to Jesus calling the Pharisees a “brood of vipers”. Jesus talks about both the good and the evil that is built up in a man and that his actions come from what goes into the man. He talks about the heart being the source of what comes out of a man.

We are made up of heart, soul, mind, and body. Our soul is affected by the actions of the other three. Our heart and mind work back and forth controlling our actions and affecting our soul. It is believed that the mind is our logic and the heart is our emotion. However, what the mind takes in affects the heart. As Jesus describes, our mouth speaks out of the overflow of the heart.

 

So, what is heart work? Most of what we take in through our mind triggers an emotional response. Obviously, we do not have a huge emotional response to say, opening the car door. Therefore, we have conditioned our emotions around daily routine tasks. Part of heart work is to pay attention what is routine conditioned intake. A common phrase in the computer world has been, “Garbage in, garbage out.” This is the idea that the computer only works with what it is given. If it is given bad information, it gives out bad information. Many have compared this analogy to the mind. This is correct to some degree. What that comparison does not take into account is the emotional attachment to what we take in. The heart is affected as well as the mind.

Many times we react to a situation, not from the mind, but from the heart. I cannot count how many times I have spoken before thinking. It came from the heart, not the mind…it was an emotional response. If I speak before thinking, which many times I do, and it comes from the heart, I must be careful what I allow into my mind so that what I speak from the heart will be good and right. Also, what can come out of the mouth are emotions that have been repressed for long periods of time. Something I have taken in that I did not express emotion around properly and now is exploding out uncontrolled.

The first part of heart work is to watch or monitor what I take in. I realize that what I read, watch, and listen to as well as conversations I take part in, affect my heart. The second part off heart work is to realize I have things that I have held in that will work their way out unchecked if I do not do some work around those emotions. If my heart overflows with bitterness, gossip, malice, and unforgiveness, I will likely spew this somewhere. I must ask the Lord to help me with those sins and to clean them out of my heart so that what comes out will be clean.

Heart work takes time and intentionality. Ask the Lord this week to help you see where you may need heart work yourself. I commit that will as well.

Questions/challenges:

1. What first came to mind when you first read this passage?
2. What emotional response did you feel (Sadness, fear, anger, confusion)?
3. Where are some specific areas where you need heart work?
4. This week, have several conversations with Jesus. In those conversations, ask him to reveal to you where you need some heart work. Then ask him what action you need to take to get your heart clean. Pay attention and follow.

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Brokenness....

Week 19:

Psalm 51:16-17 16You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

One of the ways that I block the flow of God’s grace is by exercising my pride. Specifically, I exercise my pride by trying to do God’s job in my life. When I am doing God’s job in my life, I am really not listening to His voice or following what He has laid out for me.

 

I cover this pride with religiosity and Christian service. By all means, we are to serve in Christ’s name in His kingdom. We are to serve others and give him the glory. However, I find myself at times serving in order to gain affirmation in my life and giving lip service credit to God for my acts. In these instances I am not working out of a humble and broken heart. I am acting from my prideful self.

Without a broken spirit and contrite heart, my service only serves me. I find that when I serve me…I become jaded and disconnected from others. I find myself wading in a sea of self-righteousness and become bitter and miserable. Usually, I have to have a train wreck of some kind to break me and bring me to my knees before God.

Some of this comes from seeing situations occurring where I would like for God to intervene. Like King Saul, I lose patience and take over myself. At times I lack the patience of waiting on God. In these cases, I tend to lean on my own understanding which in turn, sends me into a false sense of pride. I also have a fear that I may be like King Saul and will have to much self-centered pride and will practice this pride one too many times. I do realize that God’s grace a wider and deeper than I can imagine and that he does not touch me with that kind of fear. However, with my human mind, I tend to cast that kind of judgment of myself onto God.

So, how do I get to the broken spirit like Psalm 51? I think, first I have to acknowledge that God is God and I am not. I have to trust that he has me where I need to be and doing what I need to be doing. Second, I have to have faith even when it seems he is not there. I love the story of the man whose boy had convulsions in Mark 9. The key phrase to me is “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” That is where I want to be…I have faith, help me when it waivers. Third, I have to look for ways to humble myself and realize that my pride does not know all. I need to listen to God and others and allow for other thoughts. Finally, I have to be thankful for trials which produce perseverance in my life. Only God can give me the strength to endure those trials. In turn I will grow and glorify Him by trusting in Him.

In what ways do you have or need a broken spirit? Think about this passage and apply it to your situation in life. I believe that if you listen, God will tell you.

Questions/challenges:

1. In what ways do you connect with the whole human pride issue?

2. In what ways or life situations do you rely on yourself and not God?

3. What does a broken spirit look like to you?

4. This week, ask God to reveal areas of your life where you need to be broken and pay attention to what comes up for you around this revelation.

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