Category Archives: Bible

Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Comfort, Commands, Contentment, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Faith, Gentleness, God's Will, Holy Spirit, Love, Mentoring, Modeling, Obedience, Parenting, Scripture

GENTLENESS

2 TIMOTHY 2:25

“with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,”

When I think of gentleness I think of someone who understands their strength and how to use it correctly. It is not weakness. The Greek word here, prautes, means strength with reserve. This only comes through the Lord. He sends His Holy Spirit into our lives to give us this ability to show gentleness even to those who are opposing us.

Now, wait a minute. It’s one thing to be gentle to those we love. How can you do that to people who are opposing you, who are hostile to you? Well, the beauty of it is, you don’t have to. Jesus will live through you to accomplish that gentle response. He will guard your tongue. He will… Get the picture?

APPLICATION

Okay, Mom and Dad, here’s the hard part. YOU have to live out this gentleness with your children. “But Carl, you don’t know my kid.” That’s true, but God does. There is nothing your child can say or do which can remove your authority and obvious power. But far too many parents think they have to show that power. No! Gentleness is the answer.

So, what do I mean by that. I mean when you are having to deal with an out of control child, Jesus can and will give you the gentleness you need. Soothing words rather screams. Soft touches rather than harsh grabs. I know, I know! You are still saying, “Not with my kid.” Well, don’t believe me. Believe God. His Word is true.

Are you a gentle person? Do you exude gentleness to those around you? Jesus had the power of God (He was and is God) in His fingertips. He could have destroyed His enemies with the breath of His mouth. He chose gentleness. Imitate Him. Let Jesus be your gentle spirit.

O God, thank You for giving me a gentle spirit when I need it most. Let me be a reflection of You to others.

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Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Holy Spirit, Mentoring, Modeling, Obedience, Parenting, Scripture, Service

SERVANT QUALITIES

VERSE OF THE DAY: 2 TIMOTHY 2:24

“The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,”

Paul spells it out pretty clear here as to what the Lord expects from His servants. They can’t be argumentative (word fighting). They should be kind. That word can also be translated as gentle. It’s used only here in the New Testament. It means to do everything according to God’s Will. Then Paul says they should be able to teach. Teach what? His Word. And he wraps up this by saying they should be patient when wronged. This word also appears only here. It means just that – you don’t retaliate when wronged.

Now, that’s a good list of qualities the Lord wants to see in us. Do we do that all the time? Of course not. We aren’t mind-numbed robots. We have good days and bad days. But we should be striving to be more and more like Jesus every day. He didn’t quarrel. He was kind to all. He was able to teach. And He was definitely patient when wronged.

APPLICATION

Which one of these qualities do you see in your child? One, two or none? Listen closely. You can’t instill these qualities. Only the Holy Spirit can. Your job is to nurture them in their walk with  the Lord. I know you have to deal with some of the opposite behaviors. When they fuss and quarrel, you have to stop that. Use this verse.

But the best way, as usual, for your child to learn these qualities is by seeing them lived out. You are the one they watch. So, are you kind and patient? “Now, wait a minute, Carl. This isn’t about me.” Are you kidding me? It’s all about you. You are the most important adult in your child’s life. Live like you want them to live.

Are you a bond-servant of the Lord? Have you chosen to serve Him? A bond-servant was marked by putting a hole in his earlobe. When you saw that you knew this person had chosen to remain with his master. He is free to go, but chooses to stay. Hmmm. Is that you? Or do you fight with God every step of the way?

Father God, I choose You. I choose a life of servitude to my gracious and holy Lord. I praise You for leading me.

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Advice, Affection, Bible, Blameless, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Comfort, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Faith, Faithfulness, Family, Mentoring, Obedience, Parenting, Sanctification

CLEANSE THYSELF

2 TIMOTHY 2:21

“Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”

We really can’t do this. No one has the ability cleanse themselves spiritually. But Paul isn’t telling us to do that. This word “cleanses” is used here and over in 1 Corinthians 5:7. That’s it. In 1 Corinthians it used to describe getting rid of the old leaven. That’s his point.

We must choose to live a holy, sanctified life. That requires us to keep holy the things that are holy. We have to separate ourselves from people and situations that we know will work to tear us down. We can’t isolate ourselves, but we must make tough choices regarding our “influencers.”

APPLICATION

Kids have to make choices every day. Parents who make all the choices for them cripple them. It’s a control thing, I know. It’s much easier to do it for them and speed up the process. But if we don’t show them how to make difficult and hard choices when they are young, they won’t make them when they are older.

Why do we want them to cleanse themselves? So they will be useful to the Master. There’s something about a useless vessel. What happens to it? It’s either destroyed to make room for the useful or it is shelved out of mind. Invest in the time it takes to show your children how to make those hard decisions. Let them fail safely, too. They will learn a lot that way.

Are you willing to cast out all the leaven in your life? Are you able to make those hard choices? Those are necessary decisions for your spiritual growth. And the second you make that choice to be useful to the Master, He shows you how and where. Isn’t that cool? He wants to use us to further His kingdom.

I want to be used by You, Lord. Keep me focused on pleasing You, not man. Then I can give You all of me.

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Comfort, Contentment, Encouragement, Family, Parenting

NEVERTHELESS

2 TIMOTHY 2:19

“Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.’”

“Nevertheless” is probably a word you don’t use much. I know it doesn’t come up much in my conversations. But I was surprised to find out it is only used eight times in the New Testament. I expected to see it used more. It refers to a contrast. It can mean however, instead, but, yet and nevertheless.  “Big deal, Carl! This devotion is not exciting me.” Well, hold on.

Read the verses before this (vs 14-18). Paul is painting a huge contrast here in verse 19. Although the world may be against us and is trying to destroy us, GOD’S FOUNDATION IS FIRM!!! Wow! No matter what, God is there. No matter what, God knows us. No matter what, we must abstain from wickedness. No matter what!!

APPLICATION

Your little ones are going to face hard times. There is just no way to completely insulate them from pain and suffering. This is one of those verses to remind them it’s okay. When they have worked hard to achieve something, and it is unfairly taken away – Nevetheless. When they are doing all the right things, but someone else gets the credit – Nevertheless.

Dealing with “unfair” things in life is…well…just part of life. We don’t need life to be fair because we have a fair God. His “fairness” completely balances out the scales of injustice, if we will just trust Him with the big picture. We may not get exactly what we want, but He will make sure we get exactly what we need. “Nevertheless” is a big word after all, huh?

Have you experienced one of those nevertheless moments in your life? How did that feel? Isn’t it exciting to know that God is forever watchful over your life? He truly does care about the most minute detail. Your small problems make His list. Your seemingly unimportant events are on His calendar.

I praise You, O God, that You bend Your ear to hear my voice. You stoop down to earth to bind my wounds. You lean towards me to comfort me.

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Deception, Parenting, Purity, Sanctification, Satan, Scripture

GANGRENE

2 TIMOTHY 2:17

“and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,”

What is a gangrene? Medically, it is a condition where an infection gets so bad that it begins to destroy surrounding tissue and bone. The body literally starts to kill itself. So, how does this apply to us in today’s verse. Oh beloved, look closely. When the body of Christ allows the poison of the world (look at verse 16) to remain in its midst, that poison, that infection, will begin to destroy it from within.

The only cure for gangrene is extreme purification of the area. It can lead to actual amputation of toes, fingers or even whole limbs. All the dead tissue must go. It is full of poison. The same goes for the body of Christ. Those who are poisoning the body can’t remain. They have no desire for healing, only killing. They are NOT a part of the healthy body. Ouch! That’s hard.

APPLICATION

I bet your little boy or girl has at some point gotten an infection. Perhaps they have gotten something stuck in their finger or toe which led to an infection. They could see the splinter in there but couldn’t get to it. What a perfect way to explain this verse. That splinter has to come out for healing to occur. That foreign object, which has no purpose in their body, must be removed.

Explain to them that there will be people who will shove themselves into their lives who have one motive – to harm them. Once your child becomes a child of God (and I pray they have all done that) Satan cannot stand that. He can’t “unsave” them, but he will certainly do all he can to try to make them useless to the kingdom. That includes sending that “splinter” into their lives to produce infection. The remedy? Stay purified through the Word of God, remaining watchful for those whose words do not line up with it.

Are you suffering from gangrene right now? Do you have a Hymenaeus and Philetus in your life? These were two individuals who were in the church but were not part of it. They produced gangrene, not life. If you find yourself in the presence of such people, remove yourself. “Amputate” yourself from the surrounding infection. You cannot live for Christ in the midst of it. Choose healing and health.

I want to purify my body, soul and spirit, Lord, daily through You. Help me cut out all the infection in my life so I can stay strong and healthy spiritually. Today I choose to excise anything that reeks of infection.

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Direction, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Faithfulness, Gossip, Holy Spirit, Modeling, Parenting, Scripture, Thanksgiving, Witnessing

STOP TALKING LIKE THAT

2 TIMOTHY 2:16

“But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness,”

I just love the way the Holy Spirit led the writers of Scripture to use certain words. Take for instance the Greek word “worldly” in today’s verse. It is only used five times in the New Testament. Four of those times it is used by Paul writing to Timothy in his two letters to him. It means unauthorized access to something. It refers to people who are not fit to know God because they approach Him without faith. That was the kind of place Timothy was living. Sounds familiar.

And then we have the phrase “empty chatter” which is one Greek word and means babble or just hollow or empty talk. It’s only used here. Paul is telling Timothy to stay away from that kind of useless talk. It’s meaningless and just wastes time. Are you guilty of doing that?

APPLICATION

How do we teach our children this? The Lord doesn’t expect us to spend all our time speaking King James English and quoting verses. That is not what Paul is saying here. But our minds should be focused on the eternal. When we allow our minds to be cluttered with useless, trivial, worldly pursuits, we forget about the Lord and His purpose in our lives.

That’s why we teach our children to memorize His Word. That’s why we may ask, “What would Jesus do?” When we teach our children to keep that focus in our conversations, always running in the back of our mind, our thoughts are on Him. When we surrender our tongues to Him, He will give us the words to say.

I had to have my trucked towed recently, twice within about a two-hour span. I had the same tow truck driver the second time. When he got in the cab of his truck after loading my truck, he turned to me and jokingly said, “I bet you are ready to cuss this time.” Fortunately, I allowed the Spirit to speak and said, “This is just a temporal thing, brother. That truck’s not eternal. No biggie.” He was shocked, and I was able to share why I could say that with him. Watch your focus. Temporal or eternal?

Lord, You are my focus. I will not waste my time on empty, worldly conversations. I will approach You boldly because I am known by You and I know You.

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Modeling, Parenting, Scripture

AWANA

2 TIMOTHY 2:15 

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” 

AWANA is a great children’s program designed to teach children to love God’s Word and hide it in their heart. Today’s verse is the AWANA theme verse. Oh, by the way, AWANA stands for Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed. I think it is very interesting that the Greek word “ashamed” is only used right here in this verse. I wonder if AWANA knows that. 

The word means that you are not ashamed because you have taken care of any responsibilities that accomplishes what God has told you to do. In other words, you are obedient. Obedient to do what? To accurately handle the Word. And that Greek word “handling” is only used once right here. It means to cut straight. Wow! What an awesome verse. 

APPLICATION 

Take your child out to the garage or shop. Grab a board and a saw and let them whack on it a while. Tell them to cut it in half. Give them some safety tips but let them do it. Unless they have seen you do this, that board is going to be a little messed up when they get through. I seriously doubt it will be cut straight. 

Now, show them how to do it correctly. Get your angle square and draw a straight line on the board. Take your saw and cut it on the line. Then take some sandpaper and smooth of the cut edges. That’s a board you can be proud of and not ashamed. That’s how we handle the Word – with care, precision and skill. 

Do you throw out verses to just fit the occasion or do you ensure you are using them in context? You can make a verse fit just about anywhere if you shove it hard enough. That’s not how you apply Scripture. Study to show yourself approved, so you can accurately handle the Word. When you do that, our Lord is pleased. After all, it is His Word. 

Thank You, Lord, for giving me Your Word to study and learn. Help me use it in the way and manner You attend. I know it is powerful and must be handled with honor and respect. 

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Fighting, Mentoring, Modeling, Parenting

WRANGLING

2 TIMOTHY 2:14 

 “Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.” 

Don’t you just love that word “wrangle”? There’s just something about the picture it gives me when I see it. I can see the struggle in the word. I can envision tossing and turning. Did you know (I didn’t until I looked it up) that the Greek word here is only used one time in the New Testament?   

The word comes from two Greek words, logos, and macheo. Logos means words. But get this. Macheo means to fight or strive as in hand-to-hand combat. So, Paul is telling us to stop arguing and fighting over words. Stop quarreling. Some of us just can’t seem to help ourselves. It is time to stop it. 

APPLICATION 

The next time you hear your children quarreling go in the room and say, “Okay, you wranglers, cut it out!” I bet they look at you like a calf at a new gate. “Mom has lost her mind! What did she call us?” LOL. Then take them to this verse and explain yourself. 

Children can get very good at arguing and fighting with words. And they learn that from us, their parents or the other adults in their lives. We teach them so many bad things without even knowing it. How do you think they would respond to other people if all they ever saw was forgiveness and love? What if all they ever observed was compassion and harmony? I don’t think you would see many wranglers running around. 

Are you a wrangler or a peacemaker? Do you enjoy fighting with words? Are you really into that hand-to-hand squabble with whom everyone you disagree? Why not try focusing on the big picture. It’s not about what you think. The only thing that is important is what God says. Let Him speak for you. He can handle it without the wrangling. Because when He speaks, that settles it. 

Father, forgive me of my wranglings. Help me shut my mouth and listen. I know you gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. 

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Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Faith, Faithfulness, Family, Mentoring, Modeling, Obedience, Parenting, Scripture, Trust

ALWAYS FAITHFUL

2 TIMOTHY 2:13 

“If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” 

Boy, isn’t that comforting? Even when we are faithless, He remains faithful. Why? Because he cannot deny Himself. The very definition of God is faithful. To turn His back on us when we lose faith would mean He ceases to be who He is. He is forever faithful. Just like us, huh? 

That’s funny. We drop our faithfulness with people. Sometimes we do that the very first time they hurt us. You’ve heard the expression, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” But Jesus tells us to forgive seventy times seven, right? Our faithfulness to the Lord should never depend on us. It should always be a reflection of His love and faithfulness towards us. And it should come out in our relationships. 

APPLICATION 

In today’s marriages, many of our children never see faithfulness. Parents divorce over almost nothing. There is no “stick-to-itness” in the marriage relationship. There is no faithfulness. So, how can the children see that lived out. Parents, our marriage relationships are a reflection of our eternal relationship with the Father. Our children need to see that. 

When all they see is mistrust and deceit, they are confused. Every relationship we exhibit before them should be showing them our faith in Jesus. After all, He is the one that makes every relationship possible. As we have faith in Him to help us live each day, we are showing them faith in action, faith in daily decisions, faith in relationships.  

Are you showing that today? Are you being faithless or faithful? He will always be faithful to you. He cannot do anything else. It’s His nature. If He lives in you, then let His faithful nature drive you. Let His faithfulness be your faithfulness. Do not deny the Father. Do not deny the Son. Do not deny the Spirit.  

O Lord, today I choose to be faithful. I bow before Your faithfulness and ask that You fill me with faith in every situation. I may not understand why, but I will follow. 

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Advice, Alone, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Confession, Contentment, Creation, Death, Denial, Encouragement, Eternity, Faith, Family, God's Will, Godliness, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Life, Light, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Obedience, Parenting, Suffering

SORRY, DON’T KNOW YOU

2 TIMOTHY 2:12 

 “If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;” 

I have become more honest as I get older. Now, I am not saying I used to lie, but I wouldn’t quite be honest sometimes. Like when someone comes up to you, calls you by name and begins this long conversation, but you have no idea who this person is. In the past I would say, “Hey bud, how are you doing?” Now I say, “Hey, I’ve forgotten your name. Forgive me.” 

Jesus knows our name, whether we accept Him or not. But He promises us reigning power or powerlessnes, based on our response to Him. Paul tells us here that if we will endure with Christ, we will reign with Him. If we turn our backs and run, He will also deny us before the Father. 

APPLICATION 

Children like to be recognized. They love hearing their name called when they see you. What they don’t like is to be ignored. Try it for a day with your kids. Go through your normal routine, but each time a child calls your name, ignore them. (If they have an emergency make an exception). 

At the end of the day explain what you did and why. Read today’s verse. Ask them how they think the Lord feels when we do that. When we deny Him before men, He will deny us before the Father. And I really want to meet the Father, don’t you? Make a point to call your child by his/her name. Their name means something, and your child should know it.  

Are you being called to serve specifically in this area – the area of name calling? It’s a gift. It is so good to see the look on the other person (adult or child) when they hear their name. God loves you and has you surrounded by His love this evening. 

I know right now You are calling out my name before the Father. One day, I will see You face to face. One day, I will meet the Father. 

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