Category Archives: Obedience

Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christ's Return, Direction, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Eternity, Faith, Gifts, Love, Modeling, Obedience

CROWN ME

2 TIMOTHY 4:8

“in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Do you like to play checkers? That was the first thing I thought of when I read this verse. I know, call me weird, lol, But in checkers when you reach the opponents back row with one of your checkers, they have to crown you with another checker they have taken from you, giving that checker special power from that time forward in the game.

As believers, we don’t have to wait on the righteousness to come with the crown. If we are walking and talking like Jesus, we are living righteously. The crown is simply a recognition of who we are in Him. The crown belongs to Him because we have no ability for righteousness outside of Him. It is His righteousness that makes us righteous.

APPLICATION

So, how do we explain righteousness to our children? How do we get them to understand how to live that way? Let’s tell them what the word means. It simply means doing what is approved of by God, by His judicial approval, what is right in His eyes. Now, that weeds out a lot of nonsense, doesn’t it?

I explain it this way. It’s being right (salvation), knowing right (studying His Word) and doing right (walking daily according to His Word). If our children can do that, they are living righteously. If they understand that, they will receive that crown which they will turn right around and lay at His feet.

Where’s your crown? Do you have that coming? Remember, it’s His righteousness, not yours, that earns you that crown as a believer. Let me encourage you today to be, know and do right in God’s eyes. That is His definition of righteousness. If I am pleasing the Father, if you are pleasing the Father, that’s all that matters.

I will live to please You today, O God. Righteous living is godly living. Righteous living will be rewarded and for that I am grateful.

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Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Completeness, Direction, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Eternity, Faith, Faithfulness, Fighting, Holy Spirit, Obedience, Parenting, Testimony

THREE GOOD F’S

2 TIMOTHY 4:7

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;”

Most of the time when you hear someone has three F’s you think failure. But not this time. Paul has “fought,” “finished,” and remained “faithful.” Those are three awesome F’s. First, he fought the good fight. Both the verb “fought,” and the noun “fight” come from the same Greek word from which we get the word “agony.” It means to strive as if in an athletic contest or a battle.

He finished the course. The word for “finished” has the word picture of the old pirate’s scope that unfolds to complete it for use. It reaches an end. And “course” is a race. Paul has come to the end of his race. Finally, he kept the faith. He has guarded and protected the faith he has proclaimed. The most important thing about these three F’s is they are all in the perfect tense which means the action has lasting results. That’s cool.

APPLICATION

Ask your children if they think it’s okay to fight. If you have taught them well, they will probably say it isn’t. Then read them this verse and explain some fights are worth fighting. We have to be ready to defend our faith. Have they ever run a race? If so, they know the fulfillment of completing that course. All the energy expelled is worth it when they cross the finish line. One day they will experience that, if they are a believer, when they finish the race we are in as Christians. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

And how do we teach them to guard the faith? By teaching them the truth of God’s Word. It’s not just a Sunday, feel-good book we read. It guides every decision they make. It is the truth above all truths. When they understand that, they will eagerly defend it against all attacks, thus defending their faith. The three F’s are still worth pursuing.

How’s your report card? Are you fighting, finishing and staying faithful? Sometimes we get tired in the fight. Don’t stop. The Lord is there to lift your hands. We get weary in the Christian race. Don’t throw in the towel. Keep your eyes on the finish line. And keep defending your faith against the enemy. Don’t give him an inch.

I will pursue these three F’s today. Above all I want to please You, O Lord my God. I know my efforts are strengthened through Your Spirit who indwells me, making all things possible.

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Affection, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Contentment, Death, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Eternity, Faith, Heaven, Modeling, Obedience, Parenting

FACING DEATH

2 TIMOTHY 4:6

“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.”

What would you do and what would you say if you knew your death was imminent? Paul knew this. He had been in prison for a while now and knew he would die for the faith soon. But look at how he describes that. He doesn’t say, “I’m about to die.” Neither does he say, “They are about to kill me.” He says, “I am pouring my life out as a sacrifice.”

The Greek word for “being poured out as a drink offering” is one word. It occurs here and also in Philippians 2:17. Paul wrote Philippians about four years earlier during his first imprisonment. But even then he saw his life as a sacrifice for Jesus. He didn’t fear death. He was pouring his own life out for Him. No one could take what he freely gave.

APPLICATION

Test this with your children. Ask them if there is something they really value they are willing to give away. Perhaps it is a special toy or gift they have received. They may know someone who would really love it, maybe more than they do. If they are willing to give it up, let them. This could be a huge learning opportunity.

Now, go to this verse and explain that just as Paul willingly gave up his life for Jesus, nothing they are willing to give away can be taken from them. It doesn’t matter how it leaves their hands once they have decided to give it away. It’s the giving up that matters. The same holds true for their life. Is it fully given up to Jesus?

How about you? Is your life being poured out as an offering? Does your heart fully belong to Jesus? Until you are willing to give up your life for Him you will never fully know what Paul is referring to here in this verse. If we are holding on to our life, we are holding back full allegiance. Now, Jesus probably will never ask you to die for Him. But if He did, would you? That’s a hard question.

Father, my life is Yours to do with as You choose. To live is Christ and to die is gain. I pour out myself for You today.

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Disciplemaking, Evangelism, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Obedience, Parenting, Scripture, Witnessing

GET TO WORK

2 TIMOTHY 4:5

“But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

Paul wasn’t bashful to tell Timothy to get to work. He even tells him exactly what he expects from him. Remember, Paul had mentored Timothy for years. He had earned the right to hold Timothy accountable. We all need a Paul in our lives. We need someone to come alongside us and instruct us. I pray you have someone like that.

He tells him four things – 1. be sober in all things, 2. endure hardship, 3. do the work of an evangelist, and 4. fulfill your ministry. “Be sober” means to be rational, to keep one’s wits about you. “Endure hardship” – well that is just self-explanatory. “Do the work of an evangelist” is sharing the gospel. And “fulfill your ministry” means to do this to your fullest extent. All four of these are commands by Paul. Paul is telling Timothy to get to work.

APPLICATION

All four of these are so applicable to our children and to us. We need to be rational and to teach our children to do the same. We need to endure painful suffering knowing the Lord has allowed it and will see us through. Children watch this and learned huge lessons as they watch us endure these. We need to be sharing the gospel every chance we get. Hopefully, when we do that our children are witnessing it. And we need to fulfill our ministry and include, if possible, our children.

Do you think they will learn by observing us follow these four commands? You had better believe it. Kids are like sponges. They soak up stuff like this. Our lives, as parents, are constantly on display. Everything we do and say in their presence is being filed away. So, be obedient to follow the commands that are so clearly given in His Word.

Are you doing these four things Paul so clearly laid out for Timothy and us? “Well Carl, I’m not an evangelist and I don’t have a ministry.” Yes, you are, and yes you do. Every believer is called to share the gospel, and every believer has a ministry of sorts. You may not think you do, but you do. Do the work! Be obedient and watch what happens!

Today, Lord, I will do these four things. Help me focus on how I can fulfill these clear commands. If You ask me to do it, You will empower me.

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Commands, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Faith, Following, God's Will, Inspirational, Mentoring, Obedience, Parenting, Rules, Scripture

SELECTIVE HEARING

2 TIMOTHY 4:4

“and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”

I get accused sometime of selective hearing. What does that mean? It means I choose to hear what I want to hear. I guess there is some truth to that. That’s probably true of most of us, though. We choose what we want to listen to or whom we want to listen to. If I am in the presence of someone I don’t want to hear, I can tune them out or leave the room. It’s my choice.

Paul is saying in today’s verse that these individuals have chosen to turn their hearing away from the truth and to turn instead to myths. Both of these verbs imply it’s their choice. No one has forced them. They have deliberately chosen this. How sad! But before you judge to quickly, we do the same. We love God’s Word until it says something we disagree with. Now, that’s really sad.

APPLICATION

Try this with your kids. Sit down and make a list of your house rules. Hopefully, you don’t have a lot. But make a list. Now, ask them which ones they like and which ones they don’t like. Ask them which ones they won’t to do away with. I bet bedtime guidelines will be the first to go, lol. Another might be eating their vegetables. What kid likes that one?

But do your children understand the reasons behind these rules? That’s your responsibility. Rules without reasons are ridiculous. Of course, you have bedtime rules. They have to get their rest. Of course, they have to eat vegetables. They need a good diet. If you let them pick and choose which rules to listen to their little lives would be a mess in no time.

Are you a rule follower or a rule breaker? Do you follow God’s guidelines until they go against what you want to do? You must trust that He knows what is best for you. You may not understand why and that’s okay. You don’t have to. Just trust Him. He’s been guiding His saints a long time. Will you do that today?

I will trust You even when I don’t understand why. I know You always have my best interest in mind and want to make me more like Christ. Help me die to myself today and trust Your direction.

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Disciplemaking, Evangelism, Obedience, Parenting

EAR TICKLING

2 TIMOTHY 4:3

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,” 

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like my ears tickled. It is really irritating, lol.  Of course, Paul isn’t talking about a physical tickling. He’s referring to people wanting to hear what they want to hear. People don’t want to be confronted with their sin. They had rather have someone tell them how great they are. They love hearing how much God loves them. Just don’t tell them that loving God also demands obedience.

That Greek word for “tickled” is only used here. It also can mean to scratch. So, get the picture of scratching the ears, much like you would a dog. Boy, our dog used to love to have his ears scratched. He would sit there for hours if you would just scratch his ears. We are the same. Just make us feel good about ourselves, and we will believe anything you say. How dangerous.

APPLICATION

Do your children have a dog or cat? The next time you see them petting them, specifically scratching their ears, ask them why they do that. When they say because their pet loves it, read them this verse. I bet they didn’t know there is a verse about tickling or scratching ears.

Ask them if they like people saying nice things about them. How does it make them feel? Ask them if that would influence how they believe what else they may say to them. Ear tickling is just one way to try to “win over” their attention and trust. But God isn’t about ear tickling. He doesn’t have to flatter us to prove His love. He has already done that through His Son.

What do you want, ear tickling or confrontation of sin? If you are honest you will say the former. But what do you need? The latter, of course. If you never hear sin mentioned in your church’s pulpit you might want to evaluate the ear tickling meter. Let the Word convict you and drive you to a deeper walk with Jesus.

Father, I don’t want my ears tickled. I want to be corrected and challenged through Your word. Help me do the same for others.

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Evangelism, Inspirational, Love, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Obedience, Parenting, Scripture, Testimony, Witnessing

BE READY

2 TIMOTHY 4:2

“preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

I will never forget when I was serving with an older pastor in South Georgia while in college. He gave me, a young minister at the time, some great advice. He said, “Always keep your six-gun loaded.” What he meant was to always be ready to preach. He told me then he always kept six messages in the back of his Bible in case he was asked to preach somewhere. I’ve done that most of my ministry, and it has sure come in handy.

But Paul goes beyond that with Timothy. Not only does he tell him to be ready “in season and out of season,” but he tells him how to preach. He says to reprove, rebuke and exhort. That’s not tickling people’s ears. That’s not just saying God loves you. That’s calling people to be aware of their sins and calling them to repentance. We should take notice of that.

APPLICATION

As our children come to Christ we need to teach them to be ready at all times to share their faith. I was asked recently, “What is the purpose of our salvation?” What do you think? We are commissioned by the great Commander-in-Chief to spread the good news of salvation to others. Our children have that same standing order. So, we must teach them to be ready at all times.

And in these days, they will be tempted to “normalize” all sort of behavior. Calling sin a sin is not popular today. They will be ridiculed for holding to the truth. They will possibly even be threatened for rebuking or exhorting. But God’s Word hasn’t changed. Teach them through your actions to be bold as they share the truth of the good news in love to others.

Are you bold enough in your witness to do what Paul charged Timothy? This charge is also our charge. Are you prepared at any time to present the gospel to someone? Is your six-gun loaded? You don’t have to preach a sermon, but you should have enough grip on the message of salvation that you could share with anyone. Get ready. Load up. It’s harvest time.

I am ready, O Father, to share Your message of salvation. Today put someone in my path with whom I can share. Let my testimony be front and center so others can see what You have done through me.

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Advice, Affection, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Following, Mentoring, Modeling, Obedience

INTENSE

2 TIMOTHY 4:1

 “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:”

Have you ever really urged someone to do something? As strongly as you were able, you tried to encourage them to make a right choice and make a certain decision. You were convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was the right thing for them to do. That’s the Greek word for “solemnly charge.” It’s an intense word. This word is always in the middle voice which means it is done with a strong personal interest motivating it.

Paul had invested years in Timothy. He had mentored him, traveled with him, ate countless meals with him and had watched him grow into the man he was now. As Paul entered his last days, he desperately wanted to see Timothy continue in the faith. Even though Paul knew Timothy would face challenges, he is charging him to carry on.

APPLICATION

Don’t you feel the same about your children? Part of our responsibilities as parents is to prepare our children to make life choices. In fact, good parenting is all about that. Instead of us making the choices for them, we teach them to make good choices. So, after all that investment, the last thing we want to to see is our children throwing all that away. We desperately want to see them succeed in the eyes of the Lord as they make choices to follow Him.

Let me encourage you to continue to do that every day. Even after they leave home, help them make choices that honor the Lord. As their parent you are also their mentor, their role model, their example to follow. We don’t stop just because they make one bad choice, or two bad choices or…. You get the picture. We continue to invest in their lives with the hopes they will return to what they know is true.

Are you doing that? Or have you given up on someone? There may come a time when there is nothing else you can do. You’ve tried everything. But let the Lord tell you when to stop investing in that person, whether it’s your child or someone else. Jesus has never given up on you, has He?

Thank You, Lord, for intensely seeking me. You desire to see me be more like You. I will follow You.

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Completeness, Encouragement, Obedience, Parenting, Scripture, Service

FULLY EQUIPPED

2 TIMOTHY 3:17

“so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

There is nothing much worse than to plan a trip, get there and realize you left something at home. You had it ready – you just forgot it. You purchased it with the intention to use it. And when you get home, there it sits on the kitchen counter. It doesn’t do much good there.

Then Word of God is like that. Verse 16 tells us it is good for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. But is we don’t use it, if we don’t “pack” it, it is no use to us. We are given the Word to use, not to put on a shelf in the house. It is more than a Sunday book. It’s an everyday book that never gets old. It never gets dated. It stands the test of time.

APPLICATION

The next time you get a phone call from your son or daughter asking you to bring a something to school they forgot, remind them of this verse. That’s never happened to you? Just wait, it will. Playing basketball without your shoes is difficult. You are aren’t fully equipped. Presenting your science project without the poster board is impossible. You just have to have some things to complete the task.

It’s no different for your child spiritually. They can’t live the Christian life without relying on the Word of God to guide them. That’s why it is so important to teach them that the Word has applications to every life scenario. There is literally not a situation for which you cannot apply His Word. And the sooner they realize that, the more fully equipped they will be.

Are you half packed? Are you trying to get by on your wit and wisdom? Stop it! Take the Word and apply it to your life. Allow the Word to seep in and totally engulf every crevice of your existence. Living the Word frees you from making decisions that are based on your own experience. Now, that has a part in it, but it is always filtered through the Word.  Believe it.

Your Word, O Lord, is my guide. It fully equips me for every situation life throws at me. Give me the wisdom to apply it each time I need it.

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Confession, Direction, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Mentoring, Modeling, Obedience, Parenting, Scripture, Service, Testimony, Understanding

IT’S ALL GOOD

2 TIMOTHY 3:16

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;”

Have you ever heard that expression?  What does it mean?  Basically, it means every letter, word or marking of God’s Word.  This phrase comes from something Jesus said in Matthew 5:18 (Look it up).  So, when I hear people dismissing a part of Scripture because it is no longer culturally relevant, I cringe.  It’s all relevant to us today.  NO exceptions.

And look what it does for us.  It teaches, reproves, corrects and trains.  It covers all the bases.  So how do we use these verses in the lives of our kids?  How can we get across the truths of these verses in their lives?  Well, are you doing these four things?

APPLICATION

How are you teaching your children?  Better yet, what are you teaching?  The best textbook in the world is God’s Word.  Sure, you have to teach them math and stuff, but the best knowledge is contained in one book.  Are you reproving them?  That means to point out the errors of their ways, to convict.  That sounds bad, but if we don’t help our children see their mistakes, they will most certainly repeat them.

How about correcting?  That means to put them back on the right path.  Reproving without correcting is demeaning and hopeless.  They go together.  And finally, are you training them?  That word means to instruct until they reach full maturity.  That goes well beyond high school today.

I don’t know about you, but I have made a lot of mistakes in my child rearing days.  And just about every one of them was because I deviated or completely ignored the truth of these verses.  If we, as parents, will follow every jot and tittle of God’s Word, our children are much more likely to follow Him.

Father, I pray all parents will use Your Word as their textbook for their children. I pray they will find these timeless truths to be applicable every day as they raise their children to love You.

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