Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.
1 Timothy 6:20-21

In this final instruction in 1st Timothy there is clear instructions to avoid the thinking of the “rich” in earthly possessions.  One of the discussions I most often have with unChristian friends is one regarding money and wealth.  Where I see my needs as ones relative to the ministry God has called us to, they see things differently.

For a long time I chased the $ and the dream of becoming rich and in my process of  trying to “provide for my family” I found myself destroying the very family relationship I was trying to “sustain.”  Not that it wouldn’t be easier if money wasn’t a constant battle… but when placed in proper perspective the financial needs of this family are being met.  Now it is MY responsibility to make sure the emotional and spiritual needs of this family are being met as well.

I have books on how rich people think, how they act, how they got rich and how they continue to get richer.  Good reading and really good knowledge for the business responsibility in my life.  however, when dealing with the spiritual needs of my family they have little bearing.    My instruction has to be from that which is central to our lives (or should be) the completion of the Holy Spirit’s revelation in the form of the Living Word of God. It is here that we must pursue the knowledge of “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11) and it is  here that we must learn to “father” my children.

Now for the shift of thought, this is intended for the Pastor’s heart and it is an amazing thing to see how my relationship with my family can be reflected in the ministry God has called me to.  To work with people from all aspects of life it is not a matter of rich vs. poor it is a matter of family.  The same correction, the same scripture, the same teaching the same instruction from the same completed Word of God.  This is what we were called to preach/teach/sustain in the Grace that is given to us.  This is where we live, in the present age, looking to a future land and home in heaven.  Grace.

My prayer today is:
Lord, speak your word through me as I deal with the emotional and spiritual needs of those around me.  Help me to see your Glory being made manifest in these your children and the working of You through my frail hands.  Lord that you would be king of my life and help me to share that necessity with those around me through your Word.  That your instruction would not just stop with my head and lips but would permeate my heart and being so that I can be used, giving God all the glory.  Amen.

I wiped the tears from my eyes watching the end of am Episode of  Extreme Makeover Home Edition with Ty and the gang.  I didn’t get the see the beginning  of the show with the reason the family was in such desparet position.  I sat to eat a bite and tuned in to the program.

Within 30 minutes I was fully engaged watching as the story revealed itself in front of me on TV, the family had lost their dad, he had been “a man of character and faith” and a leader for his family He evidently was a pastor of some sort.  Ty and the gang made great efforts to reach out to “faith and religion” but never really presented the Glory of God in what they are doing.

The cast of characters is fairly known, the TV show puts great emphasis on helping people in need and enlisting the community to do the same.  Great cost and great effort go into producing a “reality” tv show.  Even if that reality is not as common as it should be.

I sat with tears in my eyes as I watched the widow and her children explore the house, I was waiting for them to expose the chapel that they had built in the home. A specific place.  Full of specific memories for the family.  Full of friends.  Full of love.

Even the unregenerate know how to reach out in love.  How much more does our Father God know how to reach out to His children?

Time and time again, the faces come across the TV show of people desperate for help.  Ty knows how to reach out to them in earthly terms.  The writers, directors and producers carefully craft lines and situations to meet their standards.  They are sent thousands of letters, videos, emails and hear many stories of people in need across the US.  The heart break just as they can only help one.

It is great to think about how much more God blessed us (grace, faith, mercy) and how much more He will bless us beyond anything we can comprehend here.

(Part 2:  a different reaction)

We rush to help with a physical need… why don’t we react in the same way to the spiritual need?

Matthew 5:4
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted

Do we grieve for the spiritual condition of people we see all around us?  Should we grieve for sinners?  Should we grieve for our sins?  Do we mourn the lostness of  those around us?  Do we share a burden for sinners?

Matthew Henry’s Commentary has this to say:

Those that mourn are happy. That godly sorrow which worketh true repentance, watchfulness, a humble mind, and continual dependence for acceptance on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, with constant seeking the Holy Spirit, to cleanse away the remaining evil, seems here to be intended. Heaven is the joy of our Lord; a mountain of joy, to which our way is through a vale of tears. Such mourners shall be comforted by their God.

Oh that we would embrace the mourner’s position before our God, our family, our church and our nation.  That the sight of sin, of our sin would grip us in such a way that we cry out to God for mercy.

2 Corinthians 7:10-11
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment!

Our sin is no casual thing that offends our Holy God.  Our sin, though forgiven, is still part of the life that we are to be dead to, and yet… and yet I find myself fighting the same battles day after day.  I find myself struggling just to keep the intentions that I made the day before.  We must ask, we must cry out, we must wait, for mercy.

Matthew 5:4
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted

Are you able to mourn?  Are you willing to mourn?  Where is our indignation, our fear, our longing, our zeal…

Note: Lifeway helped with this episode and there is a massive back story and future story to all this as well. http://www.bpnews.net/printerfriendly.asp?ID=22832

Psalm 123
I look to you, heaven-dwelling God, look up to you for help.  Like servants, alert to their master’s commands, like a maiden attending her lady,
We’re watching and waiting, holding our breath, awaiting your word of mercy.

Mercy, God, mercy!  We’ve been kicked around long enough,  Kicked in the teeth by complacent rich men,  kicked when we’re down by arrogant brutes.

“We have been kicked around long enough,” but are we looking to God for our help? In this world we find a lot of voices that offer us mercy from the harshness of life.  But at what point do we realize that God is in Control?  At what point do we give up pretending that we have a say, that we have an option for our own selves?

The Psalmist put it “Like servants to a master’s command.”  When we have our relationship with God correct we have the ability to put our trust to put our faith in Him. When we have the wrong attitude about God, we have to look at ourselves for that help… not a pretty solution considering how often we have messed up our lives.

Look at that next part, “We’re watching and waiting, holding our breath, awaiting your word of mercy.” When we have the right relationship to God in our lives, we will have the right response. The Psalmist didn’t say that we were to be anxious to see God’s response to our pleas, he didn’t say that we were to be going around telling anyone about our requests, He said we are to wait,  ”holding our breath.”

How we react to our circumstances is directly related to our relationship with God.  Feeling kicked around?  Await mercy.

Psalm 121:1,2
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth

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If you are not a Christian, then you face trouble alone.

Isaiah 10: 3
What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?

The world offer’s us many things for our safety.  We confide in our own strength to seek mercy and salvation from hard times. But we are left with the fact that no matter how smart we are, no matter how talented we are, no matter how rich we are, no matter how poor we are, no matter who or what we are, no matter how religious we are, no matter how spiritual we are… we fall short in our relationship with God.

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Everything I can do will fail  Every protection I try and set up, every guard against disaster, every fence I build, every home I fortify.

I love the west, I miss it dearly.  The best site that I hold in my memory is  ”riding fences.”  To keep the cattle from wandering the rancher’s decided to put up fences around their grazing land. (Johnson County Cattle wars was fought because of the barbed wire springing up across the land blocking the open range) When they first strung the fences  the barbed wire was shinny and new, it was taunt between the poles.  Over time things change.  Ranchers found their fences broke down, poles rotted, creeks dug deeper channels below the fences.

A cowboy a ranch hand was assigned the duty of riding fences.  To ride looking for the break in the protection.  No matter how they would build the fences, something always failed, the cattle always got out.

James 1:11
For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

The best things we can do offer us little protection, and never lasting protection.  What we do fails.  What we do is imperfect.  Who do you run to for help?  God calls you to repentance today.

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Is God working in your life today?