A sincere and unqualified faith. 2 Timothy 1:5.

 It seems that I have been in 1 Timothy for months, and I need a break, but as I sit here pondering whether to go on and dive into 2 Timothy, which has a wealth of depth in it, my heart feels a strong need to jump back into the Revelation. This compulsion to study the Revelation once again has much to do with the political agenda, the globalists and their efforts to reduce the surface population (as Scrooge said,) and the overall violent nature of the environment in which we live.

Having said all that, I took a quick dip into one verse in 2 Timothy, so here goes.

I am calling up memories of your sincere and unqualified faith (the leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), [a faith] that first lived permanently in [the heart of] your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am [fully] persuaded, [dwells] in you also. (2 Timothy 1:5 AMPC)

In my mind’s eye, I see myself writing to Christians, who, like myself, have had to endure false teachers and therefore ended up with some tainted ideas about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. After almost 15 years of looking into the Word of God and growing with you, I find I have readers all over the world. If there is one, the problem is that I don’t know you, so how could I call up memories of you?

I would, however, know you if we, through, say, battle, have come to build a bond, a bond which demonstrated your real heart, your courage, willingness to endure hardships, and proven that you have my back as I have yours.

How do we know Paul had Timothy’s back?

I thank God Whom I worship with a pure conscience, in the spirit of my fathers, when without ceasing I remember you night and day in my prayers, And when, as I recall your tears, I yearn to see you so that I may be filled with joy. (2 Timothy 1:3-4 AMPC)

Along with so many others, this young man was always on his mind, and he constantly prayed for Timothy.

But what specifically did Paul think about?

The sincere and unqualified faith that Timothy demonstrated. Having spent some time in the faith movement, where faith is primarily evidenced by your “Godly” reaction to negative issues, this can include a simple cold, a horrific injury, or financial matters. A man I admired, upon hearing you describe what was going on in your life, would immediately approach you and ask, may I pray for you. In my mind, this is a demonstrated faith, which has NOTHING to do with results.

Alright, let’s talk about expected results for a moment. What did Jesus say to his disciples?

“These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:17-18 NASB)

If you have believed in Jesus’ name, then things should and will happen.

• They will – cast out demons.

• They will – as the ERV states, speak in languages they never learned.

  I have primarily understood this to be languages that the Holy Spirit gives me, and there have been many. The problem I had and many have spoken of similar experiences, is that some ancient person (and some would say that I am now one) who would speak out in their “tongue” to the church body would hover about you and essentially tell you what sounds to make. For years I floundered in that backroom experience and did not understand anything about it; that is until I read this passage.

  But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, (Jude 1:20 NASB)

  After hearing about this, I understood that I was building myself up, on the inside, by praying in the Holy Spirit; this understanding had nothing to do with impressing people or scoring more points to improve my position in heaven.

• They will - lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.

  Our command, directive, admonition, is to lay hands on the sick; and then what happens to them? They recover. The Word Study Dictionary tells us that recover means to have and hold, implying continued possession. Ah, but hold what? The obvious answer would be that to which you held before but now, no longer hold, such as health. Within the faith movement, many hold on to wealth; they stake this claim based upon God’s promises to Abraham and his descendants. I suppose we forget that much of Abraham’s wealth was wrapped up in sheep and camels, so enjoy that.

  If I may, this command does not imply that the result has anything to do with our actions or faith. Of course, it takes faith to open your mouth and ask that person if you could pray for them, but beyond that, the action that takes place in the life of the sick person falls entirely upon God’s mercy.

  One last thing. If I wanted to thwart God’s plan to heal, and therefore, touch people’s lives, then I would do something so drastic that just the mention imparts fear and separates the “believers” from those who need help. Can you now see how something like a human-made creation, such as COVID 19, which has everyone cringing in fear, attempting to sterilize their hands at every turn, maintaining a minimum of six feet away from others, and wearing a mask over your nose and mouth could further impair your sense of reason and ability to communicate while adding to your fear.

• What does scripture say?

  But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. (Isaiah 43:1-2 NASB)

  Yeah, well, I noticed that the COVID 19 escaped His attention, there in Isaiah, so now what?

  For this reason also, God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11 NASB)

  And while this may be a shock to your system, COVID is nothing but a name, and it too will bow its pathetic knee to the name of Jesus.

  The unbelievable aspect of these statements is how quickly we as followers of the living God have forgotten how much He cares for us and who we are.

Since we only know about Timothy based upon Paul’s words, how do we comprehend what Paul is trying to say in his description of this young man?

Note that I used the Amplified Bible; I did so because it expounds, with accuracy, about the alternative meanings of the Greek and Hebrew, and that is what they have done here. So it is the passage itself that reveals the key in the success of young Timothy, as this sincere and unqualified faith is “the leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness.”

I asked my wife to read this and tell me if I made any sense. I do this because I know I am prone to type faster than my mind can crank out the words and leave out entire descriptive sentences. She did just that and then asked me why I included anything about Benny Hinn.

I may or may not have expounded upon a video log by Chelsi Bedell in a previous post, in which she described going to a “Christian conference.” After a short time, the audience was introduced to Benny Hinn (apparently, the speaker is the son-in-law of Benny.) I have been aware of Benny Hinn for years now, and I always thought the man was nothing less than a religious charlatan who raked in money from little old ladies like my mother.

Since Paul told Timothy to speak to those who had money about how it was a trap and not to love it, I can see where some of Benny’s problems came from. He divorced the wife he swore he would never leave in 2010 and for many in the religious world, this is an unbearable injustice. I have since learned that he remarried Suzanne three years later. From: www.ugchristiannews.com “Benny explained how his ministry schedule affected his marriage. “In my case, it was family and the stress of ministry and being too busy. I didn’t pay attention to Suzanne’s pain. That’s what caused our problem. And then Suzanne having to struggle with what was happening to our family,” he added...” It goes on, but having spent some time in recovery, I do not see any ownership of what happened, so I still don’t trust the man.

Chelsi Bedell told us that Benny said coming to Christ is easy; remaining a Christian is difficult. Chelsi said, I knew there was something wrong with this man immediately, and there may be, but that is not the point here. Having looked at what Paul said about Timothy, I can see how Benny, and so many more of us, are NOT leaning our entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness.

Honestly, that is a mouthful. It is much like going to a buffet - if you can still find one. There are so many choices, things I rarely get to eat, and I want a piece of everything. Yes, this is a bizarre way of relating to this life we signed up for when we became Christians. Upon learning of things, such as the fruits of the spirit - self-control or patience, I want it all, along with the potential changes they can bring to my life, I want it all now.

I cannot remember being able to take in more than a couple of God’s menu items at any one time, and, though, over time, I have become better at this leaning into God, there is never some aspect of life that I don’t mess up. A generalized way of saying this is, I sin, in little ways, frequently, but then so do you, so don’t get all judgmental on me. Some would say that I deserve to burn in hell’s flames for sinning, but they forget that OUR debts were wholly paid for on the cross of Jesus. However, his act of putting himself on that cross did not give us automatic freedom; we had to accept it by faith.

As used by the Amplified Bible, the word absolute, to define Timothy’s devotion might be a stretch, as Timothy lived in the same world I live in, and he too was broken by sin. At best, I can see Timothy, just like me, working at it daily.

Hopefully, someone out there looks at your life and says, “when without ceasing I remember you night and day in my prayers,” I remember that God is working in your life in unique ways. I know you don’t always see it, as you are standing so close to the flame, but it’s there. You had my back when I needed it, and hopefully, you realize that I had yours.

This God we serve is larger than anything we can understand, and since you cannot measure the ever-expanding universe, it is safe to say that His mercy is like that, unsearchable and overwhelming at times. Trust me, here on this earth; we will never be able to wrap our minds around that mercy.

Do everything you can to place yourself so deeply in His love that the world disappears; Enoch did that very thing, and he walked off the earth and into the Father’s arms.

I long for the day, and it will come sooner than you think.

Keep these things before them. 1 Timothy 4:6-16

The NASB, and a few other translations entitle this next section,

A Good Servant of Jesus Christ.

Understand that this letter is addressed to the young Timothy for the purpose of giving him instructions to be an outstanding pastor. Since a pastor is a servant of Jesus Christ, it stands to reason that anyone who longs to be a pastor should get it into their heads that you are giving yourself over to a lifetime of service to the body of believers, God puts in your charge, Lord willing. This is one train of thought that I could take; however, there is another.

I do not think this second perception is what Paul is trying to convey, but I could understand a title like this, “A Good Servant of Jesus Christ,” to be oppressive, and religious legalism. If you can’t understand that statement, think about your childhood and how your parent(s) manipulated you into being good and not evil as they espoused the list of reasons why, including, don’t you want Jesus to see you as good. Alright, this was my life as a child, but maybe some of you had parents that laid the same garbage on you.

I choose to accept the first interpretation as correct, primarily based upon the context. I always have to assume that new readers have just joined us and have no idea what “things” Paul is referring to.

I now find Paul saying to Timothy.

“In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.” 1 Timothy 4:6 NASB

The things initiate with 1 Timothy 3:16b and ends with 1 Timothy 4:5.

“He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.” But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars, seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 3:16, 4:1-5 NASB)

Paul, as you noticed, stated, “in pointing out these things to the brethren, “ is giving Timothy the framework, upon which the church – which includes us, nourishing words of faith and sound doctrine to follow. I did this previously as I separated these points with bullets, but let's do it again because it is beneficial to see.

• He was revealed in the flesh.

• Vindicated in the Spirit.

• Seen by angels.

• Proclaimed among the nations.

• Believed on in the world.

• Taken up in glory.

Page 1.

In the last days (we have been in the last days since Peter preached on the day of Pentecost,)

• Some will turn away from the true faith (NLT).
• They will also be fooled by the false claims of liars whose consciences have lost all feeling. (CEV)
• These liars will forbid people… (Now the verse goes on to speak of foods they cannot eat, or who they can marry. Paul explains that everything God created was good and acceptable if you give thanks.

The first six points establish God in us. Having done that, we establish God in others. The last three points are like a mission briefing, in which you learn that there will be people who will turn from the true faith. These will not only turn, but they will come back and try to teach the demonic filth they have learned.

How bad will it get?

These people are polished and hard to spot. They will try to tell you ridiculous things, such as what you can eat and who you can marry. That seems rather ludicrous, as no one has the right to control us to that degree. But what you don't seem to perceive is that some form of global governance, which operates above our known government, has us all wearing masks which do nothing to stop a bacterial strain called COVID 19, and these people have excluded us from our churches.

Do you really think that 'they' cannot tell you what you can eat and who you can marry?

Paul continues.

“People tell silly stories that don't agree with God's truth. Don't follow what these stories teach. But teach yourself to be devoted to God.” 1 Timothy 4:7 (ERV)

Myself, and a few others, used to sit under the teachings of a brother, who was approved by his religious council, to be a bible teacher. I cannot attest to whether he always taught things contradictory to the Bible, but he certainly was during the time I attended. Before you excoriate me for submitting to a false teacher, you need to know that I did withstand him. On several occasions, I did so; on one occasion, he responded with, that’s my opinion, and that is all that matters. I left the group for a while until a friend of mine asked me to come back to challenge the teacher. The Holy Spirit had already pointed out to me the futility of withstanding him, especially since I had no power to terminate his services. I did implore church leadership who could make that decision to at least come, sit, and listen to what this man says, but they did nothing, as he was close friends with many of them. On the plus side, this false teacher gave me much to talk about.

Another aspect of 1 Timothy 4:7, which we seem to shoot right past, is this, “But teach yourself to be devoted to God.” This is the Easy to Read version. The NASB reads like this: “On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” So instead of getting involved in the “silly stories that don't agree with God's truth,” Paul tells us to “discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness.”

Discipline is such a simple word, but many will read what Paul says in verse seven and honestly not know what that word discipline is supposed to mean. To many, it means Paul is asking them to do something they have no interest in doing.

Page 2.

Webster's has multiple definitions for the word discipline.

1. To instruct or educate; to inform the mind; to prepare by instructing correct principles and habits; as, to discipline youth for a profession, or for future usefulness.
2. To instruct and govern, to teach rules and practice, and accustom to order and subordination, as, to discipline troops or an army.

How many of you instruct, educate, or inform your mind in the things of God?

“for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:8 NASB

The KJ Version puts it this way, “ For bodily exercise profits a little,” so there is some gain, “but godliness is profitable for all things since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

“But godliness is profitable for all things.”

If Paul can make a statement like this, you should be asking, why?

From Adam Clarke's commentary: “Those gymnastic exercises, so highly esteemed among the Greeks, are but little worth; they are but of short duration; they refer only to this life, and to the applause of men: but godliness has the promise of this life, and the life to come; it is profitable for all things; and for both time and eternity.”

Godliness, according to Thayer's dictionary, is reverence and respect. So by inference, reverence and respect are profitable for all things. We are not pushing the faith movement here, so profitability should not be thought of in monetary gain. I will let you in on a little secret here. God is not that concerned with how much money you can horde.

Note this phrase: “since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

Also, for the life to come?

Never forget, this godliness is a discipline in the Word, and Jesus is the Word. Everything will function based upon the Word and the guidelines outlined in the Word.

1 Timothy 4:9 AMP, This saying is reliable and worthy of complete acceptance by everybody.

This verse points both backward to verses seven and eight and forwards to verse ten.

1 Timothy 4:10 GW Certainly, we work hard and struggle to live a godly life because we place our confidence in the living God. He is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

In the "God's Word" translation, we see the phrase work hard; this is the Greek word kopiaō and means to grow weary, tired, to the point of exhaustion.

To be honest, this life can wear you out but add to it home quarantine and mandatory face masks, and you have an exhausting situation.

The other word that catches my attention is what the GW translation calls struggle. The NASB calls it striving. The Greek tells us that it is the word agōnizomai. Again I turn to Thayer, who says,

• To contend with adversaries, fight.
• Metaphorically to contend, struggle, with difficulties and dangers.
• To endeavor with strenuous zeal.

Page 3.

This life we live in Christ can be all those things, especially if the religious zealots are turning against you as well.

1 Timothy 4:11 NASB Prescribe and teach these things.

The NLT says it in a more determined manner.

Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. (1 Timothy 4:11 NLT)

Like I said earlier, what are the things Paul is referring to?

All of this:

• He was revealed in the flesh.
• Vindicated in the Spirit.
• Seen by angels.
• Proclaimed among the nations.
• Believed on in the world.
• Taken up in glory.

In the last days! (we have been in the last days since Peter preached on the day of Pentecost,)

• Some will turn away from the true faith (NLT).
• They will also be fooled by the false claims of liars whose consciences have lost all feeling. (CEV.) These liars will forbid people… (The verse goes on to say that, these fools will tell you what you can and cannot eat; and, they will tell you who you can marry. Many cults have practiced this for years now. Sounds a bit cult-like, doesn't it?) Paul goes on to explain that everything God created was good and acceptable if you give thanks.

1 Timothy 4:12 NASB Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.

I might add, let no one look down on your old age either.

How do we make an impression?

Eugene Peterson's Message is quite clear.

Teach believers with your life: (As the NASB puts it, be an example of what a believer looks like.)

by word, (This is talking about your speech. What are you allowing, uncontrolled, out of your mouth?)

by demeanor, (This is referring to your behavior, or how you carry yourself.)

by love, (Ask yourself, how does love demonstrate itself? Much of the time, love looks like the Samaritan who dressed the wounds of the Jew, put the wounded man on his donkey, and took the wounded Jew to the Inn and paid for the man's room and board until he recovered. In other words, he showed kindness.)

Page 4.

by faith, (Keep in mind that you are demonstrating what this life in Christ looks like, and sometimes we use words. What do we do for the rest of the time? Live out this faith life; this concept should be especially important in light of this Man-made COVID pandemic. In case you hadn't noticed, the fear tactic has worked on most. What is our commission? Lay hands on the sick, in Jesus' Name, and they shall recover.

by integrity. (Most of us have worked with non-religious people, but even if they claimed to be religious, you couldn't tell. It seems integrity is a lost art. Let's change that!)

1 Timothy 4:13 NASB Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.

Hold up here for a minute. These words, “Until I come, give attention to...” seems to have gone by the wayside.

As I begin to break this sentence down, I am slapped in the face by the words, “until I come.” As many combative Christians have pointed out, we have been looking for Him to come for over two-thousand-years. Therefore we are merely wasting our time as we watch for His coming.

Do I really think that not just Paul, but God Himself, is directing us to, as the Message puts it,

“Stay at your post reading Scripture, giving counsel, teaching.” (1Timothy 4:13 MSG)

Yes, I am quite convinced that He expects us to do just that.

But what if I don't?

Then you will lose your motivation, perception, and attachment to the Word. At that point, the longing for the things of the world will overwhelm you, and those things will become your idols.

On a personal level, I was rebuked and told not to study eschatology. In other words, I was told by one of my pastors to do just the opposite of Paul’s directive to Timothy and not give attention to the scriptures about eschatology. The reasons for this unreasonable demand were associated with his deeply entrenched belief that no one can understand the Revelation or Daniel's prophecies. This pastor also told me, you eschatology teachers are argumentative and overpowering. (I began to realize that the pastor, who had never heard me speaking on eschatology, had just put me into a distorted subset that he held in his mind.)

If you knew me and the damage I sustained as a child, you would never say that I was contentious. Considering that speakers like Charlie Kirk and Candice Owens have to deal with illogical, screaming responses, they often come across as argumentative and overpowering as they try to undo some of these twisted mindsets. If given a platform to teach, I have learned that I don't have to take a dominating vocal stance but solely deliver information. I happen to think that changing vocal tones and being animated tends to hold the audience's attention as it engages.

Having covered what we do until He comes, there is this.

“Give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.”

Reading is the Greek word anágnōsis and covers the act of reading. Neither Strong's nor Thayer's say anything about the public reading of scriptures, and the NASB has italicized the word public to denote that it was added for clarity.

Page 5.

The mere act of writing this note brings something to my mind. The Torah scrolls were rare, few, and expensive; therefore, only the rich would have them, or you would find them in the synagogues; and, even then, only designated persons could touch them. To this day, they use a pointer and NEVER put their greasy fingers on the scrolls.

So how then do I define "the public reading of scriptures"?

The Word Study Dictionary states, "to know certainly and hence to read, particularly the Scriptures."

For me, to use the terminology, hence to read, associates this statement with a considerable presumption, and that would be that every believer had a Bible. Keep in mind that what we are reading were the origins of this Bible we read.

This is just a presumption, but I cannot imagine special requests in the synagogue. You accepted what you received. A logical assumption would be that there were at least a couple of prescribed readings and a verse by verse teaching on a book at a time.

This added phrase public reading puts Paul’s readers back in the synagogues, where they could pay attention to what is being read. Because we turned this Bible of ours into a Gentile book, we also turned the early believers into Gentiles, when they were undoubtedly Jewish, in most cases. I point this out because there are so many challenges to our Gentile understanding as we read Paul's letters, and they only make sense if you look at them from a Jewish perspective. An example can be found in 1 Corinthians 10:16, where Paul says,

“is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?” (NASB)

1 Corinthians 10:16, is speaking of the communion and how we partake of the body of Christ. The keyword here is "partake," as seen in the idea of sharing. But Paul does not end the conversation here, as he turns to a relational topic when he speaks of others' altars.

“Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.” (1 Corinthians 10:18-20 NASB)

By addressing Israel, he immediately creates a visual, in the Jew's mind, about the Holy altars within the temple. Now, not everyone gets to partake of the leftover roast, as that is for the priests and, in a sense, a part of their payment. But the Jew can see the relationship, as the priests then are partakers in the Holy Sacrifice.

One could, incorrectly say, but aren't the priests then partaking of something offered to an idol?

Paul responds to this assertion by saying, “No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.” My goodness, I could apply this to many facets of my life. We have churches aligning themselves with BLM Inc. because they think that will keep the revelers from burning their church down. When in reality, the churches have made themselves partakers in demonic worship by partaking in their altar. As a reminder, by their admission, BLM Inc. leadership starts their day by calling on the spirits of dead people to guide them.

Page 6.

1 Timothy 4:14 NET. Do not neglect the spiritual gift you have, given to you and confirmed by prophetic words when the elders laid hands on you.

If you are not familiar with church speak, I will try to explain.

But in accordance with the measure of Christ's gift, His favor has been bestowed upon each one of us. Concerning this, the Scripture says: "He led a host of captives, when He went up on high, and granted gifts to men." (Ephesians 4:7-8 Williams)

So, Christ's gift is life; however, included in that life are His gifts. As this verse correctly states, one or several of those gifts have been bestowed upon you if you are a follower of Christ. We pick up that some of those giftings have to do with church leadership through Paul's writing. Take a look at Ephesians 4.

Christ chose some of us to be apostles, prophets, missionaries, pastors, and teachers so that his people would learn to serve, and his body would grow strong. (Ephesians 4:11-12 CEV)

As you might have noticed, some giftings are imparted, or at least acknowledged.

1 Timothy 4:14 CEV Use the gift you were given when the prophets spoke, and the group of church leaders blessed you by placing their hands on you.

Never get the idea that this is an exclusive club, as much of what happens to people like Timothy happen in the background, just as they will with you.

As Paul finishes out this fourth chapter, he is still delivering sound wisdom.

1 Timothy 4:15 Moffatt NT (15) Attend to these duties, let them absorb you, so that all men may note your progress.

If you are new in the Lord, you may not as yet see your mission as one of the duties. This is not an oppressive statement. My grand-kids see dishwashing as a horrid chore to be avoided at all costs. The problem with attitude is that a day will come when you no longer have a usable clean plate or a clean cup from which to drink. That dilemma alone demonstrates a necessity for duties. We had to move chairs multiple times within the church each week, as we accommodated a large Recovery group, weddings, and then back to the church arrangement. I knew a man, who had been a school principal, a school teacher, and a forestry firefighter, but in his retirement, he saw a need to move chairs at church and gladly performed that task. Because I knew this man, I can tell you that it was a joy to be around him. If you act like my friend Alan, people will see Jesus in you, and they will note how much you have advanced.

And finally, perhaps one of the most important motivations.

1 Timothy 4:16 NLT

Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching.

Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation

and the salvation of those who hear you.

We live in grace, and yes, I am very much aware of that, but grace does not give you the freedom to act foolishly intentionally. I can tell you from experience that acting the fool has consequences, and consequences often have legal repercussions. Locally, one of our worship leaders came to know this Jesus while he was in prison. So there is always hope.

Page 7.

This word foolish covers a wide variety of actions. Read the book of James, particularly chapter one, and here is why.

James 1:25 NLT But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

Note these words, the perfect law that sets you free. You see, the law guides you, and Christ, we are told, came to fulfill the law, NOT do away with it. As a believer, it is NOW written upon your heart, and, if you allow it, it will guide you.

Page 8.

Hebrews 12:2 The act of fixing my eyes on Jesus. An edited repost.

This idea of fixing my eyes on Jesus will not let go of me.

Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author, and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The KJV puts it this way:

"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;"

The Greek word for fixing or looking is aphorao and means to consider attentively.

To be honest, I have a problem with this idea of looking, because it implies distance, and distance suggests that I can never get close to God. Some churches I have been a part of, with their superstar pastors, have demonstrated what it is like to have a leader that is untouchable, and I have had more of that than I can stand. I have also, because of choices I made, experienced infidelity in marriage and divorce. The battle I had to fight was learning that God did not act like the people who have created false imagery in me. While God may never leave me, I sometimes wonder how embarrassed He is with how I talk or act. In the worst of conditions I have never experienced any distancing toward me on God's part, but I can assure you I have felt significantly distanced at times. There is no doubt in my mind that this distance I felt was because of my selfish indulgences.

The NET version says: "keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus,.." This version has pulled in both concepts; keeping our eyes on Jesus, and the idea of our fixation upon Him.

Why would you fix your eyes on something?

Detectives do it because they are on the hunt for something. Artists study or set their eyes upon a subject so that they can capture what they see. We, as believers, are told to fix our attention, vision, thoughts, and emotions upon Jesus because I believe that God wants us to live in a state of peace that passes understanding.

To be filled with peace, at a time when it is illogical, passes my understanding. Yet, having read this, and desired it, I find it easier to comprehend knowing that was God in the situation, though I did not know it, and He only wanted good for me.

Hebrews, the faith book, is meant to train us and establish us with the benefit of a solid information, and believable eyewitnesses. If I could equate this life to a trial, the evidence for the prosecution would be overwhelming and beyond a reasonable doubt. In reading Hebrews, I find out that the peace I just spoke of, requires faith, and is wrapped up in my faith.

Is it my faith or God's?

I suppose both. I have to exhibit some degree of faith in the process of accepting my position within the family of God; I have to act in faith upon God's promises to me to live in this world; And, God has placed His confidence in me that I will succeed and join Him in eternity. Example: There was a brief time in my life that I was keenly aware of a tremendous faith for healing.

How would I know that? I was a shy person who for the longest time was very timid. Speaking out boldly, or placing my hands upon someone for healing, would have been out of character for me. However, in several circumstances, I saw God's hand at work in extraordinary ways. Here is where the faith aspect comes in. God's word tells us to lay our hands on the sick, and they will recover. There is no emotion needed in that, merely obedience. The faith part is acting and letting God do what he said he would.

"Not with bodily eyes, for at present he is not to be looked upon in this manner, but with the eye of the understanding, or with the eye of faith; for faith is a seeing of the Son;" ( John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible)

Having read several commentaries on the passage, I agree with Gill. I believe that the intent is to focus on Jesus at all times and in every circumstance, but that seems impossible to do. When I was at work, I was barraged by customers, to the point that I barely had time for a thought of my own.

Where and how do I squeeze God into this hectic scene?

I know I am not alone in this struggle, because it is a human struggle, and it does not take a detective to realize that few people invest quality time with God to the degree that He becomes predominant in their thinking. For me to say, I am looking at Jesus with the eye of my faith makes it sound like I am very spiritual, although I sometimes wish I could be like Enoch and simply walk off the earth, that will never happen. In reality, this ability to stay focused on God seems to imply some act of our inward man that can operate aside from the circumstances the body is experiencing. What we are talking about here could be nothing more than the ability to reason, and that ability to reason would have to include the mind, would it not?

For the skeptics who think this inward man talk is something new age, I give you Paul's own words.

2 Corinthians 4:16 NASB 16) Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

If you consider our beginnings then this inward man idea may make more sense. In Genesis 1:27 we see God creating man in His image.

NASB “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

God's image is a spirit, therefore the man was a spirit, and, just like the Father, eternal. We don't see a body on the man until Genesis 2:7, after the completion of the earth.

John 4:23-24 NASB "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24) "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

This plays a role in our understanding of death as well, for the spirit never dies. Since the spirit never dies, then how did Adam understand this death that was to come upon him should he partake of the forbidden fruit? Because of the eternal nature of the spirit, death, in one regard, would have to mean eternal separation from the Father God. God, in the form of Jesus, had no intention of allowing that to happen as long as He could do something about it, and therefore, through Christ's activities in “death”, we were redeemed. Paul, in Ephesians, speaks of a mystery.

Ephesians 1:6-9 NASB to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7) In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8) which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9) He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him.

It is almost overwhelming when you let it all sink in.

It would seem that the spirit, which wars against the flesh, can function independently of the body.

Galatians 5:17 NASB For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

If that is the case then I should be able to have a conversation with you and the Father at the same time. In truth, I am not that good. If I have too many conversations going on at the same time, then someone is going to lose in the battle for my attention.

I believe that Paul was speaking to this distinction between the spirit and the flesh when he wrote:

For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 1 Corinthians 14:14 NASB

Perhaps I am missing the point. It may be that Paul is saying that the spirit bypasses human reasoning. I have never been able to pray in the spirit without involving my mind, as something had to initiate this conversation. That does not mean that if I am praying in the spirit (that means praying in tongues to me,) that I am always keenly aware of what I am praying, but I always have a general idea.

Do not despair at the apparent futility of this exercise of the tongue for James tells us that God gives wisdom to those that ask. Is he talking about understanding everything that you might say in tongues? Probably not, but at least we have the opportunity to understand a great deal of what we say in tongues.

Since the topic had to do with fixing our eyes on Jesus. I think we have found that there is so much more to this simplistic phrase. Fixing my eyes on Jesus entails all of me, body soul and spirit. And, the spirit wants to take a well-needed advantage of the desire to commune with the Father. Now, this is where I could move into an entire teaching on aspects of our communications with, not only the Father but the body of Christ as well.

Back to my struggles with fixing my eyes on Jesus (A funny thing happened as I wrote this. I slipped up and wrote ears instead of eyes; I have since fixed that error. Why that might be funny is because if we could hear what God is saying, and respond, then maybe we would be walking as Enoch did. We have no evidence that Enoch saw God. So then, any seeing would have been by faith. Hearing, on the other hand, is a different story altogether.)

So, as I was trying to deal with the continual onslaught of customers at work, I could at the same time be praying in the spirit on the inside If I can pray in the spirit, then I can have communication with the Father at the same time too. I think it would primarily be Him talking to me.

The trick in this is to fine-tune your listening skills.

You should be aware that there are too few of us that have any clue how to listen to others. With your insight, you picked up on something. How does one fine-tune their listening skills so that God becomes the focus? Prayer, which is merely conversations you are having with God, often on behalf of others; that, and spending time in His word. The words that God uses currently, are no different in theme, from those he has already spoken. Trust me on this one, God can speak your language. How many translations of the Bible are there?, many, and yet He has brought innumerable lives into the family by speaking their language or slang. There is always the skeptic who does not believe that God speaks all the time. While God is not just incessantly rambling to hear His head rattle, as we often do, but there is a purpose in everything He says.

Keep this in mind as you read your Bible; everything in that book has a purpose. For example, why does the Gospel of John emphasize things like the cloth that was folded so precisely in the tomb (there was a reason); why is the trip to Samaria a three-day journey?; Why did Jesus go to the Samaritans, they were effectively Gentiles, and going there was contrary to his stated mission? There are things that all throughout the Bible that seem like nothing and yet the Jewish leadership believes that when the Messiah returns (he already did) that he will explain even the spaces between the letters; they are that serious about God's word. If only we were that serious about His Word as well.

Is the Great White Throne only a death sentence?

My father recently went to the hospital for brain surgery; fortunately, it was successful, and he will regain, in time, motor skills that the tumor had taken from him. We went to visit him after the surgery while he was still in intensive care. Though groggy from the anesthesia and morphine they were giving him for pain, and still he had the awareness to fire off a statement/question at me about the end of time, specifically, the Great White Throne. He said something that is a common belief among those at the Monday morning Bible Study. He opened with, "I know you don't agree with me, but, I believe that everyone who presents themselves before that throne is non-Christians and that they are all sent to the fires of hell." Considering what he had just come through, it was good to have him back.

I, however, after reading my Bible, have concluded, that my understanding is in complete opposition to theirs. And, I believe I can prove my point through some logical reasoning amidst scriptural backing. With that being said, let's tackle this false notion about the Great White Throne judgment from several directions.

First, he used the term belief.

So, what is a belief? Webster's dictionary conveys a generalized explanation of belief that has more to do with a feeling; however, it also has more concise definitions, which I will address shortly.

Feelings do not buy you anything, and our relationship with Christ and the Father, are through faith alone.

Feelings are solely yours, and, though your beliefs may be based on truth, they are most often anchored upon how someone made you feel. In this case, the Bible study leader either, made the men feel good about sending everyone to hell, or, because he raises his voice unnecessarily and slams his hand down on the table he intimidated the men into thinking he was correct in his assumptions, or, they have become inculcated simply because of the repetition of his false teachings.

What I just described is precisely what false teachers do, and you can find this defined for you in 2 Peter chapter 2.

Continuing with Webster's definitions. A belief is:

1. A state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing.
   There it is, the basis for the belief of many. Since many Church members won't open their Bibles and read them for themselves, they are compelled to accept, as truth, anything the Pastor, or, in this case, Bible study leader, tells them. In doing so, they have placed their belief in a person, trusting that the teacher has their information correct, and their best interests at heart.
2. Something believed; especially: a tenet or body of tenets held by a group.
   Sadly, most of the men at morning Bible Study, agree, (almost with a stupor,) with the convictions of the leader and the former elder, who is allegedly keeping false teachings restrained. Since the old elder rarely ever disagrees with what is being said, then he too must believe this garbage. So, what do I gather from this? That the group, in the majority, hold to false beliefs and refuse to accept the truth from the Word, when it is set out before them.
3. Conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence.
   To have a conviction of the truth of some declaration does not work for me, especially in our morning Bible study. The leader can speak with confidence, and yet because he does not apply the notion of context nor allow for similar passages to help define questionable matter, he rarely has a shred of evidence to back his statements. The men sitting there may feel some sort of conviction of the truth (typically some misplaced sense of justice.) But again, he has no evidence for his brash statements.

I won't burden you with any more examples, but suffice it to say that most of these men fall under all these categories in some way. Sadly, this is the way far too many people acquire their belief systems. Once it became possible for me to attend on a regular basis, I did, and it is because of that involvement, that I can speak from first-hand experience about what is said there.

The leader(s) declare that everyone going before the Great White Throne is sent to hell. Note that I wrote leader(s) and not the leader. That is because one man, (the former church elder,) has been involved with the church in a teaching role, for over 50 years, and never challenges false teachings.

What is their basis for thinking that God would send all before the Great White Throne, to hell?
I can tell you from experience that this comes uniquely from Revelation chapter 20. So, what do we see in this chapter?

Revelation 20:11-15 NASB 11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Verse 11 refers to “Him who sat upon it” (“it,”is the Great White Throne.)

So, who is the Him being referred to? Since we have conclusive evidence, let's look at that.

Revelation 1:1 tells us that the entire book of Revelation is The Revelation of Jesus Christ,

The whole book of Revelation is about Jesus, even if we perceive Him to be God, for that is who He is. So, the person sitting on the throne, doing the judging, is Jesus Christ.

In Revelation 20:12 we are told that John saw, “the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne.” As a student of scripture, you have seen the dead popping up at every turn. It becomes necessary to sort this all out, and we will attempt to do that.

Revelation 20:4-5 NASB Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

All this takes us to the next point.

While God's wrath will be more than enough to get people's attention, there will be a secondary reason for the deaths of people on the earth, and that would be the wrath of Satan, as displayed through those who still choose to serve him. Currently, Islam and your neighborhood bully sufficiently fit those descriptions. Revelation 20:4 portrays an innumerable amount of people, who stand their ground, refuse all three aspects of worshiping the beast, and are beheaded because of their refusal. All these components feed into the dead.

But there is one catch. All those beheaded for their testimony, are deemed to be the martyred, saints and are raised to life again upon the return of Jesus to the earth, this is spelled out for us and called the first resurrection. These martyred saints are not reckoned among the numbers brought before the Great White Throne but sit in judgment over the planet during the thousand-year reign.

So, who then is left to be judged when the Great White Throne gets set up?

There is no good way of approaching this without scripture, so here goes. There has already been a game-changing event, and it happened when Jesus voluntarily put himself on that cross and died as the price necessary for the redemption of the entire world. Paul, in Ephesians 4, gives us a small glimpse into what happened during those three days we "thought" Jesus was dead.

Ephesians 4:8 KJV Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

What does Paul mean when he says, “When he ascended up on high.”? He is talking about Jesus dying. Hung on the cross until dead, and then speared by a Roman soldier to make sure, he was declared dead and put in the grave. Then the amazing happened, for He went into hell, stripped the keys to death, hell and the grave from Satan, set the captives free, and apparently took them into heaven with Him when He rose from the dead.

Captives? I can look at this two ways:

First, no one, including Israel, received Jesus as their savior, as we can. Israel only had the option of making sacrifices for their sins. Lacking this personal relationship, is it possible that these old testament saints may have been included among captives? Most religious zealots would consider this idea preposterous, so let's ignore that feasibility for a moment, and assume that God somehow included the Old Testament saints among the church, and caught them up in the rapture.

If the possibility of catching the Old Testament saints up in the rapture is valid, then they would not have been included among those captives that Christ set free. The captives then were those that died from the beginning of time, as we know it. But then this logic also creates problems, for Christ, as we saw in Ephesians 4:8, preached to the captives. If the old testament saints, and anyone else there were capable of hearing His voice, you would think that they would have accepted Him as the Messiah, and therefore received Him. So, by this logic, they too would no longer be included among the dead, but be in heaven already.

As you ponder the logic of a situation, what do you do with the person who, when confronted by the slain Messiah, God himself who now lives, and yet still chooses to ignore His voice, perhaps thinking that there will be another opportunity? This is unimaginable, and yet a possibility. And, what of Judas Iscariot, a man who most send off to a fiery hell for his betrayal. Wouldn't he too have heard the voice of the Messiah?

This only leaves us with the second option, and that is the dead who have died out of a relationship with the Father since His resurrection. Since we have had over two-thousand years to supply that number, it could be quite significant.

So, an aspect of this belief that everyone called to the throne of judgment is sent to a fiery hell lies in the terminology “dead.”

In 1Thessalonians 4:13, Paul, in trying to bring some comfort about the dead and our being caught up to heaven, explains by calling those that have died, asleep.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 NASB 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.

Just to make sure that you associate asleep with death Paul uses the Greek word nekros for dead instead of koimáō meaning asleep. It is just a few sentences later, in verse 16, that he conveys that those are the "asleep in Christ" he just spoke of, are simply dead. Dead or asleep, it is all the same, and at the catching away of the Church, those "dead" will rise first.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 NASB 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Revelation 20:5 Tells us,

The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed.

The word dead, used here in Revelation 20:5 is nekros. The Prophet Daniel conveys an alternate view,

Daniel 12:1-2 NASB "Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. 2 "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

Sleep, as used in verse 2, is the Hebrew word yāšēn: An adjective designating someone as sleeping. It refers to persons in a sleeping state or condition of seemingly sleeping, being inactive. When I apply this understanding to Daniel 12:2, where many are sleeping in the dust of the ground, then it lends itself to the idea of involuntary inactivity.

In a state of inactivity, the dead, we are told, have no thought.

Ecclesiastes 9:5 CJB For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing;...

Psalms 6:5 NASB For there is no mention of You in death;...

Whether they be dead from the origin of time, or merely those since Christ's ascension into heaven, does it really matter? Many will not go up in the rapture as those who have died in Christ. Therefore, our immediate assumption would be that they will only go to hell. Others will come later, in the form of those who choose to fight against God at the end of the seven-year period. While more will die during the thousand-year reign, there is the uncountable number of deceived, who attempt to kill Christ in the last battle at the end of the thousand-year reign. 

Once again, the assumption is that they all go straight to hell, as those who have died without Christ. 

But then you now have another problem as Matthew 25 verses 31-46 describe an entirely different scenario; one in which, Christ, seems like a gracious shepherd who still cares about the flock, and judges the crowd gathered here (the nations,) and shows many of them mercy.  

While we don't have the process explained to us, He is showing mercy because of their small acts of kindness. In a sense, those He calls sheep have acted as Jesus would have, and in so doing, displayed the nature and character of the Father, God. A benefit, we the religious community apparently cannot give them, because they did not jump through all the religious hoops that most of us have. In acting this way, we have set ourselves up as harsh judges, in opposition to the Father's wishes and character, which we are supposed to display.

A contrast and comparison between the Great White Throne of Revelation 20 (the judgment of the dead,) and the Final Judgment of Matthew 25, (the Judgment of the Nations.)
Revelation 20 - The Great White Throne – The gathering of the dead.	Matthew 25 - The Glorious Throne – The judgment of the nations.
Great White Throne - Great is the Greek word mega meaning large, or physical magnitude. White means white, and Throne is the Greek word thrónos; A seat, usually high and having a footstool, a throne as the emblem of royal authority.	Glorious Throne – Greek, the word is doxa; glory (as very apparent), in a wide application (literally or figuratively, objectively or subjectively): - dignity, glory (-ious), honour, praise, worship.
Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Since we have learned that the dead are merely asleep and know nothing, that does not exclude them from the nations. The nations are merely those outside of a relationship with God. John, in Revelation 20, unlike the strictly Jewish crowd that Jesus was speaking to, John was writing to Jewish believers. We now have a third people group to consider, the church. Anyone out of the original two groups who accepts Christ into their life moves into the group called the Church. Setting aside such prejudices continued to be difficult for the early church, which for many years was a Jewish one.	Matthew 25:32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him The understanding we apply to Matthew 25 comes from the idea that Jesus was speaking to a strictly Jewish audience. His audience only concerned itself with two people groups, the Jews, and the nations, for at this time there was no church. Since the Jew deemed those among the nations to be idolaters, those from the nations were utterly lost as far they were concerned. The Law and the prophets considered the dead as knowing nothing, while the righteous were understood to have a reward. So, for Jesus to describe the nations before this throne was a given. And the Jews saw no difference between a live gentile and a dead one.
In Revelation 20, although it appears to be God, it is Jesus. Revelation 1:1 tells us that the entire book is a revealing of Jesus. Therefore it is Jesus on that throne.	In Matthew 25 the judge is presented a gentle shepherd. In John 10:11 Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. Do we believe that? Many do not, and anxiously look for an ominous, wrath-filled God, which they seem to find in Revelation 20, as they choose to ignore that this is Jesus alone.
In Revelation 20 we see books opened. Among those books is the book of life. From all these books the dead were judged.	In Matthew 25 there is no mention of books from which to judge. There is, however, this: Matthew 25:32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. What does he use as the basis for separation? I think it is rather apparent even if the passages do not speak of them. These are not indistinguishable cattle, they are people; people of every race and color. In reality, no real distinction, and yet He, finds a difference and separates them, calling some sheep and the others goats.
People from this group were judged according to their deeds, nothing more.	People from this group were judged according to their deeds, nothing more.
Revelation 20 focuses on those not found in the books	Matthew 25 focuses primarily on those who were found in the books. We know this because their deeds were recorded.
In Revelation 20, those not found in the books were sent to a fiery hell. While it makes no mention of anyone that might have been found in the books. Does that lack of mention exclude some from not being found in the books, like we see in Matthew's account? No, and it points out the preposterous attitude we convey when we speak of a God that opens such “useless” books, if He, the one who knows the beginning from the end, knows full well whose names are written and where. It merely promotes the idea of a mockery on God's part, and that is not an aspect of His nature.	In Matthew 25, the sheep were given entrance into the kingdom of heaven because of their acts of kindness (works.) While the goats were sent off to eternal punishment.
Something to consider: Both of these groups were judged according to their deeds (we could probably use the words, works, or acts of kindness, instead of deeds.) And, there is entirely NO mention of judgment for sins. Why would that be? Because all sins were forgiven on the cross; and, as much as we might say it from a pulpit, we do not believe it. I know this because we employ the word sin perpetually in religious gatherings, and the terminology is always used as a motive and method of control. Not even God needed to do that. Whether you believe that these two events are the same matters not to me, but what does matter is our flagrant regurgitation of distorted and false teachings that misrepresent the nature and character of God. This is the garbage drives people away from the one thing our hope is based in, the God of grace and mercy. If we are going to make nervy statements, then keep them based in truth. And by the way, the only basis we have for truth is the Word of God, not what you feel or believe simply because your companions believe someone's garbage.