"Appeal" (2 Timothy 1:3b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/22/2024 8:50 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                                 Focus:  “Appeal”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                   Reference:  2 Timothy 1:3b

 

            Message of the verse:  “as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day”

 

            In today’s SD I will be looking at a fourth element of motivation which was Paul’s constant appeal to the Lord on Timothy’s behalf.  I have to say that it would be wonderful to have a person praying for me in the way that Paul constantly prayed for Timothy. I would be hard to imagine the strength and encouragement that Paul’s intercession gave to his young friend as he ministered to those who were in Ephesus and also other parts of Asia Minor without Paul’s companionship. 

 

            John MacArthur writes “The adverb adialeiptos (constantly) refers to that which is unceasing, without interruption.  We can be sure that Paul’s saying I constantly remember you was not hyperbole.  The apostle had used the same word in exhorting Thessalonian believers to ‘pray without ceasing’ (1 Thess. 5:17), emphasis added), and he was himself accustomed to doing no less.  He already had assured those believers of his unceasing prayers and concerns for them (1:2-3).  Using the same word, he assured the church at Rome that ‘God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers’ (Rom. 1:9-10, emphasis added).  He gave similar assurance to believers in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:4), in Philippi (Phil. 1:3-4, in Colossae (Col. 1:3), and to his dear friend Philemon (Philem. 4).

 

            “Prayers is from deesis, which in the New Testament always carries the idea of genuine entreaty and supplication before God.  It was used by the angel who assured the godly father of John the Baptist, ‘Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition [deesis] has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you will give him the name John’ (Luke 1:13).  later in that gospel the word is used of the disciples of John the Baptist, who were said to ‘often fast and offer prayers’ (5:33).  It was used by Paul of his ‘prayers to God’ for the salvation of his fellow Israelites (Rom. 10:1) and by James of ‘the effective prayer of a righteous man [which] can accomplish much’ (James 5:16).” 

 

            Now I was thinking about the words “night and day” and as I was thinking about that at first glance, that reference seems redundant and somewhat inappropriate.  Now the reason that it seems redundant is because, the definition, constantly means around the clock, and inappropriate because it is likely that Paul and his fellow prisoners could not distinguish one hour from another because they were all in a dark dungeon and could not tell when the sun came up or when it went down.  Paul doubtless used the phrase night and day in the way it is often used today, as a figure of speech which expresses continuity. He simply wanted to reinforce his devotion to Timothy and I am sure that Timothy realized what Paul meant as he had probably heard that many times before.

 

            Not the truth is that there is no better way to motivate other believers to consider their accountability to be faithful and to more their hearts in service of Christ than to hold them up before the Lord in prayer and then to tell them that is that you are doing that.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The subject of prayer, real prayer that believers pray, is a deep subject, something that I realize is needed and that is why I have a prayer list or lists that I use on different days.  I suppose that there have been many books written on the subject of prayer to help believers understand more about it.  I realize that prayer is needed, that God will answer prayer, maybe not right away, but if it is in His will He will answer it when He desires to do so. 

 

            My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust the Lord that He has believer’s praying for me as I am going through some harsh temptations and surely need them to end.

 

11/22/2024 9:21 AM      

PT-2 "Intro to 1 John 2:18-27)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/21/202411:51 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                               Focus:  PT-2 “Intro to 1 John 2:18-27”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  1 John 2:18-27

 

            Message of the verses: “18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life. 26 These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. 27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”

 

            I want to quote the last two paragraphs from John MacArthur’s commentary on his introduction to this rather long set of verses so that when we begin to look more closely at them that we will have a good background from this introduction to help us understand them.

 

            “Scripture clearly teaches that during the future seven-year tribulation period (Mark 13:19), one man will emerge as the ultimate Antichrist.  Through the centuries, there has been much study and speculation, by both scholars and lay persons, concerning who this final Antichrist will be.  People have proposed numerous historical figures, including Nero and other Roman emperors, Muhammad, various popes, Napoleon Bonaparte, Benito Mussolini, and Adolf Hitler.  Such ill-advised speculation has always proved futile.  When the apostle John wrote this letter, he said many antichrists had already arisen in the brief sixty years since Pentecost, and countless more have plagued the church until now.

 

            “In this passage, John reiterates his earlier doctrinal tests (the proper assessment of man’s sinfulness and the correct evaluation of Christ’s nature as the God-man) and moral testes (love for Christ and others, and obedience to the Word).  The purpose of these tests, as stated by John in 5:13, was to help his readers assess their true standing before God—whether or not they were saved.  The apostle understood that a wrong view of Christ, if not repented of and corrected, would lead to eternal damnation (cf. John 8:24).  Such terrifying consequences make the issue black and white, which is why John presented it with such directness: false professors of the faith deny the truth about Christ, revealing themselves to be antichrists; true professors, on the other hand, affirm—along with the other marks—the truth about Christ, revealing themselves to be genuine children of God.”  This is how I desire to look at these verses and Lord willing in my next SD I will begin with the main point of “The Characteristics of Antichrist” and then the next SD I will begin looking at the first point under the above main point entitled “The Introduction of Antichrists.”

 

11/22/2024 12:05 AM

 

PT-4 "Appreciation" (2 Timothy 1:3a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/21/2024 10:00 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  PT-4 “Appreciation”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                   Reference:  2 Timothy 1:3a

 

            Message of the verse:  “I Thank God whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did.”

 

            I want to begin to talk about conscience and we can read that Paul’s conscience was clear as he stood near the end of his life.  I have something on one of my prayer lists that has to do with conscience and I write that it seems like I always have a guilty conscience about something, but this certainly was not the case for Paul.  Paul knew that his guilt was forgiven, and his devotion was undivided.  So after a careful self-examination Paul said in effect, “I can say with sincerity that, although I am not perfect, I am living in holiness before the Lord.”  None of us are perfect even though our standing before God is perfect because of what Christ did for us on the cross and once we have accepted the free gift of salvation then our standing before God is perfect because He looks at what Christ did for us and as the Scripture says many times we are “in Christ.” 

 

            Paul wanted Timothy to have no doubt that he endured his present physical afflictions, as he had countless others, because of his unswerving faithfulness to the Lord, not as a consequence of unfaithful, ungodly living. 

 

            MacArthur writes “Although even the most spiritual believer cannot know his own heart with complete certainty or understanding, it not only is possible but expected that, like Paul every Christian has a clear conscience.  This was a vital matter to Paul, who often refers to his conscience.  When defending himself against the lying attacks he experienced in Corinth, he responded with an appeal to the highest human court, the conscience.  His defense was: “For our proud confidence is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerely, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you’ (2 Cor. 1:12; cf. Acts 23:1).”

 

            The following is what Paul wrote to Timothy in his first letter to him found in 1 Timothy 1:5 “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”  Now we will combine that with what he wrote in 1 Timothy 3:9 “but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.”  MacArthur then writes “In that same epistle he said that ‘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’ (4:1-2).  To continually reject God’s truth causes the conscience to become progressively less sensitive to sin, as if covered with layers of unspiritual scar tissue.  Paul’s conscience was very clear and very sensitive, and he responded readily to its convicting voice.”

 

            Now as we look at the word “forefathers,” found in our verse we can see that Paul does not explain whom he meant by that term, but obviously was speaking of godly men who had lived in former times.  Unlike Timothy Paul had no godly heritage from his immediate family.  Paul had an impressive religious heritage, but he utterly discounted that as so much rubbish as seen in Philippians 3:4-8.  So it therefore seems more probably that Paul was referring to the patriarchs, prophets, and other Old Testament saints.  Another thing he could have been referring to was the other apostles and the many other godly believers in the early church who preceded him in faith.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Conscience, to me, is a difficult thing to fully understand, as mentioned it seems my conscience is too sensitive at times.  I have struggled with different issues every since I was a small child, and wondered at times why the Lord did not take those desires away from me when I became a believer over 50 years ago.  He did take swearing away from me, and that is how I knew that He had saved me.  I suppose that this was the best thing to take away from me and leave the other issues so that I can depend upon the Lord to overcome them.  It has always been a struggle, but I know that as I grow in the Lord that and do the things that He has called me to do that the enemy of my soul will tempt me with the problems that I have had since being a small child.

 

            My Steps of Faith for Today:  You know that these smart phones can really work good in many ways.  I have a prayer list I use most every day and so I took my phone and recorded that list on my phone.  Now I can play that list and listen to it so I don’t have to read it.  Now for my step of faith for today I am going to read two different sets of verses and put them on my phone so in my time of need can just listen to them.

 

11/21/2024 10:46 AM

 

 

"A Different Kind of Spiritual Diary"

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/20/2024 8:40 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  PT-3 “Appreciation”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                   Reference:  2 Timothy 1:3a

 

            Message of the verse:  “I Thank God whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did.”

 

            I continue writing from this section of Scripture thinking about something that I just reread from my Spiritual Diary of August 2011 from the book of Nehemiah.  You see my wife and I were living in Hawaii at the time, on the island of Kauai and were about to leave there and go home.  I was remembering the times when we were living in Aruba and working for my brother-in-law there and also while in Kauai.  While in Aruba the Lord gave me a great ministry as I was able to speak at the church that I attended a number of times and we made some great friends while there who were also believers.  It seemed to me like I was doing what the Lord wanted me to do and was happy living on that little island of Aruba.  While in Hawaii, as I mentioned in that blog post from Nehemiah I was not sure how the Lord was going to use me as it was different from Aruba.  Well it was on the island of Kauai that towards the end of our time there that I was moved by the Spirit of God to begin to post my Spiritual Diaries on the internet beginning two blogs, and as I look back I have to believe that that was what the Lord had in mind for me to do.  That was a lot of years ago and for the most I have been faithful in writing and posting my Spiritual Diaries onto the internet and over the last couple of years this ministry that began in Kauai has reached all across the world as there have been more than 560,000 views around the world in the past 23 months.  I suppose that the Spirit of God was preparing me to do this right when I left Kauai as it was on that last month that we were there that I begin to post my Spiritual Diaries onto my two blogs.  Now in the book of Nehemiah and in the 4^th chapter of that great book that I was going over this morning that as the Jews were beginning to build the walls around Jerusalem they were brought great ridicule from their enemies, which one realizes that Satan was behind what was going on.  I believe that the enemy of my soul is causing me great temptation as I continue to write my Spiritual Diaries and post them to my blogs, temptations that I have fallen to, and yet I know in my heart that I am doing what the Lord has called me to do, and that call to write Spiritual Diaries for many, many years and then that call to put them onto my blogs is what I desire to do for the cause of Christ and that is why temptation is so strong at this time.  By the grace of God and through His Word and His Spirit I will overcome these temptations and continue to write my Spiritual Diaries and put them onto my blogs so that the Spirit of God will continue to use them in the way He desires.

 

            This is all that I am going to post today, something that I believe is very important, something that I needed to realize that it is Satan and his hoards of demons who are tempting me, but by God’s grace I will continue to do what he called me to do by putting my Spiritual Diaries onto my blogs that began with the book of Nehemiah many years ago in Hawaii.

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I desire to do what I do for the cause of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and that what I do will bring glory to my Savior and Lord.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to, through the power of God’s Spirit to overcome temptations and do what He has called me to do.

 

11/20/2024 9:02 AM

 

PT-1 "Intro to 1 John 2:18-27"

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/19/2024 9:17 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                                        Focus:  “Intro to 1 John 2:18-27”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  1 John 2:18-27

 

            Message of the verses: “18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life. 26 These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. 27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”

 

            John MacArthur entitles this 9^th chapter in his commentary on First John “Antichrists and Christians.”  I think that this will take me a fairly long time to get through these verses, but the important thing is that I can make it so those who read my Spiritual Diaries on these verses understands what they mean and how they can impact your life for the cause of Christ.

 

            I begin with a quotation from MacArthur’s commentary.  “Ever since the moment Satan and his demonic forces rebelled against heaven, there has been a supernatural, God-opposing, evil power throughout the universe (‘The world’ of 2:15-17).  From its earliest chapters, the Bible shows that the Evil One (cf. 2:13, 14) and all who function in his kingdom (Eph. 2:2-3; Col. 1:13) have constantly opposed God’s plan (e. g., the fall [Gen. 3]; the flood [Gen. 6:1-13]; the tower of Babel [Gen. 11:1-9]; Satan’s affliction of Job [Job 1:6-27]).  As the original architect of the anti-God agenda, the Devil has always been the prime example of the antichrist spirit and the energizer of the innumerable antichrists who have followed his lead.”

 

            There is a lot of things that are packed into that paragraph and that is why I quoted it.  I realize that when God made the earth that and then made Adam and Eve that Adam was the one who was to rule the earth, but then came chapter three and Adam’s sin caused Satan to be the ruler of the world system.  Now I know that ultimately God is in control and because Jesus defeated Satan at the cross his power is certainly limited, but he still has much power.  Let me say that I believe that Satan is on a short leash that God is holding and there is nothing that he can do unless God allows it to happen, and that does not mean at all that God does anything wrong, for He cannot.  I know that this world that we live in is headed up by Satan, but became of being a believer I am not of this world, but the world system diffidently has effect on me if I am not careful

 

            The term antichrist which is used in this section is only used in John’s letters, the concept it expresses appears repeatedly through Scripture and here are some verses that speak of it.  (cf. Dan. 7:71.; 9:26-27; 11:36-39; Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:6; 2 Thess. 2:3, 8; Rev. 11:7; 13:1-10, 18; 17:1-18).  I have written many Spiritual Diaries on the book of Revelation which are on my blogs as I did two studies on it.  I have also written Spiritual Diaries on both first and second Thess. which are also on my blogs.  Now antichrist is a compound word that transliterates the Greek word antichristos from christos , (“Christ”) and anti (against,” or “in the place of”).  So with that definition it is pretty easy to understand what this word means.  MacArthur writes “The term denotes anyone who opposes Christ, seeks to supplant Him (Matt. 24:24; Mark 13:21-22), or falsely represents Him. Such opposition always offers distorted and aberrant views about the nature of Christ (cf. 2:john 7); for example, reflected in John’s definitive statement that ‘every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist’ (1 John 4:3a).” 

 

            There is much more to say about this word “antichrist” as it is my plan to continue looking at that in the next SD.

 

11/19/2024 9:51 PM   

PT-2 "Appreciation" (2 Timothy 1:3a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/19/2024 8:11 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  PT-2 “Appreciation”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                   Reference:  2 Timothy 1:3a

 

            Message of the verse:  “I Thank God whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did.”

 

            I want to continue looking at this verse in today’s SD.  I have to say that as I listen to the sermons by John MacArthur and read his comments from his commentary I am amazed at how much in depth truths that he gets from the verses he is commenting on.  In the post from Nehemiah that I put onto my other blog this morning which was on the gates of Jerusalem Dr. Warren Wiersbe looked at the gates and applied them to the Christians in the New Testament, and that too was amazing to me on how he sees this in the Word of God.  Now you will understand why on many of my Spiritual Diaries that I write I use quotes from, in this case, John MacArthur in order to get the truth out so that the Holy Spirit of God will use these Spiritual Diaries to bring glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

            I can imagine that as Timothy reads what Paul wrote to him that the appreciation that Paul has for Timothy must have had profoundly touched Timothy and placed on him a great sense of responsibility to live up to the high expectations of his spiritual mentor.  We know that what Paul spoke to Timothy was true for it is in the Word of God so these feelings that Paul had for Timothy were vary genuine.

 

            I want to pause and talk about something that it seems that the Lord brought to my attention after posting my Spiritual Diary yesterday.  It has to do with the fact that the names of my blogs are from 2 Timothy 2:15 which states “Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  This is from the KJV of the Bible and when I started putting my Spiritual Diaries onto my blogs I actually did not realize that I started two blogs and that is why both of my blogs are under the name of 2 Timothy 2:15.  I have to say that it took me a very long time to begin to study this letter, which is Paul’s last letter that he wrote found in the New Testament, but I am thankful to be able to study this letter and post onto my blog what I am learning as I “Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 

 

            I’m sure that after Timothy read what Paul wrote about him that is how much he appreciated him that this had a great effect on his life.  Timothy knew that this dear friend and peerless saint in the cause of Christ was facing imminent death.  Yet, even during his last painful and uncertain hours, Paul thanked God and held up before Him a younger pastor who, although incomparably trained in the gospel, he yet to fully prove himself in the difficult areas of the Lord’s service.

 

            MacArthur writes “In the midst of unimaginable physical misery, Paul not only continued to praise God but did so with deep gratitude from a guiltless mind and heart.  With full conviction and truthfulness he could testify, ‘I serve the Lord and continually stand before Him with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did.’ Latreo (serve) was sometimes used of godly worship or even priestly service.  Standing falsely accused by the Jewish leaders before Felix, the Roman governor in Caesarea Paul said ‘According to the Way which they call a sect I do serve [latreuo] the God of our Fathers’ (Acts 24:14). Speaking of true children of God, whether Jew or Gentile, Paul assured the Philippian believers:  ‘We are the true circumcision, who worship [latreuo] in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh’ (Phil. 3:3).”

 

            One of the many things that I truly admire is that Paul had a clear conscience in his service to the Lord.  I realize that Paul was the one person who walked to closest to the Lord, and perhaps the reason was that he went through so many difficulties that this drew him closer to the Lord.  Look at this passage that comes from the 9^th chapter of the book of Acts which is where we see that the Lord called Saul to salvation, where he lost his sight for a while and where Ananias goes into speak to Saul and he receives his sight back.  Now before that we read the following:  “10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." 11 And the Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight." 13 But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name." 15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake’” (Acts 9:10-16).  Suffering is what brought Paul closer to the Lord, and the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross for me and for all who will be saved is what was used of God to give us forgiveness of sin. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have to say that one of the things that has caused me trouble in my life is the fear of suffering, and yet as I look at what the Lord went through for me in His sufferings and what Paul and all the other Apostles went through I realize that it caused them to be closer to the Lord.  Now all believers suffer for the cause of Christ, but those who do it seems to me that they draw closer to Him in their love and service for the Lord.

 

            My Steps of Faith for Today:  I have to trust the Lord to do what is needed to do in order to walk more closely to the Lord, which is my desire.

 

11/19/2024 8:50 AM

 

PT-1 "Appreciation" (2 Tim. 1:3a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/18/2024 8:44 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  PT-1 “Appreciation”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                   Reference:  2 Timothy 1:3a

 

            Message of the verse:  “I Thank God whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did.”

 

            In today’s SD I begin looking at a third principle of godly and successful motivation which is appreciation.  So I see that not only was Paul a blessing to Timothy, but Timothy was a blessing to Paul as he writes “I Thank God for you, so Paul is assuring him, saying in effect, “I am grateful for what God has done for me through you.”  Now remember Paul was incarcerated in a dark, damp, dangerous, filthy, and stinking Roman prison, yet he nevertheless was rejoicing that the Lord had given him the privilege of knowing and also discipling Timothy.  Timothy was the second generation believer and the one who would be taking the place of Paul, so it was important to Paul to make sure that he was ready, for as mentioned Paul would soon be going to be with the Lord.  Paul was not bitter or resentful.  He had no anger or hatred for those who placed him in prison or for the hardened and brutal criminals who were beside him.  Paul did not lament the unjust and cruel execution that he knew soon awaited him.  Actually Paul’s thoughts were on his sovereign God and on memories of his beloved son in the Spirit, which whom he had spent so many blessed hours in mutual service of God and whom he likely would never see again in the flesh, although I am not sure whether or not Timothy would have been able to see Paul one more time before the Romans would kill him, that is kind of up in the air as far as whether that happened or not.  Paul will ask him for “a coat” and like my former Pastor would wonder whether or not he got it to him. 

 

            MacArthur writes “To be appreciated, encouraged, and told that God has wonderful plans for them is a great motivation for young men and women who serve the Lord, and Paul’s statement of appreciation for Timothy must have given that young servant of the Lord great confidence.  Timothy knew Paul’s words were not empty.  First of all, he knew that Paul’s integrity would not allow him to flatter.  Timothy also was well aware that he and Paul had come to know each other intimately in their many years together.  They had traveled together, eaten together, ministered together, and doubtless suffered together for the sake of the gospel.  At the time this letter was written, Paul doubtless knew Timothy better than any other person.”

 

            Due to an ongoing appointment I have to stop this SD.

 

11/18/2024 9:27 AM

PT-3 "Because of where the World is Going" (1 John 2:17)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/17/2024 9:54 PM

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus: PT-3“Because of where the World is Going”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                         Reference:  1 John 2:17

 

            Message of the verse:  “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

 

            In yesterday’s SD from this verse I mostly looked at the different verses that John MacArthur had inserted onto a paragraph in his commentary on this verse and I ended by looking at 2 Timothy 3:13 which says “But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”  Now after that MacArthur writes “On the other hand, the one who does the will of God, who savingly trusts and obeys Christ, has nothing to fear concerning the world’s destruction (1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9).  It is God’s will that people believe the gospel, repent of their sin, and embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Mar, 1:15; John 6:29; 1 Tim. 2:4-6).  John earlier had heard these words of Jesus:  ‘For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life’ (John 6:40a).  Each person who has obeyed that teaching is a Christian and lives forever (Luke 6:46-48; John 8:51; 10:27; 14:21; 15:10; James 1:22-25; 1 John 2:5; 3:24; cf. Pss. 25:10; 111:10).”

 

            Let us now look at a series of verses written by the Apostle Paul as he is a sterling example of one who learned what it means to love the things of God rather than the things of the world.  The verses that show this comes from Philippians 3:3-11.

 

“For we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, 4 although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. 7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11  in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

 

            Now like Paul, believers must persevere in sanctification and righteousness by “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead…toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:13b-14).  Now by doing this believers will demonstrate that they love what God loves and then will hate what God hates.  So then they will clearly no longer be devoted to the unbelieving world system and will shun its continuous appeal to sin, which comes through the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life.

 

            Lord will I will begin look at the introduction to 1 John 2:18-27 in tomorrow’s SD.  MacArthur entitles his 9^th chapter on his commentary on 1 John “Antichrists and Christians.”

 

11/17/2024 10:15 PM

"Altruism" (2 Timothy 1:2b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/17/2024 8:13 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                               Focus: “Altruism”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  2 Timothy 1:2b”

 

            Message of the verse:  “Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

            In most of Paul’s letters this would be called a greeting, but these are not just words but the expression of a genuine desire for God’s best to be reality in the life of Paul’s young son in the faith, Timothy.  It was Paul’s desire to motivate Timothy by his altruism, (meaning unselfishness), that his unselfish concern for the devotion to the welfare of others.  Like all believers, Timothy was saved by divine grace; the unmerited favor of God’s providing forgiveness and also justification.  Paul wanted his son in the faith to continually live in divine mercy, the inexpressible blessing of deliverance from the misery that sin deserves and creates.  Paul also wanted Timothy to continue in full peace of mind and heart, the inner tranquillity produced by divine grace and mercy.  Paul also wanted Timothy to have the best that God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord offer to redeemed sinners:  now grace to cover sin, and mercy to overrule misery, and then peace to dominate his life.

 

            MacArthur concludes this very short section by writing “If we want to truly motivate other believers, we must, like Paul, have genuine, loving, and unqualified concern for their full spiritual blessing.  In addition to their recognizing our authority under God, we want our brothers and sisters in Christ to know that they are loved by us without reservation.  This too, elicits response.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is because that I have many of the issues that Timothy has, I desire to better understand how Paul is writing to Timothy to correct these issues in his life which I believe will help me in my life to serve the Lord better.

 

            My Steps of Faith for Today:  I am having some trouble excepting how small our Sunday school class is at this time, and pray that the Lord will comfort me so that I can do the best job I can do in teaching this small group.

 

11/17/2024 8:36 AM

PT-2 "Because of Where the World is Going" (1 John 2:17)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/16/2024 8:14 PM

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus: PT-2 “Because of where the World is Going”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                         Reference:  1 John 2:17

 

            Message of the verse:  “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

 

            I ended yesterday’s SD on 1 John with a quotation from 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 where Paul gives to his readers what will happen to those who do not become believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.  As I again look over this passage I can say that it is harsh, but it is true which means that those who read that passage can understand that they do not want to be put into that category but desire to put their faith and trust in the salvation that Jesus provided for them when He suffered and died on the cross for them.

 

            In this section of 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 Paul did not say that those unrepentant members of the world would cease to exist as that would be the unbiblical doctrine of annihilationism, but that they would undergo an everlasting punishment in hell.  Now I will give the definition that I found on the internet so that we all can understand it:  “In Christianity, annihilationism (also known as extinctionism or destructionism) is the belief that after the Last Judgment, all damned humans and fallen angels including Satan will be totally destroyed and their consciousness extinguished rather than suffering forever in Hell.”  The following is a list of Scriptures that I will post to show that this doctrine is unbiblical.

 

"These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matthew 25:46).

 

43 “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, 44 [[where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.]] 45  "If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, 46  [[where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.]] 47  "If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, 48  where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. 49 “For everyone will be salted with fire” (Mark 9:43-49). Notice that verses 44 and 46 are in brackets meaning they were not there in the original, but verse 48 says the exact same thing.

 

“And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15). 

 

            Now we can all see that the Bible’s teaching on hell is real, but some want to change what it teaches, but don’t believe their false teaching even though it sounds better than what the Bible teaches.  God has made away for sinners to become believers and His promise of this happening went all the way back to Genesis chapter three where we read where sin entered into our world.  “14 The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel” (Genesis 3:14-15).  God is giving out punishment on Satan (the serpent) and a part of that punishment is seen in verse 15 where we see that God will use the “seed of the woman” to punish Satan.  This is the only time were the Bible talks about a woman’s seed and this speaks of the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ to Mary.

 

            Now I will conclude this SD with a quotation from John MacArthur as he finishes this paragraph that I have been learning from this evening.  “The world’s process of self-destruction will only accelerate and grow worse in the coming years (cf. 2 Timothy 3:13) until the Lord returns.”  “But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

 

11/16/2024 8:43 PM

 

 

"Authority" (2 Timothy 1:1-2a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/16/2024 9:27 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                             Focus:  “Authority”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference: 2 Timothy 1:1-2a

 

            Message of the verses:  “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my beloved son:”

 

            In my last SD on 2 Timothy 1 quoted the last paragraph that made up John MacArthur’s introduction to his first chapter in his commentary on 2 Timothy.  I like to quote the last paragraph of his introductions, and this is mostly true of many Bible commentators, that they give an outline to what the chapter will involve, and this chapter from 2 Timothy involves “six implicit, but easily discernible, principles of motivation” and the first one, “authority” is the one that I will be looking at this morning.

 

            Paul will use this type of introduction in many of his letters showing who he is, and that is he is an apostle of Christ Jesus.  In the introduction it was explained that Paul’s apostleship already was well understood by Timothy, but it is mentioned here by way of reminder that despite their close and their loving relationship, Paul ranked above Timothy in spiritual authority and the reason was because he brought the Word of the Lord and was writing in that capacity.  I for one am thankful that Paul began his letter to Timothy in this way as it is now a part of the New Testament, but I am not sure if Paul realized that this letter would be a part of the New Testament when he wrote it.

 

            MacArthur explains “Intimacy does not preclude authority.  The relationship of love that parents have with their children does not preclude their authority over their children.  A parent-child relationship of love without authority is doomed to tragedy for the entire family.  No matter how cordial a working relationship may exist, a business cannot succeed if employees refuse to recognize and submit to the employer’s authority over them.” 

 

            By studying the Word of God in the New Testament one will see Timothy seen 23 times from the book of Acts through Philemon, and so we can conclude that he was an important part of the early church, and was the one that would take over the reins after Paul soon departure.  Paul and Timothy shared a deep friendship and Paul’s loving salutation to Timothy carried the full weight of his apostleship.  MacArthur writes apostolos (apostle) literally means one who is sent out, ‘a messenger,’ as it is sometimes translated (see. E. g. 2 Cor. 8:23; Phil 2:25).  But in the New Testament it more commonly carries the connotation of ambassador, a representative who carries with him the authority of the one he represents.  It is used in that sense of the twelve disciples Jesus called during His earthly ministry (Luke 6:13; 9:20) and of Paul, whom Christ called from heaven after His ascension (see Acts 9:3-15; 22:6-14; 26:13-18).  The  Lord used the verb form of Himself as ‘Jesus Christ whom Thou [the Father] hast sent [apostello]’ (John 17:3), and in the book of Hebrews Jesus is called ‘the Apostle and High Priest of our confession’ (3:1).”

 

            Now as an apostle of Jesus Christ, Paul stood in the place of Christ and spoke the Word of Christ, and he did all of this by the will of God who is the Almighty Father.  He (Paul) is not writing this letter to Timothy merely as a dear friend but as a divinely commissioned ambassador of God the Father and also God the Son.  Paul is not offering brotherly counsel but he is declaring divine truth with firm authority.  This is similar to how a godly family runs, which is an example that we already wrote about.

 

            Paul does so according to, and this means “in conformity to,” the gospel, which here is called the promise of life in Christ Jesus.   I think it best to insert the fact that when one thinks of a Biblical Apostle that the 11 disciples of Jesus Christ along with Matthias, and then Paul are the only true Apostles there are.  If someone calls themselves an apostle today and is referring to one who represents Jesus Christ that would be false, as all of these Apostles have long since died. 

           

            MacArthur writes that “Paul’s calling to serve the will of God as a messenger of the Savior was to be discharged by proclaiming the saving good news that those who are dead in sin can find life in Christ Jesus.”  That was actually a favored phrase of Paul, that is in Christ Jesus, and this signified his own and every believer’s union with our Lord and Savior through participation in His death, resurrection, and eternal life.  Now from Acts to Philemon that phrase “in Christ” is seen 85 times and all true believers are “in Christ.”  It is a well known fact that Jesus Christ is Himself  “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and He gives the divine promise that “whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16) and “have it abundantly (John 10:10).   MacArthur writes that “Those who claim that promise in faith can claim with Paul that Christ ‘is our life’ (Col. 3:4)”

 

            MacArthur concludes this section on Authority by writing:  “Every worthy father deeply desires an unbreakable and rich relationship with his children.  In the same way, Paul not only desired but experienced and expressed the intimacy of bonding love that he shared with Timothy, his beloved son.  And just as this intimacy did not preclude authority, neither did authority preclude intimacy.  As a loving spiritual father, Paul spoke with apostolic authority to his son in the faith.  That authority gave Timothy a strong incentive for obedience.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I know that in the Christian life that there are ups and downs as I walk with the Lord.  I suppose that temptations are one of the main causes of these ups and downs.  Obedience to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a key to get out of these ups and downs and I am thankful for this section that I just went over.  Jesus Christ is my Savior and Lord and the One I am to be obedient to.

 

            My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust that the Holy Spirit who lives in me will cause me to have the desire to be obedient to my Lord today, and every day.

 

11/16/2024 10:14 AM

PT-1 "Because of Where the World is Going" (1 John 2:17)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/15/2024 10:40 PM

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus: PT-1 “Because of where the World is Going”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                         Reference:  1 John 2:17

 

            Message of the verse:  “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

 

            As I begin this new section I have to say that my practice is usually to listen to the sermons by John MacArthur in order to help me out to understand what is going on, but I have to say that I really believe that Satan or one of his demons had something to do with my phone to get messed up a while ago, which caused me to have to go out and buy another phone which was much more expensive than the other.  I also had to change the place where I get my internet service on my phone which is also a bit more expensive.  I really missed listening to those sermons and a couple of days ago I began to listen to the sermons on 1 John from MacArthur’s website.  However I am still a bit behind, not caught up with where I am in writing these Spiritual Diaries, but it is my desire to get caught up in order to be helped in understanding more from this wonderful letter of 1 John.  In my other blog I just spent almost five years in my study of the gospel of Matthew and have now just begun looking at 2 Timothy, so that will mean I have more sermons to listen to.  I have been in the practice of walking at least five miles per day since March 20, 2020 and that is when I usually listen to these sermons.

 

            In this evening’s SD we begin to look at the third reason believers are not to love the world, and that is because it is passing away as seen in our verse for this evening.  MacArthur adds that “The principle of spiritual death that permeates the world is the exact opposite of the principle of spiritual life, which operates in God’s kingdom.  Thus, the living dead in the world are destined for eternal death in hell, but Christians are destined for eternal life in heaven (Matt. 13:37-50; 25:31; cf. Matt. 5:12a; Luke 10:20; Heb. 12:22-23; 1 Pete r 1:3-5).”

 

            Now I want to look briefly at the verb that is translated is passing away, as it is a present tense form of parago which means “to disappear.”  So because it is in the present tense that means that it has already happening, already in the process of self-destruction.  “for the form of this world is passing away” (1 Cor. 7:31b).  There are a few more verses for us to look at but I will just mention them at this time:  (1 Peter. 4:7a; cf. James 1:10; 4:14; 1 Peter 1:24).  We can thus conclude that the entire system contains the seeds of its own dissolution.  “21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Romans 8:21-22).  We can be sure that God will indeed destroy the physical universe at the end of the millennium.  Once the millennium is over then the Lord will destroy the entire universe, but that actually is not what John is referring to here.  MacArthur adds “John looked ahead to the destruction of the satanic world system and all those who cling to its lusts—its ideologies that oppose God and Christ (2 Cor. 10:3-5; 2 Peter 2:1-17; Jude 12-15; Rev. 18:21-24; cf. 19:11-21; 20:7-10).  They are all hurtling rapidly toward eternal damnation, as Paul wrote concerning the ungodly who persecuted the Thessalonian believers.”

“6 For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed — for our testimony to you was believed” (2 Thess. 1:6-10).

 

11/15/2024 11:18 PM