SPIRITUAL
DIARY FOR 7/19/2025 9:07 AM
My
Worship Time
Focus: PT-2
Intro to “The Triumphant Epitaph of Paul”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: 2 Timothy 4:6-8
Message of the verses: “6 For I am already
being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the
faith; 8 in the future there is laid up
for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will
award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His
appearing.”
I realize that I did not get too
far on this introduction to this chapter that I am looking at, but as mentioned
there are times when the Lord seems to be putting things on my mind and heart
that I need to share and yesterday was one of those times.
I
began by talking about when dying men and women are near death that they then
talk about important things that are on their minds, this is a time when
usually these dying men and women are stripped of hypocrisy and reflect
accurately their true beliefs and feelings. The following is what Napoleon
said, “I die before my time; and my body will be given back to earth, to become
the food of worms. Such is the fate
which so soon awaits the great Napoleon.”
MacArthur then adds Gandhi where he quotes time ‘My days are
numbered. I am not likely to live very
long—perhaps a year or a little more.
For the first time in fifty years I find myself in a slough of
despond. All about me is darkness. I am praying for light.’ The nineteenth-century French statesman
Talleyrand wrote the following words on a piece of paper and laid it on a
nightstand near his bed: ‘Behold,
eighty-three years passed away! What
cares! What agitation! What anxieties! What ill-will! What sad complications! And all without other results, except great
fatigue of mind and body, and a profound sentiment of discouragement with
regard to the future, and of disquiet with regard to the past!’”
Now
as we looked at these different men on what they said close to their dying day,
and we compare it with Paul we can see his words are different. His words are a triumphant epitaph. Some 30 years after his encounter with Christ
on the Damascus Road, in every regard that matters he was without regret or
remorse, and I suppose that that meant that he had a clear conscience, which I
truly think would be remarkable, for I know that my conscience seems to be
working overtime, however I don’t think that conscience is always the true
measure of who I am. With an economy of
words known only to a Holy Spirit-inspired writer, he not only affirms his own
spiritual triumph but he also offers forceful motivation for every believer to
live a life of faithful service to Christ.
MacArthur
goes on to write “As noted several times previously, when Paul wrote this
letter the pure gospel was being contaminated in many churches by compromise
and falsehood. Ungodly teachers were
distorting the truth and causing many nominal Christians to ‘fall away from the faith [and to pay] attention
to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons’ (1 Tim. 4:1). Many true believers tolerated ungodliness
in the body of Christ and in their own lives, being more concerned about pleasing themselves and other
men than about pleasing God.”
Spiritual
Meaning for My life Today: As I look at
the highlighted portion from my last paragraph I can see that it bothers my
conscience some noting that I know that I can do better in doing things that are
pleasing to God.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: As it has been
my quest to learn contentment, and as I have wanted to do that, I know that the
more content that I am will cause me to be concerned about pleasing God in my
life.
7/19/2025 9:32 AM
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