Haughtiness

261, - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1-4, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, ” (2 Tim 3:1-4) Some of these terms seem to be repetitive, I mean what's the difference between someone who is proud and someone who is haughty? The word haughty here literally means “smoke!” And one might rightly ask here, “What's the connection between smoke and pride? I think Jonathan Edwards said it best in 1737 when he wrote, “The first and worst cause of errors that abound in our day and age is spiritual pride. This is the main door by which the devil comes into the hearts of those who are zealous to the advancement of Christ. It is the chief inlet of smoke from the bottomless pit (See Rev 9:2) to darken the mind and mislead the judgment.” Pride is the main handle by which he has hold of Christian persons and the chief source of all mischief that he introduces to clog and hinder the work of God.” There's the connection! Haughtiness, is an inlet for all that rises out of hell, and this “smoke” darkens and obscures the mind, thereby blinding discernment. Whereas pride rises up and causes us to consider ourselves better than others, (Remember the Pharisee and the tax collector?) haughtiness opens the vent that allows the very smoke of hell to rise up in us and causes us to think we know better than God! This was of course at the very heart of the rebellion of Satan. Classic examples start with Eve in the Garden, and include other biblical characters such as King Saul who thought he could skip the instructions of God and offer a sacrifice to the Lord without Samuel. King Uzziah did the same thing in 2 Chr 26:16, “But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.” Both Saul and Uzziah thought they were above the Lord's instructions and this same kind of strength sapping haughtiness will plague the church throughout the Last Days. We have seen it in history and we see it on occasion today when church leaders will overstep their bounds. Never mind what the Word of God says, it is what they say that really matters, and all sorts of ungodly behavior and actions are spawned. Did God really say? Is the mantra of the haughty as they lead people away from righteousness and into sin! Beware of any who would lead by questioning the absolute authority of God's Word

Headstrong Part 2

260, - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:4, But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be.... headstrong, (2Ti 3:4,) I want to spend one more day on the problem of being headstrong. There is a certain “rashness” to the headstrong. Their interpretation of the Scriptures is written in stone and they zealously defend what they believe and if you disagree with them, well, it's my way or the highway! It's not that zeal for the Lord and doctrine is a bad thing, in fact we are given the example of Phineas in Num 25:11, “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal.” Ro 12:11 charges us: “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord!” The problem is MISGUIDED zealousness fueled by false teaching! Many such false teachers arose in the early New Testament church one such zealous false teacher was Diotrephes written of in 3 John, 9,10, “but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. 10 Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.” This was one headstrong, my way or the highway dude! People who know me, know that I can be very zealous, and though I hate to admit it, sometimes my zealousness was misguided! But by the grace of God I have learned to unlearn some of my wrong thinking. I won't go into details but there have been times when God brought me into situations where my beliefs were rightly challenged, and I was forced to see things in a different, more biblical light. It was one of the best things that has happened to me in my spiritual journey, because as I looked at the issue with a teachable spirit, and took the correction from the Lord, it opened up so many other portions of Scripture to me! Mt 13:12 "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Bottom line is I choose to admit that I don't know it all and won't this side of heaven, therefore I will seek to ever be teachable, knowing that God corrects those whom He loves! The Aramaic Bible in Plain English puts it this way: For whomever the Lord Jehovah loves, HE instructs, and draws aside His children with whom He is pleased.” Lord help me to have a teachable spirit!

Headstrong

259 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1-4, But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, (2Ti 3:1-4,) Next on the list of strength sapping influences and behaviors in the church is that of being headstrong. The King James says, “heady.” Interesting word. In the Greek it is propetes (prop et ace') It means “falling forward” the idea being falling headlong. A synonymn for this word is “rash.” You know the type “Ready! Fire! Aim! Instead of Ready! Aim! Fire! They are marked by impulsive vehemence or passion! A couple of biblical examples come to mind. Samson in the Old Testament, (just read his story beginning at Judges 13 and you will see what I mean) and in the New Testament we have the rashness of Peter, who sliced off the ear of one of the arresting party in Gethsemane. The headstrong act without thinking and speak without thinking and usually no amount of talking to them will change their mind. They are ever right and everyone else is ever wrong. Unless the Lord gets a hold of them, and gives them a dose of meekness, they remain unteachable, unmoldable, and you can see the problems that will cause in a congregation. To be honest, I cringe at some of the posts I see on Facebook from people who claim to be followers of Christ. They take everything they see on line as gospel truth then pass it along adding their own virulent comments to the mix. This has become very evident in the political arena for example and both sides are guilty! Stop it! Respect the authorities that God has placed in office, or have you forgotten: Ro 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. And then in Ro 13:7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.” And before you rashly decide to hit that share button, make sure the story is true! Ex 23:1 says, "You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

Traitors

258 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1-4, But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, ( 2 Tim 3:1-4) Next on the list of strength sapping influences and behaviors in the church is that of being a traitor. The word means to give forth to the enemies hand. It is found in one other place in Scripture and that is in Lu 6:16 where it is used to describe Judas Iscariot: “Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.” Judas surrendered himself to the devil and the devil used him to give Jesus forth into the hands of the enemy. The enemy (the religious rulers) should be considered as anyone who has the power to do you harm because they perceive you as some sort of a threat. Further, by definition a traitor is someone whom you trusted. Speaking prophetically of that traitor Judas the Psalmist writes in Ps 41:9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.” Traitors have been with us for a long time. Think of Delilah as she handed Samson over to the Philistines. And Doeg the Edomite who ratted on David as he fled from the murderous Saul, Balaam who gave the secret to defeating the Israelites to Balak, and of course...Judas. Jesus, speaking of the same end times that Paul is speaking of in this portion of 2 Tim said in Mt 24:10 "And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. As the gospel is preached and congregations are formed, traitors will rise up and turn people in to authorities and over to mobs that have the power to cause them harm. Traitors may do this for personal gain, or they simply may do it because they disagree with what is being preached. Judas was guilty of both. The church's history is rife with people being ratted out by traitors and then dealt with harshly by mobs and authorities, and we are seeing some of this ratting out even in the church in America today, where some member of a congregation may not agree with what is being proclaimed from the pulpit concerning the sin of homosexuality for example, and so they turn the pastor or the church over to the authorities in an attempts to silence them. Traitors will always be with the church, seeking to silence the message and weaken the church, our job is to remain strong, preach the word fearlessly and live out our faith with the love of Jesus!

Despisers of Good

257 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1-3, “ But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, (2 Tim 3:1-3) Next on the list of strength sapping influences and behaviors in the church is despisers of good.” The King James says, “despisers of those who are good.” To despise someone or something that is good is to look down on with contempt. It's hard to imagine that a church can actually have such people in their midst. How can a supposed follower of Christ look down on what is good or good people? An example of such a person is Diotrephes found in 3 John beginning at verse 9: I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.” So the first calling card of those who despise good is they love to have preeminence and anyone who threatens their preeminence is not received in Christian love and hospitality! A close parallel of this trait is found in the relationship between the scribes, the Pharisees and Jesus. Think about it. The real reason they sought to get rid of Jesus was their preeminence among the people was being threatened by Him and all His goodness! Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead, a definite good thing, but it was despised by the religious rulers as we read in Joh 11:47,48, “ Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. 48 "If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation." The chief priests and Pharisees were concerned about losing their place, their preeminence. You can spot these despisers of good by their obsession with having preeminence and it's assorted perks. They are not interested in differentiating between good and evil, only in twisting the Scriptures for their own fringe benefits. They are described to a tee in Lu 20:46,47, “ "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 47 "who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation."” These pompous pretenders will sap the strength of the church as they seek to lead it to truth twisting compromise in order to keep their place of preeminence that helps line their pockets and their egos!

Brutality In the Church

The Church and Brutality

256 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1-3, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal,” (2 Tim 3:1-3) Next on the list of strength sapping influences and behaviors in the church is brutality. This is shocking! The word means savage, fierce, no better than a wild animal! What's shocking about this trait is it will be found in the church! We all know how brutal godless men can be, but the church? The church is a Holy Spirit filled entity that exhibits the fruit of the Spirit, and that fruit is described in Ga 5:22,23, “ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Tell me, was there even a hint of brutality anywhere in this list? Yet, there will be times in church history from the time of the ascension of Jesus until the time when He returns, that the Holy Spirit will be pushed aside and the church will be marked by brutality! We cannot deny that the church has some terrible skeletons in their closet as it relates to brutality and savagery. Think of the crusades, the inquisition, the Thirty Years war in Europe which resulted in 8 million causalities, all in the name of religion. The horrific persecution of the Anabaptists, the Salem witch trials, the treatment of American Indians, and I'm sure I haven't mentioned them all! And lest we think that the church today is above this kind of savagery, need I remind you that many mainline denominations in America today are okay with legalized abortion, which has resulted in the death of around 60 million unborn children created in the image of God! Do not for a minute let your guard down against brutality in the church! Our history reeks of it, and even though we can't imagine it getting as bad as the Inquisition, it can and indeed will happen in all sorts of forms until our Lord returns! There really is only one cure, and that cure is to yield one's will to the Holy Spirit because as we have already pointed out, there is not one brutal bone in His person. Mt 12:19,20 reminds us of the gentle qualities of one filled with the Spirit: “He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory; Brutality enters the church whenever the Holy Spirit is pushed aside! Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God! Constantly seek to be filled with Him and His fruit, lest your flesh rises up and leads you down to this horrific road of brutality!

Mouth, Money, Hormones, and Self-Control

Mouth, Money, and Hormones, A Look At Self-Control

255 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1-3, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control,” 2 Tim 3:1-3) Next on the list of strength sapping influences and behaviors in the church is a lack of self-control. The word in the Greek means incontinent. Anyone who has ever had to put on a “Depend” before leaving the house knows what that word means. You have no control over one of your basic bodily functions and if you don't slip on a diaper, you will have an embarrassing mess! Imagine a congregation in which individual members have lost control over their mouths, their pocketbooks, their hormones. What an embarrassing mess to all onlookers! Let's look at three areas where a lack of self-control becomes evident: Mouth, money, and hormones! Tongues often wag among the sheep and it's like they have brushed their teeth with gunpowder and start shooting off their mouth with no thought of the words that assassinate the character of others. Then there's money: A congregation without self-control in their spending and borrowing ties their hands with so much debt that they are not able to help the poor in their midst or send out missionaries. Then there's hormones. Trysts and affairs amongst members become the talk of the community! Again, this should not be so, and yet this lack of self-control will greatly diminish the strength of a church! What does the Bible say about self-control in these three areas? First of all, the tongue: Pr 13:3 He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction. Next, control over money: Pr 23:4,5, “ Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! 5 Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven. Finally, sexual immorality: 1Th 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; The bottom line is Pr 25:28 Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls. A congregation where self-control is lacking, has no defense against the enemies of God! What to do? How does one regain self-control? It's not easy, it's a battle, but a battle that can be won, when we submit to the rule of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It's part of the “fruit” package that He brings to His church!

Slanderers (Divisive Ones)

Slanderers (Divisive Ones)

254 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1-3, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, 2 Tim 3:1-3) Next on the list of strength sapping influences and behaviors is that of slander. The word in the Greek is “diabolos,” which is another name for the devil. The word means to cast asunder. Diabolos is his name and division is his game. His whole intent is to seek to separate you and I from the love of God! He does this with false accusations against you and even against God! (Did God really say?”) He not only seeks to separate you and I from the love of God, but also works overtime in trying to separate man from wife because he hates marriage, (the institution that God loves!) He seeks to separate the love of children from their parents, because he hates families, and of course he will do all he can to stir up strife between brothers and sisters in a congregation because he hates the church! When we get involved in divisive behaviors and actions we are unwittingly serving as his dupe to carry out his mission of casting asunder what God has joined together! These divisive, strength sapping attitudes and behaviors have been with the church from the get go and will continue until our Lord returns. At the first hint of a split, or a wedge being driven into a congregation, a family, a marriage, or our relationship with God, stop! Stop and say, “O devil, I know what you and are up to and I'm not falling for it. Resist the devil and his slanderous tactics! Don't be his mouthpiece! Keep standing on the Word of God and he will flee from you! Get on your knees and fight for your own relationship with God! Fight for unity in your church! Fight for oneness in your marriage! Fight for unity in your family. These are all God-ordained communities in which HE desires unity! God hates disunity and so should we! He speaks of this “slander” as one of 7 things that He hates! Pr 6:19 speaking of what God hates says,” a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community!” There will be slanderous, divisive times in the church, seek to make sure you are not the instigator!

Unforgiving

Unforgiving

253 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, Next on our list of strength sapping behaviors in the church is “unforgiving.” The King James says “trucebreakers.” I must admit, I didn't see that one coming! I understand unforgiveness, but how does that tie into a “trucebreaker.” What is a trucebreaker? It is someone who goes back to war with someone after agreeing not to go back to war. Hence this unforgiving trait that shows up in the church is for people who forgive with their lips, but they still harbor unforgiveness in their hearts. When you sign up to be a follower of Christ, you sign up to forgive others of their trespasses against you. Unforgiveness in a church can be a huge problem and you can see how it can sap the strength out of a the life of a congregation and out of the life of a Christian. We are reminded of the danger of “trucebreaking,” every time we recite the Lords Prayer as Jesus taught us to pray. He said we ought to pray, “And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.” Then He went on to say in Mt 7:14, 15, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Strong words, but to not forgive men's trespasses is to break the truce you signed when you signed on with Jesus! Eph 4:32 says, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” How much and how often must you forgive? 7 times? Jesus told Peter 7 times 70 which is just another way of saying....always! Trucebreaking unforgiveness will rear its ugly head in the church until our Lord returns, be aware of it and don't let it lure you into breaking the truce. Ro 12:18,19 reminds us: “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. You want justice after you've been wronged? Forget it! For your part, forgive and let God take care of the rest!

unloving

Unloving

252 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1-3, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, Sometimes a particular version of the Bible comes up a little short in finding that right word to describe the intent of the original language. This is the case today in my Prime Time Devo as the New King James uses the word “unloving.” That's not strong enough language! The King James is closer with the phrase, “without natural affection.” This has been a common occurrence in the church from the very beginning of the “Last Days.” The actual Greek word means “hard-hearted toward kindred” or “without family love.” We should not be surprised by this turn of events in the church. Micah predicted it in the Old Testament: Mic 7:6 For son dishonors father, Daughter rises against her mother, Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; A man's enemies are the men of his own household. And Jesus predicted it in the New in Matthew, Luke, and Mark! Mr 13:12 "Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 13 "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” I don't believe we have experienced this kind of deadly persecution in America yet, but certainly we have heard the accounts in other places as kindred turn against kindred when one or the other profess faith in Christ. Many times this “ratting out” of family members results in intense persecution and even death! To think that we are immune from this in America is naive. It can happen here! I wonder how many of you can relate to the wall that popped up between you and family members when you threw in with the family of God and became a Christ follower! Suddenly, you were no longer “fun” to be around with all your talk about the necessity of being “born again!” “Keep your religion to yourself and leave mine alone!”And I wonder how many walls are being built as more and more of our children buy into and start accepting the ungodly behavior patterns of the world! Many have ditched the faith for the sake of tolerating what the Bible clearly calls sin! And the church's strength is sapped as it seeks to keep everyone in the pews at all costs, and the message is compromised to make room for all opinions. It's not easy to stand fast in the face of this kind of “unloving” familial peer pressure, but stand we must, and pray we must that we continue to speak the truth in love and persevere in the faith through it all.

Unholy

Unholy

251 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, We are looking at these strength sapping influences and behaviors that will plague the church until our Lord returns. Next on the list is that of unholiness. Men will be unholy. What does a church that has become “unholy” look like? I think we get a hint from Le 10:9-11, “"Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, (Why?) 10 "that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, 11 "and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them by the hand of Moses." Obviously, we shouldn't attend worship services in an intoxicated state, that goes without saying! Eph 5:18 says “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, This inebriation spoken of in Leviticus is a picture of what leads to unholiness, namely a clouded mind. When discernment of what is holy and what is not creeps into a church, it will become a hotbed of unholiness. I've always loved a line from the Charlie Daniels song, “Two Out Of Three,” It goes, “Jesus how could you love me, Oh sweet Jesus how could you love me. 'Cause when I had a choice between good and bad, I picked bad two out of three!” You see, ol' Charlie lost his discernment! And so will everyone else when they are given a choice as to what is holy and what is not. The world, the devil, and our flesh are powerful enemies in this regard! The standard of holiness must come from the Word of God! When a church stops distinguishing between right and wrong, a whole generation of unholy people will follow, and they will embrace all manner of unholy behaviors and lifestyles thrown at them by the world! At this point, let me remind you to take a look around! This acceptance of unholiness will always be with us in these last days, but fight to keep it out of your church! Proclaim the Word of God and let our mantra always be, “Thus saith the Lord” There is no cloudiness (no shadow of turning) in Him and His Word!

More On Being Thankful

More On Thanksgiving

250 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, We are looking at these strength sapping influences and behaviors that will plague the church until our Lord returns. Today, I want to spend a little more time on the importance of giving thanks. For whatever reason, churches and individuals have a tendency to fall into the trap of a thankless existence. Andrew Murray has said, "Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will draw our hearts out to God and keep us engaged with Him; it will take our attention from ourselves and give the Spirit room in our hearts." When we put thanksgiving on the back burner of our personal and congregational life we begin the process that the Scripture warns against in Pr 6:10,11, A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep- 11 So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man. Without thanksgiving, we attempt to “sneak” into the presence of God, rather than entering through His proper gates. Ps 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. The history of God's people involve the building of altars all along their life's journey. These altars were ways to express thanksgiving to God every step of the way! We should not be so foolish as to become unthankful people. Learn too be thankful every step of your journey! A thankless people soon become a godless people. Don't believe me? Read Romans 1 beginning at verse 18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Beware my friend, thanklessness is a doorway to a darkened heart! Scary thought isn't it? Let us not get careless in the giving of thanks!

Be Thankful

Be Thankful

249 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1,2, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,” (2 Tim 3:1,2) We are looking at these strength sapping influences and behaviors that will plague the church until our Lord returns. Today, let's look at being unthankful. The giving of thanks is absolutely vital to the health of a congregation! Writing to the Ephesians concerning congregational practices, we read in Eph 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,! Congregations should be filled with people who gladly and promptly express thanksgiving! Giving thanks is smack dab in the center of God's will! 1Th 5:18 says, “ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. And in Col 3:17 we read, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” This vital part of the life of a Christian in private and amongst the brethren can be ignored or blown off or forgotten in the midst of carrying out our Christian duties! Sometimes we neglect to give thanks because we are just too preoccupied with self! Giving glory to God is very important, lest we slip into the trap of self-glorification. Remember the ten lepers? Lu 17:12-18, “Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13 And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" 14 So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. 17 So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 "Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" Look, I know you are relieved to be healed or delivered, and you are anxious to get on with your life again, but let this account of the lepers be a reminder to you and your congregation to make time for regular giving of thanks! The church is weakened without it!

Disobedient To Parents

Disobedient To Parents

248 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1,2, “ But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, (2 Tim 3:1,2) We are looking at these strength sapping influences and behaviors that will plague the church until our Lord returns. Today, let's look at being disobedient to parents. Rebellious children sap the strength of a church. For one thing they are robbing the church of their gifts, talents, and energy! Young people who have overcome the evil one and his rebellious ways are a great asset to the body of Christ! 1Jo 2:14b says, “I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one.” When children live lives of disobedience to their parents and others in authority they put a huge strain on the functionality of the church. Church discipline is tested to its limits! Families often depart from churches who decide to hold their adult children accountable for their actions. Spiritual leadership qualifications are called into question of the parents of rebellious children. Paul addressed this matter in discussing qualifications for elders in the church. He said in 1Ti 3:4 that an elder must be “one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);” Children rebel. They test the waters, but the Bible does give us some strategies to deal with it! Pr 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” and Pr 13:24, “He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.” I love the word “promptly,” In theater a prompt is used to guide someone who forgets their lines, it speaks of immediate action, immediate guidance! So be prompt in your instruction, (start early, don't be late) and be prompt in your discipline, as you seek to guide your child! It's no guarantee, we all know parents who seemingly did everything by the Book and yet their children rebelled. Their rebellion is just a reminder of the tenacity of the enemy we are dealing with. A reminder of the importance of soliciting the Lord's help in this battle! We do not wrestle against flesh and blood!

Proud

Proud

246 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, (2 Tim 3:1,2) We are looking at these strength sapping influences and behaviors that will plague the church until our Lord returns. Today, let's look at men being proud. Whereas the boasters manage to exist without being the least bit productive in the kingdom, the proud are those who look down their snoot at any and all other Christians. The prideful church can actually be accomplishing things that are good for the kingdom, the problem is, they will let everyone (including God) know about it! This attitude is best portrayed in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican spoken of in Lu 18:9-14 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 'I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' 13 "And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' 14 "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Jesus was not disappointed with the things the Pharisee was doing, it was his attitude of pride! This attitude nullified every good thing he was doing. So it is with the prideful church. Is your church doing well in well doing? That's wonderful! But it is by no means anything to brag about. Jesus said in Lu 17:7-10, "And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'? 8 "But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? 9 "Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 10 "So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.'" Pride sucks the strength out of a church because the motivation is to make yourself look good! It is self-reliance, rather than Jesus reliance and 2Co 10:17 reminds us: "Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord."

Blasphemy, It's Not What You Think It Is

Blasphemer, It's Not What You Think It Is

248 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, We are looking at these strength sapping influences and behaviors that will plague the church until our Lord returns. Today, let's look at blasphemers. Blasphemers? Are you kidding? How can people, who claim to be Christians be blasphemers? Isn't blasphemy defined as speaking evil against God? The answer is no it's not. It's often discussed in that vein because of the references we find in Scripture. Most notably the Pharisees charged Jesus with blasphemy because He claimed to be God and the Pharisees regarded this as speaking evil of God. But the strict definition of the word here is, “Scurrilous,.” OK, what does that mean?” A scurrilous person is someone given to coarse language. They are vulgar and evil and their language is marked by obscenities, abuse, or slander. Wow! That certainly clarifies a few things doesn't it? Blasphemy is not limited to speaking evil against God, it also includes speaking or behaving abusively toward others that He has created! This is the meat of what Jesus was saying in Mt 5:22 "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire. Why? Because they are engaging in blasphemy! This is the kind of blasphemy that will plague the church on occasions until our Lord returns and it must not be so! A Christ follower's speech must be seasoned with grace not vulgarity, abuse, or slander. (See Col 4:6) Personally, I think we are experiencing this kind of blasphemy in a big way on social media today. The vulgarity of the world has crept into our Christian vocabulary big time. I delete all posts on my Facebook page that hint of this kind of blasphemy, vulgarity, and attack on one's character. Are you winking at such language simply because you agree with the point? Then you are a blasphemer. Stop it! It's not what you are called to be. Such language is not fit for a son or daughter of the King!

Boasters

Boasters

246 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, We are looking at these strength sapping influences and behaviors that will plague the church until our Lord returns. Today, let's look at men becoming boasters. The word means “vagrancy.” What in the world has vagrancy got to do with boasting? Well, what is a vagrant? It is someone who manages to exist without being productive. Let that sink in for a while. Imagine a church that is overly influenced by such “boasters!” A church that exists, but is not accomplishing anything of eternal value! A church that is all talk but no action! All show no go! This church may brag about all sorts of impressive things, but in reality is nothing but a place where people come once a week just to feel good about themselves. This church could be compared to the church at Laodicea spoken of in Rev 3:14-21, "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' --and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-- Strong words for such boasting churches! What should the boasting church do to correct the situation? Our Lord continues: 18 "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. “Be zealous and repent!” That's the answer! Jesus comes to the door and gently taps, as if to say, “Did I hear someone say they repent?” Here I am, ready to help you be the church God wants you to be! Open the door and let me back in to your church!” 20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also. Boasting churches will always be with us, but so is the promise of help from Jesus for those who repent!

Lovers of Money Part 2

Lovers of Money Part 2

245 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1,2 “ But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, Let's look more closely at these strength sapping influences and behaviors that will plague the church until our Lord returns. I want to spend one more day on this matter of men becoming lovers of money. When money wags the tail of a church the message will at some point become compromised....soft. In the Old Testament, there is an account of Balaam, who was a prophet of God, but saw an opportunity for financial gain from Balak. Balak was looking for a way to be victorious over Israel (the Old Testament church) Balaam, looking for financial reward, suggested that Balak lure the Israelites into sexual sin and it worked! This sin of Balaam got special mention in the Book of Jude, Jude 1:11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. And in the Book of Revelation as this sin of Balaam was listed as one of the sins of the church at Pergamos: Re 2:14 "But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. Balaam did this for the sake of money. The message and the church was compromised. Sometimes churches today fall into the same trap, looking the other way as sexual sin is never brought up, lest it offend someone and hurt attendance and consequently the offering. James also addressed the matter of problems arising from the love of money. When a rich man comes into the assembly and you fawn all over him, it is called partiality. It creates disunity and a system of judging by the outward appearance of wealth as opposed to inward condition of the heart! When the rich are catered to over the poor, when church discipline is tied into the amount of money in the offering plate, we have a grievous problem. Again, this problem has been with the church from the beginning and will crop up until the Lord returns. Be prepared for it, resist it, never forgetting that you cannot serve God and mammon! There are so many more examples given in Scripture! Read about Simon the Sorcerer and Ananias and Sapphira in the Book of Acts! Read about the rich farmer and the rich young ruler in the gospels. Learn from all of them and keep your priorities straight!

Lovers of Money

Lovers of Money

245 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1,2 “ But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, Let's look more closely at these strength sapping influences and behaviors that will plague the church until our Lord returns. Today, let's look at the “love of money.” We have already read of this matter in Paul's first letter to Timothy! 1Ti 6:9,10 says, “ But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” You gotta love the way the Holy Spirit uses words! Drowning is a very graphic picture of someone's strength being sapped from them. And that's what the love of money does! It will divert your energy from those things that really matter, as you chase after more and more. Ec 5:10 says, He who loves money will not be satisfied with money; nor he who loves wealth, with gain: This love of money and it's strength sapping consequences for the church is illustrated for us in the Old Testament account of Achan found in Joshua 7. The Israelites had just overthrown the city of Jericho and were given strict instructions from God to bring the bounty of their conquest into the treasury of the Lord. (Josh 6:19) But an Israelite named Achan pilfered some of the spoils and kept them for himself. Only Achan and his family and the Lord were aware of his transgression. No harm no foul right? Except the next time the Israelites (the church if you will) went out to battle they were soundly defeated by an inferior enemy! This God orchestrated defeat brought about a spirit of timidity to the Israelites (the church) v 10, “the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.” When Joshua brought the matter before the Lord, this was God's reply, “Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant which I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, and lied, and put them among their own stuff. 12 Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies;” Don't miss the lesson here. A church that is overly concerned about money cannot stand before their enemies, they become timid, compromising, and weak. This story of Achan is a warning from God for all time. “Never allow greed to cause us to forget God's will! You cannot serve God and mammon!

Lovers Of Themselves

Lovers of Themselves

244 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1,2, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, (2 Tim 3:1,2) Let's look more closely at these strength sapping influences and behaviors that will plague the church until our Lord returns. First on the list is selfishness, people will be lovers of themselves. This selfishness is nothing new! In fact if I could coin a new word here it would be “self-fleshness. It's what our flesh is all about! It screams, “feed me! Feed me! Take care of me first!” It's 'I, me, my, mine!” You can see the evidence of self-love early on in the life of a child. It's a trait of the natural man and is always present with us. And look what happens when the natural man puts on Christ! Ga 5:24 says, “And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” And in Ro 13:14, we read, “ But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. But our flesh does not give up easily! Whereas there is little or no battle with selfishness for the natural man, a battle of epic proportions begins for those who have come to faith in Christ. Listen to the Apostle Paul in Ro 7:15, “ For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” This is the ongoing battle for the Christian” and when selfishness wins, Christian strength is sapped. When love of self, wins out and starts to manifest itself in the church, perilous (strength sapping) times have come. Consider what a congregation would look like when self-love becomes dominant. The message will likely be compromised as in Isa 30:10, “ Who say to the seers, "Do not see," And to the prophets, "Do not prophesy to us right things; Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits.” The church will be something to “go to” where the flesh is fed rather than the Spirit. Strife will abound, pitting one persons fleshly needs against another! Php 2:4 will be tossed out the stained glass window: “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Yes, it is and always has been a perilous time for the church when selfishness enters the sanctuary. Guard against it with all the resolve you can muster. To paraphrase a quote from JFK. “Ask not what your church can do for you ,but what you can do for your church!” Remember Ro 12:10, “ Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;” Do this and you will do well.

The End Times

The Last Days

242 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:1-5, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (2 Tim 3:1-5) Paul's last letter to Timothy and here he says, “brace yourself Timothy!” because in the last days perilous times will come. The Greek word for perilous here contains the idea of “reducing strength.” Difficult and even dangerous times will come for the church, periods where its strength will be sapped by these worldly influences. That's why we must turn away from them. A common mistake that we make when reading such passages as these is we assign the last days to our own particular time frame. We look at these behaviors and observe the world around us and say, “the Lord is coming soon.” Now don't get me wrong here! We need that kind of an attitude! We could all use a little more sense of urgency as it concerns the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can't help but believe that the writers of the New Testament had that kind of urgency. What we need to understand is that Paul, Timothy, Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, George Washington, you and I, all have lived and live in the last days. Think about it, why warn Timothy of these things if they are reserved for the absolute “Last Days!” These traits of the world have been with us from the get go. Sometimes they are more prevalent than other times, but they will plague the followers of Christ until He returns. When they intensify as they seem to be doing in our world today, the church will face perilous, strength sapping times. But, these cycles have always been with us! Our job is to be prepared at all times, to keep believing and preaching the Gospel, to guard our own behavior against such traits, and knowing that as bad as it may get, the very gates of hell will not prevail. Perilous times will keep coming until the end, and our part is to keep preaching the gospel because Jesus said in Mt 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

God's Method of Dealing With Error

The Art of Correction

241 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 2:23-26, “ But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. 24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. Let's try to get a better understanding of these verses by using examples from the New Testament where Paul and others had to confront dangerous false teachings and practices n the fledgling congregations. For example, in Corinth he came against the hedonism of the culture that had crept into church and the improper practices that had twisted the purpose of the Lord's Supper. In Galatia he had to correct those who had ignorantly added circumcision and other legalistic teachings back into the salvation equation. In Philippi it was disunity, in Colosse it was gnosticism, and the worship of angels, and in Thessalonica there were ethical problems and wrong ideas about end times. All of these issues were serious and if not corrected could result in souls being snared by the devil. Paul handled them all with the spirit found in 1Th 2:7 But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. So he passes this same kind of advice onto Timothy and all others who will follow in Timothy's steps or calling. A servant of the Lord is not to go to quarrel, (the word means war) over these things. Violent opposition to the enemies of truth is never an answer. Rather, if correction is needed, a persistent, gentle, humble pointing to the Word of God is sufficient. Let the Holy Spirit do His thing in and among the Words of God. Repentance comes when the Word cuts to the heart, so trust the Word of God in that regard! Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It's no guarantee that the person in error will repent, but it's God's preferred method of dealing with error in the church!