“Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil…” – 2 Timothy 2:23-24

First, we must admit Paul’s talking to us. Then we must admit that he’s talking about whatever it is we’re arguing with people about on social media. Then we must breathe and learn the lesson!

The Lord’s servant – hopefully that‘s all of you – must not be quarrelsome. Period. That means there are things we’d love to debate and argue about, but we won’t. There are things we know we could really change people‘s minds about because of our knowledge and persuasive skills. But it’s a waste of time that repels people from Jesus Christ and the gospel. So we need to keep quiet on those things. Never trade your gospel witness for being ”right” on Facebook!

Be kind, be patient, seek to teach with love and gentleness. Toward everyone. Even that jerk who believes that thing that’s obviously dumb (to you)! This doesn’t mean you should ever compromise the faith – that we must never do. That isn’t a foolish controversy or quarrel. We absolutely must contend for the gospel. And that’s why we must not quarrel about a whole host of lesser issues!

Let’s face it, there’s lots of stuff we can argue with people about where we might be right yet we harm God’s Kingdom just by arguing. Christ calls us to surrender our total freedom of speech so we can speak freely, authentically, and impactfully about what matters most – the good news of Jesus Christ and the ancient truths of the faith!

“So don’t be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me his prisoner. Instead, share in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God.” – 2 Timothy 1:8

Are you ready to suffer for the gospel? Are you really??? If you aren’t, you’d better get ready! The temptation to be embarrassed or ashamed to be associated with Christ and Christianity is likely to increase dramatically. The social cost of being a faithful Christian is rising. It will increase as our culture collectively repudiates the antics, behaviors, claims, and failings of many self-appointed Christian leaders who have forgotten how to follow Christ. It will increase as the traditional faith delivered once for all time becomes further and further separated from the prevailing spirit of our times trumpeting radical autonomy and celebrating whatever is right in anyone’s eyes.

It will be increasingly tempting to muffle, hide, or explain away clinging to the cross of Christ with its incredibly out-of-fashion emphasis on the blood of Jesus shed as a penalty for sin – something our culture doesn’t even believe in. It will be tempting to hide our church affiliation as faithful Christians are targeted for scorn and legal action.

While the first suffering will be social – the contempt of unbelievers for the perceived foolishness of the gospel, the labeling as a hater of others, and the resentment toward all Christians because of hypocrites who too often speak for Christ – the cost of the gospel will only continue to rise. In our culture, if you don’t affirm everything anyone says, you’ll eventually be condemned as a bigot. Are you ready to be condemned? Are you ready to be deemed a threat to modern values? Are you ready to be treated as a threat with legal opposition and persecution for speaking or living your beliefs?

Of course not! None of us are ready in our own strength. However, if we believe and proclaim the gospel, then God’s power will fill and strengthen us to endure. God will be revealed through our weakness, not our strength! I pray that God would prepare every follower of Jesus to suffer for the gospel, leaning not on their own strength, but on His power. God willing, when we do learn to resolutely suffer for the gospel in God’s power, that power will be poured out in a revival unlike any we’ve ever seen before in history. Get ready!

“But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” – 1 Timothy 6:6-7

For most people 2020 hasn’t turned out exactly as planned! For some, it’s been devastating while for others it’s merely been endlessly exhausting and anxious. It’s been an ongoing reminder of how fragile life, our way of life, and our plans truly are.

It’s also provided an opportunity to reflect on what really matters: our relationship with God, inviting people into God’s Kingdom, spending time with those we love, caring for those in need. As some parts of our lives were radically simplified and others made dramatically more complex, God has given us an opportunity to cultivate the two qualities highlighted here: godliness and contentment.

Neither depends on our life circumstances. They don’t depend on our health, wealth, safety, or comfort. They depend on our heart and our growing relationship with God.

Godliness is the pursuit of a character like God’s. It’s about personal holiness, righteousness, rejection of sin, mercy, kindness, generosity, and grace. While we’ll never be perfectly godly, the Holy Spirit Who lives inside every Christ follower empowers us to pursue ever-increasing godliness. As every habit and pattern of life has been tossed in the air this year, it’s an excellent time to reshape our life to pursue godliness through prayer, Bible reading, meditation, and loving service.

Contentment is an extraordinary quality that enables us to quietly ride the stormy seas of life! Contentment flows out of our identity as children of God united with Christ, the knowledge that God loves us no matter what our circumstances may be, and our growing love for and satisfaction in God Himself. We grow content in difficult circumstances as we pursue God and find Him in the whirlwind. When we grab ahold of Him and refuse to let go, no matter what, we’ll find contentment each day, regardless of what actually happens.

Godliness and contentment are extraordinary gifts offered to every Christ-follower. Use the terrible disruptions of this year as an opportunity to pursue these, so that you may rise above the turmoil in the peace of God!

“As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you.” – Jeremiah 44:16

People won’t always listen to God’s Word! While we eagerly desire for those with whom we share God’s hope, plan, and teachings to listen and respond favorably, that isn’t always going to happen. In fact, it may seldom happen. That doesn’t lessen our responsibility one bit.

Jeremiah’s ministry wasn’t a happy one. He proclaimed the word of God for many years, but nobody really listened and nobody changed their sinful behavior. That didn’t make his work less important or less anointed by God. His model of faithfulness should inspire us to minister faithfully even in unfruitful times and in the face of tremendous opposition.

As followers of God, we’re called to be faithful and to trust God to produce fruit according to His will and His timing. We can’t make people respond to the word of God or His offer of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We must trust God for that.

We’re responsible to be faithful in our conduct and our words at all times. We’re called to be faithful in sharing our hope in Christ, living and teaching the Word of God, and ministering in Christ’s name during fruitful seasons and during hard, dry spells. We must so ground our identity and work in Christ’s presence in our lives that we can be equally faithful when things are going great and when everyone harshly rejects what we have to say.

Lord, may we be faithful to you, no matter how the culture and people around us respond!

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” – 1 Timothy 2:1-4

This is a hard discipline in today’s hyper-partisan atmosphere! It’s hard to pray for people we fundamentally disagree with in every way, and yet there are certainly some of those at the federal, state, or local level for just about all of us! Followers of Jesus must never let our earthly political affiliation outweigh our obedience to Christ’s command that we pray for leaders at every level of government and of every political persuasion. We must pray for them faithfully today and pray for them faithfully in a few months even if they are completely different people!

This shouldn’t ever be about politics. This is about pleasing God, living as godly ambassadors in this fallen world, praying for the peace of the church in an increasingly un-peaceful society, and advancing the Kingdom of God. Here Paul explicitly links praying for leaders, including those friendly to the church AND those hostile to traditional Christianity, to the saving of many. We long for another great spiritual awakening to sweep across our country, but are we diligently offering the prayers God commands us to pray that are linked to such an awakening?