I’m joining Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to share some blessings from the week.
1. A Medieval Faire. I’ve wanted to go to one of these for years. This one was about an hour away from us, but so much fun. It had a Robin Hood theme, Human Battle Chess with characters from Robin Hood lore, a (very fake, but fun to watch) jousting tournament, various performers, and vendors. Many of those who came dressed up as well.
2. Medical phone calls done. I don’t know why I hate these so much. 🙂 They don’t take long to accomplish. But it felt good to take care of them in one sitting. I’m still waiting for a reply to one . . . but at least the ball is in their court.
3. French toast for one. I rarely make this, as it’s a little more involved and a little much for a regular breakfast. But I was in the mood for something different and came up with this. It was just for one because Jim usually eats breakfast before I do.
4. Connect Four group. Our group of four ladies from church had our third get-together, this time at Zaxby’s. I enjoyed the conversation immensely.
5. Early voting. There was a pretty long line, but not as long as it will be on election day, and it moved quickly.
Bonus: Beautiful fall color. It’s been rumored that the fall leaves would be not quite as vibrant this year because the weather has been so dry (minus the hurricane). But as we were out and about yesterday, I drank in the beauty of many trees.
In the foreword of the reprinting of Mrs. Tim of the Regiment, author D. E. Stevenson says the book came about in the 1930s when a friend’s daughter was about to marry an officer in the Highland Regiment. The family wondered what military life would be like. Stevenson lent them her diary from her days as a young military wife. The friend returned it, saying her family had laughed heartily over it, and if she “pepped it up a bit,” she could publish it as a novel.
So Stevenson did expand and “pep up” the story. Two volumes that were originally published were combined as one in Mrs. Tim of the Regiment. Three more volumes followed over the next few years.
The book is written in a journal format, Mrs. Tim, or Hester, having received a new diary for Christmas. Her husband is an officer and they have two children, Brian and Betty. Although they have a cook, a governess, and a few servants, they talk all the time about how financially strapped they are.
The first part of the book doesn’t actually have a plot per se. It’s more a recording of Hester’s encounters with friends, run-ins with servants, and happenings with her children. In the second half (which was originally a separate book), Hester and her daughter, Betty, spend two weeks with a friend on holiday in Scotland.
At the center of it all is Hester’s wry observations and likeable personality. As a senior officer’s wife, she visits the other wives and children to encourage them. She’s not timid, but has a hard time standing up to her cook and others.
On interviewing a headmistress of a school for her daughter, and saying that Betty’s governess found her very quick, Hester is told, “Quickness is more often than not a sign of of a superficial brain.” Hester writes, “I relapse into a species of jelly but still have sufficient strength to say that I think she will find Betty is a good child and very reasonable.”
One of my favorite sentences in the book: “The oldest antiquity whose beard is quite white–or was, previous to the tomato soup–pricks up his ears.”
Sometimes Stevenson waxes poetic, especially when describing scenery:
The rolling hills give place to mountains which stand back in sullen splendor and allow us pass. The cattle become sheep, snowy lambs with black wobbly legs and cheeky little black faces interrupt their breakfast to stare at the train. Streams leap down the hillsides among the rocks and dive beneath the wheels to emerge on the other side in beds of gravel and yellow stones.
Of course, I don’t expect secular authors to have Christian values, but I still like to see how they think and write about spiritual things. There’s mention of an occasional prayer and going to church, with comments like, “The singing was good but the sermon was dull.” One “hellfire” type of sermon seems to have shaken Hester, but is brushed off by the other church members.
There are a few “damns” and occasionally a gossipy, negative attitude towards some people. One family friend seems to fall in love with Hester, though she is too “hedged with innocence” to realize it. (One thing I found odd about those times was that it was thought wrong for a woman to go around by herself, but no one had a problem with a married woman and single man going off to have picnics or visits sites alone together.)
I found the book mildly amusing. I didn’t like it quite as well as I did the Barbara Buncle books and Amberwell and it sequel, Summerhills. Those earlier books had a homey feel about them, somewhat in tone like Little Women or Anne of Green Gables (though written in a different style and era). I didn’t get quite that same feeling until near the end of this book.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Christine Rendel. I’ll listen to the next book in the series, since I have it free via Audible‘s “Plus catalog,” then decide whether to read the other Mrs. Tim books.
Almost every day, I pray for rulers and authorities according to 1 Timothy 2:1-2. Recently I had occasion to look up that passage, and was stunned to find I had forgotten a key point.
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.
The word I had overlooked?
Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving?
How can we be thankful for rulers who don’t rule well (speaking generally across a lifetime of elected officials), who oppose God’s moral law, who stand for things we’re against?
Well, at the time Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, they were under the reign of Nero—not the most moral of leaders, and certainly not friendly to Christians.
Even the worst rulers keep some sort of order. Without them, we’d have total anarchy or mob rule, neither of which is good.
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience (Romans 13:3).
But besides that, the Bible says that rulers are appointed by God.
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God (Romans 13:1).
For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another (Psalm 75:6-7).
He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding (Daniel 2:21).
The Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men (Daniel 4:17b).
How can God set up ungodly rulers?
Habakkuk wondered that in the book that bears his name. He complained to God about the sin, violence, strife, and destruction all around him. “The law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth.For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted” (1:4).
How did God answer? He was sending the “dreaded and fearsome” Chaldeans, known for their violence, “whose own might is their god.“
If Habakkuk lived in our day, he might have said, “Wait—what?” He protests, and then God elaborates. Their conversation is too long to share here, but I encourage you to read it. God was judging Israel, but He would judge the Chaldeans, too. Habakkuk asks God to “in wrath remember mercy,” and though he trembles, he trusts and will rejoice in God.
God doesn’t always share His reasons for what He does. Sometimes He appoints wicked rulers as a judgment. Sometimes we’re more prayerful when a candidate we’re opposed to wins an election. When “our guy” is in office, we tend to trust him rather than God. Sometimes He has other purposes in mind. But rulers don’t have a free pass just because God appointed them. They are accountable to Him as well.
And even when wicked rulers are in power, God is still on the throne. Statements and evidences of this are all over Scripture, but one clear example is in the book of Esther. God’s name is not mentioned in Esther, but His fingerprints are everywhere. Despite a heathen king and a wicked enemy, God spared His people.
The United States will hold elections in a couple of weeks. Whether our preferred candidates win or not, we should:
Remember God is still on the throne.
Obey authorities unless they ask us to disobey God. “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29); “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people” (Titus 3:1-2).
Pray for them. “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 (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
Thank God for them (1 Timothy 2:1).
Respect them. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor (1 Peter 2:17).
Serve God. Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God (1 Peter 2:13-16).
Human government is, in one sense, God’s gift to help maintain order in the world, so that the church may minister the Word and win the lost to Christ (1 Tim. 2: 1–8). We should pray daily for those in authority so that they might exercise that authority in the will of God. It is a serious thing for a Christian to oppose the law, and he must be sure he is in the will of God when he does it. He should also do it in a manner that glorifies Christ, so that innocent people (including unsaved government employees) might not be made to suffer (p. 64).
Speaking evil of others is a great sin, and the people of God must avoid it. We may not respect the people in office, but we must respect the office, for all authority is God-given. Those who revile government officials in the name of Christ ought to read and ponder Titus 3: 1–2: “Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men” (NASB). When Daniel refused the king’s food, he did it in a gracious way that did not get his guard into trouble (Dan. 1). Even when the apostles refused to obey the Sanhedrin’s order that they stop preaching in the name of Jesus, they acted like gentlemen. They respected the authority, even though they disobeyed the order (p. 65, emphasis mine).
What can we pray for elected officials?
Wisdom. “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” (1 Kings 3:9).
Justice. “May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice! May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,give deliverance to the children of the needy,and crush the oppressor!” (Psalm 72:2, 4).
Peace; opportunity to live a godly life. “That we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:2)
Right counsel, that wrong counsel will be unheeded. “And it was told David, ‘Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.’ And David said, ‘O Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness” (2 Samuel 15:31).
Truth; salvation. Joseph, Daniel, Peter, Paul, and others had opportunities to share God’s truth with the leaders of their day.
No earthly ruler or authority will be perfect, yet God uses them for His own purposes. It matters that we use the voice God has given us through voting as wisely as possible. But then we trust Him for and through the results. And because we trust Him, we can thank Him.
Updated to add: I will not approve any comments pro or against any candidate. My point is that ALL Christians are under obligation to respect, obey, pray for, and thank God for whichever candidates are elected.
I have a fairly long list of good online articles discovered this week. Perhaps a few will be of interest to you.
Gone Are the Dark Clouds, HT to Challies. “If communicating the gospel appears daunting, remember that Christ commissions and accompanies us. Through Jesus’s work on the cross we are reconciled to God, not abandoned. We can talk about this with genuine care and love for people.”
Why Does God Say No to Good Things, HT to Challies. “We understand why God would reject requests contrary to his revealed will (e.g., for provisions to rob a bank successfully) or purely materialistic requests (e.g., to win the lottery). But why would God say no to something good—seemingly consistent with his desires?”
Satan Loves Social Media. “Every other video on the internet seems to be trying to convince women to be dissatisfied with their lives. I’m not just talking about people displaying gorgeous homes and inspiring jealousy. I’m not even talking about the vast array of ads and influencer posts that convince us we aren’t allowed to age or sport any type of physical imperfections. I’m talking about reel after reel of men and women explaining to women specifically and in great detail why we should be unhappy.”
Great Gifts but Little Faithfulness. “I have known Christians who have great gifts but low faithfulness. God has given them much and it is apparent that they are making little of it. . . . I have also known men who have few gifts but great faithfulness. God has given them little and it is apparent that they are making much of it.”
No Little People. No Little Places, HT to Challies. “As Francis Schaeffer would say, ‘No little people, no little places.’ Everything God gives us to do is big and beautiful and of eternal significance. So let’s not miss out on the chances God gives us every single day to make a difference to someone.”
A Key Discipline: Observe Without Judgment. “It can be jarring to worship in a church that adheres to an unfamiliar tradition. Customs may be strange and patterns may differ from what I am accustomed to. And it is at the point of such differences that I immediately find myself tempted to pass judgment.”
Stretching Joy: 10 Ways to Notice God’s Everyday Mercies, HT to Challies. “I’ve been considering lately how to amplify singular moments of joy or beauty that God gives me. I want them to be longer-lasting, more durable experiences of thanksgiving that coexist with ongoing hardship, sorrow, or struggle with sin.”
The Glory of Good Work, HT to Redeeming Productivity. “Watching someone do good work brings joy. So does hearing someone talk about how they do something difficult that’s worth doing for the good and enjoyment of others. Proverbs 22:29 says, “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” God made us to enjoy seeing people who are good at their work.”
Grace and Peace in an Election Year. “In an election year, loving our politically-other neighbor may feel more costly than airfare with an extra baggage fee! Our toughest cross-cultural assignment may be extending grace to a colleague or fellow church member whose opinions seem incomprehensible to us.”
“If we really want God’s will to be done and His kingdom to come, the chances are pretty good that my will is going to have to be undone every once in a while.” –Elisabeth Elliot
Another Friday marks another opportunity to pause for a moment and cultivate gratitude for the blessings of the week. We share those blessings with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story.
1. Dinner guests. A couple from our church loves India and has been there several times. Mittu invited them over for Indian food but asked if we could meet at our house. The wife of the couple has back and hip problems, and our house is on one level while Jason and Mittu’s front door opens to steps going up to their living room. It worked out well that Mittu did the cooking and I did the cleaning. 🙂 We had a wonderful time of fellowship.
2. An Amazon gift card. I received it for my birthday but was saving it until I knew what I wanted to do with it. It was nice to extend a birthday gift for several months.
3. A denim jacket. It may sound silly, but I have been wanting one for a while. The ones I had seen were a little more than I wanted to pay. I found one at a pretty reasonable price on Amazon, and that’s one of the things I used my gift card for.
4. Central Heat. We had a cold spell this week—nights in the 30s, days in the 60s. It’s so nice to just push a button to switch from AC to heat.
5. Fall color is starting to show on the leaves in earnest now.
Perhaps you know someone who can’t seem to come to assurance that they are Christians.They’ve asked Him to save them several times, and feel content each time, but sooner or later, they question whether they really believed or repented, or did so the right way or “enough.”
Satan can trip people up over assurance because if we’re insecure about our salvation, we come to a standstill in our Christian growth. We don’t have the confidence to serve the Lord in any way. Instead of going forward in our Christian lives, we’re spinning our wheels over the same issues.
On the other hand, there is such a thing as false assurance. Jesus said there would be people who stand before Him some day, fully assured that they are all right spiritually. They’ll be shocked to hear Him say, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”
Then he explains that God truly wants us to have assurance. He shares what it means that Jesus died in our place and why we can trust Him, along with separate chapters on the nature of true faith and repentance. Another chapter discusses the seeming contradiction between Bible verses that say we will never lose our salvation with other verses that appear to indicate we can. The last two chapters cover evidences of salvation in 1 John and what to do with continued doubts. One appendix deals with whether one needs to be baptized again if they’ve made subsequent professions of faith after baptism. The second deals with the “indispensable link between assurance and the doctrine of justification by faith alone.”
At first glance, I thought this book was about reasons not to use the terminology of “asking Jesus into your heart” as a way of telling people how to be saved. Greear discusses this briefly, saying he thinks it can be used as long as the gospel has been fully understood.
Some of the quotes that stood out to me:
Salvation comes not because you prayed a prayer correctly, but because you have leaned the hopes of your soul on the finished work of Christ (Location 269, Kindle).
I can say with certainty that God wants you to have certainty about your salvation. He changes, encourages, and motivates us not by the uncertainty of fear, but by the security of love. That is one of the things that makes the gospel absolutely distinct from all other religious messages in the world (Location 295).
We don’t hope we are forgiven, we know it, because our standing before God has nothing to do with our worthiness, but the worthiness of the Advocate who now stands in our place (Location 551).
If you base your assurance on what you do or how well you do it, you’ll never find assurance. You’ll always be wondering if you are doing enough. If your assurance is based on what Christ has done, however, you can rest in His performance. Your salvation is as secure as His finished work (Location 654).
When we come to Jesus nothing can be off-limits. We cannot come with preconditions or limitations. To possess eternal life, we must be willing to let everything else go. We don’t approach Jesus to negotiate eternal life; we approach Him in total surrender. As C. S. Lewis famously said, “We don’t come to Him as bad people trying to become good people; we come as rebels to lay down our arms” (Location 887).
You don’t follow Jesus like you follow someone on Twitter, where you are free to take or leave their thoughts at your leisure. Following Jesus is not letting Him come into your life to be an influence, even if it’s a significant influence. Following Jesus means submitting to Him in all areas at all times regardless of whether you agree with what He says or not (Location 979).
If repentance were perfection, none of these people repented. Repentance, however, means recognizing Jesus’ authority and submitting to it, even though you know your heart is weak, divided, and pulled in conflicting directions. Repentance includes a plea for God to change your inconsistent, divided heart (Ps. 86: 11; Mark 9: 24) (Location 1019).
Greear writes pastorally, basing his answers firmly in Scripture but with everyday rather than academic language. I’ve not read him before, and I might disagree with a couple of his minor points. But overall I think this book was tremendously helpful both for those who have made a false profession and those who fear they might have.
Some believe that Jesus is a good example, but they don’t believe He is God in the flesh.
C. S. Lewis famously said that if Jesus is not God, He is not good. Since He claimed to the God, if He isn’t, then He is either delusional or deceptive.
We know by faith, by the Word of God, by His claims, by the testimony of others that Jesus is God.
So we know that Jesus is more than just a good example. Yet the Scriptures tell His children specifically to look to Him as an example in various aspects of life.
We don’t follow His example to try to be enough like Him to earn salvation. That would never work. We could never be “good enough.” Plus, He’s told us that salvation is by grace through faith, not ourselves (Ephesians 2:8-9).
So first, we look to Him for salvation (John 3:16-18). Then we look to Him as our perfect example for leading a godly life.
Love. “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2).
Endurance. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” (Hebrews 12:1-3).
Service. “When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (John 13:12-27).
Putting othersfirst. “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me'” (Romans 15:1-3).
Humility and sacrifice. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11).
Suffering. “For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:19-24).
“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God” (1 Peter 4:1-2).
Taking up our cross. “Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it'” (Matthew 16:24).
There are also many ways He was an example to us where the Bible doesn’t use that word. For instance, as He resisted Satan with the Word of God, He showed us how to do the same. (Matthew 4). 1 John 2:6 says, “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”
However, looking to Jesus as an example naturally leads to this thought: He is God. Of course He could do all these things perfectly. I am not and cannot.
Of course, we’ll never do any of these things perfectly. But looking to Jesus does more than inspire us and give us an ideal.
When I look at how Jesus suffered unjustly without “reviling” or “threatening,” my tendency to chafe under my minor trials melts away.
When I see how He didn’t stand on His “rights” as the Son of God, my grasp on my own rights loosens.
When I see the love He expressed to me and to others, His love fills me and overflows.
Colossians 2:3 tells us that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Similarly, 1 Corinthians 1:30 says, “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”
So we not only learn wisdom as we observe in the Bible what He did when He was on earth, but our very righteousness and sanctification are in Him.
Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
As we behold Him, we don’t just see an inspirational example to follow. In some way, we’re actually transformed to be more like Him.
May this be our prayer:
Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee, Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art; Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness; Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
I haven’t been online as much as usual this week, but I have a short list of good reads discovered.
Count It All Joy: How to Grow and Mature in Trials. “I have a confession to make: Sometimes I revert to thinking like I’m in a fairytale. This one meets that one, and they live happily ever after. This happens and that happens and . . . they live happily ever after.”
Let’s Stop the Kid Jokes, HT to Challies. “While joking about kids may seem inconsequential in the moment, this sort of talk points to a larger cultural trend toward devaluing children by depicting them as burdensome and annoying. As Christians, we need to pause and reflect on how we speak about our children. Do our comments about parenting and our children’s struggles reflect Christ’s heart or the hot takes of our culture?”
The Measure of a Mom: How Women Combat Comparison. “Even in the local church, conflict flares unseen in the minds of mothers who allow their choices to become their identity. And with so many choices available, there are infinite ways for us to be divided.”
I Don’t Want to Be Taught! “While the rest of us are trying to white-knuckle a disciplined outward appearance, my youngest daughter’s disdain for being taught was in full display. It caused me to consider the state of my own heart, how often I might resent being shown my lack of wisdom and knowledge in matters more weighty than chess. Despite following Christ for most of my life, I find I am often still trying to go it alone, trying to prove I know the rules (or can make my own) and can safely play by them.”
You Can’t Afford to Sit Out the 2024 Election. “There is no perfect party or candidate. But some support policies that do a better job of honoring biblical values. I pray for protection for those who do.” I don’t say much about politics here, but I believe we need to be good stewards of this right we’ve been given to have a voice in our elected officials.
Unbelief puts our circumstances between us and God, but faith puts God between us and our circumstances. —F. B. Meyer
October is chugging right along. I’m pausing a few moments with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to remember the good parts of the week.
1. Getting “extra” things done. You know how, when someone is coming over, all of a sudden you have a number of projects and “extra” housekeeping tasks you want to get done? A friend was due to stay with us overnight on her trip from OH to SC, but had to change plans due to Hurricane Helene. She did go later, but had to vary her route so much that she wasn’t passing close to us any more. I decided to go ahead with some of those extra activities anyway, which was helpful since we’re having some folks over for dinner this week.
2. Answered prayer. My son’s friend’s cancer surgery went well, and a friend’s family in FL was safe during Hurricane Milton.
3. Dinner and games. Timothy texted and asked if he and his mom and dad could bring dinner over one night. Of course! We often play Jackbox games through the Apple TV, but this time played Telestrations at the table since Tim is old enough to handle it now. That one always provides laughs and creativity.
4. Rearranging and sorting books. I have a small bookcase in our bedroom (in addition to two large ones in the family room and one in the guest bedroom). The small one has my massive pile of “to-be-read” books. I also put books there that I have finished but either haven’t found a place for yet or haven’t decided what to do with. It felt good to get those organized and dusted, find places for a few, and set aside a stack to give away.
5. Recorded Zoom training sessions. A couple of sites I follow had Zoom meetings about writing with special guests and a Q&A session afterward. I couldn’t attend either at the time, but, thankfully, the sponsors made the recordings available to watch later. I’ve worked my way through those a little at a time throughout the week.
At first glance, it might seem like Warren Wiersbe collected leftover short epistles to review in Be Alert: (2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, Jude); Beware of Religious Imposters. However, as his subtitle indicates, these four books near of the end of the New Testament have a common theme.
Often we go to the Bible for comfort, affirmation, assurance that God loves us and will take care of us. Those motives aren’t wrong: we find all those things in the Bible.
But the Bible’s purpose isn’t just to make us feel warm and cozy. God is truth, and anything that isn’t in line with His Word is falsehood. Satan, as God’s enemy, works seemingly tirelessly to question and pervert what God said. Indeed, his first recorded temptation was to question Eve in the garden of Eden about what God said and then to twist it. Often Satan includes enough truth to hook unsuspecting individuals.
That’s one reason to know God’s truth well (the first being that we learn to know God by learning His truth). Paul warned that “Men will rise up even from your own number and distort the truth to lure the disciples into following them” (Acts 20:30). Peter shared that false teachers will “twist” the Scriptures (“wrest” in the KJV). “The Greek word translated ‘wrest’ means ‘to torture on the rack, to distort and pervert’” (p. 113).
2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, and Jude all share what false teachers do, what motivates them, and what judgement is coming to them.
We’re not to support false teachers in any way, not even allowing them into our homes (2 John 10-11), but we’re to help those who have been influenced by them. “And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh” (Jude 22-23).
While the call to beware of false teachers is meant to help us to be alert and careful, we don’t need to panic or live in fear. 2 Peter opens with the reminder that “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Peter 1:3-4) and closes with “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:17-18).
Likewise, Jude ends his warnings with “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (verses 20-21). Wiersbe comments, “He did not write, ‘Keep yourselves saved!’ because he had already assured them that they were ‘preserved in Jesus Christ’ (Jude 1). He wrote, ‘Keep yourselves in the love of God.’ Our Lord made a similar statement recounted in John 15: 9: ‘Continue ye in my love’” (p. 191). After several paragraphs on Christian love, he concludes, “We grow in our love for God as we listen to His Word, obey it, and delight in doing what pleases Him. That is how we keep ourselves in God’s love” (p. 192).
Finally, Jude concludes with this wonderful benediction: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To ]God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen” (verses 24-25).
Here are a few more thoughts Wiersbe shared:
In his first epistle, Peter emphasized the grace of God (1 Peter 5: 12), but in this second letter, his emphasis is on the knowledge of God. The word know or knowledge is used at least thirteen times in this short epistle. The word does not mean a mere intellectual understanding of some truth, though that is included. It means a living participation in the truth in the sense that our Lord used it in John 17: 3: “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (italics Wiersbe’s) (p. 19, Kindle version).
God has not only given us all that we need for life and godliness, but He has also given us His Word to enable us to develop this life and godliness. These promises are great because they come from a great God and they lead to a great life. They are precious because their value is beyond calculation. If we lost the Word of God, there would be no way to replace it. Peter must have liked the word precious, for he wrote about the “precious faith” (2 Peter 1: 1; cf. 1 Peter 1: 7), the “precious promises” (2 Peter 1: 4), the “precious blood” (1 Peter 1: 19), the precious stone (1 Peter 2: 4, 6), and the precious Savior (1 Peter 2: 7) (p. 22).
God gives His children all that they need to live godly lives, but His children must apply themselves and be diligent to use the “means of grace” He has provided. Spiritual growth is not automatic. It requires cooperation with God and the application of spiritual diligence and discipline. “Work out your own salvation.… For it is God which worketh in you” (Phil. 2: 12–13) (pp. 22-23).
It is a frightening fact that many people who are now zealous members of cults were at one time attending churches that at least professed to believe the Christian gospel (p. 79).
And with that, I have finished all 50 of Warren Wiersbe’s “Be” commentaries!
Stray Thoughts 