Tag Archives: godliness

Godliness

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1 Timothy 3:14-16

Who is the most godly person you know? What qualities do you see that point to godliness in him or her?

I think of one of the ladies in my Sunday School class. She’s a woman grounded in the truth of Scripture. She is a prayer warrior. She has a quiet strength. She is refined, self-controlled, compassionate, kind, joyful, humble, faithful, wise, and generous. She has a servant’s heart and doesn’t seek recognition for the things she does. She feeds the hurting and ill people in our family of faith, sends cards and flowers, makes telephone calls, stays connected with many who have moved away. And most of the time her deeds are known only between her and the one who receives the blessing from her. Check out Proverbs 31. You might see her there.

This dear lady looks very much like Christ in her. She’s probably not perfect, although I can’t see a whole lot of imperfection. Godliness is not perfection. At least not yet.

But if Christ is in us, His character ought to be recognizable in us, too. My friend is still growing, still learning, still pursuing God as she loves and serves Him. I think that’s what Paul is recommending for Timothy (and us) here in these verses.

Take a good look at Jesus, then strive to be like Him, press on toward that goal, it’s not you or I who live but Christ living in and through us. Let our conduct in our homes, in our churches, our neighborhoods be a result of deep-seated loyalty and devotion to our Lord.

I pray that you are the most godly person in someone’s life. If not today, then soon as you grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus, as you submit daily to Him, and allow His Spirit to bear fruit in your life.

He deserves that.

May you be blessed and a blessing today.

The Wealth of Godliness

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1 Timothy 6

True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. (verse 6)

Can you have godliness without contentment? I doubt it. But you can go through the motions of godly living and be miserable.

Paul speaks of people who make a show of godliness, believing it is a way to become wealthy. He says their minds are corrupt and they have turned their backs on the truth. (6:5) That’s serious.

I believe first of all, Scripture tells us a truly godly person will have the mind of Christ, who didn’t cling to the riches of heaven, but instead chose to become a human being, to live and die for sinful man. (Philippians 2:5-11)

Jesus’ example of godly living was love, compassion, purity, hating sin, and doing everything to reveal the glory of God. (John 1:14)

A truly godly person wears, not his own righteousness, but the righteousness of Jesus through the cleansing blood of the Savior. (Ephesians 4:23-5:2)

A truly godly person learns to be content in every situation: wealth or poverty, health or illness, life or death. (Philippians 4:11-18)

After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. (1 Timothy 6:7)

Paul gives a warning to those who pretend to be godly in order to get some windfall, some check in the mail, or win the lottery:

But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. (6:9-10)

So, if not money, what is this great wealth Paul insists comes from true godliness?

Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control.

You can’t buy those things even with a Trump or Musk bank account.

The great wealth from true godly living is the very Presence of God in this life and in eternity. It’s hope. It’s forgiveness. It’s Jesus!

“Well, that doesn’t pay the bills now, does it?” you might argue.

Why do you think God should pay your bills? Scripture has a lot to say about working and having a good work ethic. But that’s not what Paul is talking about here in his letter to Timothy. Paul is talking about people who want more than simply having their needs met.

Paul is talking about priorities. Why do you follow Jesus?

Paul is talking about what is truly important, eternally important. And Scripture tells us nothing is more important than your relationship with your Savior.

Are you in it for the money? There’s a health and wealth gospel that says you can have it, and have it abundantly if you go through the motions of godly living. But Paul is here to tell you that’s going to plunge you into ruin and destruction.

My prayer is that you will choose Jesus for who He is, not for your bank account. Choose Jesus for the riches of Himself, today and forever. There is absolutely nothing that compares to the wealth of godliness.

Why Is There So Much Evil In The World?

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Proverbs 14:34

Our nation is reeling in the aftermath of pure evil, the vicious murder of innocent children and their teachers, the violent deaths of people in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, California, Arizona, Illinois, Colorado, Florida, all since May 20. (Google recent mass shootings and see for yourself. I just included states where there were deaths. And I included each state only once, even though some states were attacked more during this time period. It’s truly awful).

It’s not just gun violence. How many innocent children were murdered by abortion in the same time period? We in this nation are facing food shortages as a result of attacks on our food supply (not just human attackers, but accidents as well). Families are finding it hard to afford the basics needed to care for their families. The price of gas is out of control.

And we ask, “Why? Who is to blame? It must be the guns. It must be the schools, the government, Putin, and probably Trump.”

Solomon gives us the “why” in just a few words:

Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people. (Proverbs 14:34)

What is happening in our nation is a disgrace. But the cause of it, the people responsible for the rampant evil is you and me. It’s our godliness that can give us the ability to change the present course this nation is on. God will not bless a nation that turn its back on Him.

Unless you and I, unless the Church in America, make godliness our priority, we will continue to be a disgrace. And if you think it’s bad now…

Calling All Godly People

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Psalm 12

I read this psalm and think, “I get it, David. We are facing the same thing in 2022.”

It’s not just our neighbors who lie. It’s governments, the media, preachers, parents, teachers… the list goes on. They say:

We will lie to our hearts content. Our lips are our own, who can stop us?”

Right now I wonder if ANYONE can stop them. Like David, I too wonder if the godly are vanishing from the earth. The godly are the only hope for this world.

I could get on my soapbox. But instead I’m going to pray that those of you reading this post will recognize the lies you are being fed every day. Whether it’s your preacher saying worshiping God should be fun and make you feel good, or someone saying tolerance is love, or truth is relative, or the government promising illegals free stuff and a good life, or anyone saying a person can choose their sex, or that abortion is not murder, or the media isn’t biased, or global warning is a result of poor stewardship of the earth…

Oh man, I just stepped up on my soap box, didn’t I? I won’t go on. Instead I’m pleading with the godly people out there:

Pay attention.

Stand up for the truth according to Scripture.

Don’t accept what the loudest voices are saying. BE the loudest voice.

Once again, I am speaking to godly people, not just “Christians.” People are being told that a Christian is someone who believes certain things about Jesus. That’s a lie.

If you haven’t confessed your sin, repented (which means to turn from sin), if you aren’t growing more holy every day by of the choices you make as a result of your relationship with God through the blood of His Son Jesus – you are not a Christian. Therefore, this post does not apply to you.

Harsh? Yes. But I for one am tired of the lies. The truth hurts. But it is the truth.

If we who KNOW the truth are out there making ourselves heard, if we are living the godly lives we are called to live, if we are leading people to the saving grace of Jesus, there may be hope for this world yet,

even though the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land.

Calling all godly people! It’s up to us.

June 27; Not For Sale

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Amos 7-9; Hosea 1-3

Amos did not have a college degree. He wasn’t a scholar or an authority on spiritual things. He was a shepherd, and we know tending sheep wasn’t exactly a career choice that was held in high esteem in those days. Yet God  spoke to this humble, plain, unassuming man and gave him an important word for Israel. That same word reaches to us centuries later.

The word is this: God is not fooled by religious activities. In fact, I don’t believe God even likes religion. God says the religious people, His chosen people, will prostitute themselves.  And He promises to destroy them.

We might go through the motions of religion by going to church, reciting prayers, giving of our finances, and wearing Jesus’ name like a get-out-of-jail-free-card by calling ourselves Christians, while at the same time selling ourselves to the world by compromise, by participating in things that dishonor God, or simply by harboring bitterness or hatred, and having a depraved thought life. We might look religious to those around us, but the reality is we are nothing more than prostitutes.

When I read God’s Word I realize He’s not fooled by my outward appearance. He knows my heart. And I want my heart to be totally, sincerely His. When the world knocks at my door and wants me to join in, when sin entices me to compromise, I want to slam the door in its face. Let it be known my heart is…

Not For Sale.

 

December 18 – It’s In There

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I Timothy

I guess I’ve never realized how much Paul’s letter to Timothy is anything but “politically correct.” In fact, it’s not all that modern church correct, either.

I pray you will read this book today and ask God to speak to you about homosexuality, about eternal security, about local church leaders, about helping the needy, about “knowledge”, about judgment, and about Jesus. He might speak to your heart about drinking wine, your attitude toward money, or godliness.

It’s all in these six chapters. And I pray that as you read the words God inspired Paul to write you will be challenged to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance,and gentleness, and to “fight the good fight of faith.” (6:11-12)

Grace be with you.

A Tattoo On My Life

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Tattoos are the rage these days. I have a friend who got her first tat when she turned 60. I recently saw a boy of about eight with a cross tattooed to his leg. Both his parents were covered in colorful ink.

Tattoos are no longer “Mom” written on a sailor’s arm. Flowers and skulls and dragons and butterflies, even faces and catchy phrases are worn from the scalp to the toes and everywhere in between by a growing number of people.

In Ezekiel’s vision, an angel was given the task of putting a mark on the forehead of the people who were grieved over sin. (Ez 9) Only those few, with the angel’s tat, were saved. Everyone else lost their lives as a result of God’s judgement.

So I ask myself: is there a visible sign in me that identifies me with the Savior? Is it possible to be a closet Christian? Or, like in Ezekiel’s vision, are we to live as though we had “JESUS” tattooed on our foreheads? The Bible tells us there is no other name under heaven that can save us.

I have no plans to ever have a tattoo. I’ve only ever seen one worth having, and that’s my niece’s personal tribute to her brother, who was tragically killed in an auto accident two years ago. It’s the Hebrew word for “brother” that Jesus used when he spoke to his disciples, and it’s on her right wrist.

I don’t want a tattoo. But I want to live my life in such a way that Jesus is as visible as if his name was tattooed to my forehead. May Christ be seen in me by the words I say, the places I go, the things I do, by the very look on my face.

Dear Jesus, I love you. What you did on the cross so that I can be with you is everything to me. Help me live my life so that others know that about me. May they recognize your love, your grace, your peace, your Presence when they look at my life. Convict me when I begin to get off track and may I be quick to confess. I would be honored to represent you today according to your Word. You have tattooed your Name on my heart. May I wear it proudly and truly so that someone will recognize you and want you in their life, too.

How Do I Look?

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I’ve heard the account of Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego many times and for many years. But when I recently read about Daniel’s desire to abstain from the kings food, I found myself wondering what it is I am ingesting myself. Not the chips I ate yesterday, or the big piece of angel food cake I had for dinner last night. I’m wondering what it is I’m feeding my soul.

What do I read, watch on TV? What is it a pastor or teacher or friend or blogger has said? The Bible tells me to guard my heart. How am I doing?

If I’m watching acts of sin played out on TV, what is that doing to my heart’s condition before God? If I go to a church with a “God is Love” theology without preaching the truth about his holiness, is that effecting my relationship with God? Is the music I listen to slowly separating me from God’s Presence? Relationships, thoughts, what I do in secret, are feeding my soul.

The difference in Daniel and his friends was noticeable They looked better than everyone else because of the food they rejected, the pure food they ingested. 

I wonder if people, when they look at my life, can tell I’ve feasted on God’s Word and abstained from what was offered to me by the world. I want to look different: better, more joyful, kinder, more honest. I want to BE a person others identify with my Savior.

 

 

June 29

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2 Kings 15:17-20, 6-7, 21-29, 32-38, 16:1-9; 1 Chronicles 5:23-26, 26:22-23, 27:1-9, 28:1-21; Isaiah 6:1-13; I Chronicles 5:11-17

I am sure that the Israelites who had begged God for a flesh and blood king had no idea what the future held. Even after God spelled it out they could not have seen generations down the road. The nation split in two. Rampant idolatry, Slavery. War. One king after another would come and go (usually as a result of a violent death). And the Jewish people would suffer.

Do you care that your decisions today will have an effect years, perhaps generations from now? Maybe the Jews back in Saul’s day thought, oh well, I won’t be around to see the awful things my grandchildren will suffer Is that your attitude as well?

If you think your relationship with the Lord is just about you – you’re wrong. If you think holding on to a sin or putting off living for the Lord doesn’t effect anyone – think again. If God is not King in your life today, there may be people down the road who will have to live with the consequences.

Our society has accepted the lie that each individual is number one, that I have the right to live the way I want, do what makes me feel good, that I don’t have to follow any rule that I don’t like. I’m just saying I’m glad Jesus didn’t have that attitude.

May Jesus be my example. May I live my life intentionally aware that the little ones in my life will have to live with the results of the way I vote, the debt I incur, the standards I uphold. And my example of what it means to be a Christian is being watched by someone who will either accept Jesus as Savior or reject him on the basis of what they see in me. And their lives touch their own little ones as well who will live with the way they vote, the debt they incur, and the standards they uphold. And so on. And so on. And so on.

Dear God, help us to live like Jesus lived. Not focused on ourselves and our comforts. Help us live understanding that we have a responsibility to the generations after us. May they serve You because we did.