Life That is Truly Life

Scripture

 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

~I Timothy 6:18-19

Quote

Giving does not diminish our life; it enriches our life and brings us into an entirely new dimension.

~Ya’akov

I make no apology for preaching stewardship and I have sound biblical reasons for doing so. In 1 Timothy, Paul is admonishing his son in the ministry {Timothy} to be very careful. Greed is a temptation for preachers. It can be a trap that leads to ruin and destruction and it must be avoided. Paul told Timothy, “Don’t pursue wealth, rather pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” Not only was Timothy to guard against greed in his own life, he was to warn others of the dangers associated with greed. Paul told Timothy to command those who were rich to:

• Put their faith in God who provides us with wealth for our enjoyment.
• Be rich in good deeds for others.
• Be generous and willing to share.

What was Paul’s reasoning for commanding Timothy to address the problem of greed? The answer is found in verse 19, “So that they [rich] may take hold of the life that is truly life.“ I was addressing the issue of giving a few Wednesday nights ago and a layman who is a professional bow hunter came to me after the service making this exact point–Giving enriches the life of the giver. No miser enjoys life. Adam was the richest man who has ever lived: he had rights to all the timber, minerals, water, land, etc. but he wasn’t happy because he had no one in which to share this unbelievable wealth.

So there is life and there is true life. Some people exist but they never live. They never live because they never comprehend the key to true living which is giving.

• Another beautiful Spring Day, Thank You Jesus!
• I forgot to mention yesterday that it was Holly’s birthday [36] and also Jennifer Garner’s. I am not going to tell you how old Jennifer is but when I was 29, she was 19.
• Don’t forget our Mother’s Day Special: Kenny Evans of Pigeon Forge, TN. The man reminds me of Ronnie Shipley. I think Kenny is a big hunter, I can’t wait to introduce him to the world champion Female Bow shooter.

Kenny Evans

Trivial Pursuits

SCRIPTURE

Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace.

~2 Timothy 2:22, NLT

QUOTE

Most people would prefer a change of circumstances rather than a change of heart.

~Warren W. Wiersbe

We are all in pursuit of something and it has to do with our core values. What do you value most? What is your highest priority? Is it financial security, a nice home, a condo on the beach, comfort, a cabin on the lake, a new husband, season tickets to Auburn games or perhaps some other form of entertainment. Americans have sold their soul for entertainment; we are going to entertain ourselves all the way to hell. The curse of worldly pursuits is that you might get them.

Paul said, “Pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love and peace.” We need to set our affections on things above and not on things here on earth. Instead of craving better circumstances: more income, a better job, more comfortable living conditions–why don’t we crave a change of heart. Oh that this very day, Christians everywhere would repent of their worldly pursuits and seek righteousness, faithfulness, love, peace and REVIVAL.

• Jay set us up on WORD PRESS several years ago because it is simple and FREE. The only problem with FREE is they [WORD PRESS] wants you to get hooked and then buy the real thing. The FREE stuff is full of glitches and the more you use it, the harder they make it on you. Each night I set my font color on black and it changes back to gray. Sometimes I spent 20 minutes trying to get it right and last night I just gave up. So I am going to try blue. I don’t really like it but hopefully I can tell if they change it before I post.
• We are still needing prayer for Gary, Kane, John, Mavis and Keri. Gary is discouraged; Kane slightly better; John came home but still has some recovering to do; Mavis was dehydrated and has UTI. She will probably come home today. Also, add Allison Blackwood to your prayer list.
• Full slate this SUNDAY: Deacons at 8:15, Coffee, donuts and biscuits at 9:00, LCBS at 9:15, Worship Celebration at 10:15, Visitation and AWANA at 5:30 and evening worship at 6:15.
• Yesterday was an unusual day, I have had a lot of them this week. On my way to DGH I was praying, I said, “LORD my heart feels like glass, I don’t seem to hear You whisper like I once did; is it me? Am I not listening?” Then I had to apologize immediately, the LORD has spoken to me clearly several times this week in my BIBLE STUDY. On my way in to ICU, just a few steps from the door I hear a voice coming out of nowhere, “Who made the trees?” Then I hear the innocent voice of a little child say, “Godddd.” “And who loves you?” said his mom, the same little voice said, “Jesus.”  I did not touch my phone, it was in my pocket. I don’t know what I did, but it was the video Allison sent me. My phone is so smart, it knows when I need encouraging.
• June is a nervous wreck, she is afraid that Patton is going to get hurt, maybe paralyzed. She loves to watch him play but tonight it has been painful. He makes good reads but there is no zip on the ball. He has no feeling in his throwing hand.
• COLLEGE BIBLE STUDY REPORT: 29 in attendance, PTL.

Parting Words

Pray For Revival

SCRIPTURE: Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. {II Timothy 4:2, NASB}

QUOTE: “There’s a great power in words, if you don’t hitch too many of them together.”~ Josh Billings

COMMENTARY: I talked to a sweet lady just this pass week who is battling cancer. She told me that following his diagnosis, her doctor said, “You have cancer and there is no cure for the cancer you have. You will not survive it. We can treat it but we can’t arrest it.” That sent shock waves throughout her entire system but it also changed the way she lives. She now lives one day at a time and she can get more out of a day than you or I. She is in another dimension, one that many of us will never experience.

Paul was on death row when he wrote Timothy the second letter. The words above are his last instructions to his beloved son in the ministry. A dying man does not waste time on trivial pursuits: they always cut to the chase and get down to what is most important. I had never heard of Dallas Willard until 5-6 years ago. Joe David gave me a devotional by Richard Foster and he mentioned Dr. Willard. Dallas Willard is a native of Mississippi and long story short, he was a professor of Philosophy at USC for some 43 years. He chaired that department for many of those years. I’ve read and studied two of his books and I’m now working on a third {The Divine Conspiracy}. He had five primary works and four are already considered classics: The Renovation of The Heart, The Divine Conspiracy, The Spirit of The Disciplines, The Great omission and Knowing Christ. Dr. Willard was promoted a few weeks ago and his granddaughter spoke at his CELEBRATION OF LIFE SERVICE. Before his last surgery which is body did not survive, he called his granddaughter back in the room as his family was leaving and his last words to her was…”Give Them Heaven.” Dallas Willard Memorial Service [I don’t think the link works but its on YouTube]

1. Live one day at a time: don’t take any day or relationship for granted.
2. Choose your words carefully, they may be your last.

EXTRA: Praise the LORD for the wonderful rain. Full day today…Matthew Training, LCBS, AM Message, Set up for VBS and evening message. VBS and VBX in the morning at 8:30.

Only God Can Make It Rain