Core Example

I Timothy 4:12

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

As a young guy, just starting college in less than a month, who feels God’s call upon his life to be a pastor, this verse is such an encouragement.. So often, I feel discouraged because people choose to ignore what I have to say because of my age.. It’s difficult to not get frustrated with it.. But I need to stop being frustrated, seek the King and pursue Him to have a life that reflects Him in every aspect of my life. We need to be examples...  That is the only way we can change stereotypes about what our generation is all about..   We must be totally sold out for God from the very innermost of our beings outward. The examples Paul lists here are Speach, the way we talk, cussing, dirty jokes, hateful language, misguiding words, blatant lies, all of these things don’t bring God glory and are not a good example or witness.. Next is Conduct, how do we behave ourselves??? Are we given to impulsive decisions that are not edifying to God? Do we live a double life, praising God at church only to party the next day?? Can we execute self-control? Do we act in a manner of holiness that is not just an act but is real?? Are we people that would act like Christ Himself would act?? So often this answer is a solid no... But why??? Really think about this.. In all honesty so often we thank God for his sacrifice and saving us from our sins, but we ignore the fact that we have been FREED from that sin.. Sin does not rule in  our lives any longer as Christians.. Rather God has taken the throne.. Christ broke our chains and freed us, but sooo often we look at Him, then back at our chains, and we run away from Him and back to the bondage that sin holds us in.. And we do this all the time!!! How can we honestly expect to grow with God when we WILLINGLY RUN back to sin that Christ died to free us from??? Let’s be Luke 14:28-33 disciples, that WILLINGLY die to themselves everyday, replacing their lusts for God’s love and purpose... Our faulty plans for His PERFECT plan... This is hard, and I am by no means expecting anybody to be perfect in this life, but what I do hope and pray for is that everybody that calls themselves a follower of God, would truly strive to be as much like Him as possible and would leave the sins and addictions in hindsight and walk focused on Christ and Christ alone. 

I John 2:15-17 speaks on our love of the world and sin...

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Paul next speaks of Love... Family, do we love like God loved us?? That we would lay down our lives for people that despise us?? This is a completely unheard of thing!!! I wouldn’t.. Honestly, I don’t know if I could do that. Maybe for my friends, but not someone that would love to kill me anyways. But family, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (I John 4:10)...  Guys, God loved people that have rebelled against Him since the Garden of Eden, people that spit in His face, called Him fake, people that have witnessed all He has done in their lives, but choose that He is not enough for them and pursue other gods (ie, drugs, alcohol, sex, fame, fortune, power, pain, suicide, other gods, etc...)... But yet, HE DIED TO REDEEM US!! No matter how badly we have messed up, slapped Him in the face, whipped Him brutally, nailed Him to the cross... He did so for you and me.. We take this for granted so easily, but if we truly truly appreciated this, sin would devastate us because of the pain and sorrow it causes our Dad and King.. If we had a small portion of this love in our life, I truly believe that the world would be radically changed.. Family, we as God’s people need to be examples of God, I think we all can agree on that.. If this is true, we need to be examples of God’s love.. His love is what we have to cling to.. His love is all we need.. Because of the cross my debt was paid as Phil Wickham sings with the line “Now all of my life I freely give” Family, can we give God all of our hearts today and everyday??? We love our emptiness and pain soo much, but why??? Because we get a quick glimpse of pleasure from it??? IT WILL FADE AWAY!!! 1 Timothy 5:24 says this, “The sins of some men are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later.” Meaning no matter what sin you have committed, your consequences may come today, tomorrow, next week, next year, maybe not even in this life, but God is a just God! Repent and truly turn from your sins and run from your chains into the arms of your loving Savior...

Do we have true faith in God?? Do we depend on Him for EVERYTHING??? Do we believe in Him with every part of ourselves from our core outward?? Do our lives reflect this???

Lastly, be examples in purity.. Obviously sexual purity is key here.. We are to remain devoted to one man/woman (man-woman bond is biblical not man-man, woman-woman, scripture is very clear on this.. Not trying to be a hater but it is God’s rules we are speaking of and it is either right or wrong, there is no in between...) in the bond of marriage.. But we are to take purity to an extreme basically, cussing, drugs, alcohol, etc.. anything that taints us makes us impure.. Purity is being totally clean, unspotted, unblemished.. We will never achieve this in this life, but we need to strive for this.. We are called to be Not of this World.. Purity is definitely of God and not this world...

Serve God with all of you, your core self, outward, everyday..

Blessings