Saturday, May 5, 2012

Mama Ground Hog's Garden

It's been just about a year now since my Mom died. I miss her and so does Dad, but we have many beautiful reminders of her work here. She was, among other things, a Master Gardener, in the very official sounding sense of that term. She was certificated. She could do wonderful things with the botanical life that God put into her hands and so I thought I would share some of these with you so that you can experience them too. Her garden is a little poorer without her, but I'm betting Paradise never looked so good. Mom, this is for you. You did good work.






 Dad took the pictures.  I hope to have a video tomorrow.

First Timothy 6:17-21

First Timothy 6:17-21 from the New International Version of the Bible:
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides for us with everything for our enjoyment. 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 treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they make take hold of the life that is truly life.
Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. 
Grace be with you.
Commentary

Paul closes his letter with some advice for Timothy on how to handle the wealthier members of the Ephesian church. He wants Timothy to remind them of where their real security lies. It's not in money or social status. These things are temporary and should not be cause for arrogance. Rather, their real security lies in God who provided for them and made them stewards of this wealth. For this reason, Paul tells Timothy, that rich Christians need to be generous with what God has given them. They should use their money for godly purposes, doing good deeds and sharing with those in need. This kind of attitude toward wealth will prepare them for the real rewards later - and these rewards will last forever.

Then Paul finishes his letter with a reminder. He tells Timothy to guard the faith and not tolerate false teaching. It can only lead to a bad end.

Questions

1) Is Paul saying that being rich is a sin?
2) Can wealth be spiritually dangerous? (Proverbs 30:8,9)
3) What do you say to someone that tells you he or she is self made - they have what they have because they earned it? (Deuteronomy 8:17,18)
4) In verse 20 Paul told Timothy to guard what had been entrusted to him. What was it that had been entrusted to him?
5) What has God entrusted to you?
   

First Timothy 6:11-16

First Timothy 6:11-16, according to the New International Version of the Bible:
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in His own time - God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who is alone immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To Him be honor and might forever. Amen.
Commentary

So now Paul advises Timothy how to handle himself in the face of these church problems. He reminds Timothy that he is a man of God. His pursuits are not to be the material pursuits of the false teachers. Rather, he is to pursue the good things that lead to godliness and contentment; things like righteousness, faith, love and endurance. Practicing and promoting these things is what Paul calls fighting the good fight - boldly taking hold of the rewards granted by the Christian life.

He charges Timothy to be invigorated by his faith that he confessed before witnesses all those years before; and to keep these commands without failure until Jesus returns. Paul then closes with a brief prayer of praise, beautifully illustrating God's glory, majesty and place.

Questions

1) Paul reminds Timothy in verse 11 that he is a man of God. Why do you think he does this?
2) What's the significance of the word "pursue" in verse 11?
3) What things can hinder us from the pursuit of godliness until Jesus returns?
4) What does Paul mean when he says Timothy should "take hold of the eternal life to which he was called"? 

First Timothy 6:3-10

From the New International Version of the Bible, First Timothy 6:3-10:
If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
But godliness and contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 

Commentary

Paul concludes this last section of his letter to Timothy in much the same way that he opened it. He hits the false teachers in the Ephesian church hard, exposing their true motivations. Paul's perspective on this issue is obvious from his words. He sees these teachers as self obsessed - so much so that they reject the instruction handed down to them by the One they report to follow and worship - the Lord Jesus Christ. He says they are both ignorant and arrogant; that they enjoy causing division in the church with false doctrine, thus sowing the seeds of mistrust, envy, strife and gossip. The result is a constant friction between the divided groups that have been deluded by these false teachers and an abandonment of the truth. But the real motivation of these men is financial. They seek to enrich themselves through their divisive activities. They take the money of those they mislead thinking that their false form of godliness is a means to material success.

Paul tells Timothy though, that true godliness leads to contentment and not the desire for power and money. Life is short. We are born with nothing and what we have when we die stays here. We cannot take it with us. So, rather than fall into the trap of constant scheming for financial gain, Paul says that Timothy should focus on being content. The desire to get rich is a distraction that can make people miserable. If there is sufficient food clothing and shelter, Christians should be content with that. Why? The love of money is a root of evil that can cause grief and ruin one's faith.

Questions

1) In verse 3 Paul talks about false doctrine and sound instruction. What makes a doctrine false? What lens do we use to determine what false doctrine is? Look at Second Timothy 3:16 and while you are there ask yourself what "God breathed" means.
2) What false teaching today endangers the church?
3) How does false teaching divide a church?
4) What does internal controversy do to a church?
5) Where do you draw the line between holding church leadership accountable and promoting unhealthy controversy?
6) Paul said that at the root of the false teacher's motivations was the desire for money. What can make a ministry susceptible to dishonest gain?
7) Paul says that godliness with contentment is great gain. Isn't pursuit of wealth intended to bring contentment? Does it work? How does godliness bring contentment? Does this mean we should give up trying to improve our financial status?
8) How many of you have more than you need? How much could you give up and still be content? Is having food shelter and clothing enough for contentment? Can contentment even be defined in terms of material possessions?
9) Which of these situations could you accept without endangering your faith? Which of these would bring the most contentment? (Philippians 4:10-13)
  1. The ability to work for the rest of your life.
  2. Enough money for food, shelter and clothing (and nothing else) for the rest of your life
  3. Enough income to eliminate the need to ever work again.