Morning Moments

1Ti 6:13 I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;

As Paul summarizes in his final remarks to his son in the faith pasturing the saints in Ephesus, he reminds Timothy that if we remain Doctrinally Sound, Dutifully Serving, Dispositionally Sweet, and Deportmentally Spiritual, that our lives and labors will please God and produce results. Our Message will always be Pertinent (relevant and applicable), our Motives will always be Pure, our Methods will be Proper, and our Ministry will be Productive.

Our Motives will be Pure –

As men and women of God we must behave. Knowing what to run for and what to run from is critical for effective ministry. As Paul has written, we are to flee arrogance (pride), arguments (strife), and abominable appetites (lust of flesh and eyes). We are to run for (toward) righteousness, which means we are to always be in pursuit of holiness, living before God and man in a way that brings glory to Him. It is to indicate before man our right standing before God.

In our pursuit of godliness, our earnest desire and deepest drive should be toward being more and more what we have indeed become in Christ. With the seed of our Father in us, we are to become progressively more into His likeness. If the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork, it certainly stands to reason that we who were created in His image and after His likeness should reflect that image and likeness. That is godliness.

So, Paul says, Renew Your Courage for the battle, Remember Your Calling in the service, for it is an heavenly calling, an high calling, and an holy calling. Then Reaffirm your Commitment because of the Profession you have made and the Path you have taken.

Our Methods must be Proper –

Right things may be done in the wrong way. How we do what we do is often as important as what we do. The world’s transition to situational ethics has influenced the Church. We have come to believe that the end justifies the means. Just get ‘em in church is today motto. No matter how you do it. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! The early Church got ‘em in Jesus before getting them in church. We could learn a lesson from them. You don’t get in Jesus by having them go forward at the end of the service, shake the preacher’s hand, prayer a quick little prayer, and fill out a card. NO! NO! NO! We Baptists are the world’s worst for wanting to brag about the NUMBERS with God is concerned with the NATURE! Get It? Gene Scott got the numbers. Oprah got the numbers. Irreverent Wrong go the numbers. GOD gets the NATURE – life for life! That is the gospel that MUST BE PREACHED. No change in nature – no salvation. If all these numbers we report were real, this nation would not be in the shape it is in. SELAH!

Our methods must be proper in our EXAMPLE and by our EXPERIENCE.

NO ONE was ever genuinely converted to Jesus who refused to “confess [with his/her mouth] Jesus as Lord” (Rom 10:9-10). The Lordship of Jesus is without debate because no human being “made” Him Lord – He IS Lord because the Father declared it, and we can only submit to His Lordship or refuse to submit and suffer the consequences.

BLESSINGS!