"....although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man (or, 'violently arrogant'); but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief." (1 Timothy 1:13)
Once you and I come to Jesus Christ, we can no longer claim "ignorance." It is the, "be converted and become as little children," that follows the, "born again," which delivers us from such evil.
This was yesterday's "last third-of-the-New Testament" reading. The word for, "insolent," in the margin of my Bible is, "violently arrogant." The Interlinear says, "insulting [person]." One "word study" says, "someone damaging to others by lashing out with a nasty spirit. This kind of individual...(delights in wrong-doing)-- finding pleasure in hurting others)." There is something very evil here. Because words can hurt so much, I think we can easily see just how "violent" is an, "insolent [person]."
This is not someone you and I want to be. Some are this way because they are living in the "old nature." Some just "find[] pleasure in hurting others." It's a sort of "get-even-with-how-life-has-treated- me" attitude. How can I say I have His Words written in my heart if I act this way? This is hideous, and even though others may not call them on it, we would recognize the folly of such a life style if we read the Bible and prayed in the manner our Lord Jesus teaches us, viz., allowing, "The Word of God and prayer," to change ("sanctify") our hearts.
Paul told Timothy to, "preach the word;...reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction." If we study carefully each word, we see the heart of Jesus. This is exactly as we see Jesus living in the Gospels, and the rest of the Bible. The Blessed Trinity does not just spew forth condemnations, judgments, "fire and brimstone." Jesus is these Words, "became flesh and dwelt among us." For instance, the word for, "exhort," means, "I send for, summon, invite, beseech, entreat,..admonish, I comfort, encourage, console." This is the heart of the Living Triune God. These Words perfectly describe all we see of God throughout the Bible, and if I am in Jesus and Jesus in me, then these Words will be my biography, "I send for, summon, invite, beseech, entreat,..admonish, I comfort, encourage, console."
O, Father, in Jesus' Name, let it be so! Amen.
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* Washington, DC Mission, January 27. I will be praying in the Indian Affairs Committee Hearing and David's Tent. January 27 is also, "International Holocaust Remembrance Day," the seventy-first anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz/Birkenau Concentration Camp.
Once you and I come to Jesus Christ, we can no longer claim "ignorance." It is the, "be converted and become as little children," that follows the, "born again," which delivers us from such evil.
This was yesterday's "last third-of-the-New Testament" reading. The word for, "insolent," in the margin of my Bible is, "violently arrogant." The Interlinear says, "insulting [person]." One "word study" says, "someone damaging to others by lashing out with a nasty spirit. This kind of individual...(delights in wrong-doing)-- finding pleasure in hurting others)." There is something very evil here. Because words can hurt so much, I think we can easily see just how "violent" is an, "insolent [person]."
This is not someone you and I want to be. Some are this way because they are living in the "old nature." Some just "find[] pleasure in hurting others." It's a sort of "get-even-with-how-life-has-treated- me" attitude. How can I say I have His Words written in my heart if I act this way? This is hideous, and even though others may not call them on it, we would recognize the folly of such a life style if we read the Bible and prayed in the manner our Lord Jesus teaches us, viz., allowing, "The Word of God and prayer," to change ("sanctify") our hearts.
Paul told Timothy to, "preach the word;...reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction." If we study carefully each word, we see the heart of Jesus. This is exactly as we see Jesus living in the Gospels, and the rest of the Bible. The Blessed Trinity does not just spew forth condemnations, judgments, "fire and brimstone." Jesus is these Words, "became flesh and dwelt among us." For instance, the word for, "exhort," means, "I send for, summon, invite, beseech, entreat,..admonish, I comfort, encourage, console." This is the heart of the Living Triune God. These Words perfectly describe all we see of God throughout the Bible, and if I am in Jesus and Jesus in me, then these Words will be my biography, "I send for, summon, invite, beseech, entreat,..admonish, I comfort, encourage, console."
O, Father, in Jesus' Name, let it be so! Amen.
***************************
* Washington, DC Mission, January 27. I will be praying in the Indian Affairs Committee Hearing and David's Tent. January 27 is also, "International Holocaust Remembrance Day," the seventy-first anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz/Birkenau Concentration Camp.
* Berlin Mission: September 14-October 5
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
