"By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life."
1 Timothy 6:9
1 Timothy 6:9
A good foundation is the key to any successful building project without it, the structure that rests upon it will collapse. God is our builder and we are His temple, under construction until He calls us home. Yesterday, Paul advise Timothy on proper training. Today is advising Timothy on what to teach so that others will have true life-eternal life.
Yes, pursuing godliness builds true life of eternal life but the foundation of our true life can be stronger when we accept and follow Paul's council to Timothy. Our foundation is stronger when we care about someone other than ourselves.
The secret to a good foundation is found in thinking of others. Here are the basics:
- Be sure to use our money for good
- Be rich in good works
- Be generous to those in need
- Be ready to share with others
Easy to stay but difficult to implement. However, nothing is impossible with God. How different our world we be if just the Believers in this world lived by these simple principles. Our foundations would be solid therefore making us more bold to proclaim the gospel.
7 Comments:
So true Wendy, our world would be different! As Paul says two verses earlier, we should not trust in money because it is so unreliable. Our trust should be in God. Use what He has given us to do good. I share an example of this this morning. Yesterday I worked on a very special Christmas present. All the parents of Will's class have gotten together to make a money tree for his teacher for Christmas. I put it together yesterday and it is so pretty! So neat. I took red ornaments and wrote all the kids names on them in gold and hung them on there, I rolled all the bills up and tied them on with red ribbon. I exchanged all the money to have all 20s so I could have lots of "ornaments." The parents were SOOO generous and we are going to be able to give her an amazing gift today. We did this tree because her husband has become disabled with MS to the point he can no longer word. The teachers all sacrifice lower salaries to work in this small Christian school so money is tight in her home. These teachers give their hearts to these kids and believe in Christian education and are willing to make less to gain more for eternity. I am so excited to give her this gift today! The kids are doing a play this morning and a lot of parents are going to be there so we are going to present it to her after the play. I foresee tears, by a lot of us :)
My verse for today was Titus 1:16, "Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live." Lord, may I not deny You by the way I live. May others know that I follow You because my walk matches my talk. May Your light shine from my life so others will know that I know You.
Have a blessed day ladies. I enjoyed following along with all your comments yesterday. It was awesome!
Brandee, TN
Wendy, your thoughts opened up something to me regarding a good foundation. It is the bases of our faith. Recently, I finished a book that I have not been able to get off of my mind. It left me with one desire; the desire to pass down my faith. Then today, I read a verse that just popped off the page to me: - "I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother...your mother...And I know that same faith continues strong in you," 2 Tim. 1:5.
Oh, oh, oh, this passing down our faith from one generation to the next generation is so important.
Our pastor said something a month or so ago that I also can not get out of my mind. Sorry, that I can't remember his exact words, but, he said that many times we are serving and being, "busy," outside our home, and we have failed to instill our faith right inside our own family. We feel like our kids "get it," because they have grown up in the church. We have lost site of the Bible. I know I read Bible stories when my boy's were younger. We talk about Jesus. They are involved at church, but I've failed miserably in this area. I was not reading His Word from front to back, daily. My foundation was not strong. Oh, this is my heart's prayer, that my descendants would know God, through His Word. That their foundation would be firm. That their faith would be 100% secure. The Bible. It's our responsibility to teach our children what is in His Word. If I could start all over again, I'd do less "activities," and more emphasis on reading the Bible at home.
Two words popped out also in the above verse: genuine faith & clear conscience. (2 Tim 1:3) Sunday, we read a verse that I kept thinking about all day long, and even yesterday, it was on my mind. Today, I noticed the above 2 words repeated.
The verse spoke of filled with love. God says over and over to us: love those around you. We all want to do this, but know how hard it can be. Paul is talking to the believers and says they would be filled with love from:
*pure heart
*clear conscience
*genuine faith
Then he went on to say how people have missed the whole point!
I want to love like God does. How? A pure heart, clear conscience-seeking forgiveness for sin, and a genuine faith. Our faith. That gets back to our foundation! Training. Knowing God's Word...then teaching others - our children so that they too will have true - eternal life. From one generation to the next! Seeking to share our faith with our family so that it can be passed down and not lost between the generations. If our foundation is strong, like Wendy said, we will be more bold to proclaim the gospel. This is true. With just reading the Bible once through (almost), I know personally, I'm much more confident now to talk about Jesus. A year ago, I kept Him all to myself. Now, tho, I hear His voice inside me talking to me, like I never did before. Oh, sisters... the Word. It's precious. It sustains us. It renews and refreshes us, day by day.
Have a great day, everyone! I feel exactly the same way that you do, Liz...you all add joy to my day! You each are very special to me. Love you! lori - AZ
Wendy so true, I see so many other groups of people stand in unison and we as Christians so often don't - Lori commented on how much more confident she was now and I agree. Which makes me believe we all need more and more of Gods word.
Brandee Have a great time with the play and gift for the teacher today.
Blessings everyone!
Lynn
Wendy you are so right on it makes me shiver!! From God's heart to your keyboard to my heart...wow!
Especially at his time of year this message is important. Advent, as we wait the coming of Christ and prepare the way for him to reveal the glory of his kingdom here on earth.
Are we ready to be angels to those in need? Are we really sharing our faithing and shouting it from the rooftops? Are we telling it on the mountain?
When I look in the mirror or back through my year, how many times did I step out and boldly proclaim my identity in Christ to those who do not know him?
Who saw Christ in me?
Outside of my church and my friends who know Jesus...among the "unlovable" with whom do I share my faith, my love and my resources?
I feel I come up a bit short, and I also feel this message has come to me "at just the right time."
Heavenly Father open my eyes today to see those you divinely appoint in my life who need to see you in me. Open my heart, fill my mouth with your words and extend my hands to them to sahre your blessings and your joy. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray that you make me "more bold to proclaim the gospel" Amen!
Love to all this Tuesday,
Liz
AK
Good morning, ladies.
Amen to all the prior posters. Wendy, I agree with you 100%! Our foundation should be in Christ. None other will do. Brandee, Will's teacher is so blessed to have such generous parents in her class!
In today's reading. I was all set to expound on 2 Tim 1:7, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."
That was my plan.
But for some reason the phrase "avoid useless talk" , "avoid slander" and "avoid foolish discussions" kept jumping at me. No one else picked up on that? Hmmm, maybe God is trying to tell me something. My tongue has been an issue lately especially at work! I pray that the Lord put a guard over my mouth, that I think of what I say first before I blurt it out, that when tempted to say something about a co-worker no matter how justified I feel my complaint is and how she's being unreasonable because she refuses to learn the most basic functions in Outlook and expect me to help her everytime she needs to create a new folder (click on file, then new, then folder = how hard is that???), that Jesus died for her sins as well as mine. I am the only Christian where I work. I should be a better witness and not be like everyone else. In my own flesh I know I can't do it. But God. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. I guess it applies after all.
Have a blessed day, ladies!
The importance of a firm foundation.
Psalm 11:3 asks, "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" If our foundation is Christ, we can rest in His security. When everything around us is shaking, nothing in heaven is shaking.
Grace and Peace, the Lord spoke to me about my speech and I underlined the same phrases. That word "slander" means words falsely spoken that damage the reputation of another. It implies malicious intent and is an abusive attack on a person's character.
Avoiding useless talk and foolish discussion. I find sometimes, even when facilitating Bible Study, we can get off topic and find ourselves spending time on "vain contraversies" that don't encourage godliness. I always pray the Lord will help me focus discussion on His truth and keep us on track.
I was also caught by the phrase, "They should be rich..." vs.18 Be rich...not get rich.
In what does the Lord desire for us to be rich? My Pastor encouraged us from God’s Word at the beginning of this year, to be rich in four areas:
Be rich in contentment.
Be rich in faith.
Be rich in hope.
Be rich in good deeds.
To be rich in God, I must first recognize His value. Where do I invest my interest, time, passion and knowledge? Gaze at God. Spend time with Him. To invest in God is a sure investment. I must learn to live my life fully in front of the panicked, paranoid and paralyzed.
Do I truly comprehend the value of what is already mine? Lord, You have blessed me abundantly. The numbers in my bank account may not signify worldly wealth, but I am storing up for myself treasures in heaven. Father, may You alone satisfy me with Yourself.
“All I have in You, is more than enough.”
Yes, I am a millionaire!
Joy
Good stuff, Joy! I love your rich list - contentment, hope, faith & good deeds. May we all be millionaires in those areas.
Post a Comment
Home