Post by Admin on Jul 25, 2019 16:34:39 GMT
The evening’s discussion launched with some questions about times we felt ashamed to talk about our Christian faith outside the church circle, which wasn’t a typical experience for any of us, along with times we simply felt pressured to be quiet because we believed that the people around us would be offended or at least disinterested in anything we would say about Jesus or God or the Holy Spirit. It’s interesting to wonder if our perception of hostility is accurate, or if the Lord would open hearts when we have the moxie to speak of Him.
Paul had no trouble speaking of the Lord and of his confidence in Jesus, even in the decidedly negative, soul-crushing circumstances from which he wrote to Timothy. We read the first chapter of the second letter to Timothy. Paul self-describes his situation as: in prison, found guilty by authorities, facing death, most of his friends abandoning him. In those circumstances, we might find ourselves questioning: is our belief correct? Is God on our side? Have we done something to upset God? Are we crazy? Paul has none of that. He states repeatedly that he is an Apostle, that he is absolutely convinced of God’s plan for salvation through His son, and that God’s plan will proceed. Rather than worry about his own circumstances, he seeks a way around the obstacle of being prison to still fulfill his mandate of teaching, spreading the gospel, and being an Apostle. The way around the obstacle of prison is to have Timothy (and others, as Paul wrote other letters) go forth in Paul’s stead, with Paul’s knowledge, love, and confidence. How to do that? Paul sums it up for Timothy simply: pray for others and stir up the Holy Spirit to energize him.
Paul blurts out the word “shame” in verses 12 and 16, and we read those same verses with the word “fear” in place of “shame.” The same understanding arises about grappling with criticism, disapproval, and weakness, in the context of being in a place or circumstance (in Paul’s case, an actual prison) where we do not have control. That brings to mind situations such as in the workplace, or in a difficult family relationship, where we feel “imprisoned,” that is, trapped in a circumstance where we feel isolated and without control, and those circumstances ratchet up our fears – our susceptibility to criticism, our embarrassment for our weakness, our anxiety over the appearance of failure. We concluded that Paul’s strategy in prison works in all those similar situations: pray for others, connect to the Lord so as to stir up the Holy Spirit, and savor our confidence in God, particularly when we can see the history of faith, as Paul encouraged Timothy to do in looking at his mother and grandmother.
Paul had no trouble speaking of the Lord and of his confidence in Jesus, even in the decidedly negative, soul-crushing circumstances from which he wrote to Timothy. We read the first chapter of the second letter to Timothy. Paul self-describes his situation as: in prison, found guilty by authorities, facing death, most of his friends abandoning him. In those circumstances, we might find ourselves questioning: is our belief correct? Is God on our side? Have we done something to upset God? Are we crazy? Paul has none of that. He states repeatedly that he is an Apostle, that he is absolutely convinced of God’s plan for salvation through His son, and that God’s plan will proceed. Rather than worry about his own circumstances, he seeks a way around the obstacle of being prison to still fulfill his mandate of teaching, spreading the gospel, and being an Apostle. The way around the obstacle of prison is to have Timothy (and others, as Paul wrote other letters) go forth in Paul’s stead, with Paul’s knowledge, love, and confidence. How to do that? Paul sums it up for Timothy simply: pray for others and stir up the Holy Spirit to energize him.
Paul blurts out the word “shame” in verses 12 and 16, and we read those same verses with the word “fear” in place of “shame.” The same understanding arises about grappling with criticism, disapproval, and weakness, in the context of being in a place or circumstance (in Paul’s case, an actual prison) where we do not have control. That brings to mind situations such as in the workplace, or in a difficult family relationship, where we feel “imprisoned,” that is, trapped in a circumstance where we feel isolated and without control, and those circumstances ratchet up our fears – our susceptibility to criticism, our embarrassment for our weakness, our anxiety over the appearance of failure. We concluded that Paul’s strategy in prison works in all those similar situations: pray for others, connect to the Lord so as to stir up the Holy Spirit, and savor our confidence in God, particularly when we can see the history of faith, as Paul encouraged Timothy to do in looking at his mother and grandmother.