2 Timothy 4:3-4
Thoughts from Pastor Josh
Dive Deeper
“For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
2 Timothy 4:3-4
Behind the Scenes
Oh goodness where do I start? We see this in the world today, truth can seem so far from what the world believes. I remember when I was in a history class years ago and I was reading the textbook given. I was reading stories of people in the evolutionary process, and at some point in time, in the textbook it stated that these beings in the evolutionary process ‘miraculously disappeared’. I don’t know about you but in my life at least I’ve never seen a whole race miraculously disappear with no reasonable explanation, maybe that’s just me. But that was one time out of many where the world, in this example a group of teachers, turned away from truth.
Make it Real
Truth can be tricky; it is not always so obvious. Sometimes the truth can seem so far. Thankfully as Christians we have a doctrine to fall back upon when truth seems blurry. Not just fall back upon but to use as our guide leading us to truth as we tread this thing called life. But for the world, the truth is trickier, it is wishy washy. Which makes sense, there isn’t anything to ground you. That’s why the phrase “you do you” is used so much today. The world tells us that to believe your feelings is the way to live. But this phrase ‘you do you’ leaves a lot of room for lies to creep into your life, it leaves little to no room for truth to seep in. At least the whole truth.
Timothy says, “They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths”. We see this in the world today. Where Timothy tells us to go back to the Word of God, mankind by our natural instinct, does not want God’s revelation. We would rather hear what we want to hear, by nature. This is dangerous when we become our own source of truth. I don’t know about you, but I am not always steady, not always reliable, not always rooted in truth. This is true for all of us. So, why do we think we can be our own truth? Why do we think that our ways are better than Gods? This way of thinking will lead to disappointment and ultimately destruction in our lives
It’s funny, I was just talking to my best friend about this — that I wanted to rely on myself instead of God. If I’m being honest, it’s not going too well. Relying on myself means relying on weakness, where I could rely on strength, it’s relying on hopelessness where I could be relying on hope, it’s thinking I’m not enough where God says with me you are enough.
My best friend who I was talking to had some pretty amazing things to say. Where I am trying to lean on my strength and my own ability and failing miserably, her response to me was, when you are at the end of yourself that is where God is. What wisdom, again, when you are at the end of yourself that is where God is. And the crazy thing is God wants to meet us right there, right at the end of ourselves’ cause that’s where we surrender and allow God’s strength, his love, his grace, his joy to flood in.
Aletha Thurston
ACF Devo Team
End in Prayer
Jesus, thank you for being hope when we have lost it. Thank you for loving us when we did nothing to deserve it, thank you for being there when we are at the end of our ropes. Thank you for holding us when we fall apart. God we need you. We need you to come into our lives and wreck our plans and make our lives with you at the center. God I pray for nearness with you. God thank you for being the God of love, cause wow we need your love, thank you for being the God of grace cause wow we need that too. Thank you for all that you have done, all that you’re doing and all that you will do, I pray this all in your name, amen.