SDCCM Blog

Ephesians 4:26-27 – Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.
Anger and unforgiveness are both hindrances to one’s ability to hear the Holy Spirit. Anger either is a result of unforgiveness or leads to unforgiveness. It is one of the greatest hindrances to a believer being able to hear clearly from the Spirit of God. Paul makes room for the human emotion of anger. God gets angry. Jesus expressed anger at the unbelieving religious leaders He encountered. He never gave way to His own emotions, but expressed His Father’s view of those hardened leaders.

Paul says, “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.” I call this “keeping short accounts.” Sin creeps in and settles in one’s heart if not dealt with quickly. Anger at another is one of the most common ways for this to happen. READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE

2 Timothy 1:14 – Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.
I have not been able to move on from this instructive word of Paul to Timothy. I have been asking myself before the Lord, “How well do I guard the treasure?” The treasure is Jesus Christ and the life He has given to each believer. That life came through the power of the Holy Spirit. This life can only be kept through His power as well. Paul says to “guard” through the Holy Spirit. Daily I need to be asking the Holy Spirit for His help to protect what the Lord has given to me by His grace.

Life is filled with little foxes that “spoil the vines.” “Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, while our vineyards are in blossom” (Song of Solomon 2:15). Foxes quietly sneak into the vineyard and ravage the vines while the owner of the vineyard is asleep. The enemy tries to sneak into the vineyard of our lives in order to spoil what the Lord has been growing. It is important to be diligent in guarding the treasure of His life that lives inside of us. We do this by guarding our life through the Holy Spirit. We are the Lord’s vineyard and He is looking for the fruit of the vine which Jesus calls “the new wine.” READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE

2 Timothy 1:13 – Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard of me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
Words are about as important as anything can be. Words form the basis of communication, understanding, and being able to successfully move forward toward a goal. There are many kinds of words spoken among people. There are foolish words, silly words, and meaningless words. There are sound words, educated words, and eternal words. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). It is a worthwhile activity to go through the Book of Proverbs and study all that Solomon writes concerning words.

Paul encourages Timothy, a spokesperson for Paul and called of God, to “retain the standard of sound words” (emphasis mine). When under pressure, it is easy to speak from our emotions rather than sound, well-thought-through words. Timothy was under pressure as Paul’s deputy to the church at Ephesus. Timothy felt pressure because he was young and correcting older individuals (1 Timothy 4:12). He felt pressure because many were “teaching strange doctrines, myths, and endless genealogies” (1Timothy 1:3-4). READ MORE-CLICK TILE ABOVE

2 Timothy 1:12 – For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.
Paul, more than most, knew the sufferings of Christ. Jesus had brought Paul from being one of the chief persecutors of His church, to one of the most persecuted for the gospel’s sake. Paul, who had been known as Saul, encountered the “Living Christ” on his way to put the Disciples of Christ in jail at Damascus (Acts 9:1-9). On the Damascus road, his life was suddenly interrupted by the King of the entire creation. The Lord Jesus Christ had only one question for Saul, “Why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4). READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE

2 Timothy 1:11-12 – I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.
Paul is instructing a young minister named Timothy. Previously Paul had taught Timothy to not be ashamed of his testimony of Christ or of Paul who was totally dedicated to Christ through his sufferings. Paul states, “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Timothy 1:9).

We are included in the “us” to which Paul is referring. Jesus saved you and me. Jesus called you and me with a holy calling. That means we have been separated to God’s eternal purposes and His grace. Relax, for only in Christ Jesus can we accomplish what God wants done. Paul realizes he was “appointed.” Timothy was being reminded by Paul that he too had been appointed. The Scriptures remind us as well of our appointment. Paul and Timothy took responsibility for their appointment. We too must take responsibility for His assignment in our lives. This is done through the power of the Holy Spirit. READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE

Mark 16:19 – When the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere.
Jesus prepared His disciples for three and a half years. He gave them some final instructions and then was “received up into heaven” to be seated next to His Father. Please notice that Jesus was “received.” As believers, we have been received as well. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3). Both Jesus and His Father had worked (John 5:17). Now it was time for the disciples to go to work. Our work must come out of what the Father and the Son have done. It comes from their resting position, seated in heaven.

The “Work” is finished, but as His disciples, we are cleaning up the mess in the lives of those for whom Jesus died and rose again. READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE