In 2 Timothy 2:22 Paul tells us to flee and pursue.  We are to flee youthful lust. Now think about that for a minute. Why would he specify youthful lusts, and not just lust in general? (And by the way, have you ever heard of elderly lusts? I’m sure they exist, but the contrast is fairly obvious – as people get older, generally speaking, they grow in wisdom and see their once youthful pursuits to be really not that important after all.) In response to the specificity of youth, it is good to remember that Timothy was still fairly young, and was probably facing the temptations that every younger person faces – the temptation to pursue things that could shipwreck his faith. Paul tells Timothy to FLEE those lusts.

In our youth, we often lack wisdom and pursue things that may seem important, things that seem as though we can’t live without. It is often not until we are older that we see those pursuits as fleeting and foolish. Experience often has a way of filtering out bad choices. But let’s be clear here: Paul is not asking Timothy to wait until he is older and more mature to figure it out. He is telling Timothy to run away NOW from those lusts. It means making the wilful choice to do what perhaps in our immaturity draws us so powerfully away from a healthy and growing relationship with God. We cannot wait until the enticement goes away on its own. It may never go away. Plus, age does not guarantee maturity. Maturity comes when immature people make wilful choices to do what is better or best despite the draw of immature enticements. Maturity is product of discipline.

By telling him to flee, Paul is telling Timothy to run to a place of safety. Imagine a hand grenade being thrown at your feet. What would you do? You could pick it up and throw it away, but chances are you would instinctively run away as fast as you could. Youthful lust is like a hand grenade. It initially looks harmless, but in time, its effects are tragic. We are to flee youthful lusts and run to a place of safety.

Paul says the best way to flee evil is to pursue good. It is not enough to stop bad practices; one must flee and pursue good practices. And take note that these are to be pursued – an active chasing after, taking initiative. We are called to pursue: Righteousness – that which is right in the eyes of God. This speaks of moral integrity; Faith – that which trusts in God enough to follow Him even when we can’t see the results; Love – that which expresses the love of God to others. It means pursuing others as God pursued us – a love in which God sacrificed His only Son; Peace – that which expresses God’s value of relationship with a spirit of reconciliation and peacekeeping.

Consider each of these areas in your life. How are you PURSUING righteousness? Faith? Love? Peace? If we spend our time pursuing these godly qualities, we will find little time to pursue youthful lusts and other things that are destructive and displeasing to God.                                                    (MIKE KURTZ)

Make us like everybody else. That was Israel’s essential request. They had been led out of slavery by God… redeemed by God… brought to a new land by God… established their nation by God… forgiven by God as they forsook Him over and over again… they belonged to God!

The very purpose for which He had saved them was so that they might be different from all the other nations of the world… set apart as His people… a holy nation. Exodus 19:6, “…you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

But they did not want to be a city set on a hill for all the world to see and behold the light of God through His people. No… they wanted to be in the valley where they could hide their light under a bushel and party with everyone else.

They rejected the kind of community their King had created them to be.

And they were warned.

Through the prophet Samuel, God warned His people that there is no such thing as life without a king, and any option aside from Himself will eventually fall short. But they didn’t care… and all too often neither do we.

Life without a king simply doesn’t exist.

Everyone has a ruler, even if they believe it to be themselves. As Christians, we have been recreated as a community of King Jesus! We’ve been set apart, made a city on a hill, that through our sacrificial love for one another the world might see a reflection of the sacrificial love of God most clearly displayed through the cross.

But how strong is the temptation to want to be like all the other people of the world. In our own post-modern culture, that temptation specifically takes shape in the desire to be our own king and captain of our soul.

People of God, hear the warning of God through the Word of God… we make bad kings! You have been freely given the greatest King who offers you the greatest joy… Himself! You… we… have been given Jesus! May we be a people, a community who cling to our King!

(SHADES VALLEY COMMUNITY CHURCH)

(This has been another busy week. I don’t know whether I can focus on worship this morning. Something is nagging at my feelings.)

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

(Life is busy. There seems to be no end to work. I can’t relax.)

He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters.

(I have bad, painful memories. I am hurting inside.)

He restores my soul.

(I struggle with sin. The good I want to do I cannot do. The evil I do I do not want to do. Who will rescue me from this body of death?)

He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

(I am getting older and may soon die. Someone I love may soon die.)

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

(My fellow workers look down on me. My boss gives me a hard time. I have few friends at school.)

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

(Life is full of troubles. My health is not as it should be. Where can I find meaningful work?)

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

(I am worried about the future. Will I meet a partner? Can I repay my debts? Is my business going to fail? Will my marriage last?)

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.

(Lord, I believe. Help me in my unbelief.)

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.     (Bert Witvoet)

In 1 Samuel Chapter 3, the prophet Samuel was about 12 years old. Hannah had given her son back to the Lord at about the age of 2, leaving him to be raised in the tabernacle at Shiloh as she had promised God. After 10 years growing up under the elderly chief priest Eli, God called Samuel. Samuel at first thought it was Eli calling him, but Eli realized it was God’s voice. Eli gave Samuel great advice, and anyone trying to serve God could benefit from following it too.

When God speaks, in any way, we should simply respond with these same words: “Speak, for Your servant hears.” “But,” you say, “God doesn’t speak to me that clearly.” No, He doesn’t speak that clearly to most of us. He usually speaks through other people and His Word, the Scriptures. So when we read something that strikes a chord in our hearts or we hear someone speak of God and it seems to be “speaking directly to us,” we should whisper this silent pray as Eli suggested.

There is a great old story about learning how to listen. A Native American and his friend were in downtown New York City, walking near Times Square, during the noon lunch hour. The streets were filled with people, cars were honking, taxicabs were squealing around corners, and sirens were wailing; the sounds of the city were almost deafening.

The Native American suddenly said, “I hear a cricket.” His friend exclaimed, “What? You must be crazy. You couldn’t possibly hear a cricket in all this noise!” The Native American listened carefully for a moment, and then walked across the street to a big, cement container in which was a plant. He looked into the bushes and sure enough located a small cricket. His friend was amazed. “That’s incredible. You must have super-human ears!”

“No,” said the Native American. “My ears are no different from yours. It all depends on what you’re listening for.” “But that can’t be!” said his friend. “I could never hear a cricket in this noise.” “Here, let me show you,” he replied. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and discreetly dropped them on the sidewalk. With the noise of the crowded street still blaring, every head within 20 feet turned to see if the money that tinkled on the pavement was theirs. “See what I mean?” asked the Native American. “It all depends on what you’re listening for.”

If we are tuned in to hear God, we can hear Him speak in spite of all the distracting things around us.                                                                                                    (PASTOR ED REA)

“But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him.” — LUKE 10:33-34

When I think of the parable of the Good Samaritan, the first word that comes to mind is “extravagance.” The Good Samaritan gave extravagantly—much more than just giving the man some loose change; loose change was not his need at that moment. He desperately needed community, somebody to treat him justly, as a person created and loved by God.

And then there’s the priest and the Levite. Like them, we are busy with our religious lives, determined to reach our established goals, worried about the bottom line. We can become easily upset if we are inconvenienced, be it a traffic jam or a drunken man asking us for loose change.

One charity had a rather touching commercial on TV recently. After displaying the plight of various groups, they pleaded with the viewer to “Join in the struggle for justice” just by sending in a donation. It seems to me that the priest and the Levite would have been quite self-righteous about sending in their donations.

I see this as a pretty serious problem within the Church. We can ease our conscience by giving a donation, but then we walk right past the homeless woman on the street without even a thought of concern or compassion. We justify ourselves by our so-called “sacrificial donation.” Having done that, we are then free (or so we think) to do whatever we want in terms of self-centred pursuits. But pity the poor guy who might interrupt us in that pursuit. The Good Samaritan gave extravagantly. How do you give?

REFLECTION:

1. How can we “join in the struggle for justice”? How can we do so without feeling self-righteous?

2. If you were to become a neighbour “to the one who had fallen into the hands robbers” (LUKE 10: 36) what would that look like? What are some first steps you could take as a family or as a church?          (DOUG WIEBE)

We live in a culture which is increasingly self-centered. Media is driving a constant change in self-identity among young people. Pseudo-celebrities live indulgent and bizarre lives in Reality TV shows. Dating and marriage are trivialized in others. On television, people compete in cutthroat competition where deception and betrayal can ensure success – not just in a game, but in the potential for a celebrity life afterward.

Our youth is being indoctrinated into the cult of self. George Drinka notes that “hours spent with any attractive and appealing ‘friend’ on TV or the movies of the Internet influences the child’s moral development, just as hours spent every day with a good tennis coach strengthens the child’s tennis game.”

As people created in the image of God, we were made for something else. We were made to worship the Lord of Heaven and Earth. It’s not just a command; it’s what we were designed to do. All the cultures of the earth, back to the very beginning, have offered some idol to stand in place of devotion to God (! Chron. 16:12-16: Rom. 1:22-23). In our culture, the greatest idol is ourselves – our desire to focus on our lives as the greatest good. But there is a greater good. There is One who is good, who deserves the entire devotion of our hearts and lives. This is what worship is – devotion to God in the way we liven(Rom. 12:1) and the expression of our hearts and voices (1 Chron. 16:8-11)

In Revelation 7, John witnesses a scene of a coming day when the souls of those who have been purchased by the blood of Christ gather together at the throne. People of every culture, ethnicity, language, and nation. From their mouths come praise and worship for the Lamb who was slain. I will be one of those people. John was given a glimpse of an event where I will be a participant, one day. And you also, if you are numbered among those who have put their trust in Christ. This is a moment we were created for. It is the purpose of our existence.

A life which is focused on self, or any other idol, is a life lived in contradiction to that day. It is a life in contradiction to the purpose for which it was made. And if we do not fulfil the purpose for which we were created, we cannot have the lives we were meant to have. The cult of self, the cult of celebrity, the cult of materialism – these are false paths to fulfilment in life. If you want to experience the full life you were created to have, practice the purpose for which you were made. Worship the Lord your God, today, as you will then. With all your heart, your mind, and soul. Don’t let anything distract you from what really matters. Offer yourself completely to Him.

Picture yourself on that coming day. That’ the destiny toward which you are heading. I will meet you there.                                                (MICHAEL CRANFORD)

Our children’s behaviour doesn’t exist in a vacuum – it affects others. And a child’s delinquency can sometimes be matched by the delinquency of their parents. Take for example, Old Testament priest Eli. He had two delinquent sons who not only hurt a family, but caused untold damage to a community and nation. In 1 Samuel 3:13 God speaks to Samuel about the parenting of Eli…I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them. The result of Eli’s poor parenting was not just trouble in Eli’s home, but the loss of a war in which 30,000 men died and who knows how many families grieved.

Eli knew about the sinful behaviour of his children and did nothing about it. And he is no model of godliness either. In fact Eli grew fat on ill-gotten gains from his children. Perhaps that is why he never restrained them. He enjoyed what his children could offer him, more than cherishing the protection of God for his family and society. I think some fathers standing on the sidelines of their sons’ football games could learn from this as they try to live out their dreams vicariously through their children. But the thing to note is that unrestrained behaviour does not teach wisdom. Rather it allows for a growth in foolishness which at heart has no fear of God…”Eli’s sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD.” (1 Samuel 2:12)

As parents we must be active and vigilant in the correction and restraint of our children. No parent wants to hear what Eli heard about his children “it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.” (1 Samuel 2:25)

A message for young people:  Children ought not kick out against mum and dad’s discipline and restraint. If you are a young person reading this and struggle with your parents’ discipline, spare a thought for mum and dad. They know the consequences of your actions could ruin you and others.  They also have the maturity to know their accountability to God for the way they raise you. Parents have a tough job – their love for their children and community means they will often act in ways that children may hate them for.

But the truth is – every time a child wishes their parents were more like other parents, who lets their children do anything, that child has wished for a parent like Eli. But Eli was a parent who allowed his children to self destruct and be condemned by God. He was a parent who allowed for untold hurt to be visited upon an entire community.

Honour God before your kids:  Eli made one big mistake in parenting which you pick up in a question asked of him by God “Why do you honour your sons more than me…” 1 Samuel 2:29. Whenever a parent honours their children more than God, the potential for ruining their children is heightened. In fact whenever God is not first in any aspect of life, our lives will suffer. If this can happen in the family of a priest in Israel, one might wonder if the most concealed idolatry in the Christian church today could be the idolatry of our children. Heaven forbid that we have to learn that “it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.”   (RICK LEWERS)

The Bible is kind of a big deal. But reading it can be tough. There’s parts that go down nice and easy, verses that offer up practical wisdom on doing life. And there’s other parts that are just beautiful to read – we’re talking about the Psalms!

We can get down with the motivational bits right? The kind of verses you’d see on a meme or can stick on your Pinterest wall. But then there’s some seriously challenging parts of the Bible; some bits that are just outright confusing, and entire verses that are just lists of names or places.

So how is all this stuff that happened thousands of years ago relevant to our lives now?

The people that wrote the Bible never had to deal with half the stuff we do today. No snapchat, Facebook or Instagram – in fact forget about social media altogether. And the internet? Non-existent (can you imagine!?). These people would never have seen a jumbo jet, experienced global warming, or had to worry about nuclear bombs.

A rather clever chap, Peter Enns, puts it like this: “The Bible is not a Christian owner’s manual but a story–a diverse story of God and how His people have connected with him over the centuries, in changing circumstances and situations.”

Now that sounds more relatable, right?

Admittedly there’s a bit of a gap in time, culture, geography and language for our 21stCentury understanding. But what we love about the Bible is that it’s full of stories about people, people who had hopes, dreams, and a whole heap of flaws and questions – just like us. Struggling to understand God, life, happiness and pain, all that stuff that we sometimes squash down in our deepest being. It’s an age-old ache. And us humans have never really gotten to the bottom of it.

When we read the Bible we get this amazing insight into what life with God has looked like throughout history. We see His compassion, kindness, greatness, largeness, mercy, justice and unfailing love is unwavering, even when us humans least deserve it. He is constant from beginning to end. Most importantly, we see our role in God’s Kingdom, and how our lives are jam-packed with purpose and meaning!                            (EMMA BORQUAYE)