Part IV - The Good Fight: Our Own Challenge

At least six of us participated online in our first inductive Bible study this past week! Woo hoo! It was really fantastic to read how the other ladies put the passage into their own words - and then add some extra insights, too. This process really did help me "see" the verse and meditate on it instead of just "calling words." I hope it did the same for you, whether you joined in online or at home.

I've been brainstorming about the next step. Well, actually, I've been brainstorming about waiting two weeks in between each new inductive Bible study (one week more at this point). So...a new inductive Bible study two times a month. I'll tell you why...I want to add an activity to go along with the passage. My mother taught me to use an application story at the end of teaching a Bible lesson to children - and when I do that, it definitely seems to tie it all together for them. So I want to do something similar.

I thought we could use another week to really explore what a certain passage means to our lives. Because we don't want to just look into the mirror and then turn and immediately forget what we look like. (James 1:22-25) We want to be doers, not just hearers.

So, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is this:

Take your notebook (or computer) and Bible and go, by yourself, to a coffee shop or cafe' or bookstore. Somewhere you can sit and people-watch quietly. For thirty minutes. Read our passage again. Read your paraphrase again. And then observe the people around you. Of course, we cannot see people's hearts and true intentions and the state of their eternal souls by doing this exercise...BUT, we can start training ourselves to see people the way God sees them. Is there someone who was rude to the person working behind the counter? Or rude to you? Is there someone whose behavior makes you want to roll your eyes or shake your head? God loves them. Just remember that. God loves you, but He Loves Them, Too. Even when they run into you and don't even say, "Sorry." Be God's voice and God's hands and God's patience. Don't be sullen if the line is long and they get your order wrong. Recognize that as being entirely unimportant in the whole scheme of things.

The whole point is realizing that each person there is someone who God would like to see in Heaven. You could have a hand in that. I'm not expecting you to say, "Hey, how is your spiritual life?" to each person in that coffee shop, but while you're sitting there, be thinking of ways you can reach out to "preach the word, be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke and exhort, with complete patience and teaching." How can you make that happen in your life?

Part III: Thoughts on The Good Fight

I really enjoyed paraphrasing this passage from II Timothy 4:1-8. It was interesting to envision Paul writing a letter to his friend and helper Timothy on the subject of staying true to God while the world around him changes. Wouldn't all of this wisdom be great advice for us today also? Because that's our challenge, too.

Alright, here's the scripture if you're just joining us. Below it you'll find my paraphrase of this passage and then my thoughts at the end. Inductive Bible study style. =)

"I charge you in the presence of God 

and of Christ Jesus, 

who is to judge the living and the dead, 

and by his appearing and his kingdom: 

preach the word; 

be ready in season and out of season; 

reprove, rebuke, and exhort, 

with complete patience and teaching. 

For the time is coming when people 

will not endure sound teaching, 

but having itching ears they will accumulate 

for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 

and will turn away from listening 

to the truth and wander off into myths. 

As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, 

do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 

For I am already being poured out 

as a drink offering, 

and the time of my departure has come. 

I have fought the good fight, 

I have finished the race, 

I have kept the faith. 

Henceforth there is laid up for me 

the crown of righteousness, 

which the Lord, the righteous judge, 

will award to me on that Day, 

and not only to me but also 

to all who have loved his appearing."

II Timothy 4:1-8

My paraphrase:

With the God of Heaven and His son, the Christ Jesus (the world's judge) looking on, I issue you a challenge: Be active in preaching the good news. Always be prepared, whether you are literally on the "mission field" or not. You will have to correct some, but do it gently and with much patience. There will come a time when many people will leave the sound teaching straight from the Bible. They will want to hear something novel...something new and different. They will find teachers to teach them these things, to fulfill their own wants, which will cause them to stray from God's wants. But you - you should always guard against these untruths, even if it involves pain and suffering. Keep being what you know you should be - an evangelist.

My time on earth may be ending, but I feel triumphant that I am able to state with assurance: "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith."

Because of the truth of that statement, I have a crown set aside for me when I enter heaven. It's a crown of righteousness that the Lord, the only righteous judge, will give me as a reward for being faithful to Him. But I am not the only one who will receive it...all of us who love him faithfully will receive one.

My thoughts:

*Paul calls for a great deal of ACTION. Preach, Be Ready, Reprove, Rebuke, Exhort, Teach. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry. There's no sitting back and all that, "I'm O.K., you're O.K." jazz.

*He tells Timothy to be prepared "in season and out of season." I liken this unto being ready to answer questions/tell the good news whether one is literally teaching a Bible class...or just simply talking to a friend.

*It is entirely possible to turn away from the truth and follow our own desires. See how those don't correlate? Our fleshly desires often lead us in the opposite way of the truth.

*Some will need correction as they are no longer seeking God's truth...even if they think they are.

*Paul's statement regarding the good fight, the race, and the faith is a very powerful analogy. It's the very best feeling that any of us could express at the end of our lives. He was able to say this with assurance because he, himself, had completed the challenge he was now giving Timothy.

*We will receive a crown of righteousness if we remain faithful to Him! Not one of those fake tiaras for playing dress up. This will be the real deal. And won't it be amazing to meet Paul in Heaven??

Your turn - if you haven't participated yet, but would like to, post your own paraphrase/thoughts on your blog and link back to this one. Let me know so I can add you to the link post. =) Hope you all got as much out of this study as I have. We'll start a new one soon!

I'm off to read the other blog posts now! I didn't read them in depth before finishing my own study and I'm excited to read them today. =)

Happy Friday!

Kristen

Part II - The Good Fight: Links!

(Edited to add a fifth link)

If you've been here lately, you know that we're in the process of beginning our first group inductive Bible study here on PrettySweet: HeavenMinded. We're pretty excited about it! Our passage is II Timothy 4:1-8. If you haven't been here, well, you will be wondering WHATINTHEWORLD is an inductive Bible study? Find out here.

We've got five participants (that I know of) with their posts already up! I'm going to go ahead and give you the links to those posts now and I'll keep adding any others who would like to be added. Just send me a message or let me know. And remember - if you're not a blogger but you are on Facebook, you are welcome to join in the discussion by writing a "note." Not all of us may be able to read it, but your Facebook friends can, so go right ahead. And if you just want to write some thoughts in the comment section here, well, that's more than fine, too. =)

1. The Fastest of the Fast: Jennifer from Hart to Heart: I Have Fought the Good Fight

2. The Second Fastest But Still-Very-Fast: Becky from Slipping Through My Fingers: A Charge

3. Here's another!! Yea!! Brittany from Wonderwheat:  My First Inductive Bible Study

4. One more! Woo hoo! Kathy from Moments to Memories: The Good Fight

5. And all the way from Malaysia! Kimberly from Go Into All the World: Inductive Bible Study #1

6. And here's mine...

P.S. I am LOVING reading these other studies. It always amazes me to get insights from other people. Even if they say it just a little bit differently from what I paraphrased, I am able to understand the verses a bit more. Sometimes, though, we can all say things pretty differently, allowing for even great insights. Great work, ladies! Great work. =)

Part 1 - The Good Fight

Welcome to our first Heaven-Minded inductive Bible study! If you're new (or need to review the instructions) take a few minutes to read this first. Great! We're good to go.

I've chosen II Timothy 4:1-8 for us to study this time. It will be very familiar to you already, most likely. The other day I heard a quote, though, to the effect of, "If you see a familiar verse, it means you need to read it more carefully." I know I do that quite a lot...see a verse somewhere, recognize it immediately and skip on to something I feel that I don't know as well. But let's try this. Let's try to extract something(s) out of this passage that we didn't notice before. I know that we will.

You are welcome to use the quote from my English Standard Version, but also feel free to use your own version. Obviously, we should get the most insights from all of us using different versions. =)

"I charge you in the presence of God 
and of Christ Jesus, 
who is to judge the living and the dead, 
and by his appearing and his kingdom: 
preach the word; 
be ready in season and out of season; 
reprove, rebuke, and exhort, 
with complete patience and teaching. 
For the time is coming when people 
will not endure sound teaching, 
but having itching ears they will accumulate 
for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 
and will turn away from listening 
to the truth and wander off into myths. 
As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, 
do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 


For I am already being poured out 
as a drink offering, 
and the time of my departure has come. 
I have fought the good fight, 
I have finished the race, 
I have kept the faith. 
Henceforth there is laid up for me 
the crown of righteousness, 
which the Lord, the righteous judge, 
will award to me on that Day, 
and not only to me but also 
to all who have loved his appearing."


II Timothy 4:1-8


Let me know if you're planning to blog about this particular Bible study this week. We'll get everybody linked up somehow! You can link back to this post. And I'll send out a links update, on, say, Friday or so, with everyone's posts. If you don't have a blog but want to participate, remember that you can write a "note" on Facebook. Totally acceptable. =)