Jacobs Thoughts and Doings

Each watermelon we open is a surprise.  This delicious red watery, sweet melon is a mid-summer joy.  Anna Ruth cuts them into pieces that we put in the fridge to chill and then to enjoy.  Their taste and freshness have no equal as far as I am concerned.  Bring on the watermelon!!

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.  2 Timothy 2:1, 2

This admonition of the Apostle Paul shaped my life’s ministry – in a word, teach disciples to teach other disciples.  There are many callings in our pilgrimage of faith but one of the strongest and most urgent is this one.  I find this a compelling reminder of the importance of sharing with others what I am learning and of the task of teaching them so that they cannot only be faithful disciples themselves but so that they can teach others to teach others and so it goes.  That is God’s plan.

Of course, teaching in the Christian sense is not simply passing on information or data.  Teaching is the ability of sharing with others what we, as persons, are learning in our own pilgrimage that is meaningful to us and that might be meaningful for others.  The best teachers are those who are in the heat of the battle, learning to lean on Jesus in all situations.

Paul had no teaching curriculum to give to Timothy.  We share what we are learning.  Of course, we share the learnings of others well, but all teaching should arise out of actual life experiences, life learnings, in walking with Jesus.

In my lifetime I have taught thousands of disciples all over the world.  As I look back I praise the Lord for that fantastic door of opportunity.  I have found that is not only important to learn but to teach!  If teaching would cease, the Kingdom would be seriously weakened.

I praise God that I am called to teach.  I want to do that all my life.

Yesterday Anna Ruth and I had the joy of hosting Leaderwell Pohsngap.  He and his wife, Sita, live in northeast India but our lives have intertwined through the years in a great variety of settings.  He set the stage and was involved in leadership training in Global Disciples for many years. We praise God for people like him who have opened our eyes to see further and deeper that we could have imagined.  Having such a saint in our home for a day is a gift of God, that is for sure.

Learnings from 2 Timothy

Before we leave this amazing letter, Paul’s second to Timothy and the final letter we have before Rome killed him. I would like to summarize a few things I have been learning.

First, our relationship to Jesus Christ is the bed-rock reality in our lives, the Rock upon which all stands. Circumstances may change like people loving us and others turning away from us, for a great variety of reasons one way or the other.  One thing controls everything, our relationship with Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. In other words, when we think of our lives here on the earth, troubling storms may come, then delightful twilights will flood our lives with joy.  All that is good but what remains is most important, our walk with Jesus and his walk with us.

Secondly, enjoy to the full the fellowship we have with fellow believers, especially those surrounding us.  Encourage them and be encouraged by them.

Thirdly, do be concerned when some who once expressed their love for Jesus are now faltering and are falling back into the world, but do not let that affect your spiritual peace.  We can witness to them and maybe even warn them about their ungodly attitudes but we cannot, should not, feel that their love for Jesus is in any way controlled by us. They are free moral agents, like us all.  I find my spirit is deeply troubled when people leave the simple Gospel path. That might be a predictable feeling but if we dwell on that to the extent that it affects our peace, we must shift our attention to Jesus himself.

Fourth, like Paul, we fill our role on the stage of life for a wonderful but brief moment.  I must remember that my times are in the hands of my loving Lord.  I, too, will slip over to be with others like me, now forever with Jesus and the saints and angels.  The Lord controls the seasons of life, not me.  All seasons are good even though each has challenges.

Fifth, be diligent in witnessing to those whom God is calling to get on with the journey, usually younger people, as Paul shared his inner life with young Timothy who was facing a life-time of ministry among the brothers and sisters, sure to face issues like Paul.  We have the baton but for a while, and must be careful it does not drop but is passed on to other hands, now running the race.

This week a family of 4 hawks, Coopers if I am not mistaken, descended on our pond, one, the one pictured, stood guard on the roof overlooking the scene.  I did not see what got eaten, if anything.  We have a huge frog population. Maybe some went to energize the hawk family.

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.  Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him.
If we disown him, he will also disown us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

2 timothy 2:8 – 13

I love this revelation, even though we are pressed down, maybe even suffering for Christ, “God’s word is not chained.”  In fact, if we are suffering for Christ the Gospel is still the Gospel of God – living, powerful, redemptive – is a living reality in heaven and on earth, then, now and forever.

Jesus loves us dearly and feels the pain that we feel, and He does comfort our souls.  I was 88 years old yesterday.  The Gospel is just the same today as it was when Jesus died for my sins, rose from the dead and is in heaven representing me before his loving Father.  I see so much heresy, doubt and disobedience around me and even in myself, but the victory is won, no matter where I am in the process as I follow the Lamb wherever He goes.

Paul sums it up in couplets.  If we die we will live, if we endure we will reign, etc.  This we know.  But there is a mystery of grace in what follows.  Paul is convinced as are we that if we disown him and are unfaithful that is our matter, but, remember, God cannot disown himself.  He is the rock of truth and mercy, never changing because any change would alter who he is.  We may have questions about Salvation, God has none at all!

God’s word is not chained.  We, his followers, might be suffering with Christ but that does not detract from the fact that His offer of salvation stands sure forever.

Our first glad to bloom is this yellow one. As I looked at it closely, I saw a wee tear on the stamen. I think it is just a reminder that in all beauty there is a wee tear, serving to ground the emotion as it is in life. The droplet will soon disappear as the blossom is warmed by the early Summer sun. A reminder of the grace of God in our lives.

You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me. 2 Timothy 1:15

At least that is how Paul felt!  One of the most difficult things in the life of faith is handling rejection.  I remember how deeply I was hurt when a Bishop in Tanzania, a renegade one, once a dear friend and companion in the Gospel, told me in no uncertain terms not to come into his diocese.  It took me a long time and profound repentance, before I could love that person again.

I have discovered that the tie that binds us followers of Jesus is a gift of God’s grace.  To be loved and accepted by others who might be quite different from me is a blessing beyond measure.  Our unity is in Jesus Christ, our mutual Savior and Lord.  There have been times in my life when I was absolutely overcome with the joy of the fellowship I was privileged to have with people very, very unlike myself.

I suppose Paul felt that way.  How is it possible, as time passed, that we read Paul’s letter to Timothy which includes a lament that breaks the heart?  “Everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me.”  As I already noted, that was how he felt and he was humble enough to share that hurt with his young friend Timothy.

All of us who have committed our lives to following Christ will understand sooner or later that we will at times feel rejected.  That feeling is so troublesome because it belies the joy we find in fellowship.  Why should we be so surprised?  We are in love with Jesus who was rejected by his own people and condemned to death on the Cross by Romans.  We read in Isaiah, “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.”  Isaiah 53:3

Pondering this we find grace to endure rejection or praise.  As we join in the heavenly choir, even now, we participate in Christ’s love, a love that knows the pain and joy of the Cross.  Both are of grace.

Abner, our delightful Amish neighbor, missed the bus to New Holland yesterday so scooted up to our place to request a ride to join his sons and thousands of others at the Annual Horse Auction – a din of activity.  He left his transportation at our bubble gum petunia spread.

Wesley wrote this hymn to commemorate the first anniversary of his conversion to Christ.

I would like to present it as my birthday hymn of joy.  July 6, 88!