Jacobs Thoughts and Doings

Here is Isaac, full of hope and enthusiasm, hoping to snag a frog with his net.  He must have caught 8 or 10 – all returned to the pond, however.  He, along with the twins, Jack and Ben, enjoyed the ponds here which delighted us.  None fell in – a surprise.  Almost all of our grands have fallen into one of our ponds through the years.  A sort of family ritual, I do believe.

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store 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 longed for his appearing.  2 Timothy 4:6 – 8

Did it occur to you that the great Apostle Paul, as he approached death, did not point to what he accomplished?  How many churches did he plant himself or helped others to plant?  Who was an advocate for bringing Gentile believers into the fellowships of Jesus Christ’s followers? Who suffered at the hands of his own Jewish people and now is in the hands of the great Roman Empire, about to be killed by them?  Who articulated in his letters the great fundamentals of the Gospel that opened the door of salvation to all who would believe, Jew or Gentile, bond or free, white or colored? Paul, of course.

I could go on.  In a way, Paul was fantastically successful as a disciple.  He planted innumerable churches, brought many men and women to faith, blended cultures into communities of those who love Jesus.  Extraordinary!  He has plenty to boast about.  But he is surprisingly humble.  As he faced the end of his life and ministry he grasped his Savior in a tighter embrace than ever.  That is what mattered!

Instead of listing his outstanding achievements he said, simply, “I have fought the good fight.”  He does not list his enemies. “I have finished the race.”  He does not list the names of those he outran. “I have kept the faith.”  He does not mention those who fell away.  He received the Gospel by the grace of God and he kept that very Gospel of grace until the end.

There is not one note of boasting about his achievements. His greatest accomplishment is being true to his Lord and Savior. In our glimpse into heaven in the Book of Revelation, those who are there do not impress one another or God with their achievements.  They all fall down before the Lamb in adoration and praise.

Paul is one of many who have been rescued by Jesus, now about to receive the crown of God’s grace, not a crown because of his own achievements or theirs.

I have written some on my life.  I tried to retell my faults and joys.  In actual fact I should just be content in knowing that I am blessed to be among those, of all generations, who love to see Jesus Christ. All the rest is in His hands.

Either Jack or Ben, should have asked, but whoever looks outstanding with sun glasses – Lego style.  We enjoyed Joel, Sara, Isaac, Ben and Jack for the past few wonderful days. They brighten the day, that is for sure.  They love to stay with Jane, Glenn and Marie, family, next door.

He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.  2 Timothy 1:9, 10

One phrase glows in this passage, “because of his own purpose and grace.” It keeps flashing on and off.  And it starts other phrases to light up as well, such as Jesus’ statement in the Upper Room when he was confiding with his disciples about his relationship with them.  He said, “You did not choose me but I chose you.”  John 15:16  What a revelation!

I cannot get into the skin of the disciples but they might have been thinking, as I tend to do, that we wisely decide, after deliberation, to follow Jesus Christ. As we read how Jesus chose his disciples, there is not a hint that any disciple joined Jesus because he thought Jesus was the best choice. No.  They joined Jesus because he invited them to do so.

God called us “because of his own purpose and grace.”  In other words, he called us because he needs us in working out his purpose, not ours.  That idea conflicts with our human tendency to want to be in control.  Jesus calls us to fulfil his purposes, not ours.

As I look back on 72 years of following Christ, sometimes haltingly, I now realize that I was created for that purpose and, behold, somewhere along the line I discovered that was my desire as well, and finding, to my amazement that as I found my place in God’s plan, behold, I found myself!

His way is not easy. Knowing that this will be very difficult for us, he provides unlimited grace to us to stop thinking like that and to place our lives in His hands.  We now live by the same grace that was given to Jesus Christ who, surprisingly, destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.  That is the way to live!  It is that grace that enabled Paul to be true to Jesus as he experienced some very difficult things in the last months of his life that we read about in this letter.  May that flood of grace overflow us right now.

As the early rays of the sun fall on the rose petals, after a night of rain, each droplet is a jewel.  Each leaf a reminder of how God refreshes the soul.

Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus.  Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers and sisters.

The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all.

2 Timothy 4:19 – 22

So we have it, Paul’s final words to us before he was executed by the Roman Empire, of which he was a citizen by birth.  He deserved better!

As he wrote the second letter to Timothy he knew that he would soon be with the Lord. His last words reveal a great deal about this man, a Apostle of Jesus Christ, Paul of Tarsus.  He would soon be in glory among myriads of believers but, still here on the earth, he revealed how much he owed to his fellow believers.  He first mentions Priscilla and Aquilla, trusted husband and wife team who were as much in love with Jesus as was Paul.

And then Onesiphorus and his household who loved Paul to the end.  Erastus, a former treasurer of the city of Corinth, served Paul as much as a human being could.  These men were truly brothers in God’s grace. Trophimus, also from Ephesus, accompanied Paul on his final journeys.  He was faithful to the Lord and a very close companion of Paul.

Then, Paul packaged several of his beloved friends in a bundle of love.  We know little about them – Eubulus, Pudens, Linus and Claudia.  They were probably there in Rome when Paul was in chains.  They stood with Paul in faith.

Earlier in the letter Paul noted that some believers were faltering. He closed his letter, and in a sense, his life work, by acknowledging God’s gracious gift of friends and colleagues in the faith.

This encourages us to give praise to God for brothers and sisters who love us dearly.  May we love them even more!

I am sure you are all dying to see one more frog picture.  Groan again.  Here is a grand daddy with four little ones among the blazing white lily.

What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

2 Tim 1:13, 14

Paul is passing on his learnings, purified through the years, to young Timothy whom Paul is preparing to continue the good work that he has been doing for twenty or so years.

Keep as the pattern of sound teaching – with the emphasis on the “keep.”  I gather Paul is warning Timothy to neither add nor subtract from the essential message of the Gospel.  In this letter Paul notes that some who had received the simple message have done just that.  Some spiritualized the Resurrection, making it some sort of spiritual experience detached from its historical reality, probably because bodily resurrection is so difficult to comprehend and even harder to believe, unless enlightened by the Spirit..

Paul refers to the Gospel as a “good deposit.”  We are entrusted with it, to keep it central and essential, because all else hangs on it. He writes – “guard it.”  Not revise it.  Not update it. Not tinker with it to make it palatable to human conjecture. And, by all means, do not add to it, polluting the simple message with doubt.

Paul further noted the centrality of faith, not reason alone, but with faith – believing what might seem impossible.  Allow for mystery or for the fact that we see through a glass darkly.  Our certainty is in God, not in our beliefs about him.

He then posits everything on the love of Jesus Christ.  Jesus loves, eternally, and so should we.  This is made possible by the Holy Spirit who lives in us.  I find it interesting that Paul and Timothy had the same “deposit.”  This makes them one in the Gospel though of two generations.

Lord, rest our spirits on the truth of the Gospel.

An evening angry sky.  Maybe rain? Hope so. I love watching the clouds form and reform, reflecting both light and shadows.

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store 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 longed for his appearing.

2 Timothy 4:6 – 8

I hear the elder Paul speaking a word of encouragement to Timothy, a much younger disciple.  Paul wrote that his own time to depart from the earth is imminent. He shares with Timothy that he fought the good fight, he finished the race, always moving forward not by his own strength but by faith in Jesus Christ who has become his life.  I have no idea what Timothy thought when he read this letter from Paul for the first time.  I suppose he expected to hear a doleful attitude from Paul. Instead, the past is the past, under the blood of Jesus, the pleasant and unpleasant, the victories and the defeats are now history.

Now a new door opens to move unencumbered into the future.  The past is gone. 

The Jews had a strong belief that God is the judge and that everyone must stand before him as such.  So Paul sees his meeting with God in glory.  He hears not a convicting word of judgement from God but God reaches for the crown that He designed for Paul.  He put on Paul.  Perfect!  What more could a human being desire?

Timothy has his life ahead of him.  He can learn from Paul by examining his life with all its challenges and joys.  While life goes on in Christ, a crown is being prepared for each one who finishes the race, no matter how long it takes or how difficult or pleasant the path.

So, Timothy, join Paul who longs for the day when God is all in all.  And, indecently, he reminds Timothy that God is fashioning a Timothy-sized crown!  It is there for him.