This passage from 2 Timothy 2 – particularly the way it is rendered in the New Living Translation – has become favorite of mine. Just think how different our world might be if we all attempted to live out the first sentence of 2 Timothy 2:25 each day!
For me, the key word is “gently” – after all, we “instruct” one another by our attitudes and actions, whether we realize it or not. The way I see it, our job is model integrity, compassion, and honesty toward others, and then trust that God will take care of the rest. We may make mistakes every now and then, but we should at least make a regular effort to be wise, welcoming, and winsome toward others, no?💡
Seriously, Wow, this absolutely what I needed on a day like today. I spoke with God concerning this matter. “we instruct one another by our attitudes and actions whether we realize it or not. Our job is to model integrity, compassion and honesty toward others, and then trust God will take care of the rest.” This is exactly what I shared with god. But you Word it so beautifully. 🙏🏼 Amen!
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Wow is right! Once again, it sounds like the Holy Spirit is teaching us similar things, Tiffany. Thank you for sharing what He was sharing with you! 🙂
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You’re welcome friend! See you in the New Year. 😆 it’s almost 2019
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Amen! I am ready for 2019 to get here! 🙂
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🙌🏼
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Lesson for me today, ‘gently’ is key. I was almost losing it today on my time with the teens at church today. But I must stay diligent, even though at this point it seems like hard work, because one day, the truth will win their hearts.
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Amen! It sounds like your heart and mind are in the right place – and both are trusting the Lord and his timing.
It is remarkable to me how God works. I was feeling quite tired last night and was struggling to think of a post for Sunday (particularly a Bible verse. I try not to repeat verses that often, and so I like to find “new” ones whenever I can). Anyway, I went WAY far back into my archives – going back to before my blogging days – and came across this one. I quickly created an image for it from the Bible app (and Pixabay, where I get many of my images) and then typed up a few comments off the top of my head, did some quick editing, and scheduled the post. I didn’t look at it again until just a few minutes ago. Got cracks me up because, once again, the posts that I think are “meh” seem to register the most with some people! Mysterious ways, indeed. 😀
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There’s no ‘meh’ when the Spirit of God is there 😃😃😃
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You are too kind! 💛✝️
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💞
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We don’t have any pictures in the Bible of Jesus getting in anyone’s faces and grabbing them by their shirt collars. He was always and completely obedient. We present God, He does the rest.
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Yes, very true, although He did get a little huffy in the temple that one time…. 😉 But yet. He modeled obedience, and we must do the same.
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lol, I was thinking of that one, too, even as I typed that response. In His perfect-ness, this was a perfect reaction to the situation. “Righteous anger,” I hear it called. As God says, anger is not a sin, but in your anger do not sin. Soooo, in my anger (my emotionally unstable tipping point), I’m to choose the non-sin option. Riiiight. That’s why my response is to walk away and wait until I can appropriately handle it (well, most of the time 😉).
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You and I sound quite similar, Kathy, as I haven’t yet mastered the non-sin righteous anger thing, either! Sometimes, walking away is the only good option on the table!
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And I’ll have to agree with both of you, again.
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