“When people realize it is the living God you are presenting and not some idol that makes them feel good, they are going to turn on you, even people in your own family. There is a great irony here: proclaiming so much love, experiencing so much hate! But don’t quit. Don’t cave in. It is all well worth it in the end. It is not success you are after in such times but survival. Be survivors! Before you’ve run out of options, the Son of Man will have arrived.”

Matthew 10:21-23

Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of trouble; there’s no getting around it. Unscrupulous con men will continue to exploit the faith. They’re as deceived as the people they lead astray. As long as they are out there, things can only get worse.

But don’t let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers—why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother’s milk! There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.

2 Timothy 3:12-17

Ya’ll, I want to go to seminary and become a preacher just so I can talk about these verses.

Have you ever read so much awesome in one place in your whole dang life?  I know I said I wouldn’t put a bunch of my opinions in Bible Thursday but clearly I’m a big, fat liar so let’s take a look.

Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of trouble; there’s no getting around it.

This is just true.  I know you don’t like it.  I know you want it to be different.  I want doughnuts to be healthy but we can’t always get what we want, ok?   This doesn’t mean that your entire Christian life will be drudgery, turmoil and horror.  But friends… there will be trouble.  If there isn’t, I just assume you are doing it wrong.

One more thing here.  This is why I feel it is so dangerous to mislead new Christians about the reality of Christian living.  If you think this life is just going to be praise music and potluck dinners, Satan is gonna have a field day with you.

Unscrupulous con men will continue to exploit the faith. They’re as deceived as the people they lead astray. As long as they are out there, things can only get worse.

I’m talking to myself here.  It’s good to be reminded of this verse.  Now every time you see some random moron who calls himself a preacher or evangelist or whatever doing something real heathen, just remember that 2000 years ago Paul already knew about this mess.

But don’t let it faze you.

I’m trying but it ain’t easy.

There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way.

Here’s the scripture that brought me to my current church.  Our pastor preached it the very first day we visited.  I really did plan to visit other churches.  But honestly?  God knows how important this verse is to me and I don’t believe in spiritual coincidence.

Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.

Can you even stand this?  I mean are you not just having a Jesus moment with this deal?

I claim to be ‘falling apart’ about 8 times per week.  Through the Word, I am put back together every time.

So don’t be embarrassed to speak up for our Master or for me, his prisoner. Take your share of suffering for the Message along with the rest of us. We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all his idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now.

2 Timothy 1:8-10

God told Jeremiah, “Up on your feet! Go to the potter’s house. When you get there, I’ll tell you what I have to say.”

So I went to the potter’s house, and sure enough, the potter was there, working away at his wheel. Whenever the pot the potter was working on turned out badly, as sometimes happens when you are working with clay, the potter would simply start over and use the same clay to make another pot.

Jeremiah 18:1-4

See…I knew this would happen.  I post one small section and I’m ready to do a whole study on Jeremiah.

Lucky for you I don’t have time for that just yet.

Here’s what strikes me about these verses.  God can make me better without changing who I am or what I am made of.  Have you ever been through a  time when it felt like God was ‘smashing your pot’?  It’s not a speck of fun, I can tell you that.  But I love that God doesn’t throw the clay out.  He just starts over.