Our Attitude

2 Timothy 3:1- 5 - But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--  having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

Paul wanted us to remember this passage...he starts his words with “mark this”…then he goes on to describe the world we live in today. He describes a world of people so consumed with themselves that they don’t have time for God. And even though we see our own world in this description…Paul saw it in Timothy’s too.  The last days…terrible times then…terrible times now…the period of time between Christ’s first coming and his second…all of these last days…to the very end will find people consumed with earthly pleasure…not Godly growth.  This passage sure hit me between the eyes when I read it…first on his list is the ME disease I fight every day.

He gives Timothy the cure for all these diseases. He charges Timothy…and all of us today…to cling to our roots….to cling to the scriptures that were written to help us stay strong. He says in verse 14-15, “ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,  and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” He charges all of us to really drink in the word of God and use it to rebuke these selfish tendencies in our lives…to correct them as soon as we are told they are distractions in our relationship with God.  He tells us to use the word of God to train our soul to be strong and tap into the power that kept Paul so strong.

There are many bible greats that modeled how to tap into the power that Paul says we deny so easily.  Moses walked happily in the fields of his father-in-law Jethro…until God met him in that burning bush and asked him what he held in his hand. (Exodus 4) The mother of Samson was able to channel power into her son with her obedience to the instructions of the Lord (Judges 13) David  had great power and strength to be a mighty king because God used his heart which was modeled after God’s own. (Acts 13)  And let’s not forget Paul…who learned the hard way that humility is key in tapping into the power that God has for all of us.(2 Corinthians 10:1)

I am sure that all of the apostles had many lessons in how to tap into this power of God. They walked with him for 3 years and watched some mighty miracles. Their daily walk included submission… obedience…and giving up all they had to follow him. Their attitude had to be one of faith and trust in this messiah they spent day after day with.  James 4:7-8 speaks about how important our attitude is before God, “ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”  They had to love Jesus with their whole heart to be able to follow him every day.

Father…I thank you for this reminder today that I need to be more aware of my attitude.  Forgive me Lord for all the times I have let my selfishness get in the way of learning how to tap into the power you gave Paul and the other disciples. Renew in me a right mind this morning and fill me with the knowledge I need to be used of you. Help me increase the rigor with which I study and really search your word for ways to use your power in these ‘terrible times’…help me be a lover of God…to sell out to you completely and learn to tap into your power. Amen.