2 Timothy 2:14-26 ~ one approved

2 Timothy 2:14-26

¹⁴ Remind them of these things, and charge them before God ^{[the Lord]} not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. ¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, ^{[one approved after being tested]} a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. ¹⁶ But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, ¹⁷ and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸ who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. ¹⁹ But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

²⁰ Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. ²¹ Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. 

²² So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. ²³ Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. ²⁴ And the Lord's servant ^{[bondservant]} must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, ²⁵ correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. 

Matthew 23:23  
"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your mint, dill, and cummin, but have neglected the more important matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others."

We can take all of our denomination differences. We may look at King James Version or the English Standard Version and stake our claim. Or we can say - God is Love. Jesus never quoted the added Chapter and Verse. He merely said, "It is written." Jesus gave us ideals and He lived them. Mercy with Truth over all else. Every day. His Father's ideals and He gave His life for them. For us. Beyond that..... we must say to ourselves each day - cast the first stone. And our attitudes and words must reflect the ideals of Jesus. And the mercy of Jesus.


Romans 4:25
He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

  Church at Varengeville Against the Sunlight - (Wings of Morning.) Painted By Claude Monet.

John 1

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶ For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Father God,

You are a Stronghold to the poor of health, heart, spirit, finances

a shelter from the storms of life

and a shade from the heat of poor self esteem, criticism or reproach.

In telling us of the Feast in Jesus Christ. We find the Table of Lord God, our You, Our Father has Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Comfort and is a Strong Help in times of need. The Table of the Lord God is where You long to enfold us in Your arms, a chick gathers her young.

In Heaven, You will complete us and we will be filled with all the Goodness of You.

You do not change Your mind. You Promise and Fulfill.

When we Trust in You, You pour out blessings. Hope does not put us to shame, because Your love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Jesus Christ, You are faithful as the Son over God's house. And we are Your house, and we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory. Eternity always and today.

Father God, we praise you because You wanted to make the unchanging nature of Your purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, You have confirmed it with an oath.

Cover us in Your Name. Amen Jesus.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †

1 Timothy 3:16 ~ Taken up in Glory.

Did we ever stop to consider Jesus as not just the Holy Spirit for all the years before He came to our lives. He and the Father planned - Jesus planned to be the fulfillment of God's Will. And He found supreme Joy there.

Before Abraham, I am.

A Son God Delights in. Jesus said He saw Satan fall out of the Heavens like Lightning. Jesus was returning to the Father as the Son who presented Him with a new Heaven and a new earth.

No wonder this is the Son With Whom God Delights




In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

The True Light, which gives Light to everyone, was coming into the world.

Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for Whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through Whom we exist.

Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son and His Name shall be called Emmanuel. God with us.

Wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger.
No room for Them in the inn.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord...

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

For my eyes have seen your salvation

A light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.



And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.

Get up, take the Child and His Mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there



The significance appeared to be gone.

The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.


True light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.


In Capernaum. 

They called Him Lamb of God.
I myself did not know Him
He said to them, “Come and you will see.”
 He said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 


Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!
"We have found the Messiah”


A grown Man took friends and went to stay with His mother,attending a wedding.

His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”
You have kept the good wine until now.


“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

“Zeal for your house will consume me.”

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Brought to Him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and He healed them all.

The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the a sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto Him

When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd

How often He has longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing

When Jesus saw His mother* and the disciple there whom He loved, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”

They nailed His hands and feet unto a cross, He made restitution for our sins. for this is His blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many, for the forgiveness of sins.

There was a written notice above Him, which read: this is the King of the Jews.

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

About noon, and darkness came over the whole land
For the sun stopped shining
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split.

Then said Jesus, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit!” And having said this He breathed His last.

The centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this Man was innocent!”

Go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

He told them, "As you go into all the world, proclaim the Gospel to everyone."

He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory!!!


Father God,

While You stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy Son Jesus.

Let us pray the place and remember in Acts 4 they were shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Let Your Word go forth.
Let Healing come to All Believers. As our boundaries are in you. And You change our lives to Your Will.

All our cares, concerns, loved ones, Lifted to You, Father God.

Your Will in Jesus is Good. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †

Luke 2:51 ~ Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

Luke 2:51

51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.


I believe we all feel a little deprived because we aren't given a lot of views of Jesus' growing up years.

We can be assured of this time and what was happening in Jesus and around Jesus:

49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”



Macrobius (ca. AD 400), one of the last pagan writers in Rome, in his book Saturnalia, wrote: “When it was heard that, as part of the slaughter of boys up to two years old, Herod, king of the Jews, had ordered his own son to be killed, he, the Emperor Augustus, remarked, ‘It is better to be Herod’s pig.'

If we assume God is King of the Universe and Lord of Lords, we can assume Jesus was born in 1 A.D., He was three or four when Jesus returned to Nazareth from Egypt.

Jesus saw something of this:

The Flight Into Egypt - Frederick Goodall

By Edwin Longsden, Holy Family in Egypt

Why would Father God send His Son to Egypt?

Isaiah 19
In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”

The Lord sees Salvation as God Sized.

Acts 7:11
Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food.

Mark settles in Africa. Mark founded the Church of Alexandria, one of the most important episcopal sees of Early Christianity.

Jesus in His beginning is in Egypt and continues this to feed all His Children.



Jude the Brother of Christ briefly describes this.

⁵ Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt


Jude has confidence in His Brother, Jesus.

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.





And returning to Nazareth the view was this:

We know Jesus was called the carpenter's son. The Talmud, the Sadducean Council records record and report the difficulty in Luke 1 for Mary. How did she survive in a town of 300 and her parenting skills with Joseph are remembered as being seamless?

Mary had some Help! Joseph had help!

Two times in the Gospels, we are told Mary and Joseph are recognized as very good parents. Whew, we thought Jesus was left willy nilly behind.


James, the Brother of Jesus tells us how Jesus was dealing with life.

James 1
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

James records what Jesus witnessed in His own Brothers:

6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation.

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.



John tells us too. John witnessed Jesus say:

John 15:11
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.



We can be sure, what the men who saw Jesus grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Saw This:

The different readers of the original texts say:

Mark 10:32
And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed,
in awe,
astonished.

The Bible goes on to say afraid. Angels have rehearsed what to say. "Fear Not." In all the seasons and millenniums - this is well done and to the point!



Father God,

Mark records meeting Jesus and feeling with the people, the astonishment of encountering God on earth. This is his First Gospel Chapter of Jesus. Matthew records this as well.

We thank You for the many astonishing things Jesus has given us. Rejoicing in all of Jesus' ways, knowing the names and thoughts of people, helped His Family. Rejoicing in the example of Jesus going home to visit for the Wedding in Cana.

We ask all the Blessings of Jesus continue to fall upon us. And Thank You for Your Willing Holy Spirit. We do not claw out answered prayers, but look to see where Your Holy Spirit willing blesses.

With expectation of seeing more of Your Joy, we ask for Peace, Joy, Gladness, Love, Hope, Protection and Safety, Good Health, and Give Thanks for the Blessings we know You have Given Willingly.

We lift up to you the tender hearts of the ones we love, for their comfort and joy in You. And for this Nation and the people all over the world. In Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †

Mark 15:37-39 ~ Truly this man was the Son of God.

The wisdom of what a person says is in direct proportion to his progress in learning the holy Scriptures—and I am not speaking of intensive reading or memorization, but real understanding and careful investigation of their meaning. Some people read them but neglect them; by their reading they profit in knowledge, by their neglect they forfeit understanding. - St. Augustine.





Earthquake Geographical readings:

Thirteen inches above the 31 B.C. event bed is another distinctive “mixed layer” less than one inch thick. The sedimentation rate puts this second earthquake about 65 years after the 31 B.C. earthquake. It seems that the crucifixion earthquake of 33 A.D. was magnitude 5.5, leaving direct physical evidence in a thin layer of disturbed sediment from the Dead Sea.

And Historical Readings

In early writings of the Church Fathers, Jerome in a Letter to Hedibia relates that the huge lintel of the Temple was broken and splintered and fell. He connects this with the rending of the Veil. Says Edersheim, “it would seem an obvious inference to connect again this breaking of the lintel with an earthquake” (p. 610, op. cit.). The lintel was an enormous stone, being at least 30 feet long and weighing some 30 tons!

The Temple Veils were 60 feet long, 30 feet wide, and the thickness of the palm of a man’s hand, wrought in 72 squares. They were so heavy that we are told 300 priests were needed to manipulate each one. The Veil being rent from top to bottom was such a terrible portent because it indicated that God’s Own Hand had torn it in two, His Presence thus deserting and leaving that Holy Place.

Says the Jewish Talmud in Yoma 39b of the events which occurred in 30 A.D.:

“Forty years before the Temple was destroyed [i.e., 40 years before 70 A.D., or in 30 A.D.] . . .the gates of the Hekel [Holy Place] opened by themselves, until Rabbi Yohanan B. Zakkai rebuked them [the gates] saying, Hekel, Hekel, why alarmist thou us? We know that thou art destined to be destroyed...”

For the huge doors of the Temple behind the Veil to open, of their own accord, or in association with the great earthquake, would cause them to pull powerfully against the Veil, and with the lintel falling, at the same time, could have torn it in two from top to bottom.

Mark 15:37-39

37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. 38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. 39 And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God."



Father God,

You have Promised those who search earnestly have found You and will find You.

We give You thanks for Your Presence and we say Thank You for hearing and answering prayers.

All things work together for Good. In Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †

Gensis 1 ~ The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Sunday, May 22nd is Trinity Sunday
We had a Wonderful Sermon from the Anglican Rev. Cannon Steven Saul, to Archbishop Foley.

When you think of the awesome power of God, there is a point in time where the Holy Trinity converges in something we have all considered. Even as young, young children we have all sat and thought about the Holy Trinity. And truly contemplated.


Father God begins His Word, Scriptures with The Holy Trinity.

Proverbs tells us Jesus laughed with delight to see all of Creation.

The Holy Spirit is part of Creation, of course.

God speaks The Word, His Will.
The Holy Spirit dwells in all of mankind as the Light, and in Him we live and move and have our being. The Holy Spirit hovered over the waters in Creation.


This is the connecting factor in our lives.


Over His waters, the Holy Spirit Hovered.

Through His Waters, Father God led the Children of God out of bondage. His concern for their lives.

Light poured into the world, Jesus is born. The Spirit bears witness to the life in blood and water.

And in obedience, love, worship, Jesus is bringing His Father the Kingdom; Jesus is Baptized.
And hears beauty from His Father, "My Beloved Son."

Jesus celebrates the Holy Spirit - changing water into Wine.

Jesus heals a man waiting 38 years, beside the waters of the Pool of Bethesda. God's timing is telling us, He has not forgotten us.

Jesus walks upon the waters.

Jesus confronts the crippling fear of doubt upon the waters, and Immediately reaches forth. God Loves us. He won't leave.

Begged to help a blind man, Jesus takes His saliva and the man is made whole. And another blind man was also healed with Jesus' saliva. Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

And in blood and water, Jesus did leave this Life to return us to Life.

Father God,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life,a and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, has come into the world.

Jesus has given, in the Holy Spirit, fulfilling the Father's Word, Jesus gave the right to become children of God. By the Will of God.

Because of the Holy Spirit. We have Life Abundant. We will and do witness His Glory. We have received from His fullness and received Grace upon Grace.

This is the Son of God. Jesus Christ Lord God.

We lift to Father God, thanks for the blessings of our life. We lift our concerns from their ruts Up to the Light of Jesus, with Expectation of His Goodness. We rest in Faith and Joy. We offer our Loved Ones for His Promises with Peace.

And in the Name of Jesus, God sees with us, good.

And give Thanks for Jesus, in the Provision of Father God and Holy Spirit. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †