Bourland Family Blog

“Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” 2 Timothy 2:7 -> me:  What an amazing simple verse!  Paul reinforcing in Timothy that when we petition the Lord for an understanding and wisdom in His word, He will reveal it to us.  In the verses preceding this one, Paul talks about a CALLING to a way of life, FOCUS, OBEDIENCE, and DEDICATION using examples of a soldier, athlete, and farmer.  The Lord WILL give you understanding in EVERYTHING…what a great promise!  It makes me want to saturate my quiet times in prayer with a petition for deep understanding of His precepts and direction.  God already has delivered on this many times in the last several years, but to hear this again is so encouraging and inspiring.  Thank you Lord for this little tidbit I needed today.

“May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me— may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.” 2 Timothy 1:16-18 -> me: I love Onesiphorus!  I think that he is a model for Christian kindness.  What I also like is that it was not just Onesiphorus who Paul was acknowledging, he was acknowledging his whole household.  The family worked as a team to extend kindness to Paul.  Most version say ‘refreshed me’ but it can also mean ‘to brace up’, ‘to revive’, or ‘to comfort’.  It is almost like Onesiphorus’ presence was like a warming elixir to Paul and his imprisoned body.  It didn’t matter where Paul was; Onesiphorus was not ashamed to meet Paul where he was…in fact, contrary to being ashamed, Onesiphorus search night and day all over Rome to find where Paul was being kept.  Rome was notorious for making it difficult to find where prisoners were being held.  I am sure that Onesiphorus was mortified that Paul was calling him out in such an acknowledging way…just from this little passage I see this man being someone I want to emulate.  Paul understands the impact that Onesiphorus is laying up for in eternity so Paul has the mindset to look forward to ‘that Day’, the day of judgement, to express to God through prayer how much good work (through faith) Onesiphorus has done to get a “Well done my good and faithful servant”.

“…I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that HE IS ABLE TO GUARD  until that day WHAT HAS BEEN ENTRUSTED TO ME. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, GUARD THE GOOD DEPOSIT ENTRUSTED TO YOU.” 2 Timothy 1:12-14 -> me:  The ‘guarding of what has been entrusted’ really caught my eye with these verses.  In verse 12 it is God who will guard what has been entrusted to me and in verse 14, it is by the Holy Spirit that I am to ‘guard the good deposit entrusted to me’.  I believe the ‘good deposit’ is the calling on Timothy’s life that Paul talks about earlier.  Paul here is showing us that we can not do this guarding unaided…we not only need the Holy Spirit within us to help us guard that the calling God has put on our lives but we also need Him to help us unlock the power needed to fulfill our calling through sanctification.  Our relationship with Jesus and God the Father are clearly spelled out here – it is symbiotic.  God guards what He has entrusted to me in my ministry, and I lean on Him alone for the strength and power to guard the deposit that will grow into a return as I seek Him and remain obedient to His word, will, and purpose in my life.

“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, ⁹ who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, ¹⁰ and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” 2 Timothy 1:8-10 -> me: By the way that Paul speaks to Timothy, we get the sense that Timothy was timid in spirit.  Paul is constantly telling Timothy to be strong, deliberate, confident, and now without shame.  Even though we WILL suffer for the testimony of the gospel, Paul says that the suffering is by the Power of God.  This means that the intention was never that we would endure suffering under our own strength.  Paul also reminds Timothy that he was not just saved…he was also called.  We are not just saved from sin but to a life of holiness.  You can never leave that off.  Said another way -> We saved from sin into a life of holiness.  We did nothing to earn this saving grace.  Our works in holiness are paved in a preceding call through genuine faith; not the other way around.  Because we are in Christ through our Salvation, Paul can say that God gave us this saving grace before the dawn of time, because Christ has always been.  Just dwelling on these points this evening gives me a confidence in witness.  Today is Brooklyn’s first birthday and she, like Prim, is another gift God has given me; not just in the amazing little kiddo that she is, but also in a new testimony of God’s working hand in our lives. 

“I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:6-7 -> me:  The last several weeks can only be described as inconsistency.  Today I started 2nd Timothy.  I started my quiet time with a pray of repentance and asking of forgiveness to my Lord in being distance and complacent the last several weeks.  Then, here I read “fan into flame the gift of God”.  That is exactly what pursuing God and His will for your life is…the Amplified version says “rekindle the ember of…the inner fire that is in you”.  My whole time in prayer was recounting to my Lord and Savior the confidence in spirit I have when I am in His word [DAILY], praying for the needs of others [HOURLY], and seeking His will [EVERY FREE MOMENT].  Just yesterday I was talking to Sophie in the car on the way back from church; encouraging her not to snuff out or quench the sensitive heart she has….that it is a gift from God that she needs to hone and sharpen by seeking God’s power through daily reading and prayer.  That there will be a day that she will get that ‘ET Feeling’ in her heart and instead of fear, she will be filled with an awesome sense of God’s closeness to her through this open portal to His Spirit and will for her.  When we got done with our car ride, I just sat there thanking God for His word into MY heart through what I was telling my own daughter…I need to practice using the gifts and tools He has given me in my life to do His work; to impact His kingdom for eternity.  So not only did God speak to my heart in what He laid before me to tell Sophie, but then He one-upped it by giving me a verse in my quiet time today to share with Sophie as a verse to focus on in regard to this special gift she has.  Humbled….

“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” 1 Peter 2:13-17 -> me: This topic of ‘When is Civil Disobedience Appropriate for Christians?’ continues to consume my time with the Lord.  For the last several days I have, again, been petitioning my God and Savior for answers to the current situation we face as a church.  We continue to be thrown around by worldly leaders in state government who seem to be making decisions on data different than what has been made visible to us.  Even though Washington state has remained in a good place (compared to other states) the governor persists in making tighter guidelines for houses of worship.  We have been enjoying an outdoor setting to our Sunday worship services the last 3 weeks and it has been awesome, but just yesterday, the governor tightened guidelines to 200 people max for outdoor services and 200 people max for indoor services…which does not make sense.  Outdoors has proven to be a better environment for limiting viral loads much more than indoors yet they are now the same numbers.  Now I get that we are learning more about the virus every week, and I have to imagine that being in a leadership position like Inslee has got to be tough but this is getting a little crazy and making it truly a ‘Strength of God’ situation to continue to be subject to these requirements and guidance.  I hardly ever do this but I am asking you for something this time – if you feel comfortable, please share with me scripture references that you believe supports bucking the Governor’s constraints making it difficult to meet as a church body.

“​Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled.” 1 Timothy 6:1 -> me: Over the last several days both Marianne and I have had more and more understanding of God’s plan for us (as a church and as Christians) in this pandemic.  More specifically around our response to Government authorities in regards to guidelines placed on the church. 

What has become such an awesome realization is that you MUST be a reader of God’s entire word in order to see the through-line of His character, will, plans, and purposes for our lives…yes, you can get a lot out of specific verses, but the collating of multiple passages is the primary way we gain understanding and confidence in direction for crazy times like this. 

Here today in 1 Timothy 6:1-2, we see Paul’s instruction to his apprentice about a Christian slave’s respect of his master; even more so when his master is also a believer.  Without going into too much detail, here is what God is revealing to me more and more about our response to authority:

• Respect all who are in authority [believing and non-believing]
• Our witness is more important than our circumstance. 

Here we have Paul talking about slaves and we all know that God does not approve of slavery.  He has gone to the greatest length to free us from the slavery to sin by sending His own Son to die on the cross for our sin.  However, Paul is not telling the slaves to mount a revolution to free themselves, no – he is telling them that their witness and testimony should glorify God where they are and not be a reason that God or the teaching of Christian Faith can be slandered. 

Please read Marianne’s post (https://bourlandweb.com/2020/08/01/mariannes-notes-because-we-are-free-we-are-subject) on what the Lord revealed to her this weekend through her reading in 1st Peter.  You will see how complementary our quiet times are.  I am so thankful for God’s sovereign grace to give us these reinforcing messages.

“Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband, and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work.” 1 Timothy 5:9-10 -> me: I know that Paul is talking about widows here but I my primary takeaway, personally to my walk, is about how age can bring wisdom, dedication, and resilience against temptation. 

There are just things that a life filled with experience can bring in a person’s set of variables they use in decision making, trustworthiness, and steadfastness.  When you bring this age together with a walk of faith that leads to good works, you find a formidable Christian and follower of Jesus Christ that can have a tremendous impact on your church and the body of believers in it.  This does not mean I should discount younger believers, but it does mean that an older believer can add attributes and contribution that is well informed and tested. 

I really like this list of character traits Paul calls out as they can be applied to any believer’s evaluation of fruit.  I turn 50 years old next month, yet I still have so much to learn about being in fellowship with my Lord and Savior. 

Just in the last 3 days I have had to relook at how I contribute to my home, my wife, and my children.  I have become complacent in my focus on these precious people who mean so much to me.  My selfishness, attitude, and pride can get the best of me and I pray that the Lord continues to show me my weaknesses through His word and Holy Spirit, that I might become the man my wife and children deserve in a husband and father.