#MCM {Timothy}

Hey all! So I meant to write a few other blog posts last week, but it turned out to be a far busier week than I expected. So here I am on Monday for a second installation of #MCM! This week we'll be taking a look at Timothy, but basically

Can I just say... 1 and 2 Timothy are two of my absolute favorite books in the Bible. These few chapters are jam packed with amazingness. So, Timothy has two letters written to him by Paul. And in other letters of Paul, it's noted that Timothy is with him at the time or going to be with him.

I mean, shoot! He traveled with Paul--that's already pretty cool.

Timothy: Greek name meaning 'Honoring God'. From the Greek roots 'timao' which means 'to honor' and 'theos' which means God.

This dude definitely lived out his name.

1. Like Jeremiah, Timothy was called from a young age. 
The letters are chock-full of references regarding Timothy being called as a youngster. He sought after Jesus from infancy--he was open to God.
"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." 2 Timothy 3:14-15
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12
Can I get an 'Amen' up in here?

2. He had a calling from God and he did what he could to fulfill it.
Paul is always making reference to the special calling that Timothy received and encouraging him to live it out. Looking at what the letters contain, I can only think that some place of leadership in the church is where Timothy was destined to be. A missionary even...as he traveled often with Paul.
"Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience." 1 Timothy 1:18
"Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you."
Guys, this is legit! Timothy had God-given gifts that he used for the purpose and Glory of God and that's just so cool to me. I want to be like that! I want to use up the talents God has given me so there's nothing left at the end!

3. The dude knew how to pray.
Uh, what's cooler than a passionate prayer warrior?
"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lies in all godliness and holiness."
Paul wanted him to pray! I mean, that's got to mean he knew how to pray big time...

4. He was strong in his faith.
Not only was he following Jesus from a young age, but it continued and continued.
"If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and the god teaching that you have followed." 1 Timothy 4:6
"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:12
"I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:5-7
Throughout the letters, Paul is constantly encouraging and directing Timothy to be strong in the faith and to improve always and more and more.

5. Like all the good heroes of the faith, he was human.
He had his struggles and his time of just pure humanness. I mean, he cried for goodness' sake (ref 2 Timothy 1:4). That means he had a gentle and sensitive spirit, though, I think.
Paul was always encouraging him to 'flee the evil desires of youth'. He was always telling him how a servant of God ought to be--often directing him to steer clear of gossip, to be patient, to be slow to anger, and always keep his head. And I think that's absolutely interesting. It means he had major areas to grow in, just like we do. He wasn't perfect. And that's so relate-able. We can read through the letters to Timothy and find out just how much we need to improve on and how we should be as God's servants.

2 Timothy 4 is one of my all-time favorite chapters of the letters. It talks all about being a servant of God and just how we should be. I mean, all of the chapters do...but you know.


Hope this made some sense! Ths was supposed to go out last week, but Mondays are so busy for me and it passed me right by. So here I am two hours from Tuesday and finally posting!

#MCM {Jeremiah the Prophet}

Okay, so this crazy, absurd idea for weekly blog posts just kinda came and hit me in the mind earlier today. I was like: "WOAH." Any guesses? Social media posts. I promise it isn't what it sounds like.

In social media there's this thing called "Man Crush Monday". And I thought to myself. What could I take from that? How can I turn this around a little bit? 

Man Crush Monday on No Longer Stone is going to be a quick overview of totally incredible heroes of the Bible! This is gon be fun, y'all. 

Lately during my quiet time with God, I've been reading in the book of Jeremiah. And can I just say: Wow. This prophet is definitely a favorite of mine. 

Why? You might ask. I shall be glad to enlighten you!

1. Jeremiah was called by God at a young age. 

Okay, all y'all teenagers and young adults who be thinking you can't do anything/nobody will take you seriously: The Bible is chock-full of young people being used by God. It seems to me that He loves using us as a vessel of His Truth. 

Even Jeremiah had his doubts about being tremendously used for God's Kingdom: "The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.' 'Ah, Sovereign Lord,' I said, 'I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.'  But the Sovereign Lord said to me, 'Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,' declares the Lord." Jeremiah 1:4-8

He was set apart by God! He was chosen and called as a young man! How incredibly cool is that? So I don't know about you, but I can relate with that so much! The fact that God can use us youngsters to reach people and do amazing things for His Kingdom...it just astounds me. 

God will call us if only we are available to Him. Jeremiah realized that. He'd been seeking God since he was little, I'm sure, and God recognized Jeremiah's willingness and open heart. 

2. Jeremiah was definitely human--he had his doubts even after being so surely called by God.

Refer back to those verses I quoted. Here's my paraphrase: "Like, what?? God, I'm just a kid!!!" 

He thought he was too young! Throughout the book of Jeremiah there's these times of him just talking to God. Whether he's spouting his feelings and anger or his doubts and complaints...it's in there. 

But here's the thing...God silenced Jeremiah's doubts by showing him continual kindness and reminding him of who He is. He put a passion in Jeremiah's heart and He began to use him in amazing ways.

DUDE, yes please--I want this in my life too!

Refer to chapter 12 and 20:7- to read some of Jeremiah's complaints and doubts.

So, this prophet is already sounding pretty hardcore, aye? Hold on to your seats because things are about to escalate big time!

 3. Jeremiah suffered greatly throughout his years, but he still trusted in God.

- He was beaten multiple times for speaking Truth. (Chapter 20:1-6)

- By the way, he was threatened with death. (Chapter 26) Uh, not fun!

- He was jailed and held captive many times! (Chapters 37 and 40) 

- He was thrown into a cistern. What. Even. (Chapter 38) I don't even know. Man that's rough!!

- He constantly had to deal with stupid-heads. I'm not even joking. (Chapters 37, 42, and 43) These people drive me crazy. When I first read through Jeremiah maybe sometime last year, I actually wrote beside these passages: "Stupid people". Because it's so true. 

4. Jeremiah had a sense of humor. 

Okay, this one's pretty short, but I absolutely love it. He was a funny dude! Kind of sarcastic, I think. At least there's one passage that makes me think so. He was dealing with a false prophet named Hananiah. 

This dude was prophesying peace for Jerusalem when obviously God was saying destruction and captivity would come to the people: "...the prophet Hananiah said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people: 'This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says: 'I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord's house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,' declares the Lord, 'for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.'"

That's what Hananiah had to say. Good sounding things, right? 

"Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. He said, 'Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord's house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true.'" Jeremiah 28:1-9

I don't know why, but I just find this whole conversation hilarious. Obviously Jeremiah sincerely wants to have the peace and the articles of the Lord's house come back, but I believe he also knows what God has really said about everything. Later, God tells Jeremiah that Hananiah is false and that Hananiah will die soon. And that comes true. 

5. Jeremiah remained open to God. 

Through the disgusting and horrible times, he kept chugging on after God. He went through so many rough waters, but he understood God cared about him and would always listen and be right there (that's why he felt he was able to freely complain to God...he had such a deep relationship with His Father, and also a great fear).

He persevered amid all the stuff happening around and to him. He kept on keeping on and continually allowed God to use and mold him. He never gave up.

And that, my friends, is why this dude, *ahem* prophet, is incredibly cool and my first #mcm post.

Reflections {What Are We Fighting For?} [Easter Sunday]

He is Risen!

Christus Victor--Christ is Victorious! Thank God.

So, during this past weekend I've had some different points of reflection.

And, when it comes down to it, there's a question we have to ask ourselves:
What are we fighting for?

You know, each day it's so easy to skip spending time with Jesus through the study of His Word or through worship or prayer. We tell ourselves we'll do it later, and, before we know it, we're in bed and we then tell ourselves that it's too late.
So the cycle goes.

But what really strikes me is this:
Even through our times of being unfaithful to God, He is always right next to us, loving us, calling us, interceding for us...
"...if we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself."

His Love for us never, ever gives up.
He chose to go to the cross and die for you, for me. For all of us crazy sinners. He pictured us in his eyes, mind, and he still chose. He saw everything that would happen to us and everything we would ever do. And he still chose to die for us.
He knew we'd forsake Him, betray Him, ignore Him, disappoint Him, but He still chose us.
And He knew how painful dying for us would be.

Take a moment to just imagine Him hanging there on the cross with scars and nails and thorns and blood, struggling to breathe...but picturing you...and knowing one day you would chose Him. 

So if He's who we're fighting for, then that's the bottom line, right?
If He's who we're fighting for, then we have this thing called Hope.
Even amid our suffering, trials, hurts, fears, everything, we have Hope in the One who we're fighting for.
We have Hope in His Resurrection.
That's why we believe what we do--why we believe in Him.
If He hadn't chosen that cross, to die, for us, then there would be no point.
But because He chose a painful death on the cross, taking our sin on Him...He ROSE.
And that's why our Hope is in Him. He ROSE. Everything we believe lies in His Resurrection.
That's where our reasons are.
Because of His Resurrection, we have His Holy Spirit, we have Hope, we have Life, we have Love, we have Strength, we have Purpose, we have Passion, we have HIM.
And because of His Resurrection, we can go forth FEARLESS in His Name.
And that's just about the most Amazing thing EVER. 

Amen. Thank you, Jesus.
Christus Victor! He Reigns above all!

"If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we disown Him, He will also disown us; if we are faithless, He will remain Faithful, for He cannot disown Himself."
2 Timothy 2:11-13