I Tim. 3:1-7

I Tim. 3:1-7 "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 the power thereof. Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind who worm their ways into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. ...so also these men oppose the truth..."

It is easy to read these verses and think how awful people like this are or even that we know of someone like this. But the revealing thing for me was how easy it would be to become someone like this. I've had hard truths revealed to me through the conviction of the Holy Spirit. And by hard words from a friend. I wrestled with them at times but, finally, the grace of God working in me allowed me to acknowledge these hard truths and repent. But if we don't acknowledge the truth, or if we do but continue in a sin, then I think we would be in danger of becoming just like the people described. I believe that one way we have a form of godliness but deny the power is by claiming to be a Christian and doing all the outward things a Christian should do, but also cling to a pet sin. We have the form but we're denying God's power to deliver us when we confess and repent. Or if God tells us to do something and we don't. We're denying God's power to take care of us. I say "we" but at some point in my life, I've had the form but denied the power in both these ways.

Oh, and about hard words from others, maybe these ones aren't speaking in love when they really should be; but maybe sometimes we require a harsh word to penetrate a hard head or hard heart. John the Baptist called the religious leaders a brood of vipers, maybe it took that for some of them to acknowledge the truth and believe in Jesus. Because some of them did. I think I required a hard word when I received one and I'm very thankful for it and for the people who had the guts or the tough love to deliver it. But even when the Holy Spirit gently reveals something to me it is still just as painful as a hard word from a person. It is my hope and prayer that "through the pain will our spirits gain."

KDR