ICS Daily Devotions
Not Popcorns!
2 Timothy 3:2-7 (NKJV) For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
‘Always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.’ There are people who seem to be forever in school; relentlessly pursuing deeper into their chosen field, or constantly learning one new thing or another. And yet, some of them don’t ever come to the knowledge of the truth. They are intelligent but they are not wise. Indeed, we should be acquiring knowledge through studying and listening to the Word. However, we shouldn’t stop there. What we have learnt must be lived out and applied in our daily lives. We should be walking it out and allowing the truth to set us free for real, not just in theory.
If we are just acquiring knowledge, this could lead to becoming puffed up, thinking ourselves better than others, and even looking down on them when they are not able to keep up with what we say. We may become confrontational and challenging, thinking we know our subjects well and have earned the right to be heard since we have done the prerequisite work of researching and digging into the facts as we know it. But we are not popcorns needing the concentration of heat to puff us up. With too much heat, they actually come out burnt! We know what we know but we must not allow this to lull us into a misplaced confidence. This knowledge should lead us to wisdom and a growing relationship with Jesus by faith in His finished work. Our redemption was bought by the blood of Jesus Christ, giving us anchor for a real confidence.
It is not how much we know but how much we live out what we know, at the same time helping others in their spiritual journey. It is pointless to be very knowledgeable without a departure and dissociation from the lust of the world. We are only deceiving ourselves. Perfection will not be attained this side of heaven, but we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit living in us and we are empowered to get closer to this goal day by day.
Sermon Series: A Great Start to 2021
