So last night I had my LIFE group and this semester we are looking at the book of Philippians as a canvas to study the Bible in different ways (looking at the background of a book, cross references, verse summaries, etc) and last night was biographical studies. It went really well!! We looked at how you would start and if it's your first few times we suggested a more obscure character so you don't get overwhelmed with too many verses to go through. I had our group (total of 8!! although one girl came pretty late, so it was mostly 7, which is still awesome!) divide up into 2 groups to each study a different character. My co-leader Josephine took the reins for her group and they looked at the person of Epaphroditus and looked up any verses that mentioned him, any insights they could glean, any chronological order they could make of his life, positive and negative character qualities they saw of him and then the main lesson they could learn from his life. Their main lesson was to be a serving person and put others' needs ahead of your own. Very good thought!! Paul mentioned that exact thing in Phil. 2:3-4 :)
My group looked at Demas who only has a grand total of THREE verses about him in the entire Bible:
Colossians 4:14, Philemon 1:24 and 2 Timothy 4:10.
From the first 2 verses we gleaned that Demas was a fellow worker of Paul and was faithful to him, seeing as how Paul had exacting standards for people he decided to work with (he refused to take Mark along with him during his second missionary journey because Mark had left him during his first one), so for Paul to call Demas "my fellow worker" meant that he had to be doing something right! Then the 2 Timothy verse says that Demas deserted Paul because he loved this present world. What a sad letdown!! Here was this great guy, has credentials from PAUL who wrote most of the New Testament, and he "deserted" Paul, which we discussed was always a negative verb and intentional too. It wasn't like Demas accidentally chose something else and that made him not be able to work with Paul, no, he deserted him which means it was a deliberate choice to leave the things of God and focus only on the things of this present world. The main lesson we got from it was that no matter who you are, you are never far from falling away. The Christian walk is hard and tiring and it's a marathon, not a sprint. It's very easy to be pumped for God for a few years, maybe even a decade, and then settle into a stagnant walk with Him (going to church, praying every now and then) because Satan is constantly trying to get us out of commission for God and he will throw anything he can at us to make us ineffective for Christ. Do I always want to walk with God? nope. Do I always get excited about spending time with the Creator of the universe? I would like to, but nope, not every day! Do I always want to memorize verses or read books that can help me grow? Nope! But I know myself, and if I give myself a little leeway, all of a sudden it will become 2 days without time with God, then 3 days, then forget to memorize Scripture altogether, then just blindly doing a routine and forgetting that God has the PATH OF LIFE in His hands and it would behoove me to humbly submit my mind, heart and soul to Him in order to have real, true and eternal life. Because, after all, if God created the earth and everyone/everything in it, wouldn't it be a good idea to get to know Him in order to have the wisdom I need to walk through this life?? That's how I can get all I need!! It just requires a submission of my stubborn and rebellious will that says, "no thanks God, I got this"
How did I even come up with Demas for us to look at? It was a few years ago when I was on my boss' ministry team (student leadership team within Challenge) and he had us look at Demas one night and no, I had never heard of him till then, or if I did, I just glossed over his name. But in studying those 3 verses his example has always stood out to me. It's a timeless example that we are never far away from falling away from God. As Neil says, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. Demas didn't finish. He started well, and I'm sure people of his day thought he was a great and strong follower of God which I'm sure he was, but the love of this world choked out any heart he had for God and he walked away intentionally.
This is not to be a downer session, I walked away from last night and even still this morning smiling at God's grace and how well it went last night, but I think Demas has implications for us all at all times. Are you like Demas? Have you gotten comfortable into a rut of Christian activity because you feel that's what you "should" do? Or have you even given up the guise of being a believer because it doesn't matter anymore? God is real and He wants you to be in a thriving and close personal relationship with Him, and yes it is hard, but He will give you the tools you need to walk victoriously with Him!!
Ezekiel 36:26 - "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."
Isaiah 41:13 - "For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.' "
Isaiah 41:9-10 - "I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
2 Timothy 4:7 - "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
This one was for you Amy :)
this guy's photo title was "applauding turtle" so it's like he's urging you on right?? right?? hmm, maybe not....but worth a try :)
What steps will you take today to be more like Paul than Demas?
if this were facebook, i'd *like* this entry!!!! :-)
ReplyDelete