what I think I thought…

Reading through 2 Timothy yesterday and was hit with two thoughts.

In 2 Timothy 3 Paul describes some characteristics of godless people and two jumped off the page at me.  It is something I see way too often around me and often times in me.

The first one is found in verse 5…its people “who have a form of Godliness but deny its power.”  They may go to church read their bible and even pray…but their life doesn’t look as if the power of the living God is alive in them.  This one scares me because I see this so often in myself.  I try know the right things, and believe the right things, and even try and do the right things…but sometimes I wonder my life puts on display the power of God that is alive in me.

The second one is found in verse 7…”always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.”

This one is HUGE in church world right now.  With the proliferation of blogs and twitter, magazines and newsletters, books and DVDs, TV sermons and small groups…the fact that you can go online right now and hear/watch sermons from almost any pulpit in America and many from around the world…we have the capacity to learn more scriptural knowledge than ever before.  But the question is…does knowing more translate to being more like Christ?

Paul says these people are “always learning…” always reading, listening, participating…but “they never acknowledge the truth.”  The may learn it but it doesn’t change them.

As James put it…”do not merely listen to the word (always learning) and so deceive yourselves (thinking learning something is enough) Do what it says (acknowledge the truth by putting it into practice.)

If you aren’t putting it into practice you are deceiving yourself.

Do you have a form of Godliness but live powerless?

Are you someone who is always looking for the next great teaching, lesson, sermon, book, blog, tweet, but never seem to be transform by them?

These are two of the many things Paul said to Timothy in 2 Tim. 3 that stood out to me.  Which ones stand out to you?