Chris Sanzaro - 2 Timothy 2:15

The Bible

2 Timothy 2:15

Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God as a workman who does not need be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth   NASB

What I hear God saying in this verse is this:

Be diligent to present yourselves to God.  He is speaking to the church.  The church is you and me.  We need to be diligent as we present ourselves to Him.  He is saying, “be intentional and committed”.  

Approved, how can we present ourselves as approved to God?  Who has the authority to approve?  He

alone has the authority to approve.  In order to be approved, we must be in Him, submitted to Him.  We

must draw near to Him.  When we do, He draws near to us.

He gave His only begotten Son as a sacrifice to pay the debt of our sins at the cross.  He has cleansed us, so now we are approved to be offered (or in other words presented) to God.

We are presented as a workman.  We are created to work.   What kind of work are we made to do?  We are made to work in many ways.  All of our work is to glorify The Lord. 

Now we see He says “workmen need not be ashamed”.  Who should we not be ashamed in the presence of?  Well, we need not be ashamed in the presence of man because we serve the Almighty God.  We also need not be ashamed in His presence, because He knows all things.  We can’t hide anything from Him, but more importantly, He anointed us a royal priesthood.  He is the reason we need not be ashamed.

The last little piece, which is not exactly little, is He wants us to accurately handle the Word of Truth.  So how do we do this?  First we must know this Truth.  Who is Truth?  It is Christ Jesus.  His Word is given to us.  In order to accurately handle the Word of Truth we need to know it.  Being in the Word, obeying, studying, meditating, praying continually, discussing, fellowshipping and practicing spiritual disciplines helps us to know His Word.  When we do this He gives us revelation. Revealing His majesty and grace.  We are given understanding of how much He loves us.  This is what we are to share with everyone in our lives.  It is an amazing gift.

Those of you who know me, know I enjoy connecting with people.  When given the opportunity I bring the conversation to God.  I want to speak of the great gift He bestowed upon me.  When I talk with people I listen.  Often times I ask permission to pray for them, other times we discuss scripture, and occasionally we talk about the great gift He bestowed upon me, one of which is the joy James describes in his epistle.

One day when I was on a job site I saw the job super looking distraught.  I prayed for her.  I told her that I had prayed for her, she is Muslim.  When she heard that I prayed for her she smiled very brightly.  Since then she has asked for more prayer, including prayer for her nephew. 

Another day I announced myself at a job site to security.  The conversation struck up as he apologized for evicting me on my initial visit.  He then began to tell me of a woman who the day before, hopped up into the garden beds and began to eat the shrubs.  A little unusual to say the least, except it reminded me of King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel Chapter 4.  So I asked him if he read the bible.  He responded with an emphatic “yea”.  Then I asked him if he knew he story of the king in Daniel who ate grass.  Shaking his head he said he was not familiar with the account.  Before leaving to begin my work I told him to go home open the bible and read Daniel.  I hope he does.

Lastly, I want to share an event that happened yesterday.  It began months ago when I was told by a very powerful and wealthy man that his son’s fiancée was very sick, with cancer.  I asked him her name, and he reluctantly told me.  I told him we would pray for her.  As it turns out she works in his office, and is running a job that I am working on.  While speaking on the phone I told her that the men in our church had been praying for her.  She was very surprised and I think uplifted.  She said it was difficult sometimes, but she was getting through it.  I had the opportunity to speak of the amazing gift of God’s presence in all His children’s lives. 

So ask yourself if you are ashamed to speak of the great gift God bestowed upon you?  If you are, get to know Him better, surrender, submit and obey.

Chris Sanzaro and his family have attended Hope Church for some time now.  He is an elder in the church.

Diane Maudsley - Romans 15:4

The Bible
<sup>Romans 15:4 (NIV)

 “</sup>For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope”. 

The Bible is a book written long ago and yet the words I read on a daily basis are able to influence my inner self to such a degree that I would find hope even in life’s toughest moments. Can this be real? Isn’t hope what everyone longs for in the struggles of life? I am always looking for hope.  I experience real hope as I turn to the Bible as my source when I am troubled, anxious, weary, and even when I am celebrating life!

God has drawn me to His word in some very real circumstance of life:

I turned to the word for encouragement and hope when I prayed for my son’s ship adrift at sea, and I found hope in Psalm 91. I turned to the word when I felt like quitting and the Lord led me to study the Book of Ruth. I prayed for my son to be careful and safe in a foreign city, and the Lord led me to Psalm 35. I sought the Lord when I was overwhelmed with sorrow and he answered with verses in Joshua 23 “be very strong; hold fast to the Lord your God” and Judges 5 “march on my soul, be strong”! When my sin was hanging on to me, Psalm 51:9-12 restored my vision and hope.

Faith, endurance and hope are words that the Lord has been bringing to life in my world over the past year and a half. These are words you will find in that Bible in your hands.

Our Scripture from Romans 15:4 is an encouragement that our hope is found in the Word of God. The more you are in the Word, reading, studying, memorizing, praying, the closer you know the God of the Bible and His ways! As you know Him deeper, you learn to trust Him in your situations as He leads you to Scripture to guide you along your way.

Scripture, although written in the past, is very alive for today. Let it teach you, allow it to encourage you. Soon you will be able to endure hardship as it comes because you will rest assured that God’s promises in His Word will come to pass!  Put your hope in God!

Challenge question:  What situation in my life today can I bring to God in prayer and seek hope for in the Bible?

Diane Maudsley lives in Wilton and serves at Hope Church as the Women’s Ministry Director and as a “Moms Next” mentor mom. She also works part time for Pegasus Therapeutic Riding as an instructor.

Lisa Hassing - 2 Timothy 3:14-17

The Bible

2 Timothy 3:14-17

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.              

Second Timothy was the last letter Paul wrote from prison when he knew his death was near. Timothy was like a son and Paul’s desire was to encourage him to persevere. To do this Paul pointed him to the word of God.

Like Timothy we “know” scripture. But it doesn’t end there. To be set apart, be a witness and ultimately reign with Christ, we must grow, transform and bear fruit. That is the evidence of spiritual life and this life is found in the Word. Scripture is the breath of God, His very life and story revealed for us. We have died to self so we need and desire His life to thrive. We need not just to know Scripture, but we need to let it be our heartbeat.

It is in Scripture we are taught the truth. We learn who God is and what He has done and plans to do. It is our guide and benchmark for every thought, choice and action. Truth is not found anywhere in this world, only in the Bible.

It is in Scripture we are shown our weaknesses and sin and shown how to turn back to God. It is why we confess, and how we know our worth and standing before God. 

It is in Scripture we learn what righteousness is and learn God’s plan for us to become more and more like Jesus. The Bible is where we see clearly how to live a life pleasing to God.

So read the Word prayerfully and often. Don’t determine the meaning of Scripture, but we let the Holy Spirit help you discover the meaning.  Don’t look only for what you need, but let the Holy Spirit show you what you need. Read passages over and over to let them penetrate and become part of you, and read whole chapters and sections to see how God’s story connects and to see the themes that run throughout the Bible. Sometimes study carefully and other times just take it in. Even if there is a difficult part or something that doesn’t make sense in the moment, keep reading because it was given by God and is profitable for your very life. Trust God to bring it all together when you need it. Read it to yourself, read it out loud, listen to it,  sing it, and even read it with others. There are many methods and plans for reading the Bible, but what is important is that you dive in.

This isn’t just one more thing for us to do. Paul explains in verse 17 why it is necessary to make the Word our desire. When Scripture washes over us and reveals our hearts we move closer to the heart of God where we will be complete, whole. It is then that we are equipped for all that God wants us to do. The good works we were created for from the beginning are God’s heart and joy. We are a part of that because he loves us and wants us to share it with Him. God chose to give up His life for us on the cross once and then to continually renew us with His life through His Word. The Bible is God’s life-giving nourishment for us. Drink it all in,  remembering His gifts to us are good and better than anything else that is offered to us.

Lisa Hassing, 18 years at Hope Church and is a women's  bible study leader.

Brooke Amodei - Philippians 2:3-4

Christian Community
Philippians 2:3-4

"Do not do anything out of selfish or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others"

This verse was very meaningful to me because I used to think that because I wasn't physically in a mission field, I couldn't help better God's Kingdom as a teenager. I realize that we need to be God's light everywhere I go, from school to work. Putting the needs of others ahead of my own is a fantastic way to show God's love and compassion to get others curious about Him. God calls on us to be His ambassadors and to put others' needs before our own because that's what He did and still does with us! This is, of course, harder than it sounds, but we must remember how God treated us and put us before Himself on the Cross, and every day as He works around us and in our hearts.

Brooke Amodei lives in Wilton, CT. She is a Hope Church-goer and Oasis Youth Group Attendant for 3 years.  She serves on the Children's, Youth, and Worship Team.

Laura Mars - Galatians 6:2

Christian Community

Galatians 6:2 

Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 

When I first read this scripture it seemed very simple and straightforward to me. As I re-read it again, fulfilling the Law of Christ stood out in contrast. 

What is Christ’s law? Most scholars agree that this is referring to what Jesus said referenced in Mathew 22:37, Mark 12:30-31, and Luke 10:27, “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your strength, with all of your mind and love your neighbor as yourself.”

Suddenly it was clear that there is much more to this short scripture to be explored. It amazed me to think that we could fulfill the whole law of Jesus if we simply followed this verse whole heartedly. 

Sharing others burdens is much more than having surfacy relationships with people after church (go in peace, keep warm and well fed). It should mean putting others needs above our own, making time for people in our busy schedules, opening our hearts and homes. 

This has to come out of a sincere love for one another and not simply out of a sense of duty. 

Jesus gave us the perfect example of this to follow when he willingly and out of love laid down his own life and took our burdens upon himself at the cross. 

I think a practical way to start putting this scripture into practice would first  be to begin with prayer. 

Ask God to give us a heart like Jesus’. A heart that sincerely cares about people and their troubles. 

It is human nature for most to want to run away from difficult situations and people. We must as followers of Christ be different and be willing to run to them. We need to remember that all of us will most definitely have times of trouble and will also need the same sort of help. 

The second thing we need to do is to actively seek out people around us that need help and help them. Maybe it’s simply praying with someone, or being listening ear. It may be more, physical serving, or monetary assistance. We need to be wise and get counsel from pastors and elders for situations that seem beyond our ability to handle alone or we are unsure how to help.

The point is we as believers need to be looking for the good works that God has put in our path to do and do them. 

Galatians 6:2 can be summed up in two words, Sincere Love. 

Sincerely incorporating this short scripture into our lives would transform our church into a shining example of the love that Jesus has already shown all of us at the cross. 

Laura Mars, Redding, 4.5 years attending Hope Church, serves hospitality. 

Paul Karus - Romans 12:3-5

^{Christian Community}

<sup>Romans 12:3-5

3</sup> For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Casey Stengel was a hall of fame baseball player and manager who managed 4 different professional teams over the course of 30 years. It was with the New York Yankees he manage them to 7 World Series Championships and 10 American league pennants. Casey was asked once about the challenge of managing a professional baseball team. He said, “Finding good players is easy. Getting them to play as a team is another story.”

As I reflect on the meaning of the passage above I can’t help but think of sentiments Casey Stengel shared about managing a team. In a lot of ways what he said about getting a team to play together is true for any kind of community. If people are not willing to sacrifice for the greater good it can make for a very difficult situation. But, when we make a conscience effort to think about how we can blend our abilities and talents with those of the people around us or how we can cooperate with others and show that we value their input, well then it can be something special.

Today we are reminded as a community of believers we are called to walk humbly, to respect the gifts and abilities of each other and to understand that we are all equal under Christ Jesus who is the head of this body.

Questions to Consider:

1.    Where might God be calling you to live more sacrificially: In His Church or in your Home or in your Job?

2.    It what ways can you show someone today your love and appreciation for them?

3.    How can I please Jesus today by how I think and act toward someone?

Paul Karus lives in Wilton and serves as Youth Pastor at Hope Church.