No soldier(H) gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. (I) An athlete is not(J) crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is(K) the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. (2 Tim 2:5 AMP)
We must get to the place as Disciples of Christ where the appeals of this world no longer entice us. More and more the desire to watch any TV is dying in my life – not because all TV is bad, it is because it takes away from the time I could be ministering the gospel message. TV robs our time – it consumes seconds, moments and hours from time that we could be consumed by the Lord’s presence! The same is about getting all tied up in the celebrated holidays that are not of the Lord, they can consume your time and money – even your joy!
As to TV, I found that I would watch the news just to find out what was going on in certain political parties and would get all riled up. Then I read this chapter in Timothy and had to get on my knees and say “Your right Father, the affairs of this world must not consume my time – my faith is in you and you hold all things in your hands.
We will have to discipline ourselves. In Timothy’s case, the rules are scattered throughout Paul’s epistle to him. In terms of the Sabbath and the annual feast days, they are the only days in the entire Bible that God designates as “holy.” They are part of “the rules.” God never gives His approval to Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, but only the seventh day, the Sabbath. He never gives His approval to Halloween, Christmas, Easter, and all of the other man-made holidays, but only the ones He points out to us in Leviticus 23.
The Sabbath must not be a tradition or stumbling block – it must be viewed and lived just as the Lord intended it – a day of rest – a day to spend with family and friends to rejoice in all that the Lord has done for us!
Let us lay down the ways of this world and pick up the WAY of the Lord to direct our life!
Radical Disciples - A Remnant Revolution 