Dev4GamersDevotions for Real People, for Real Gamers!

2 Timothy 4:1-2 (HCSB)
1 Before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom, I solemnly charge you: 2 proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.

“People seldom do what they believe in. They do what is convenient, then repent.” Bob Dylan

This verse is one of the standards for me. Sort of like John 3:16 is for many. I can read this passage over and over, I can prepare a talk about it with little effort, which is not always a good thing. Because of its familiarity I sometimes forget what it is Paul is telling us to do.

Here it is for us all.

Proclaim the message. This simply means. Tell it. Live it. Show it. Be it. No matter where you are, no matter what you are doing. If someone needs to hear it tell them.

What is it? Glad you asked. It is the good news. The good news is that God loves us. We can show, tell, live this by just reminding ourselves of His great love for us daily.

I love the way the HCSB version reads the next part. Persist in it whether convenient or not. Convenient. wow, talk about a buzz word for today that we use but don’t speak. When was the last time you heard someone say to you, “I would do that for you but its not convenient”

Sometimes we just have to do it. We have to do things we do not want to. Just last night I was in the middle of a crowded zone in Lord of the Rings Online. I am pushing my Lore Master to level 50. I was just a couple questturn ins away and focused. Suddenly the doorbell rang. Argg . . . No time to find a safe spot to log out. No time to tell those in my kinship (read guild) that I was leaving. I just . . .left the computer knowing that when I came back from what ever it was at the door that I would be dead, or inLotRO’s case, defeated. This was NOT a convenient time!

But it was. It turned out to be two men from the church Tanya and I are attending right now while in transition. We invited them in, sat down and had a most wonderful time just talking and learning a little about where each of them have come from in life.

The time was not convenient to me. . but it was to God and His bigger picture. And the best part is when I logged back on. . I was not dead. But that was just a bonus to a great evening.

Next week we will revisit this verse and tackle the next few items. But for today, as we head into the weekend, remember to proclaim his love, no matter if its convenient or not, because God just might have something cool planned for you.

Music:

Vale of Imladris – Lord of the Rings Online Soundtrack
Lay of the Free People – Lord of the Rings Online Soundtrack