From The Lion's Mouth

At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. 

- 1 Timothy 4:16-17

This is a later stage in Paul’s life. Just a few verses earlier he says that the time of his departure is near, meaning he is near death. He pleads with Timothy to come visit him and bring some of their closest friends and ministers along with him. This is a very rough time for Paul. No one was there to support him. Everyone deserted him. He was alone.

Can you resonate with that? Have you ever felt like Paul did as he was writing this? Have you ever felt deserted and like no one supports you? Have you ever felt so empty that you were literally begging people to come be with you? Have you ever felt like you poured yourself out completely to the point you were out of strength entirely? If you haven’t, you will at some point in your life.

Luckily Paul doesn’t stop there. He continues on to say that the Lord stood by him and gave him strength so that the Gospel may be proclaimed. What can we learn from this? First, we learn that everyone, even one of the most prominent Christian leaders of all time, will be hit by loneliness, depression, and emptiness. Second, we learn that even when everyone and everything else fails, the Lord will give us strength. God remains faithful. Third, we learn that the Lord gives us this strength not for our own benefit, but for the proclamation of the Gospel. We are given strength to accomplish God’s mission. It is merely a side effect of our God’s love that we will be delivered from the lion’s mouth in the process. 

Glory Thieves

 I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.

-       Isaiah 42:8

Rant time. Yay. I’m tired of seeing pastors, authors, and Christian leaders saturating their ministry with self-promotion. I see it more now than I ever have before. Big shot pastors and evangelists and authors can easily become consumed more so with themselves than they seem to realize. One in particular stands out to me. His name is plastered all over everything that his church does. The books written, the curriculum created, the church planting they do, the music they create, and even Sunday morning service are infused with self-advancement and glory robbing.

Sure, the Gospel is preached. Worship music is played. God is worshipped. But all of the God and all of the good are poisoned by men attempting to rob God of his glory. Example time: In one church service I was at recently, after the worship through music, the pastor took the stage and announced the tour dates for his book, which he encouraged all the members to buy and tell their friends about. On the church website, the pastors name is plastered all over the place. His books, radio program, and blog are advertised like beer during the Super Bowl. This particular pastor is not the only one by any means. I am tired of seeing pastors attempt to steal the spotlight away from the Creator of the universe. The Lord God is His name, and he does not yield or share his glory with another.

Don’t misunderstand me. If you’ve written a book or have a website or speak for a living then by all means continue to make a living and support yourself and your family and so on. Even promote your own name and network and things like that. I have no problem with that. When I have a problem with it is when it steals glory from God. Don’t use church, the house of the Lord, to make money or promote yourself. That’s exactly why Jesus tossed tables in the temple and threw people out of his house. The Lord does not share his glory with another and he will not tolerate the self-promotion of Christian leaders who try to steal his glory and praise, whether or not they realize it.