Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
II Timothy 2 ... Paul said:
3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please Him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
There are certain things I avoid. Some of these things even appear necessary but I find if I start them I am consumed by them. I consider: "Are these really necessary?"
For example: Some vandals damaged the outside of the back of my house by throwing eggs at the house. Painting will correct the damage. Then it expands when you consider painting. "The house is 10 years old and the original paint needs covered with new paint." Further expansion: "And the front of the house which was repainted about 3 years ago doesn't match the original paint exactly so you could paint the front at the same time you paint the damaged areas." As I thought on these things I found I got weighed down more and more, burdened. And certainly when I am burdened I can't read Bible and write these exhortations to church. And contractor who said he would paint the house for me did as he often does. He tells me he will do something and months pass and he never shows up to do the work. The weeks began to drag on and when I would think of the painting and how contractor had not come to do the work, I began to fret.
Is it really necessary to do this painting? The Holy Spirit got my attention. While it seems necessary, in case you would want to sell the property ... or if you died and the church leaders had to have the property painted to sell the property ... there is another simple, undisturbing way to handle this. A realtor could get the property ready for sale. That wouldn't trouble anyone. And realtors usually know painters and repair people.
I felt such great relief when the Holy Spirit gave me this idea.
We can see how one secular thing often leads to another until it becomes like a cancer growing. And all these secular things trouble us and draw us away, putting our thoughts and hearts toward things of this world.
Col. 3 ... 1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
The inside of my house is liveable as it is now. There is always something inside I could do ... but why trouble myself to make something "perfect" on this earth?
The important thing is keeping my mind free to read the Bible and exhort the church.
Paul told us a "good soldier" refuses to be entangled with the affairs of this life. I thought of the way Pam Padgett refused to be involved with the community problems when the golf course which is directly behind her property closed.
Here is Pam's testimony:
Pam writes: The community where I live was built around a golf course. The golf course
closed about a year and a half ago, with the owner of the land saying he
wanted to sell it. Last summer residents in our community started
meeting to plan what to do in the event the owner sold the land to a
developer who would build houses on what is now open land. They
wanted to prepare to fight this happening, to keep the space open, without houses.
At first my flesh was stirred up to get involved. But when I turned to God with this, I was shown a different way:
I was reminded to take no thought for the future but to seek to
do the will of God and trust Him for what I need and what is best for me
...
Matthew 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we
eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly
Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye
first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things
shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow:
for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof.
And I was given a word: people try to preserve the way
things are now as much as possible. But all these things we see now are
temporary and will be destroyed at the end of the world. We might prize things of this world such as open spaces, but these things have no eternal value and are futile.
Because of these things I did not get involved in the meetings.
(Some time after this I heard that conflicts came forth in the community meetings as various
people wanted their own ways to be followed. I was so grateful to God that HE led me another way. )
Later another problem came up where the golf course land is
concerned. When the golf course was open, there was a maintenance crew
that kept the course mowed. Now that the course is closed, this is no
longer done. The owner of
the golf course land gave permission for any homeowners to mow the area
behind
our homes to keep the weeds from becoming a problem to us. However,
some
homeowners wanted to fight to make the golf course owner mow the land.
But it was put in my heart to just pay my
lawn mowing people to also mow the area behind my property.
This only needed to be done once, and it cost very little and was not a financial burden
at all. Rather than getting involved in struggling with the golf course owner to do this, it was taken
care of very simply, quickly, and peacefully by doing what God showed me to do.
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(Comments by Joan Boney)
And so many of these secular things that trouble us have to do with the future and what might happen. If we allow ourselves to get entangled with doing something now because of what might happen, we trouble ourselves needlessly and allow ourselves to be drawn away by secular things.
We need to focus on today ...
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Also Paul says to us ...
II Tim. 2 ... 16 But shun profane and vain babblings:for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 17 And their word will eat as doth a canker:
profane:
- relating to that which is not sacred or Biblical ... secular things
vain:
- useless, producing no results
- have no meaning nor likelihood of fulfillment
- devoid of real worth
- that which shows excessively high opinion of appearance, abilities, worth
To me, an example of profane and vain babblings is TV newscast and newspapers. If I allow myself to peek at these, I find I am drawn in and troubled needlessly or I become puffed up with worldly information and think I know something.
It is amazing how people think it is important to keep up with what is going on. Why? If I need to know something I find God always tells me. These worldly things are just flesh ticklings.
Here is a really fun story. Pam Padgett is a Denver Broncho football fan. Last season one of their key players was injured. Pam remembered the name of a former player and she went to Internet to see what he was doing at that time. Maybe he could fill in for the injured player. She found the information about him on Internet. Now what? Pam has no connection at all with the people who hire football players for Denver. She just sat there stunned that she had done this. We both laugh when we think of this!
But that is what news does to us. Even if we don't take secular action, our mind is weighted down needlessly and we are drawn away from Bible and troubled without cause.
When I was born again in 1975, God showed me not to watch any TV ... neither go to plays nor sporting events ... I just read Bible and attended church for about 3 years ... One day at the end of this period of time, someone mentioned "Jimmy Carter." I said: "Who's Jimmy Carter." I'd never heard of him. He had just been elected president. The people standing there couldn't believe I'd never heard of him. I found it didn't make any difference at all to me that I didn't know his name even though he was now president of the United States. But it made a very big difference that I was focused on Bible during that period of time.
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Many troubles come to people over things that don't matter anyway.
But godliness with contentment is great gain ... I Tim. 6 ...
And Jesus says ... 33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me (the Word) ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation:but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. Jn. 16
It is unwise and even harmful to fill our minds and hearts with secular things which trouble us needlessly and draw us away from peace of God and studying Bible.
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Paul says: Profane and vain babblings will increase unto more unglodliness and their word will eat as doth a canker ...
Canker is: fungal rot ... corrupting influence that is difficult to eradicate ... cancer ... tumor
Some problem occur because we are doing things to allow problems to come to us without cause and without results ... our flesh is just curious (and out of control).
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It is the way of the people of the world to saturate themselves in profane and vain babblings. Paul says for us to "avoid" such.
There is a Catholic woman that I met when I played bridge. After I quit bridge, she continued to call me and talk with me and she often asked me to go to lunch with her. This woman is not born again. She is very interested in the news of the world and in local news. She spoke continually of such when I went out with her. She is not interested in Bible and did not show interest when I spoke of things God had done. She wanted the flesh to excel and even though I spoke of God doing such and such for me, when she later mentioned the story she eliminated God and just told of my flesh doing these things. I just got to the point I couldn't face hearing her. I pled with God to deliver me. One entire day after having gone to eat with her and hearing her, I was so grieved by her that I just stayed in bed all day and talked with God, pleading for deliverance from her.
The next morning, I awoke with a message for her which I delivered to her by email. "At some point, you are going to see that the way you are going is totally wrong and you will be so ashamed." I enclosed the first 7 or 8 verses of Psalm 37 as the right way to go. She called me and said, "I don't understand that message." I told her I can't give her understanding. Only God can give understanding. (implying she should turn to God and ask HIM to give her understanding.) I told her Psalm 37 (which I had sent to her with the message) shows the right way to go. The Word of God freed me for she hasn't called me to "visit" nor has she asked me to go to lunch with her since I delivered that message.
... avoid profane and vain babblings ... II Tim. 2
Another example: My cousin, Jeanne, is a life time Church of Christ member. But she doesn't want to talk about spiritual things. She wants to talk about people. (not evil talk but just talk about what people are doing) I hate hearing what people are doing unless there is a spiritual example in what they are doing which shows God working.
This cousin called me and wanted me to come visit her. She is 93 years old now and lives 200 miles from where I live. (She is getting ready to die.) I replied to her telling her I would do this if she wanted to talk about spiritual things but to talk about fleshly things (people) would not be profitable.
She sent me a railing letter ... I read the first few sentences of what she wrote and threw it away. I didn't want to take in any more of her words.
Later I wrote two letters to her telling of spiritual experiences I had with her mother and with God. (To read these letters see archive: Letter to cousin) She did not respond. I haven't talked with her since then nor heard from her since I sent the letters. That was in September, 2014.
Another example: Yet another cousin called me telling me her husband died. I felt so sorry for her because they were married 65 years. She has to be devastated.
I had not talked to this cousin in more than 2 years. At one point she clearly showed me she didn't want to talk with me. So I have left her alone. Her husband was sick for over a year with cancer before he died. She only called after he died. So I was even spared from his illness.
Now what? If I called this cousin, I know she would "unload" on me and pull me down to no avail. So I wrote her a note, telling her to call on God when she is overwhelmed with grief. (no reply from her) I wrote her another note telling her many people I know here in Lubbock have gone to assisted living homes. The report is they like it. They have lots of other people to talk to (she loves to talk) and they have social events planned at the home. (no reply from this cousin) Later I told her about my experience in the rehab hospital after my accident and how glad I was to be there where I could get help until I could function on my own. (no reply)
God reminded me of two dreams HE had given me about this cousin. In one dream, God told me I could not go out through her house. In a recent dream, this cousin was accusing me of wrong doing even though I had not been in the damaged area of her house. She refused to hear me and just kept accusing me.
I know to leave her alone which I have done. I am comforted by God concerning her because I was reminded that she has plenty of people to help her where she lives. She has 2 adult aged sons. An adult age granddaughter. And she has her "friends" there.
Another example: A woman I went to high school with sent me a note telling of a 60th high school reunion she was planning. She mentioned gathering in a near by town for dinner. She asked what we thought of this plan (the note was sent to all, not a personal note).
I just threw it in the trash and did not respond.
The last thing I would want to do is gather with people and try to talk about secular things that happened more than 60 years ago. I didn't even like high school when I was there. I managed to graduate a year early so I could leave. They had a library at the school, but no books! It was just a large room with empty book shelves. It was a country school, grades 1-12 in same building. None of the people were mean to me. I think I was just bored there. And I've never liked talking about people. I did like college when I got there.
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I really do what I can to shun profane and vain babbling because I know such is harmful to me, eating away at me after I speak with the ones who speak these things. And I am harmed without reason by hearing them whether they are people I know talking or people talking on TV. I avoid their words.
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While writing this exhortation, I received a phone call. My cleaning woman called to tell me she will not be able to come to my house to clean today. YEA ... I can go on with my work, reading Bible, and not be interrupted. Nothing better for me than this!