2 Timothy 2:16-17

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

So, every Monday we have department meetings, except for once a month when we have a staff briefing to learn what everyone else has been up to. Every department does things a little differently. Some have a short prayer time, others use it to catch up on everyone's home life, some talk about the challenges they're facing in their work. In ECC, we have a short devotional followed by prayer time for work or personal requests. The whole thing usually lasts about an hour. We also have a lot of folks off-site, so we include them via video chat.

This morning, our devotional was on 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which you can read above.

And I know we've all read these verses a hundred times. I did an entire Biblical Interpretation class on 2 Timothy when I was in college.

But something about these verses just really appealed to me this morning. Specifically, those four words in the middle: teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training.

Now, you can view these things as separate acts. We all do each of these things at various times in our lives. But I also see it as a process.

Think about when you're learning something new. You are first taught how to do it. You have knowledge, but wisdom only comes through understanding that there is a right way and a wrong way to use this knowledge. Using it the wrong way leads to rebuke or reproof. Even with this wisdom, however, we can unintentionally follow a wrong path or need a correction in our application. But once we're on the correct path and know how to do something, we can't just stop there. Without a diligent, continuous repetition and practice of the process, without continuing to train and narrow our focus, we would lose our knowledge or ability over time.

You can apply this to so many areas of life. It's true of the church multiplication process, it's true of parenting, sports, etc.

But also realize that this doesn't happen in our own strength. We don't just automatically know these things. We have to apply everything through the filter of Scripture.

Scripture teaches us.

Scripture rebukes us.

Scripture corrects us.

Scripture trains us.

To what end?

So that we are equipped for whatever path God sends us on.

I need another year-long goal, something like what I did with the photographs a few years ago, but maybe in writing this time.

I need prompts. Questions to answer.

Maybe I'll do some digging.

to SAG (v):

Normally, the verb 'sag' is defined as follows:

1. to sink or bend downward by weight or pressure, especially in the middle: The roof sags.

2. to hang down unevenly; droop: Her skirt was sagging.

3. to droop; hang loosely: His shoulders sagged.

4. to yield through weakness, lack of effort, or the like: Our spirits began to sag.

5. to decline, as in price: The stock market sagged today.

In ECC, SAG means something quite different.

The Student Activity Guide is a 103-page supplement to the Train & Multiply booklets. Trainers use it to guide their students through specific activities or to decide which lesson they need to focus on next.

However, it has gained a rather negative reputation amongst the editing staff. When you tell someone you've been SAGging, you are immediately met with a word of sympathy, along with a note of thanks that it's you and not them.

Today, I embark on my quest to make this beast a productive member of society. 

Monthiversary

Can you believe it's been a month since I started working with ECC?

Weird.