Pablo escribió 2 Timoteo como una carta personal a Timoteo su hijo en la fe. Era un poco más joven que Pablo y no sólo había recibido un don de Dios relacionado con el ministerio, sino que también había aprendido ministerio junto a él. En los primeros versículos, le recuerda a Timoteo que mantenga en llamas este don que había recibido a través de su imposición de manos. No tenemos idea de lo que estaba pasando en la vida de Timoteo. Tal vez estaba luchando para seguir adelante en el ministerio. Tal vez estaba desanimado y temeroso. Después de todo, no era fácil ser cristiano o líder en ese entonces. Había mucha oposición y persecución.
Pablo le escribió a Timoteo:
“Por lo cual te aconsejo que avives el fuego del don de Dios que está en ti por la imposición de mis manos.7 Porque no nos ha dado Dios espíritu de cobardía, sino de poder, de amor y de dominio propio.” (2 Tim. 1:6-7) RV60
Pablo le recuerda a Timoteo que no debe renunciar a usar el don que Dios le ha dado. Dios le ha dado Su Espíritu
fuente: morgue
para usarlo. Y el Espíritu de Dios no nos hace temerosos ni tímidos. Podemos avanzar y no quedarnos paralizados por el miedo. Si estamos paralizados, no es obra del Espíritu. Por el contrario, Él nos da el poder de llevar a cabo lo que Él nos ha llamado a hacer sin importar las circunstancias que enfrentamos. Tenemos su poder disponible. Nos da amor por amar a los demás. Amar a la gente no siempre es fácil, pero el Espíritu de Dios nos ayuda. Y nos da autodisciplina que no es lo mismo que ser tímido. El Espíritu nos ayuda a evitar que nos inclinemos a la auto-deprecación o a la autosuficiencia.
Esto fue alentador para mí esta mañana, y espero que sea para ti en lo que Dios te haya llamado a hacer. No tiene que ser un trabajo formal en la iglesia. Tu llamamiento es donde Dios te tiene, dónde vives, dónde trabajas y dónde disfrutas de la vida.
Paul wrote 2 Timothy as a personal letter to Timothy his son in the faith. He was a bit younger that Paul and had not only received a gift from God related to ministry but also learned ministry alongside of him. In the first verses, he reminds Timothy to keep aflame this gift he had received through his laying of hands. We have no idea what was going on in Timothy’s life. Maybe he was struggling to keep going in ministry. Maybe he was discouraged and fearful. After all, it wasn’t easy to be a Christian or a leader back then. There was a lot of opposition and persecution.
Paul wrote to Timothy:
“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (NIV)
source: morgue file
Paul reminds Timothy that he shouldn’t give up using the gift God has given him. God has given him His Spirit to use it. And God’s Spirit does not make us fearful or timid. We can move forward and not be paralyzed with fear. If we are, it is not the Spirit’s doing. On the contrary, He gives us the power to carry out what He has called us to do no matter what circumstances we may be facing. We have his power available. He gives us love to love others. Loving people is not always easy but God’s Spirit helps us. And he gives us self-discipline which is not the same as being timid. The Spirit helps us keep us from tilting either to self-deprecation or self-sufficiency.
This was encouraging to me this morning, and I hope it is to you in whatever God has called you to do. It doesn’t have to be some formal church job. Your calling is where God has you, where you live, where you work and where ever you enjoy life.
Being a Hispanic American, and having been part of two cultures and languages most of my life, I have learned a few things that can help us in relating to other cultures. These are simple things to keep in mind and practice to become intentional learners of other people’s cultures.
1. Be proactive in learning people’s stories.
This implies spending time to listen to people’s stories that includes their cultural and religious background. This is a good principle in general. I often take out new families out for lunch. During this time I purposely ask about their stories. I try to learn as much as I can from them. It helps me to understand them.
2. Ask sincere questions.
When you are listening to people’s stories, ask questions to understand the other person. If you don’t know something about a particular culture, ask, don’t assume. This is a good practice. I often ask questions using a sincere tone in my voice. I really want to convey to them that I am interested in what they are saying. Depending on the culture, there is also an expected reaction from the speaker from another culture.
In the Hispanic culture, we love using non verbal expressions to show that we are listening. We often over do it because we want to show that we care. If you show no expressions with a Hispanic, they often think you don’t care. I remember a Hispanic lady who was part of our church, and was an expert in marketing. She met with a former communication director to give him ideas. Throughout the whole conversation he showed no emotion. Privately, she asked me later on, why he just sat quietly listening with no reactions. This was very puzzling for her.
3. Be culturally sensitive.
This means not asking or saying things that can be interpreted as rude. If you make a mistake, apologize to the other person. Hispanics in any personal conversation or even digital, usually address the person with a greeting such as “Good morning”, “Good afternoon” or “Good evening”. In the American culture we are so task oriented that we go directly to what we want. Since I work with many Americans, I am used to this “transactional” type of conversations and I have done it many times with Hispanics. But this is not culturally sensitive. It is rude. I try to keep track of my audience to avoid this.
4. Be aware of your cultural, ethnic and religious preferences and prejudices.
We all have them. This can be very subtle because we act based on what WE consider to be the norm. We often act thinking that what we believe regarding culture is what others should accept without any questions. For example, take the concept of family. Hispanics are family oriented and their kids are part of everything they do. We have many of our families who bring in their children to our services. This is expected. In our American culture, children have a separate place for learning on Sundays. This is a cultural preference and we should be aware of it and not expect it from someone from a different cultural or ethnic background.
5. Make room in your life to ask for opinions and voices from people of other cultures.
Their opinions are just as valuable as ours. Diversity of thought is profitable and valuable, not a detriment. It enriches us with knowledge and understanding that we wouldn’t otherwise possess. We should ask with the intention of learning and applying what is helpful for our context.
6. Be intentional in making changes that reflect a multiethnic community.
These changes should be planned, aligned with a clear purpose and expectations. Changes that are a response or reaction to our current political status will not last.
Having speakers from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds in an organization should be something to implement and so should diversifying the staff to reflect the diversity of the community.In the church I serve, our campus is Spanish speaking but during our services we offer translation to English for anyone who would like to join us. I also intentionally schedule other speakers from other cultural backgrounds to come and teach with a translator. This sends a message that we value everyone and we want to be multiethnic.
If you want to learn more, there are many good books out there. But the best way to learn is to start connecting personally with people of other cultures and ethnicities. It is not easy, but remember that many of them have taken the first step to be here in America, a place unbeknown to them. This was harder. Reach out with an open heart, I can assure you won’t be rejected!
My ethnicity and my culture do not define who I am.
I don’t recall I have ever written publicly on this subject with the except for writing a short biography many years ago when I was a teacher. But before I share my thoughts about that statement, here is a bit of my ethnic and cultural background. I was born in El Salvador and lived in a rural area near the capital until I was about ten years old. My first language was Spanish. Salvadoreans share many of the general cultural distinctives as many other Hispanics (my preferred term, others use “Latino”). You can learn about them in a series of posts I wrote a while ago. For a reason, I was not told or considered, my mother, a single mom of nine decided to come to the United States along with three of my sisters where three of my other sisters were already living. We came as immigrants. How we got here is a story of its own and I often don’t share it.
Growing up in a rural place I was impressed with the modern amenities of California. As I look back, I remember the bright illuminated sign of the “Lucky” grocery store in Orange County. From there we moved to Los Angeles for about a year. My first experience was a culture shock on my first day in Jr. High. I spoke no English and I did not understand the educational system. A translator was assigned to me to help me communicate throughout the day. I had a normal schedule which included ESL classes for two periods. I noticed many of my peers were Hispanics like me, but their behavior and conduct in the classroom appalled me. I could hardly believe what I saw and heard. Mr. Rico, my Puerto Rican ESL teacher had it hard and I felt sorry for him. Despite this, I quickly started learning English and on one occasion I had the opportunity to sing “Silent Night” in my ESL class.
What remains of the house I grew up in El Salvador
We moved from LA to Orange County after that year. Santa Ana became my home, starting on Minnie street and ending on E. Flora Street (see more about these two places in post here) until I got married. I learned English quickly and by High School I was already fluent. It was during my Jr. High years in 1983 that was invited (I wrote a short post here about my friend who introduced me to what it means to be a Christian) to a Hispanic Baptist Church that had recently been started by a former missionary in Colombia. He spoke Spanish fluently and the church thrived under his leadership. It was here that I came to faith in Christ at the age of fourteen. It was here I developed a love for the church. I became involved early on. It was also here when I “fell in love” with my wife a bit later. We have been married for a long time now, have raised two children and have two adopted ones, one of which we are currently raising. With all of them, we have shared both our ethnic/cultural heritage in addition to our faith.
During my second year of High School, I tested out of High School and went to Santa Ana College. It took me four years to finish my AA while I was working to pay for my school. I rode a bike that was handed down to me to go to work. At the beginning of my college journey, I was still an immigrant, on poverty level and didn’t know much about the financial aid available for school for those like me. So, I paid my own tuition. My family never received any public aid either. My sisters worked in a factory, my mom stayed home, and baby sat her grandkids. My two other young sisters went to school as well. We became legal residents a bit after the 1986 Amnesty under President Ronald Reagan. In 1995 I became a US citizen.
I have now lived in the Unites States for most of my life, have attended graduate schools, lived in three States, and have been part of both Spanish and English-speaking churches. I consider myself an American with a Hispanic heritage. Culturally, I am in between the Hispanic and American culture as many other Hispanics in the United States. I don’t fit perfectly in either one. From my perspective, both cultures have good characteristic and unfavorable ones. I strive to learn the good ones from both.
From all my years in the United States the issue of how I have been treated in relation to my ethnicity and culture is something I can talk in a general way. I cannot assert that I have ever been openly discriminated. However, this this doesn’t mean I have not felt a subtle prejudice and mistreatment because of it. On one occasion, a friend who was American (I use this to refer to “White American” as commonly used. I am very uneasy referring to people by color of their skin) and had mentored me, told me I had been discriminated when I applied to a seminary. He encouraged me to defend myself and even wrote a letter in my favor. There was a case when I was a teacher where I felt discriminated for being a Hispanic. I was told I wasn’t a “fit” for the school even though my reputation as good teacher was well established among parents, teachers, and students. During my time there, I never had a bad review related to my work. Thinking back, this and other moments, I believe some of them were due because of my ethnic and cultural background. It could be argued that it was not the case, that it was perhaps due to my way of thinking, character and/or my personality or something else I don’t know. But my cultural background and heritage is part of who I am. As much as I want to believe that I have not been prejudged or treated differently because of my cultural background, I have found questioning myself if this is so. I have not let this kept me from doing what I believe God has called me to do.
As a pastor working with Hispanics and Americans, some Hispanics see me (and have told me) as the “Hispanic Gringo”. They don’t see me as “full” Hispanic. I assume (it seems obvious to me) that some Americans see me as a Hispanic and not as American. I understand that I can never be 100% Hispanic and 100% American in the “pure” sense of the word (I don’t know what that is either, since all of us are a mix of backgrounds and ethnicities). I recently had DNA testing and my profile makes me 52.1% European mainly from Spain (Spaniards conquered Latin America), 37.5% Native American mainly from my indigenous roots in El Salvador, 10.6% Sub-Saharan, Southern East African and North African. I guess my family tree travelled a lot.
Having said all this, I believe my identity does not come from my ethnicity and culture. This doesn’t mean my ethnicity and culture are not valuable to me or that it doesn’t add anything to who I am. But my identity is not defined by it. It comes from my relationship with God in Christ. This is the beauty of what Christ does in our lives. I don’t have to pledge allegiance to a culture or ethnicity (European, Native American, or African). I pledge my full allegiance to Jesus Christ and to his Kingdom. My identity is found in Him.
Here is what God says about this.
Regardless of what ethnicity and culture we are from, through faith we are ALL one in Christ Jesus.
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3:28)
All of us are God’s kaleidoscope but we are one in Christ. I love this and believe this whole heartily!
Our country is not in this world.
“But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:16 (NLT)
Our heavenly homeland isn’t here. God has prepared a city for us, and He is not ashamed of calling us their God. Our ethnicity and culture are not a condition or requirement. Faith in Christ is.
Our ultimate citizenship is not here.
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” Philippians 3:20 (NIV)
We are citizens of heaven under the rule of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, waiting for Him to come back.
God loves people from all ethnicities, all cultures, all tribes, and all languages. His Kingdom will be made of all of them.
I looked again. I saw a huge crowd, too huge to count. Everyone was there—all nations and tribes, all races, and languages. And they were standing, dressed in white robes and waving palm branches, standing before the Throne and the Lamb and heartily singing:
Salvation to our God on his Throne! Salvation to the Lamb! – Revelation 7:9-10 (The Message)
Our ethnic and cultural background, our native and acquired languages will not be an in issue in God’s kingdom. I believe all of us will fully know ourselves and each other. We will fully understand and accept each other to the point that we won’t even see each other as different. The focus won’t be us, but the Lamb, our Lord Jesus Christ whom we will worship. I can’t even imagine what that will be like!
Nada e es más maravilloso que el hecho de que Dios Hijo resucitó de entre los muertos. Tal cosa jamás a sido llevada a cabo por nadie. El concepto de resurrección (las personas muertas resucitando o resucitándose así mismas) era ajeno a las ideas contemporáneas de ese entonces. Historias y mitos de esta índole si había, pero eran solo esto.
Pero Jesús fue hombre real. Nació por concepción del Espíritu Santo. Vivió treinta años con nosotros los humanos. Predico por tres años que Él era el Hijo de Dios que había venido a dar su vida. Fue matado. Murió. Fue sepultado y resucitó al tercer día. Su resurrección prueba que era el Hijo de Dios. ¡Esto es maravilloso! ¡Asombroso!
Mas él herido fue por nuestras rebeliones, molido por nuestros pecados; el castigo de nuestra paz fue sobre él, y por su llaga fuimos nosotros curados.
6 Todos nosotros nos descarriamos como ovejas, cada cual se apartó por su camino; mas Jehová cargó en él el pecado de todos nosotros. (RV 1960)
Este pasaje profético predijo lo que el Señor Jesús experimentaría en lo que llamamos “Viernes Santo”. Experimentó heridas por nuestras propias fallas espirituales. Fue golpeado y aplastado por nuestras malas cosas ante Dios. Fue ese viernes cuando tomó no sólo el castigo humano, sino también el castigo divino para que tuviéramos paz con Dios. Su “llaga” se refiere a su sacrificio que nos trajo nuestra sanidad espiritual.
¿Por qué tuvo que soportar todo eso? ¿Era realmente necesario? Sí. Y es que “todos, como las ovejas, nos hemos extraviado, cada uno de nosotros se ha vuelto a nuestro propio camino”. Las ovejas se extravían y se pierden sin un pastor. Siguen su propio camino y no pueden encontrar su camino de regreso por su cuenta. El pastor tiene que ir a buscarlas. Así somos nosotros. ¿Cuándo nos extraviamos? David dice que nacemos con una predisposición al pecado (Salmos 51:5). Heredamos esto del primer hombre (Romanos 5:12). Por esto somos expertos en desviarnos e irnos lejos de Dios. Nos vamos por nuestro propio camino.
¿Es malo seguir nuestro camino? Sí, porque así como el pecado del primer hombre conduce a la muerte, también el nuestro lleva a pecado que conduce a la muerte. Pero esto no es sólo muerte física, sino una separación eterna después de la muerte. La única manera de remediar esto es que alguien que es un hombre perfecto y Dios al mismo tiempo pague por nuestros pecados. Eso fue lo que Jesús hizo ese viernes. Dios puso nuestro pecado sobre Él, “Jehová cargó en él el pecado de todos nosotros.”
¿Significa esto que no tengo que hacer nada? Sí y no. No, no puedes hacer nada más aparte de lo que Hizo. Su sacrificio fue suficiente para cubrir nuestros pecados. De hecho, Pablo llama a esto “gracia”. Y esta gracia es más poderosa que el pecado. La gracia es un regalo. Esto es lo que dice la Biblia:
Cuando éramos totalmente incapaces de salvarnos, Cristo vino en el momento preciso y murió por nosotros, pecadores. 7 Ahora bien, casi nadie se ofrecería a morir por una persona honrada, aunque tal vez alguien podría estar dispuesto a dar su vida por una persona extraordinariamente buena; 8 pero Dios mostró el gran amor que nos tiene al enviar a Cristo a morir por nosotros cuando todavía éramos pecadores. – Romanos 5:6-8 (NTV)
Pero sí, hay algo que debemos hacer. Creer en este mensaje. Esto se llama fe. Cuando hacemos esto nuestra relación con Dios se establece directamente para que no sigamos lejos y perdidos sin Él. Volvemos a casa. Pero esta vez es mejor que antes.
“Así que Dios nos aprobó gracias a la fe, y ahora, por medio de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, hay paz entre Dios y nosotros.” – Romanos 5:1 (PDT)
Jesús al ofrecerse como oveja (en lugar de ti como oveja) pagó lo que le debías a Dios. No tienes que seguir tu propio camino. Mira hacia arriba y ve al Pastor (que tomó forma de oveja humana) en la cruz. No tienes que esperar hasta el Domingo de Pascua. ¡Ya sabes lo que pasó!
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. – Isaiah 53:5-6 (NIV)
This prophetic passage foretold what the Lord Jesus would experience on what we call “Good Friday”. He experienced the piercing for our own spiritual faults. He was beaten and crushed for our evil doings before God. It was on that Friday that he took not only the human punishment but also the divine punishment so that we would have peace with God. His wounds refer to his sacrifice that brought us our spiritual healing.
Why did he have to endure all that? Was it really necessary? Yes. It is because “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way”. Sheep wonder and get lost without a shepherd. They go their own way and they can’t find their way back on their own. The shepherd has to go and find them. That was us. When did we go astray? David says, that we are born with a predisposition to sin (Psalm 51:5). We inherited this from the first man (Romans 5:12). This why we are experts at wondering away from God. We go our way.
Is it bad to go our way? Yes, because just as the first man’s sin lead to death so do our sinfulness lead to death. But this isn’t just physical death, but an eternal separation after death. The only way to remedy this is for someone who is a perfect man and God at the same time to pay for our sins. That was Jesus and He did that on that Friday. God laid our sin on Him, “and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Does this mean I don’t have to do anything? Yes and no. No, you can’t do anything else beside what He did. His sacrifice was enough to cover our sins. In fact, Paul calls this grace. And this grace is more powerful that sin. Grace is a gift. Here is how the Message puts it:
He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him. (Roms. 5:6-8)
But yes, there’s something we must do. Believe this message. This is called faith. When we do this our relationship with God is set up straight so we don’t wonder away. And you are back home. But this time is better than before.
“So now, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith in his promises, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.” (Romans 5:1) NLT
Jesus paid what you owed God. You don’t have to keep going your own way. Look up and see The Shepherd on the cross. You don’t have to wait till Easter Sunday. You know what happened!
Take time to read John 8:12-19, then pray the prayer below.
Jesus once again addressed them: “I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.”13 The Pharisees objected, “All we have is your word on this. We need more than this to go on.” 14-18 Jesus replied, “You’re right that you only have my word. But you can depend on it being true. I know where I’ve come from and where I go next. You don’t know where I’m from or where I’m headed. You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don’t make judgments like that. But even if I did, my judgment would be true because I wouldn’t make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father. That fulfills the conditions set down in God’s Law: that you can count on the testimony of two witnesses. And that is what you have: You have my word and you have the word of the Father who sent me.” 19 They said, “Where is this so-called Father of yours?” Jesus said, “You’re looking right at me and you don’t see me. How do you expect to see the Father? If you knew me, you would at the same time know the Father.” – The Message
“I am the world’s Light” – Jesus
Light of my Life
Lord you are the incomparable light that has come into the world. You are the light that dissipates the moral and spiritual darkness of my life. Everyone who believes in you will not remain in darkness. Thank you for giving me the light of life and making me a son of light. I want to continue believing in you and shine your light to others. I pray that your light would dispel the fear in my life and give me the direction I need. I pray that I would reflect your light showing others the value that you give to every person from conception until death. May my life show the light of your love to others regardless of their background or ethnicity. I pray that in the midst of the chaos and confusión of our world, my life may be a channel of your light. Help me to reflect you Christ, Light of the world in my home, in my work and wherever I am. In the name of Jesus the Light of the world, Amen.
Pablo en este pasaje nos da maneras de deleitarnos en la voluntad de Dios como iglesia (sin duda aplican individualmente, pero recordemos que es una carta para toda la iglesia). Esto nos ayudará a todo lo que Pablo a enseñado a través de esta carta. Nos da una triada para fomentar nuestra relación con el Señor (vv. 16-18). Además nos dice que como iglesia hay maneras negativas (vv. 19-20) y positivas (vv. 21-22) de proveer el ambiente para cumplir con su voluntad en nuestro medio cuando le adoramos juntos. El resultado de esto es una vida completamente santa que está lista para la venida del Señor Jesucristo (v. 23). Dios es fiel y cumplirá lo que nos dice cuando vivimos en su voluntad (v. 24). Pablo termina esta carta con una petición (v. 25), un saludo de amor (v. 26), una instrucción final (v. 27) y una oración final de bendición (v. 28).
As parents, we must teach our children to pray (we assume that parents also have their dedicated time to pray). One way to help them is by providing a journal where they can write down their requests. You can download some samples for free: https://cherigamble.com/2016/12/31/printable-prayer-journals-for-kids/
Suggested books below.
For children who need support in reading or to read to them:
Rhys Learns to Pray: A Childrens Book About Jesus and Prayer (Powerful Kids in the War Room) by Daniel B Lancaster
Evie Learns to Pray: A Childrens Book About Jesus and Prayer (Powerful Kids in the War Room) [Print Replica] Kindle Edition by Daniel B Lancaster
What Is Prayer (Childrens Bible Basics) by Carolyn Nystrom and Eir. There are many other titles about the Christian faith.
What Happens When I Talk to God?: The Power of Prayer for Boys and Girls (The Power of a Praying® Kid) Hardcover – Picture Book, June 1, 2007 by Stormie Omartian
My daughter praying
For children in Elementary:
Window on the World: An Operation World Prayer Resource (Operation World Resources) by Molly Wall, Jason Mandryk (Paperback).
PrayerWorks: Prayer Strategy and Training for Kids Hardcover – Illustrated, September 1, 2015 by Stephen Kendrick
The Power of a Praying® Kid Paperback – August 1, 2015 by Stormie Omartian
Train Up A Child In The Way He Should Go…: 90 Day Bible Study / Prayer Guide for Children & Parents (90 Day Praying Child) Paperback – December 14, 2019 by Gloria Huntington
Psalm Prayers for Kids: A 40-Day Prayer Journal Paperback – February 22, 2019 by Sarah Keeling (Author)
Psalm Prayers for Kids: A 40-Day Prayer Journal Paperback – February 22, 2019 by Sarah Keeling (Author)
For teens:
The Power of a Praying® Teen Paperback – by Stormie Omartian
I am enjoying this book and agreeing with it (like "yes!", "write on"...laughing that Jesus wouldn't get hired because he was single...silly but prob would be true). There are some parts that uses particular language to describe leadersh...
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