Blog - Joyful Curmudgeon - Blog
A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

 

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

 

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Power, Love, Self-Control – 29 January 2008
By Mary T. Hoffman

Working together, the power, love, and self-control that God gives through His Holy Spirit, result in spiritual balance in the believer. Spiritual power and self-control enable a person to work toward bringing about positive change motivated by unselfishness and grounded in love. This power is not the self-seeking, corrupt “power” that is sought by many in a fallen world.

In 2 Timothy 1:7 of the New Testament, the apostle Paul states:

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (King James Version)

7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (New International Version)

7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity – of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear – but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. (The Amplified Bible)

Note: In the above versions of the Bible, the words “power” and “love” are used to translate δυνáμεως (power) and αγáπης (love). However, the Greek word δειλίας which means “cowardice” is translated as “fear,” “timidity,” “cowardice,” and “craven and cringing and fawning fear.” And the Greek word σωφρονισμου which means “self-control” is translated as “sound mind,” “self-discipline,” “calm and well-balanced mind,” “discipline,” and “self-control.”

Go on to: Society of Sociopaths – 30 January 2008
Return to: Spiritual Blindness – 28 January 2008
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