Strengthen, Endure, Suffer

2 Tim. 2:1-13

Even though Paul was in prison, he was not disabled because the gospel itself was not imprisoned! He was willing to endure anything as long as the gospel would be preached, as long as salvation was offered to the elect. He went on to give advice to Timothy encouraging him to share in sufferings as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Don't shy away from them! Don't hide from them! Instead Timothy was to strengthen himself in the grace that was in Jesus Christ. Then Paul asked him to remember, If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful-- for he cannot deny himself. Pretty strong words to put Timothy's thinking straight. Pretty strong words for us as well. For me, I need to remember to share in suffering as a soldier of Jesus. I need to be faithful and to endure what comes my way. I need to strengthen myself in the grace of Jesus Christ.

Father,

I confess I don't always embrace suffering or stand as a good soldier. Give me Your strengthening grace that I might be strong for You. I only want to live in and for You! Thank You for Jesus who makes my life in You possible.

In Jesus name,

Amen

The Charge and The Christ

1 Tim. 6:11-21

As I read this section, I was overwhelmed with the beauty and the message of the words. So much in so little space. First the charge: As for you, O man of God...Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. This should be my pursuit! So whatever it is I am doing, if it does not allow for this qualities to grow and flourish, it should not be what I pursue. But wait, if that is not enough there is more! Fight the good fight of faith, Take hold of eternal life, and keep  the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wow! This should be the believer's life. This should be my life!

Second, this passage makes some wonderful statements about Christ! The preceding charge is given in the presence of God who give life to all things, and in the presence of Christ Jesus, who Himself made confession in front of Pilate. He is our example. He is who we should follow. Then the passage goes on to describe Jesus at His coming for His own. He is blessed and only sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, immortal, dwells in unapproachable light, and to Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen! Wow! 

Finally after all great stuff, Paul speaks specifically to Timothy, and tells him to guard the deposit entrusted to him. Like Timothy, I need to heed the charge of Paul and live like he wanted Timothy to live. I need to remember who Christ is, this Christ I serve and love.I need to remember Him in all his glory! And glory He is! I love this passage! Might be a good one to memorize and pray.

Father,

Thank You for blessing my heart this morning. You knew exactly what I needed. Thank You for giving me Christ, for showing me just a glimpse of His glory. Thank You.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Men and Women

1 Tim. 2:9-10

I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling, likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable attire, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but that what is proper for women who profess godliness--with good works. 

Every place, that is not just in church, men should be praying [even praying for the women]. Apparently the men were, and still are, prone to anger and quarreling [not to say that all men are]. But certainly we see it in so many instances of abuse for women and children and even road rage. To be sue there are murderers and combatants, but I am not sure if that is predominantly men. Regardless, a Christian man should never engage in these behaviors especially if he wants to be holy and to have an effective prayer life. So obviously those things must stop, but the lifting up of hands, not just any hands, but holy hands, must be paramount. For the hands to be holy, sinful behaviors must cease!

Then on to women. Apparently our Achilles Heel is vanity and immodesty. Why is that ? An overwhelming desire to look like the world? A secret desire to be noticed by all men and not just husbands? Whatever the motivation, immodesty must stop. But the problems lies in what is immodest since it is a nebulous word. What is immodest for some is not for others. But if the Christian woman is sincere in her desire, the Holy Spirit will lead her correctly. She will be modest. But there are other areas as well, self-control and vanity. Self-control covers so many areas from eating to watching TV, from shopping to hobbies, Whatever it is , women must exercise self-control. There must be balance! In addition her focus must not just be on her appearance, her hair, her jewelry, her clothes, and oh yes, her shoes! Self-control must be in these areas as well. Does functionality have a say in these matters? What about quality and quantity? Once again prayer could bring the answers. Even though these areas seem trivial, they apparently are not! God included them in His word for a reason. 

So whether you are a man or a woman prayer must reign in the life. It will be the guiding force for what we do, say, think, feel, for what we wear, and for what we participate in. 

Father,

Thank You for including these areas in Your words as well. Help me to be attune to Your Spirit so that I might hear His guiding and voice.

In Jesus name,

Amen

The Purpose

1 Tim. 12:20

Paul now goes on to explain the purpose of the charge, that is, love that issues from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Does it make the charge that much stronger when you know the purpose of the charge? I know that there are people who won't do anything unless they know the reason why. Perhaps Paul is handling that type of person. Anyway, Paul says he has issued the charge so that Timothy [and us] might wage the good warfare, holding the faith and a good conscience. 

The Christian life is definitely a warfare. Many times this struggle comes from outside sources in the form of ridicule or persecution, even at the cost of life. But even if the outside elements are fairly calm, there is always a struggle from within. Here we wage war against our flesh, the thing that defeats us almost before we begin. We know what we should do, yet our flesh never seems to cooperate. How appealing Satan makes the pride of life, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes!

How much we need to cry out for help and rely on the strength and power of His glorious grace! And how much we need to desire to fulfill the charge that we might be pleasing to Him.

Father,

Help me to have a pure-hearted love, a good conscience and a sincere faith. I want to wage a good war holding onto my faith and keeping a good conscience.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Charge

1 Tim. 1:1-11

"The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."

How complex is this simple statement! Love from a pure heart. Who can even aspire to that? Our love is so flawed and often selfish. A good conscience! Even harder. Haven't we all hidden away things that we don't want others to see or know. And a sincere faith. Thankfully faith is a gift, but how sincere are we? This simple charge is humanly impossible! Maybe that is the point. It is only through the grace of God working in and through us that we can even begin to understand what these words mean. For me, this charge must be a matter of constant prayer. God must grow me in these areas. I so want to be obedient to this charge.

Father,

Help me love from a pure heart, keep a good conscience, and have a sincere faith. I can not do this on my own. It is only through You. Jesus, be my help. 

In Jesus name,

Amen

Speed Ahead

2 Thess. 3

Paul prayed and asked for others to pray that the word of the Lord would speed ahead and be honored. It had been thus so with the Thessalonians. He also asked for prayer that they would be delivered from wicked and evil men, men who would thwart the spread of the gospel, men who would seek to do harm to Paul and his crew. But even with these risks, Paul was confident that in faithfulness, the Lord would establish and guard the Thessalonians from the Evil One, and he would always pray in this way for the Thessalonians. Paul knew personally the great power of the Lord. He had seen it at work in his own life and in the lives of many others. The Lord had given Paul a feeling of confidence in his spirit that these people would grow, doing and willing to do the things that they had been taught. He knew that the Lord would direct their hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. What a wonderful prayer! And one that we could use for a model.  

I wonder in this age of computers and global communication, do we pray that the gospel would speed ahead and be honored. Certainly this is what we need! To speed ahead of all the foolishness and evil that resides on the internet! Do we ask prayer that we would be delivered from Satan, or do we just accept his influence as part of our daily lives, as part of our culture? Are we confident in the Lord that He has the power to establish and guard us protecting us from Satan, or have we been so blinded by human technology that we no longer see the power of God in the human heart? Do we personally know the power of the Lord in our lives and in the lives of others? Do we pray for ourselves and others that we would be directed to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ? Maybe we have not because we ask not! Perhaps we should be praying as Paul prayed, even using his exact words and desiring what he desired with our whole hearts.

Father,

I confess my lack of prayer and my lack of focus in prayer. I ask that you would direct me to Your love and to the steadfastness of Christ. I ask that You would speed the gospel around the globe and have it be honored as it should be. Give me godly confidence in Your great power.

In Jesus name,

Amen