Important Lessons from 1 Timothy

This week, upon having completed a year of catechism from our online church (Hobe Sound Bible Church) we began reading through and discussing 1 Timothy in family devotions and have gotten up to chapter 5. There are some very important lessons/teachings in this book of the Bible.

[from 1 Tim. 2:1-4] In the very first part of chapter 2, Paul urged Timothy and those under his influence to pray for all men everywhere, especially those in authority over them. (Now of course this applies to us today.) It also says (besides prayers, intercessions, and supplications) that THANKSGIVING should be made for rulers. --We find praying for our president and other leaders especially important right during this time.-- But thanksgiving? That's a little harder if you have totally different morals/beliefs then they do. Although there were several wicked leaders in Paul's day, he added this word. That's interesting.

(2:2) "That ...prayers... be made... for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence." In other words we need to pray that the laws being made will not make it so we have to disobey the law to serve God. So that we can serve God without going against governing authorities. "...in godliness" - serving God "and reverence," obeying laws.

We are to especially pray that they would get saved. (2:4) So we pray - along with other Christians- for our new president (his soul, his family, his choices, his influence, his cabinet); the representatives, senators, and all the other "rulers" (many of whom have turned their backs on God). We have prayed Proverbs 21:1 for our presidents (past and new) which says: "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes" and have prayed that our president would have reverential fear of God in him.

The majority of chapter 3 is [sadly] commonly overlooked when people choose church leaders. Because of this people are led astray and are confused. Some even turn away from the faith because of the black mark people make against God's name and the hypocrisy that is present.

Chapter 3 ends with a wonderfully true and blessed saying. "In this verse Paul reckons up six principal heads of evangelical truth, which are to be asserted and defended by him; ushering them in with this preface, 'Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.' " [from William Burkitt's Notes]

The question of why we pray at meals is answered in chapter 4:4-5. And why is that? [First] to thank the Lord for provision for our needs; [second] to ask Him to protect us from any harm that could come from the food; [third] that He would bless the food to the nourishment of our bodies.

Very important teachings are given in 4:12, 13, 15, and 16. First that those who are "young" should be examples of righteousness (in various ways) despite their youth. [4:13 with my notes in parentheses] " give attention to reading (scripture), to exhortation (encouragement to righteous living - whether by preaching or by testimonies), to doctrine (the truth that the Church is built on)."

Well, that's all for now, since we haven't read the rest of 1 Timothy yet. Thanks for reading.

Special Verses and a few thoughts

This is something I started working on Saturday the 13th, but never published.
In my personal Bible reading I have come across some verses that were interesting, special or thoughtprovoking. When I find verses like this I write them on index cards and keep them in my Bible case to read from time to time. You can read them below if you want.

Job 22:22b
Job 22:22b “…And lay up His words in your heart.”

Job 23:8
Job 23:8 "Look, I go forward, but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;
9 When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.
10 But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
11 My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food.

Job 28:28
Job 28:28 And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.'

Unwritten: Psalm 121:1-8

Psalm 130:1-8
Ps 130:1 <> Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD;
2 Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications.
3 If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning-Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption.
8 And He shall redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

Psalm 126:5-6
Ps 126:5 Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy.
6 He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him.

Unwritten: Psalm 142:1-4

Psalm 142:5, 6a, 7
Ps 142:5 I cried out to You, O LORD: I said, "You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.
6 Attend to my cry, For I am brought very low
7 Bring my soul out of prison, That I may praise Your name; The righteous shall surround me, For You shall deal bountifully with me."

Psalm 143:1, 4, 5-8, 10-11
Ps 143:1 Hear my prayer, O LORD, Give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer me, And in Your righteousness.
4 Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; My heart within me is distressed.
5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah
7 Answer me speedily, O LORD; My spirit fails! Do not hide Your face from me, Lest I be like those who go down into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear Your loving-kindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You.
10 Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.
11 Revive me, O LORD, for Your name's sake! For Your righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.

A lesson for me - It is more blessed to give than to receive

Has it ever happened to you? You are [sitting, standing, laying or whatever] there reading your Bible, and all of a sudden a verse jumps out at you. Your thought may be something like this, "I wish I would've had that verse earlier today when...", or "Oh, so that's what I should do about this or that..." or "Oops, I shouldn't have done that..." or "Ok, so...".

Well, maybe a little example might help. Your going to think I'm terrible, but I guess I'll just tell the story anyway. One day, probably 3 years ago, we had our annual home-schoolers game day (held around/on Valentine's Day (for no particular reason)). I got stuck playing easy games with the little kids. You may say, "What's the big deal, you aren't too good for little kids are you?" Well, no, but I was "supposed" to have a fun time playing on this special game day. "Well, someone needs to play with the little kids, it might as well be you." You're right, but I was indignant by the end of the game playing time.

So when we were eating lunch, Mother asked me why I had such a long face. And after some tears and expressed disappointment and anger, my loving Mother decided to play some games with me that afternoon, which did not cheer me. Then, I was mad at myself for being so selfish, and all in all didn't have a good attitude or outlook on the day!

That evening, I was reading my Bible in the book of Acts when I came upon this verse, "And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35) I can't remember exactly how I felt, but I think it changed my viewpoint of how I should've been more than glad to play with the little folks. The lesson that it is more blessed to give than receive, whether in time, fun, money, or whatever else, was spoken to my heart that day. Oftentimes, I should remember this when asked/needed to do something for someone, which if I had my "rathers" I wouldn't want to do. I don't think I've learned the lesson entirely, but I trust the Lord will help me in the future.

That was one day I was glad that in the midst of having my devotions, God specifically spoke to me about something I was dealing with.

Thoughts

How easy it is to get trapped in the mindset of the here-and-now! Our efforts and all of our passion are supposed to be centered on Christ.
A couple of years ago my dad (who was the Sunday School teacher at the time) asked the question, "How often do you think about Christ's second coming?" I often have to remind myself of the fact that Christ is coming again. It's easy to get bogged down with the daily grind, and lose focus of Who we are serving and why we do what we do.

Colossians 3:1-3

"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

Heart Cry for Today

This is a heart cry of mine. Oh, how we need revival! Us. Our generation. Many are going to the world, to darkness. They need to be saved. For those of us who love the Lord in spirit and in truth, we need to be grounded in God’s word, so that we can share the message of the gospel with the lost and dying world! We need to be sanctified, given over completely to God, as we minister in the future. If we are surrendered to God, things need to be different in our lives. We should not still look like, act like, and be like the world. Christ died to save us all from sin and the world. Christ did not die so that we could claim His name and still live in sin. He wants to change us to be like Him. The teenage years are ones of preparation for the future. If you spend your youth in serving the Lord and spending time with Him, you will be more prepared for obedience to His calling on your whole life. If you are serving yourself, you will never find true happiness. It makes me sad when I see my fellow teenagers in the world AND in the CHURCH who are not following Christ and His Word, and not living in His will. One thing that my mother reminds our family, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go.” Let us, as God’s children, live close to the Lord, attentive to His voice, and obedient to His Word.