Tag: Christian

Consider the Great Love

OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 48-50

*POETRY: Psalm 107

NEW TESTAMENT: James 3:13-18

My family has a book at home called 52 Bible Words Every Kid Should Know by Carrie Mars, and this last week, we read about the word “Psalm.”

One thing that I appreciate about reading things like this with my children or putting together lessons for young kids (teaching preschool is my favorite), is just stopping to examine simply defined truths.  When I personally go to classes, or small group, I do feel I gain things from those – a deeper understanding of things, an opportunity for discussion to hear other viewpoints, etc., but sometimes I miss the simple wonder like I had mentioned earlier this week.

When I am working on kid lessons or readings, they aren’t filled with the in-depth explanations or discussions, they are just boiled down, trying to give kids a foundation to grow from, and circling back to those things as an adult often touches me in a simple way.

In reading this book last week, it talked about how the Psalms show us how we can share all of our feelings with God.  We feel lots of things at different times, and there are psalms that fit so many different feelings.  We don’t have to just bring our good feelings before God – we can bring absolutely everything to Him.  It ends with a simple prayer “God, I’m so glad I can tell You anything.  I praise You for being so wonderful!”  God is wonderful for so many things, and us being able to bring anything before Him is just one of those things.

So let’s look a little at this specific Psalm – the first verse is one that repeats in other psalms (and repeats slightly altered throughout this one), and is a popular (if somewhat older) song:

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

It is simple; it is basic.  But God is good!  And He isn’t good the way we might call someone a “good” person.  He is really, truly, and fully good, and one of the most amazing things is that He loves us and that love will last forever.  This isn’t a revolutionary concept if you have been a Christian for a while, but it is a simple truth that can astound you when you stop to think about that.

If you were going to teach that to a child, you would break it down, emphasize how God’s good far surpasses ours, and emphasize how amazing His love is – get them excited about it!  As adults, I find we have heard those things so many times that we often gloss over them, but stop and think.  The great, amazing, good God of the universe loves you, and that love is perfect, and lasts forever.

When I truly stop and think about that, it just blows my mind.  And thinking about that makes it so easy to give thanks to the LORD for who He is.

The psalm ends with this verse:

“Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD.”

So this is my suggestion to you – slow down, view it through the simplicity of a child’s eyes, and consider the great love of the LORD.

~Stephanie Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. What feelings will you bring before God today? Are there some feelings you have that you typically don’t bring to Him?
  2. Make a list of what God does in Psalm 107. In this psalm how do we see God displaying His love? Which ones apply to you? How else could you describe what God has done for you? How will you give thanks to God for His love and mercy?
  3. How many times does this Psalm tell us that the thankful redeemed tell others about God’s love and what He has done?
  4. How would you describe God’s love and mercy to a child you know? How would you describe His love to an adult? What and how can you share at church about God’s love? Outside of church, who and how can you tell about God’s love?
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Taming the Tongue

OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 46-47

POETRY: Psalm 107

*NEW TESTAMENT: James 3:1-12

Reading this passage is powerful to me.  It’s only 12 verses, so take the time and read through it if you haven’t.

The imagery just really paints a picture in your mind of the kind of control being talked about.  And what has this control?  The tiny little tongue.

It is so small, yet so powerful.

The words you say have a powerful impact on others.  A kind word can lift someone from a valley, but a negative word can push someone down who may have already been knocked down.

My 3-year-old son made the joyful revelation when talking and making faces at his baby cousin this summer – “If I’m happy at her, she’s happy at me!”  Life isn’t quite always like this, but typically, if you speak kindly to someone, you are much more likely to get a positive response from them whether it is a kind word back or help in an area you are looking for.

Verses 9-10 read: With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.  My brothers, this should not be.”

[italics added]

How can we curse someone made in God’s likeness with the same mouth we praise our God with?  Those ideas are so contradictory, yet it is easy to put people down.

For example, you may be aware that we have an election coming up soon.  There are so many negative things being said about politicians in all parties.  But how can we talk this way about someone made in the likeness of God?  I think what it boils down to is that is not how we are viewing them.  We are looking at them based on their actions or thoughts that we don’t agree with, but not looking at who they are as a person which is someone made in God’s likeness.

Let us try to view everyone in this way in order that we might better praise God. 

~Stephanie Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. What do you think God is thinking about those who praise Him and curse men?
  2. Watch your tongue today and see how many times you speak poorly of people – or catch yourself ABOUT to speak negatively of someone made in God’s likeness. Why do you think it is so common in the world?
  3. How can we be different? Is it possible to state your opinion about ideas without putting down people?
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Do You Know?

OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 41-43

POETRY: Psalm 107 (the rest of this week)

NEW TESTAMENT: James 2:1-13

I want to jump back to Isaiah today.  Chapter 40 was actually the scheduled reading from yesterday, but it ends with some of my favorite verses – Isaiah 40:28-31

28 Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

I don’t have much of a devotion for you, but here is my suggestion.

Read these verses again.  Let the amazingness, goodness, incredibleness of God wash over you.  Be in awe of Him.  And lean into the reminder that those who hope in Him will have their strength renewed.

Sometimes, we read large chunks of chapters or verses, and for me at least, I fall into a traditionally schooled trained pattern of just trying to absorb information to be able to answer questions.  But the wonder can pass me by when I do this. 

So stop.  Read this small section, and be amazed by the Creator.

~Stephanie Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. Do you know that the Lord your God is the Creator of the world? What does that mean to you? What does it mean to you that He is everlasting?
  2. What can you not fathom about the Lord God’s understanding? When has He given you strength when you were weary? How would you use His strength today? Pray for it. Thank God for it.
  3. Where do you put your hope?
  4. How many times can you read this passage today? Whatever number you said, can you read it 5-10 additional times beyond what you thought you could.
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Religion that is Worthless

OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 38-40

POETRY: Psalm 107

*NEW TESTAMENT: `James 1:19-27

Have you ever spoken without thinking and hurt someone as a result?  Maybe you have seen this object lesson before, but think of a tube of toothpaste.  It is really easy to squeeze the toothpaste out (my kids are happy to do so in excess if they make it to the counter before me).  But once it is out, it is incredibly difficult, time consuming, and messy to get that toothpaste back in.  Once you speak, you can’t take your words back.  You can apologize, but that doesn’t change the fact of what you said.

How quickly do you become angry?  I like verse 20 which gives us a reason why we should be slow to become angry – “for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”

It is easy to get angry, to speak rudely, to interrupt others’ speech.  But these things do not help us to live the life God wants us to.  It might make us feel better for a second to have an outburst, but usually, we feel worse afterwards and it has done nothing to improve our lives.

But how do we go about avoiding this temptation that is easy to slide into?

“get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”

In a small group I was a part of in the spring, there was an idea that kept coming up from discussing the sermons – if you aren’t producing good fruit in your life, take a look – are you letting sin have a hold in your life?  We have to be constantly on the lookout for where sin seeps in and push it out in order that our fruit can show.

Verse 22 – “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says[!]”  You have to act.  It is great to go to church, listen to sermons, classes, read the Bible on your own, etc.  All great things.  But if all you do is listen, it isn’t going to make a difference.  You need to actively push the sin out of your life and pursue the good.

To circle back to the beginning of this section, here is what James writes in verse 26 “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” 

That is strong language!  Do you thing about your words having such an impact as to make your religion worthless if you do not control your tongue?

Think about your speech – do you need to work on controlling what you say?  Is there speech you need to ask for forgiveness for?  Is there speech you need to forgive someone else for?  What moral filth do you need to get rid of in your life in order to be able to accept God’s word?

Silence has value.  In the words of Thumper “if ya can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.”

~Stephanie Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. Do you thing about your words having such an impact as to make your religion worthless if you do not control your tongue? When might you have questioned someone else’s religion because of what they said? When was the worth of your own religion decreased due to what you said?
  2. Think about your speech – do you need to work on controlling what you say?  Is there speech you need to ask for forgiveness for?  Is there speech you need to forgive someone else for? 
  3. What moral filth do you need to get rid of in your life in order to be able to accept God’s word?
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God Won’t Give You Anything Beyond…

OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 36-37

POETRY: Song of Songs 8

*NEW TESTAMENT: James 1:1-18

Do you feel joy when you go through trials/temptations? I would guess not as it is opposed to our natural inclinations.

But when we go through hard times, we can come out on the other side stronger. 

Have you heard Christians say that God won’t give us anything beyond what we can handle?  That is a perversion of the truth. 

We weren’t created to be able to handle this life on our own.  We were made with a need for God.  The trouble comes when we recognize our need for something beyond ourselves but turn to something or someone besides God and become dependent on that.  That is when idols are created.

God won’t put things in our life that can’t be handled with His help.  But there likely will be things in your life that you can’t handle on your own.  That is your reminder, if you aren’t already, to depend on God.

1 Corinthians 10:13 is where people get the wrong idea.  But they just read part of it.  They read “he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.”  The verse continues though to say “But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”  He will provide a way!

When we try to do things on our own, we can quickly become prideful – thinking we are great, or, become depressed because we can’t do what we tried to. 

We can come out of the other side of trials and temptations with a stronger faith if we leaned into God during this time.  It should allow us to become more mature in our faith and deepen our relationship with God.

~Stephanie Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. What is a past trial you have gone through with God’s help? How did He help you? How did your perseverance grow during this experience? How did you mature through the process? What joys can you take away from that past trial?
  2. What joy can you find in your present trial?
  3. Consider some of the Christians that you most look up to. Have you ever met a really strong Christian who has had a really “easy” life?
  4. What will you say the next time you hear someone say, “God won’t give us anything beyond what we can handle?”
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Faithful

*OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 30 & 31

POETRY: Song of Songs 5

NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews 11

By faith, everything is made better. Faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen that were promised or spoken of by God. By faith, the people of old gained approval by God.

Throughout scripture, we have examples of God’s people who lived by faith, fulfilling their role in the covenant that God made with them, because they believed that God was faithful to fulfil his promises. There were some promises that were fulfilled in their time, according to the specific covenant God made with them (e.g., the Abrahamic covenant, the creation covenant, covenants of blessings, or children, or land, etc..), but all the faithful examples listed in this chapter died in faith, without receiving the promises of the New Covenant, but having seen and welcomed them from a distance.

They were people who knew that this world (the current age) is not their home. They knew they were strangers, looking for a better home, a heavenly one (that will come down to earth), whose maker was God.

By faith, Abraham offered up Isaac. He knew his God was faithful to his promise that through Isaac, the promised seed (Jesus) would be born. That can’t happen if his son is dead. So Abraham had faith that God was able to raise people from the dead.

By faith, Moses chose to suffer with his people, rather than to indulge in the temporary pleasures of sin that came with the territory of being a grandson to a rich Pharoah. He considered the shame of Messiah greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking to the reward.

There are so many examples of faithful people of God mentioned in this chapter. If you’re lacking in faith, read about them, you won’t be disappointed! The point in reminding the Hebrew readers of this I believe, was to teach them, or to remind them, that the people of old were faithful to the end of their lives, to a God they believed was faithful in keeping his promises—even the ones they had not yet received prior to dying, and thus became pleasing to God. They were chosen because of their faith, enduring until their end.

Yet, God wasn’t willing to establish his kingdom with them in their time, because he wanted them to be with the Hebrews in this letter. By extension, he wanted them to be with us. He didn’t want them without also having you! That’s the God you chose to serve!

The promise of a better hope, the one obtained now through the New Covenant, spoken of in the law and the prophets of old, is for those pleasing to God – the faithful; the chosen. It’s for those who have gained approval through their faith (their obedience to whatever covenant God made with them because they believed he was faithful), who are made perfect with those of us who chose to enter the New Covenant with God through Jesus. The better promises are all through Jesus, and they’re available for everyone who seeks God through him, choosing God back through their faith.

“6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is (exists) and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

-Juliet Taylor

Reflection Questions

1. It is common for people to say, “Have faith,” but I don’t think people should have faith in something that God never promised them. The examples in this chapter seem to reflect that. What do you think?

2. Whose faith recorded in this chapter do you admire most, and why?

3. We are to have faith in promises not yet received in this age too. How will you keep your faith until the end?

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Able to Save Completely

OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 19-21

POETRY: Song of Songs 1

NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews 7

The whole point of the letter to the Hebrews, it seems, was to show them how much better Jesus and the New Covenant were than anyone, or anything, that God used or worked through to fulfill his plan of salvation in the past. I think the writer is doing this because the Hebrews needed to hear it. In chapters 5 and 6, they were just scolded because they had become poor listeners, in need of milk like infants, instead of solid food.

I have a hunch that meant that they had heard the gospel, took it to heart, maybe applied it for a time when they were still excited about it, then slumped back into their old ways over time. They didn’t train themselves in it to distinguish between good and evil for the sake of endurance. I think they were getting sluggish and therefore falling back into their old habits/ways of life, because it’s so much easier to continue what you are used to, especially if there’s persecution for doing it God’s way. For them, their old habits were those pertaining to the law of Moses.

It’s hard for me to be too harsh however, as we’ll soon read about what they had already endured for the gospel’s sake (e.g., having their homes taken away and enduring it with joy). If people like that were in need of some rebuke and encouragement, I can only imagine what I need.

To make the point (about Jesus being better) in chapter 7, the writer applies these “better” characteristics and principles of Melchizedek to Jesus and the New Covenant, to help explain why Jesus’s priesthood in the New Covenant is far superior to the Levitical priesthood under the Old Covenant.

The writer is quick to point out that Melchizedek’s name means something that can easily be applied to, and understood of, Jesus. Melchizedek means “King of Righteousness” and he’s the king over Salem (now Jerusalem). That makes him the righteous king over the land of peace. That can easily be applied to Jesus (but he’s better). Jesus is THE king of righteousness (always doing his father’s will). He is not only going to rule over the land of peace from his father David’s throne, in Jerusalem, he’ll rule the entire world from there in peace in the kingdom age.  

Oh, and the Levitical priests served Melchizedek, so Melchizedek’s priesthood is the better priesthood (and Jesus is a priest after his order, so he’s better yet). The Levitical priests paid Melchizedek a tithe because Levi was in the loins of his father Abraham when Abraham paid it (I’ve come to expect the writers of the New Testament to talk like this; we all should). The point is—the one after Melchizedek’s priesthood is far superior to the priests after the Levitical priesthood the infant acting Hebrews were following.

Like Melchizedek’s priesthood, Jesus’s priesthood was made by God (after his exaltation). He was chosen, or made perfect by God, because he fulfilled his role in his father’s plan of salvation through his suffering. That’s much better than obtaining the priesthood based on genealogy like the Levitical priesthood.

Better still, God swore an oath, that if another priest should arise after the order of Melchizedek, his priesthood would never die. That oath is fulfilled in Jesus, by the power of an indestructible life. That means that he always lives to make intercession for those who come to God through him. He’s always available to save someone. That’s much better than being after the order of Aaron, where there’s continuous turnover as each predecessor dies. And they can’t save.  

It seems like the writer to the Hebrews had some pretty profound words to share with them to get them out of their sluggish state of life. Thankfully, we have a great high priest to help us out of our sluggish state of life too. He set up a system where brothers and sisters in the body exhort each other to do good works and discipline each other when we are falling short (by training each other to distinguish between good and evil). If you’ve become sluggish, consider how great a high priest you’ve got, and get going by following him. Train yourselves as a body, with Christ as your head, to distinguish between good and evil, and then do good.   

-Juliet Taylor

Reflection Questions

1. New Testament writers often apply characteristics of people or things from the Old Testament to the New to help in their apologetics. One of these examples is that of Melchizedek. Some have interpreted that Jesus is Melchizedek incarnate. It’s nonsense, but unfortunately, we’re reading someone else’s mail over 2,000 years after it was written. We’re going to lack in some understanding as they would have understood things 2,000 + years ago. What is something you notice in this chapter that needs a little more exploration in understanding?

2. Jesus’s priesthood was made perfect by God, the Levitical priesthood was not. Perfection for a priest came after the sinless man Jesus chose to suffer and die for us, always being faithful to God’s will. Levitical priests were made priests because of their genealogy. What do you think perfection means in this chapter?

3. Hebrews 7:25 says, “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” What do you think this means?

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Remind the People

Old Testament: 2 Chronicles 31-32

Poetry: Psalm 105

New Testament: Titus 3

Life is so busy and complicated that I have to create lots of reminders for myself.  Fortunately, my phone and computer and watch all have features where I can set reminders for myself.  “Doctors appointment Tuesday at 3:00.  Take the garbage to the dump on the way to work in the morning.  Stop by the store after work and pick up some milk and bread.” I can even set reminders months or years in advance.  I can set alarms to remind me that in 2 hours I have a meeting.  In 1 hour I have a meeting.  In 15 minutes I have a meeting.  The Meeting is now starting.  Maybe I’m too busy or maybe I’m getting old, but I find myself more and more needing reminders.

Do you ever need reminders?  Little kids need to be reminded to brush their teeth, make their bed, do their homework.  What do you need reminders for?

The Apostle Paul thought reminders were important for Christians.  I guess he understood how easy it can be to forget what’s important when we are busy living life and doing  what’s necessary or urgent.  Do Christians ever forget important things about God, about Jesus, about how we are supposed to live?  Yep, we sure do.

In Titus 3 Paul tells Titus to remind the believers of some important things.

“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.” -Titus 3:1-2

Those reminders were important in the first century when Christianity was brand new and people were still learning the basics, but it’s been 2000 years.  We’ve certainly got being a Christian all figured out by now, don’t we?  Do we really need to be reminded to obey people in authority?  Do we need to be reminded to always be ready to do good?  Don’t all Christians always do what is good?   Certainly we never  slander or falsely accuse someone of wrong doing.  I’m always peaceable and considerate and gentle toward everyone, aren’t you? (My tongue is in my cheek- that means I’m kidding).

To tell the truth, I still need to be reminded of all of those things.  Just because I’ve been reading the Bible for over 50 years doesn’t mean I always remember to do good.  I still need to be reminded to be considerate and gentle, and so do you.  That’s why Christianity was never designed to be lived in isolation, but in community.  We need each other.  There’s a passage in Hebrews (a different book from today’s reading,  but important) Hebrews 10:24-25 says that Christians shouldn’t get out of the habit of meeting together, because we need to encourage (I think Hebrews says “spur one another on”, like a rider spurs on a horse) each other.  

Following Jesus is hard some times.  Being obedient to God is hard some times.  Remembering to do good and be gentle is hard sometimes.  I need help, I need encouragement to keep on doing what is right.  I need you, and you need me, we need each other.

I’ve read the Bible many times in my life and I need to keep on reading it to help me remember all the important things I need to remember.  Today’s readings in Isaiah 63-64 and Titus 3 remind us both about God’s wrath and about God’s mercy.  God has both.  God hates sin, he hates it when his children are brutal to each other.  He hates it when his children fight and argue.  He hates sin because he loves us and he knows that sin hurts us.  We hurt each other when we sin.  No parent likes to see their children hurt each other.  We learned that from our Father, God.

So keep reading your Bible and keep coming to Church and meeting with other believers so that you can remind them and they can remind you to keep on following Jesus.

“Hey Siri  set a reminder for 7 a.m. tomorrow:  be considerate and gentle to everyone.”

“Alexa, remind me to get up for Church Sunday at 8:00.”

-Jeff Fletcher

(Originally posted here on October 4, 2021 – when we were reading Titus and Isaiah together. This year, we get to start Isaiah tomorrow.)

Reflection Questions

  1. What do you need reminders for?
  2. Look at the list of things Paul told Titus to remind the people to do. For each one ask yourself why is this important and how well am I doing this? If you were to choose one to focus on reminding yourself to do for the next 14 days, which one needs your most attention right now?
  3. What is your attitude toward those who give you reminders?
  4. How can you encourage others to do what is right?
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From Everlasting to Everlasting

Old Testament: 2 Chronicles 25-26

Poetry: Psalm 103 (day 4)

New Testament: 2 Timothy 4

Welcome to the 4th day of questions on Psalm 103. Yesterday we focused our questions on verses 11-14, looking at God’s love, forgiveness, and compassion as well as the incredible facts that, “he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:14). This verse says so much about God – and about man. The next couple verses continue on the topic of mankind.

VERSE 15 – Why do you think David compared man’s days to grass – what are the similarities? If you compared yourself to a flower of the field which kind of flower in what field would you be most like? Why? What might make the flower flourish? What else could have David compared man to? What ideas about mankind was David using poetry to explain? How might a scientist or a psychologist have explained these same ideas?

VERSE 16 – What happens to the flourishing flower of verse 15 in verse 16? What does David say caused this to happen? What do you think the wind symbolizes? What do you think of when you think of a flourishing flower suddenly gone? What emotions come with these thoughts? What do you feel when you read the second line of verse 16? What truths are David expressing in a poetic form?

VERSE 17 – What do the words, “But from everlasting to everlasting…” mean? What changes as we go from verse 16 to 17? How is God different from mankind? Is the Lord’s love for one generation more so than another? In what other verses in Psalm 103 have we seen a similar thought as we see in the first half of verse 17? What would it look like for God’s righteousness to be with your grandchildren? Will His righteousness be with ALL grandchildren? If not, then with whose? Do you fear the Lord? (Interestingly, this concept of fearing the Lord – and instructing others to do the same – came up in our Old Testament reading for the day as well. Did you find it in 2 Chronicles 26? How were similar ideas shared in the New Testament reading of 2 Timothy 4?) Do people just automatically know how to fear the Lord? What happens if it is not taught? If you do fear the Lord, who do you know that you want to see also fearing the Lord?

VERSE 18 – Who is verse 18 referring to? Who do you picture as part of this group? Are you included? What do they do? What will they receive (see verse 17)? What is a covenant? Do you have a covenant with the Lord God? If so, what does it say you will do? What does it say God will do? What are precepts? How is your memory? Do you remember to obey his precepts? When did you recently forget to obey and which precept did it involve? How can you work on further developing your memory so as not to forget God’s laws? What else is needed to stand firm against temptation?

What did you take away from these 4 verses? How will you live today because of them? Who will you share these truths with?

-Marcia Railton

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The Powerful Speech Before the Big Fight

Old Testament: 2 Chronicles 24

Poetry: Psalm 102

New Testament: 1 Timothy 6

When I’m writing these, I find a section or verse that stands out to me.  Today, 1 Timothy 6:11-16 particularly stood out.  I would encourage you all to reread it before reading this article. 

Whenever I read this I can’t help but hear a rallying voice, the type of speech given in a movie right before they enter the final battle for the fate of the universe or something equally important.  It just strikes me in that way.  In a way, that’s what this section is.  It’s written from a leader of the church to a member.   Like how a leader tells his troops an inspiring thing before the battle.  For Timothy and us, every day is a battle.  Paul in verse 12 writes: “Fight the good fight of the faith.” Sounds pretty similar to me.  So, let’s look at this through the lens of an inspiring speech given to us in our daily battles.  I’m gonna go through two verses here.

Do your best here to think about this in an inspiring way.  If you’re feeling ambitious, you could even speak it aloud.  If you’re having trouble imagining it think about an actor in an intense scene, and try to channel that energy.  Verse 11 reads: “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” Right here, Paul is writing about what we are to do.  He calls us to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, and love.  These are pretty straightforward things, but we all have room to improve on all accounts, so read each with the gravity they deserve. 

In verse 16, Paul is talking about God here: “who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” In the idea of a rallying speech, I think this is the best way to end one for a Christian.  It’s giving God the glory; it just feels right.  We learn in the Lord’s Prayer that a fair portion of our prayers should be giving glory and praise to God.  So, in this case, it seems right too.  I also like that this verse ends with ‘amen’.

Let me close this out with a challenge.  On days when you’re maybe a bit tired and are reading your Bible, envision in your mind it as a speech, an inspiring one.  It might not work for every verse, but maybe it’ll give you the energy to focus a bit more on what you’re reading. 

-Philip Kirkpatrick

Reflection Questions

  1. What do you think Paul was preparing Timothy for? What battles are you facing? How can Paul’s words motivate and inspire you to fight the good fight of the faith? What would that look like for you?
  2. What are your favorite verses in 1 Timothy 6?
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