I Timothy 6:11-16 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called… (v. 12a) Paul gives Timothy two admonitions here – that he (and we?) need to fight for “the faith” and that we need to more regularly consider that we are called to eternal life. …
Author Archives: Fred
September 28 / I Timothy 6:1-10
I Timothy 6:1-10 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved. (v. 2) At first this seemed to be a strange comment from Paul, in that he already …
September 27 / I Timothy 5:17-25
I Timothy 5:17-25 My Study Bible guided me well this morning – almost the entire reading today is speaking about elders, all except the last three verses. Seeing this reading in its full context makes it more clear than taking a verse out of context. Today’s first three verses obviously point to elders. However, verse …
September 26 / I Timothy 5:11-16
I Timothy 5:11-16 But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. (vv. 11-12) I can’t speak directly to this topic, but Carol and I do have some connection to this sort of outcome. We …
September 25 / I Timothy 5:1-10
I Timothy 5:1-10 So what’s to discuss with today’s reading…? We have different household arrangements today than they did in the 1st century. Widows were in an unenviable situation back then, dependent on their families and (to some extent) the larger society for their welfare. Paul saw that the church needed to step in for …
September 24 / I Timothy 4:12-16
I Timothy 4:12-16 Let no one look down on your youthfulness… (v. 12a, NASB). I don’t think anyone reading this verse needs to apply it directly to him/herself! HOWEVER, we would do well to always give heed to the younger members of our congregation. I believe that we do that at St. Andrew’s – maybe …
September 23 / I Timothy 4:6-11
I Timothy 4:6-11 … for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (v. 8) I hope and trust that I am pursuing godliness – that I have even moved somewhat along that scale …
September 22 / I Timothy 4:1-5
I Timothy 4:1-5 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared… (vv. 1-2) The words in these verses are stronger than words that I might use in applying Paul’s …
September 21 / I Timothy 3:14-16
I Timothy 3:14-16 We’ve only got three verses today – but they’re powerful! … I am writing these things to you so that … you may know how one ought to behave in the … church of the living God… (vv. 14-15) It’s always helpful for me to edit out incidental phrases in Paul’s letters …
September 20 / I Timothy 3:8-13
I Timothy 3:8-13 We saw in Acts 6 that the early church had appointed deacons (although they were not named as such) to serve in more mundane, “earthly” matters. The qualifications for these deacons were few in number, but no less demanding: …pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the …