Guard

Today, I will be finishing up 1 Timothy 6. I invite you to open your Bible and read along with me or find it online here.

1 Timothy 6

20 Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge.

21 Some people have wandered from the faith by following such foolishness. May God’s grace be with you all.

Guard. We, like Timothy, have been entrusted with the Gospel ... the good news that Jesus has paid our debt and we can have an eternal relationship with the God that created us. You don’t always think of the need to guard it; but there is someone in this world that would like to distort it, discredit it ... even destroy it. Jesus called him a thief whose “purpose is to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). Make sure you are on guard today for anything that would distract you from God’s love for you and His call for you to love Him and love people.

Rich

Over the next two days, I will be finishing up 1 Timothy 6. I invite you to open your Bible and read along with me or find it online here.

1 Timothy 6

17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.

18 Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.

Rich. There are several important thoughts in these two verses; but the one that really struck me was “be rich in good works”. I have to admit that being “rich in good works” has never appeared on my top ten “goals for life” list; but God seems to constantly remind me that I need a new list.

Come

This past weekend, Jonathan continued our “Love God. Love People.” series by talking about how we can love people by letting them know there is a God who loves them. One of the stories he referenced was when Jesus spoke with a Samaritan woman at a well. You can find the entire story at John 4:1-42.

John 4

28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone,

29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”

30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him.

39 Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!”

40 When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days,

41 long enough for many more to hear his message and believe.

Come. Who are you praying for on a daily basis that they would understand God’s love and Jesus’ grace? When was the last time you invited some to “come and see” what God’s love and Jesus’ grace are all about?

Pursue

I am currently reading through 1 Timothy 6. I invite you to open your Bible and read along with me or find it online here. Today, Paul offers some important advice.

1 Timothy 6

11 But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

Pursue. Most of us know the what, how and when of our greatest temptations. The problem is we allow the temptation to linger long enough for us to justify a reason to engage in it when we should be running from it. Better yet, we should do everything you can to avoid it in the first place ... be proactive in this struggle by pursuing God with the way you plan your day (especially your down time).

Love

I am currently reading through 1 Timothy 6. I invite you to open your Bible and read along with me or find it online here. Today, Paul offers an important warning.

1 Timothy 6

9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Love. Notice that it doesn’t say, “Money is the root of all kinds of evil”. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with money ... or power or fame for that matter. The issue is our attitude towards money. It is easy to become distracted while on our journey. We pursue money ... basing our decisions on money. Instead, we should be pursuing God ... basing our decisions on how we can best honor God (with the money He has given us). Based on your decisions, what do you long for ... what do you love?