Day 295 Bible Readings – 2 Timothy 1: 6-7 (ESV)

Jeremiah 28, Jeremiah 49: 1-6, 2 Timothy 1, Proverbs 8: 1-11

2 Timothy 1: 6-7 (ESV)

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

In verses 6 and 7 from 2 Timothy 1, Paul reminds Timothy in his second letter to continue to focus on the gifts that God gave him, and to not be timid. Paul tells Timothy that God gave us spirit of power, love, and self-control. God did not give us a spirit of fear. Paul’s advice applies to anyone, and not just to those who are working for a church We must not be afraid of the gifts that God gave us. But from my own experience, fear does seem to come when you realize you have spiritual gifts from God. These fears are not from God or from the spiritual gift but may come from personality or some other weakness. To combat these fears we need to remember that God gave anyone with spiritual gifs, the gifts of power, love, and the ability to control ourselves. If we can remember these gifts, then fear will never us hold us back from using our spiritual gifts.

Day 294 Bible Readings – 1 Timothy 6: 17-19 (ESV)

Jeremiah 46-47, 1 Timothy 6, Proverbs 7: 21-27

1 Timothy 6: 17-19 (ESV)

“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”

In verses 17 through 19 from 1 Timothy 6, Paul gives advice to Timothy on what to say to people who are rich. These recommendations were ages ago but are still good advice in our modern world. Paul says there is nothing wrong with having money, but you cannot be haughty with it or think you are better than everyone else. We must always set our hopes on God because money is full of uncertainty and can be lost. If you have money to spare, you need to use your money to do good work, to be generous, and to share your money with others who are less fortunate and might have desperate need of money. Paul warned earlier that if you love money to point of hording it and cherish it above the word of God, you will wander from the faith. If you have money to spare, you need to always put God first and use it to bring people to God. It must be such an incredible feeling to look back at your life and to review and count how many people discovered and/or rediscovered their faith in God through your actions, and that you were instrumental in giving to them the gift of eternal life with God.

Day 293 Bible Readings – 1 Timothy 5: 24-25 (ESV)

Jeremiah 43-45, 1 Timothy 5, Proverbs 7: 6-20

1 Timothy 5: 24-25 (ESV)

“The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.”

I like verses 24 and 25 from 1 Timothy 5. Paul was advising Timothy on how to choose leaders for the church. Paul says some people are obviously not good, but a person’s true character cannot always be known. Paul then relates a person’s character to good works. Some good works are obvious, but even the good works you cannot see will eventually come to light. Paul advises Timothy to be cautious in appointing leaders, but to take it slow and wait on discernment from God and the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s advice is sound on choosing anything in life. We need to always be cautious and wait on discernment from God and the Holy Spirit. A friend says we need to always ask God everything about everything in our life. We might be caught up in the excitement of something that seems good for us but if we were to reflect on it further, we will realize that the thing we were excited about might not be a good thing after all. There have been friends in my life, whom I really liked at first, but who in the long run turned out to be complete nightmares. It always made me wonder if there was a red flag I ignored about the person, or if they changed somehow over the years. Now I am more cautious, and I pray to God about continuing friendship with any new person.

Day 292 Bible Readings – 1 Timothy 4: 1-4 (ESV)

Jeremiah 40: 7-16, Jeremiah 41-42, 1 Timothy 4, Proverbs 7: 1-5

1 Timothy 4: 1-4 (ESV)

“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, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”

Verses 1 through 4 from 1 Timothy 4 shows Paul telling Timothy what to careful of in the end times. I find this advice from Paul very prophetic for what seems to be going on today in some churches. Many churches seem to have strayed away from what is written in the Bible and are adapting their churches to fit in with modern culture. Paul warned back in his time that this strategy was wrong. As followers of Jesus Christ, the Bible needs to be the guidance for how we live our lives. We cannot take what was written in the Bible out of context, and use it justify things that are expressly forbidden in the Bible.

I believe that is why as a believer in Jesus Christ, you must always read the Bible on your own. Your pastor should never be the final and last word on what is written in the Bible. Each believer must have a relationship with Jesus Christ and his word first, and then a relationship with a church and its pastor. The pastors at my church harp on this point constantly. They say they are hear to guide us in their interpretation of the words of Bible, and we can either agree or disagree with what they are saying. But they always emphasize that each member of the church needs to have their own relationship with God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit and the Bible first, with everything else being second. It can be hard to leave a church and the community you formed there, but if your church is straying away from the teachings of God, then you need to find a church that resonates more with what you believe. A good church will reinforce your belief in God, not take away from it.