Day 296 Bible Readings – 2 Timothy 2: 22-23 (ESV)

Jeremiah 49: 7-39, Jeremiah 50: 1-10, 2 Timothy 2, Proverbs 8: 12-21

2 Timothy 2: 22-23 (ESV)

“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.”

Paul gives great advice to Timothy in verses 22 and 23 from 2 Timothy 2 on how to cleanse himself. Paul first tells Timothy to cleanse himself of bad things such youthful passions. I’ve discovered this is such great advice because I have lately become aware of how childish I am about eating. I eat like a child, meaning I eat what I want when I want. I eat with the passion of a child instead of the thoughtfulness of an adult, whose body is growing older and has different needs. But then Paul says you cannot just give up bad things because it creates a vacuum in in your life. You must fill that vacuum with the pursuit of good things like righteousness, faith, love, and peace. Then Paul also says you need to make you apply these pursuits to your relationships with people, and make sure your relationship is right with people. Paul then says we also need to put aside anything that creates quarrels with others. This makes so much sense if we want a peaceful life – why live a life full of unnecessary contention with others? We must rid ourselves of anything that could distract us from our relationship with God and his plan for us.

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.