Meditation Good morning Reader, Today's verses are charged (no pun intended !) with the vocabulary of warfare. The battle in Ephesus is in full swing, Timothy is a soldier and cannot desert his post. He is to hold on to faith and a good conscience in the face of warfare. Two men, Hymenaeus and Alexander, let go of their conscience, and their faith was wrecked as a consequence. The image of shipwreck is particularly potent for Paul, who has himself been shipwrecked on several occasions. While...
4 days ago • 1 min read
Meditation Good morning Reader, In this opening chapter of 1 Timothy, Paul dedicates himself to persuading Timothy to stay in Ephesus...and uses the example of himself as an encouragement to Timothy. As the worst of sinners, saved by grace and put to work, he holds up his own story as proof that no one is beyond mercy or useless to God. His past didn't disqualify him. His ignorance and unbelief didn't excuse his sin, though they invited mercy. What saved him was exceedingly abundant grace....
5 days ago • 2 min read
Meditation Good morning Reader, In yesterday's introduction to this letter, Paul urges his younger protégé to remain in Ephesus and fight false teaching, despite the difficulties he faces in doing so. In particular, the fight to teach correct doctrine rather than indulge in contemporary fads, and to maintain a correct understanding of the law and avoid legalism. Today Paul makes clear that his condemnation of legalists is not a condemnation of the law itself. He writes that it is good when...
6 days ago • 2 min read
Meditation Good morning Reader, October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and to mark it, we'll spend the next four weeks copying out Paul's first letter to Timothy. One of the three letters (the others are 2 Timothy and Titus) known as the "Pastoral Epistles," the letter provides the most complete summary in the Bible of a pastor's ministry, qualifications, and responsibilities. As we work through this book this month, we'll have time to reflect on the demands on our pastors and their need for...
7 days ago • 2 min read
Meditation Good morning, Reader, We began this season with Cory Wessman's story of his five-year-old self asking his grandfather, obliquely, what happens to our possessions when we are gone. We close today with Paul, near the end of his life, writing what amounts to his own last will and testament. His legacy to us is not one of possessions, but of a life in Christ and of the most valuable letters ever written. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."...
17 days ago • 3 min read
Meditation Good morning, Reader, The good we do with our resources, the gifts, the causes we support, the impact we make, is part of a much larger story that continues long after your part in it ends. Paul's evocative language in Romans, which we'll copy out today, emphasizes that our lives play out against the broad canvas of all creation groaning, waiting to be liberated. Paul makes the same point again to the Philippians about our bodies: what looks like an ending is actually a...
18 days ago • 2 min read
Meditation Good morning, Reader, So far, this season has focused on grounding our attitude toward our legacy in Christ and establishing leaving an inheritance as an important catalyst for our spiritual growth. A responsibility not to be discounted, but to be invested in. This last week provides practical wisdom for giving :- to our children and to the causes we care about. Answering the question: How do we give well? Our verses today contain a warning sandwiched between two bites of wisdom. A...
21 days ago • 2 min read
Meditation Good morning, Reader, The true value of an object or a possession is often uncovered at someone's death. By this I don't necessarily mean its financial value, but rather what we call its sentimental value. The physical things you leave behind, a piece of furniture, a journal, a specific ring, carry weight when they're attached to a meaningful story or memory someone can repeat. Today's verses are very instructive. Joshua commanded twelve men to carry twelve stones from the middle...
24 days ago • 2 min read
Meditation Good morning, Reader, It's one (very important) thing to have planned and to have communicated our intentions. But it's also vitally important to determine thoughtfully who will diligently execute them. The executor, trustee, or fiduciary is legally responsible for making sure your wishes become reality, not just good intentions. Theirs is a serious and sometimes onerous calling. Especially if the plan has not been openly discussed before. Today's passage is a guide on how to make...
25 days ago • 3 min read