Read I Timothy 6:1-21

“Guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless,
foolish discussions with those who oppose you
with their so-called knowledge.”
(I Timothy 6:20)

Thoughts… Have you ever been around someone who enjoys arguing over minor details, relishes ridiculous theological debates, or tries to impress you with their mastery of Biblical minutiae? If there were a show called “Spiritual Jeopardy”, they would win it every time. The problem is, they seem to know a lot about a ton of little, inconsequential things, but they don’t seem to do well with the big picture of walking in a vital, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

Apparently, Timothy had a few people like this in the church he was leading. And being a young pastor, he probably felt he needed to answer them tit-for-tat. But his wise, old mentor Paul gave him some sage advice.

“Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas
and old wives’ tales. (I Timothy 4:7)

“Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and
lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy
desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs
up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander,
and evil suspicions.” (I Timothy 6:4)

“Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of
no value, and only ruins those who listen.” (II Timothy 2:13)

“Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will
become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will
spread like gangrene.”  (II Timothy 2:16-17)

Basically, Paul is telling Timothy not to allow himself to get distracted by majoring on the minors. He is to be a “big picture” pastor. Rather than silly debates and meaningless discussions on unimportant theology that produce nothing of eternal value, he should focus doing whatever it takes to be a godly man and training his flock to be godly people.

Note Paul’s antidote to wasteful arguments over meaningless minutiae: “Instead, train yourself to be godly.” (I Timothy 4:7b) Or how about the proper response to those who quibble over the ridiculous: “Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.” (I Timothy 6:6)

In truth, people who major on minors have something to hide. They are using their knowledge of the ridiculous as a smokescreen to cover up the fact that there is a deficit of godliness in their lives. Don’t get sucked into their little game.

We are called to be “big picture” people. That means rather than getting caught up in stuff that doesn’t really matter, we should passionately pursue godliness. If we’re going to major on anything, let it be that!

Prayer… Lord, forgive me for getting off track in my pursuit of godliness by focusing on things that really don’t matter in the light of eternity. Keep me from majoring on minors, O God, and keep me referring each and every little detail of my life back to you.

One More Thing… “Sainthood lies in the habit of referring the smallest actions to God.” — C.S. Lewis

Read I Timothy 5:1-25

“Those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in
their own household, have denied the true faith. Such
people are worse than unbelievers.”
(I Timothy 5:8)

Thoughts… As family structures are weakened in a society, greater and greater pressure is put on the government, the school system, various social institutions, and even the church to meet the needs of people that God intended families to meet. Just within the last decade or two in American society, we have witnessed a growing and alarming dependency on institutions to meet our needs. What our parents and grandparents understood to be their personal responsibility, we now expect someone or something else to provide.

Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution does it say that government must provide universal health or retirement benefits or a pain-free life. Our founding fathers did not guarantee our happiness, only the right for us to pursue it.

Likewise, school systems work best in educating their students when parents are heavily and intricately involved with their children in the learning process. When parents take the lead in their child’s education, the school can come alongside the parent’s efforts in a supportive role and be far more effective in producing young people who are ready to enter into society as well prepared and responsible citizens.

Furthermore, the Bible doesn’t say that the institutional church is obligated to take care of every financial need its members may have. It was very specific about who should be helped, and who should not. The list of qualifying candidates was very slim, as you can read in I Timothy 5. Paul was very clear that people ought to be reluctant in becoming a burden to the church by requiring resources that other, more legitimately needy, should get.

The fact of the matter is, the government, the school and the church cannot meet every single need and every single want of its citizenry. Nor should it. But the family can—and should. God intended for families—both the nuclear family and the extended family—to be the place where the physical, emotional, educational and financial needs of the individual were addressed.

The breakdown of the family in today’s world explains why God’s family plan isn’t working very well—but it doesn’t excuse it. And it certainly doesn’t remove the responsibility we as individuals have to provide for our families.

So while social security threatens to implode, national health care is being hotly debated, welfare programs are being resurrected and socialism is making a comeback, the church needs to step in and lead the way in showing the world how God’s family plan is the real answer to these societal challenges.

God wants you to be sensitive and responsive to the needs of your family. Are you? If you are not, begin to reestablish your family ties so that when the time comes, you step in a help meet their needs.

Prayer… Dear God, I pray that you will help me to lead my family in such a way that we will demonstrate to a watching world who your family plan is the answer to what ills our society.

One More Thing… “The family fireside is the best of schools.” — Arnold Glasow

Read I Timothy 4:1-16, Philippians 3:7-21

“Train yourself to be godly. Physical training is good, but
training for godliness is much better, promising
benefits in this life and in the life to come.”
(I Timothy 4:7-8)

Thoughts… I like the way the Message Bible renders this verse: “Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.”

Paul must have been an athlete, or at least a big-time sports fan. If he were alive today, he’d be a big fan of the NFL, or the NBA, or the WWF, or better yet, Ultimate Fighting! Not golf—there’s too much sin involved in that! The 3rd, 4th, and 9th Commandments are broken with far too much regularity in golf! But competitive sports, you bet!

Don’t believe me! Think about the variety of sports analogies Paul uses in his writings?

He talks about wrestling…“we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood,” he says in Ephesians 6:12.

He talks about boxing in I Corinthians 9:26…“I don’t fight like a man beating the air.”

In the next verse, he talks about physical training… “I discipline my body like an athlete.” (v. 27)

But the sports analogy that Paul uses most often is that of a runner. In Philippians 3:14, Paul pictures himself as a runner leaning into the tape to get the prize at the finish line: “I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

Paul didn’t leave his spiritual fitness up to chance, nor was he passive about it. He was quite deliberate in ridding his life of spiritual flabbiness and training for godliness. Looking at Paul’s training regimen, let me suggest four training tips that you too can follow to achieve the spiritual fitness necessary to enjoy and excel in your Christian race.

Paul’s first training tip is: Don’t forget who you’re running for!

If you want to run strong and finish well, remember Who you are running for! Remember the great cost in the race he won to pave the way for you.

Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Here’s Paul’s second training tip: Don’t look back!

Philippians 3:13-14 says, “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

You might remember the inspiring true story of missionary Eric Liddell in the movie Chariot’s of Fire. He ran in the 1924 Paris Olympics. One of the athletes comes close, but loses his race, so the coach shows him a picture of the finish, which reveals why he lost. The runner took his eyes off the finish line and looked to the side at the other runners.

That’s the cardinal rule of running: don’t look back; to run a fantastic race, focus on the finish.

Hebrews 12:1 says, “let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

Weights are not necessarily sin. They’re more subtle, perhaps even harder to let go precisely because they’re not inherently bad. A weight might be a pattern that keeps God from being first, or priority that keeps you from being fully devoted to God’s purpose for your life, baggage from your past.

It might be a pattern or a priority that keeps you from full devotion to God’s purpose for your life. It might be a past accomplishment and you’re still living in the afterglow of yesterday’s glory. It might be a hurt or guilt from a failure and you’re still lugging that baggage, trying to run your race. It might even be something good—but good has become enemy of God’s best.

Sin on the other hand, is anything that breaks the commandments of God—Greed, envy, laziness, lust, anger, gluttony, pride.

What is the weight and the sin that entangles you and keeps you from running your race? I Corinthians 9:25 says, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.” Paul says we’ve got to shed some pounds if we are going to pursue the prize with joy!

Paul’s third training tip: Train with champions.

Who are you training with? Who are you hanging out with? Who is speaking into your life—and what’s the message they’re speaking? Who and what are influencing your life…you’re walk with God.

Paul knew the reality of good and bad influences upon the race, and he talked about it in Philippians 3:15-19: “All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.”

When Don Shula first began coaching the Miami Dolphins he showed film of the then NFL champion Baltimore Colts. The Dolphin not only watched the Colt execute plays with precision, they saw how the Colts encouraged each other between plays. They’d help each other up…pat each other on the back. Shula challenged the Dolphins to imitate the Colts during the play and after the whistle was blown. “That’s the way to become champions,” Shula said. And they did—becoming the last team to go undefeated in a season.

Got anyone doing that for you? Any spiritual champions helping you up, patting you on the back, cheering you on? Hebrews 12:1 calls them a “great cloud of witnesses.” Church is a great place to find spiritual champions.

Hebrews 13:7 says, “Take a good look at the way they live, and let their faithfulness instruct you…”

Your church has some spiritual champions, and I don’t think they’d mind at all if you started hanging with them. It may be that the present company you’re keeping is actually keeping your from spiritual fitness. Paul said in I Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’” The Contemporary English Version says, “Don’t fool yourselves. Bad friends will destroy you.

Get some champions on your spiritual fitness team! Get’s some soaring eagles in your great cloud of witnesses to neutralize those crows you’ve been flying with. You’ll need it for your race!

Here’s Paul’s fourth training tip: Keep your eye on the prize.

Philippians 3:20-21 reminds us, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

There is nothing wrong with envisioning the reward at the finish line. We’re all motivated by the thought of a reward; God designed us that way.

I Corinthians 9:25-26 (LB) says, “To win the contest you must deny yourselves many things that would keep you from doing your best…but we do it for a heavenly reward that never disappears. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step.”

The problem with earthly rewards is they don’t last. You can fill your mantle with trophies, but so what! Given enough time, somebody’s going to trash your trophies. So if you’re going to make it to the finish line, you need eternal motivation. That’s why we’ve got to fix our eye on Jesus. His rewards never fade or perish.

You are in a race…the race of your life! So keep your eye on the prize…go for the goal.

Train with champions—get some good people on your spiritual fitness team.

Don’t look back—forget yesterday’s failures and successes.

Remember who you are running for!

I’m reminded of the ‘68 Olympics in Mexico City—the first Olympics I really remember….Bob Beamon, Dick Fosbury, Tommie Smith. And in the marathon, the last runner to finish was some poor guy from Tanzania. During the race, he’d stumbled and actually broke a leg…but kept running!

Long after the other runners had entered the stadium, he came straggling in, bruised and bloodied. It was 7:00 at night and only a fraction of the crowd was left in the stands. But as he entered to do his last lap and finish this 26-mile race, that crowd gave him a standing ovation.

Later, someone asked, “You were hurt, bloody, and discouraged—why didn’t you quit?”

His answer! “My country didn’t send me 7000 miles around the world to start the race, they sent me to finish it.”

There is a country farther than Tanzania that sent its Runner—and he finished his race battered, broken and bloodied, so that other of its citizens can run their race.

So in light of what Christ did for you,  run strong and finish well!

Prayer… Father, the prize at the end of my spiritual race is worth every effort I can make now to get fit, run strong, and finish well. I will press on to win that prize. Strengthen me for my race in such a way that I will hear you say, “well run, good and faithful servant.”

One More Thing… “For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while for eternal life, many will hardly take a single step.”— Thomas A` Kempis

Read I Timothy 3:1-16

“I am writing these things to you now…so…you will know how
people must conduct themselves in the household of God.”
(I Timothy 3:14-15)

Thoughts… One of the big differences I have noticed between my parents (they are now in their 70’s) and me (I am not in my 70’s) and the different generations we represent is our attitude toward authority. People of my parents generation seemed to quietly, willingly and obediently accept authority while people of my age and younger seem to automatically question authority.

The rebelliousness 60’s marked that sea change from the respectfulness of the 50’s. Nothing captures this change better than the philosophy popularized by whacky 60’s psychologist Timothy Leary, who preached, “Think for yourself and question authority.”

Though sounding good on its face, in reality it has been taken to an extreme to where now authority isn’t just questioned, it is resented, and in many cases, rejected out of hand. For the most part, this attitude toward authority has had a deleterious effect in our society in general, and specifically it has had a corrosive effect in our schools, in our homes, and in our churches.

We need to be very careful in our response toward all authority in our lives. I am certainly not promoting blind submission to anyone who is in charge. God has given you a brain, and you need to use it to “think for yourself.” Likewise, you have every right, and a God-given responsibility, to question the validity of anything seems contrary to the values of the kingdom. Yet at the same time, you must recognize the divinely-ordained role of the leaders whom God has placed in your life.

I would suggest to you that one of the best and first places to begin evaluating your attitude and response to leadership is in the church. Now since I am a pastor, this may sound somewhat self-serving, but the reality is, God is very concerned with peace, love and harmony in his family, the church. That is why letters like I and II Timothy were written. That is why God gave very clear instructions for church leadership roles, such as pastors, elders and deacons. The church is a family, and like any family, there need to be loving, wise, and honorable parents in order for the family to be healthy and happy. Likewise, there needs to be honor and respect from the children toward the authority of the parents.

So it is in the household of God. Paul was very concerned that people understood God’s “code of conduct” for life in the family, and the role of the leaders was to ensure good and honorable behavior in the church.

I am saying all that to challenge you to rethink your attitude toward the leaders who serve you, especially in the church, the most important arena in which you live. I hope that you will look at your spiritual leaders in a different light from here on out. I hope that you will have a whole new appreciation for them. I hope that you will encourage them more often than you do now. I hope that you will pray more diligently for them, since they have a very difficult task on their plate. I hope that you will respond to their authority more respectfully and trustingly the next time there is a leadership initiative. And if you sense they are leading in a way that is incongruent with kingdom values, think it through, question them about it, but do it with honor and love.

Ask yourself this question: Am I a delight for my spiritual leaders to lead?

“Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep
watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey
them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden,
for that would be of no advantage to you.”
—Hebrews 13:7

Prayer… Dear Father, make me a delight for my spiritual leaders to lead. Make me an instrument of love, peace and harmony in my spiritual family. May I also conduct myself in your household in a way that respects my leaders and honors you.

One More Thing… “The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve.”— John Stott

Read I Timothy 2:1-15

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession
and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all
those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet
lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and
pleases God our Savior.”
(I Timothy 2:1-3)

Thoughts… If the Apostle Paul were writing this today to 21st century American believers, he’d probably say, “Make sure you pray for the president and congress—Republican and Democrat, conservatives and liberals alike. It’s in your best interest to lift them daily before the Father’s throne. And besides, it pleases God when you pray for politicians.”

That is a hard pill to swallow these days with the rapscallion Republicans and disingenuous Democrats who are ruling our land. If you are like me, you find their hypocritical lifestyles, their pandering politics, their out-of-control spending, and the blatant disregard for God in their politics odious. Frankly, it’s hard for me to pray for them. Perhaps Paul just didn’t foresee the kinds of political leaders we would have to put up with, much less pray for.

But wait just a minute! Did you ever consider who the emperor was when Paul wrote these words, and what condition were during that period of time? The emperor was none other than Nero—one of the worst of the worst of all the Roman emperors. Without going into all the horrific details, Nero was responsible for some of the worst persecution against Christians at any time in history.

And Paul says to the believers of his day, “Pray for him. Intercede on his behalf…even thanking God for his leadership.” Huh? That’s right! Paul wanted the church to pray for this horrible man so that God would use his leadership as a launching pad for the propagation of the Gospel.

Wow! If the believers of Paul’s day could pray for a leader like that—a man that was bent on torturing and killing them, then there is no legitimate reason I can come up with to resist praying during this political season for the man, or perhaps woman, who will be my president.

I am obligated to pray, intercede, and be grateful to God on their behalf. When I do, I demonstrate that I am a believer not just with a political view, but with a truly Christian world-view. And better still, I invite Divine pleasure into my life by taking such a godly posture.

I don’t know about you, but I think I will pray for my leaders today!

Prayer… Dear Father, I lift the President and the leaders of Congress to you today. I pray for their well-being and wisdom. Give them courage and resolve to do the right thing. I ask that you use them as your instruments to create the kinds of conditions in which the Gospel will best grow. Thank you for them. Bless them. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

One More Thing… “We must win rulers; political, economic, scientific, artistic personalities. They are the engineers of souls. They mould the souls of men. Winning them, you win the people they lead and influence.” — Richard Wurmbrand

Read I Timothy 1:1-20

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom
I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy
so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might
display his unlimited patience as an example for those
who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”
(I Timothy 1:15-16)

Thoughts… If God could save Paul, God can save anyone. He was a super-pious religious zealot who thought he was doing God a favor each time he imprisoned, persecuted, or killed a Christian. He was intolerant, close-minded, bigoted, and arrogant…and that was on a good day.

Yet God reached him. Actually God slapped him up side the head on the Damascus Road one day. You can read that dramatic story in Acts 9. Paul was radically and completely transformed by his encounter with the risen Savior. He had met Jesus, and in that meeting, he didn’t stand a chance. He became a trophy of God’s grace.

Now the truth is, you weren’t any better off that the pre-converted Paul before God found you. Neither was I. We, too, are trophies of God’s grace. We were messed up, sin prone, hell bound sinners who deserved nothing but eternal punishment. But we were just the kind of people that Jesus came into this world to redeem. And for that, you and I will give thanks before the throne of God for all eternity.

So here’s the deal: If God could save dirty, rotten sinners like Paul, you and me, he can save that resistant sinner who lives in your house, or next door, or who goes to your school, or works in the office next to you. You have been praying for them, but there seems to be no response, no interest, not even the slightest crack in their spiritual armor.

Don’t give up! They may be just a prayer away from getting totally messed up through a radically transforming encounter with Jesus. That’s why he came, to save sinners just like them. He saved Paul, didn’t he? He saved you, didn’t he?

May that big time sinner you’re praying for is next!

Prayer… Dear Father, thank you for your redeeming grace in my life. I will never get over that. Throughout eternity I will fall before your throne in humble gratitude for saving me, the worst of sinners. Now Lord, release your saving grace to those dear people in my life who do not know you yet. Confront them with your love—today. Make them the newest trophies of your grace.

One More Thing… “The bridge of grace will bear your weight, brother. Thousands of big sinners have gone across that bridge, yea, tens of thousands have gone over it. I can hear their trampings now as they traverse the great arches of the bridge of salvation. They come by the thousands, by their myriads, e’er since that day when Christ first entered His glory. They come and yet never a stone has sprung in that mighty bridge. Some have been the chief of sinners and some have come at the very last of their days but the arch has never yielded beneath their weight. I will go with them…trusting to the same support. It will bear me over as it has for them.” —Charles Spurgeon