Bible Commentary & Daily Devotional

 2 Timothy 1:8-18 - Strong and Pure           God tests the metal of His people.  Our loving Father has high standards for His people.  Thank God!  God's people, those saved through His eternal plan of grace through Christ Jesus, are easy to identify.  They are known for their love.           God expects us to be tough, durable, resilient, flexible, and strong.  But more than that, God expects us to be pure.  There is a terrible, tragic story in the Old Testament where God says He has assessed the metal of his people.  He looks at their actions versus their words.  Sadly, in that case, He found them wanting.  God predicted that an army would come from the north and surround their city (Jeremiah 6:3).  The army of destruction that God would bring against Jerusalem would “build siege ramps against the walls of Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 6:6 - almost verbatim to what Jesus prophesized in Luke 19:43!).  And God says, “Don’t go out to the fields!  Don’t travel on the roads!  The enemy’s sword

 2 Timothy 1:1-7 - Grace, Mercy, & Peace           Jesus promises life.  New life, grace, mercy, and peace through faith in Christ Jesus.           Let’s take God’s promise seriously.  God’s promises and decrees are certain.  Abraham knew that.  As did Moses.  They worshipped God in faith.  Paul tells us that the ancient believers in God worshipped God with clear consciences (1:3), just as Paul did.  Let that sink in.  It is so important for you and me to guard our consciences and to worship in spirit and truth with clear consciences.  We do that today via repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ.           Like John, one thing that comes through this chapter and that you can hear in everything Paul writes is love.  Paul genuinely loved Timothy and all of his brothers and sisters in Christ.  That kind of love can only come from a born-again heart, from someone who’s been transformed by the grace and love of Jesus Christ.           Yes, Paul’s message is to his protege, Timothy,

  1 Timothy 6 - Hold Firmly to Faith in Jesus          The truth of this human condition is that God designed us with free will.  Each person can respond to God's call to admit and turn away from sin and reconcile with God.  In the Bible we hear, "'O Israel,' says the LORD, 'if you wanted to return to me you could.  You could throw away your detestable idols and stray away no more'" (Jeremiah 4:1).          It is true.  God gently draws us.  He woos and invites and often goes to extremes to plead with us to return to Him through Christ.  Free will.          When we accept Jesus as our Savior, God gives us His truth, justice, and righteousness.  Because of God's free gift, given with love beyond measure, we have clear eyes, pure hearts, and clean consciences.  Praise Jesus Christ for His Grace.  Because of God's grace, we can be a blessing to others.  We love and help others because God first loved us.     I love how this chapter says, "...thes

 1 Timothy 6:1-2 - Show Respect           We don’t show respect for authority out of blind deference.  Our motives are important.  The Christian always uses good discretion in obedience to God’s word.  We do not show favoritism, nepotism, or boot-licking deference creating a dysfunctional culture of people worship.  We respect authority because of God’s command to do so and because of His purposes.  God loves all people.  Yes, including your boss.  More than that, including all of our enemies.           I’ve worked for some incredibly difficult bosses and clients over the years.  Some downright evil.  Law School simply can’t teach all of the ethical dilemmas that will face an attorney over your career.  Ethics are God’s standards and must be ingrained, reinforced with good rules, and adhered to.  We prepare for the ethical challenges ahead by growing in godliness today.           That’s what we see here.  Our respect for others comes from God’s standards.  God loves all people and pati

  1 Timothy 6 - Good Questions           Can anyone find fault with us?  Are we arrogant?  Do we lack understanding?  Do we have an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words?  Do we stir up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions?             Are we troublemakers?  Are our minds corrupt?  Have we turned our backs on the truth?  Do we know what pleases God and who He blesses?           Is a show of godliness just a way for us to become wealthy?           Are we content with just enough food and clothing?           Do we long to be rich?  Are we trapped by many foolish and harmful desires?           Do we love money?  Do we crave the things of this world?  Have we wandered from the true faith and pierced ourselves with many sorrows?           Lord Jesus, may we as the men and women of the church honestly assess ourselves.  We know that You bless those who have humble and contrite hearts and who tremble at Your word (Isaiah 66:2).  Please help us t

 1 Timothy 5 - Good Teachers - Great Instructions           Thank God for good teachers.  Seriously.          When I was a kid i n Northern Saskatchewan we were blessed with really good public school teachers.  Those were the days when we started each day standing to say the Lord's Prayer and to sing O Canada.           One of my favorites was my grade five teacher, Mr. Thomas.  He was from Wales.  During the Second World War, he fought in North Africa.  I think he was an artilleryman, but he rarely talked of the War.  He was short, fit, and well-dressed.  I would love to hear the story someday as to how he got to Carrot River, SK.  He used to read books out loud to us in his British accent.  We were spellbound.  It was the 1980 version of Audible.  When the class was too boisterous he used to get a leather strap out of his top desk drawer and put it on his desk.  He did it quietly and sometimes it took all of us a minute to see what he’d done.  To my knowledge, he never used the s

 1 Timothy 5 - Christian Conduct - Show Your Faith in Christ           Paul emphasizes the weight of God’s instructions for His church in 5:7 and again in bold in 5:21, “I solemnly command you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and the holy angels to obey these instructions without taking sides or showing favoritism to anyone.”  Wow.  I was still a little sleepy even after three cups of coffee, but now I’m awake.           God says we will be open to criticism if we do not follow God’s instructions.  More than that.  God says that we deny the true faith by refusing to do what He commands.  This passage gives clear instructions as to what we are required to do as believers and what pleases God.  We hear: take care of others, don’t live only for pleasure, work hard, reprimand those who sin, require a due process by hearing the full story don’t take sides or show favoritism, don’t share in the sins of others, and keep yourself pure.           It’s an incredibly strong message.  I sus