Partaker

2 Timothy 1:8 "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;"

When it comes to affliction, our natural tendency is to avoid it at all costs. We want to find an easier way, a way that won't hurt, that won't cost us anything. And yet, that is exactly opposite of what we are called to as Christians.

As far as we know, at that time, Timothy was not suffering active persecution. Paul, on the other hand, was writing this from a prison, locked up in chains. All because of his faith. Being a partaker of the afflictions does not just mean that we acknowledge that someone else is being afflicted. It literally means "to suffer hardship together with one, in company with." And the end goal is the furtherance of the Gospel.

Paul wasn't telling Timothy to do this because he wanted pity. No, he knew that if we are the body of Christ here on earth, then each part ought to be connected to the other. You know when you stub your toe and your whole body automatically cares for that part of you. God wants the same for His church, His body here on earth. When one is suffering affliction, we ought to be suffering together as one.

What would it look like for you to suffer as one with fellow believers who are persecuted?

Power, Love, Self-Control

2 Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

This is one of those verses that becomes so well-known and, sadly, as a result, loses a lot of its meaning and impact. First of all, we see that God is the One giving giving here. These positive character traits are not things we work up on own. We also see that God does not give us a spirit of fear which means that if we have it, it is coming from someplace other than God - either our sinful flesh or from our enemy the devil.

Second, most of us understand the spirit of love and the spirit of power, however what is the spirit of a sound mind? The words "sound mind" mean "discipline, self-control". It has the idea of curbing or controlling, holding oneself to one's duty.

Power, love, and self-control. Put the three together and you have one powerful combination. Am I walking in the spirit of power? Is what I do beyond my own power? Am I walking in the spirit of love? Am I sacrificially giving, living a life that demonstrates the love of Christ to all I'm around? Am I walking in the spirit of a sound mind? Do I allow the law of God to control my actions, thoughts, and words? Am I holding myself to my duty?

Neglect Not The Gift

1 Timothy 4:14 "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery."

A gift, generally speaking, has some sort of value. A gift that has come from God, definitely has more than value, it has purpose. Timothy had a gift, one that Paul knew had the potential to either change the world, or to remain untouched, neglected, ignored.

We know Timothy when on to be a great teacher and preacher, spreading the Gospel of Christ far and wide. From everything we know, it appears that Timothy wisely heeded Paul's advice here, taking what God gave him and putting it to good use. But perhaps that wouldn't have happened, or else it wouldn't have happened as effectively, if Timothy had not had his gift pointed out to him. Unless we look, it can be hard to spot our gift. Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to see where God has truly gifted us.

What is your gift that the world needs you to not neglect? What is that special thing that God has given you, maybe an ability, maybe a strong character trait, that the world would be worse off if you kept it hidden away? And how can you employ that in furthering God's Kingdom today?

Example

1 Timothy 4:12 "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

As Christians, we don't get a pass in certain areas of our lives. We are called to a higher standard, we are called to live a life that follows so closely after Christ that we are an example to be followed.

Paul lists 6 different specific areas where we are to be examples. The first is in word which just means exactly that - the words we say ought to encourage, uplift, and bring others closer to God. The second is conversation which literally means, "manner of life, conduct, behaviour, deportment." The third is in charity or love. The fourth is in spirit. This is a word with deep meanings. However, what I think Paul is getting at is that we ought to be an example in how we feel, think, and decide. The fifth is in faith, or our fervent conviction that the Gospel is true and thereby something we ought to live our life by. And finally, the sixth is in purity which has the idea of us being set apart completely from sin.

As Christians, we ought to aim for being examples to everyone we are around n the words we say, in our daily behavior, in the love we demonstrate through that behavior, in how we feel, think, and decide, in how we believe in God and act on that belief, and in how we separate ourselves from sin unto God.

It is a tall order, to be sure. However, we have the Holy Spirit within us and the power of Christ on our side. Let's do it.

Good Minister

1 Timothy 4:6 "If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained."

Paul is rather blunt here, telling Timothy that there are those claiming to be speaking for God who are actually "...giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;"

I find it curious that the two things that are mentioned specifically as being "lies in hypocrisy" are 1) forbidding to marry and 2) the prohibition of eating meat. I've thought over this for awhile and can't come up with a solid answer as to why these are the 2 things that are specifically mentioned. My only thought is that there were specific people saying things like this and Paul was addressing something that Timothy was currently facing.

Regardless, the principle here is clear. One of the ways we can serve as a good minister of Jesus Christ is to nourish, or educate, or form our mind around, the words of faith and of good doctrine and then do what we can to remind our fellow believers of the Truth we have learned.

Am I being a good minister of Jesus Christ today?

4 Types of Prayer

2 Timothy 2:1 "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;"

Paul seems to list 4 words that are synonyms of prayer. Let's dig a little deeper into their meanings:

Supplications: "need, indigence, want, privation, penury, a seeking, asking, entreating, entreaty to God or to man. Has the idea of begging, as in binding oneself."

Prayers: "to wish; by implication, to pray to God:—pray, will, wish with the idea of doing it to the advantage of, at, near, by, to, towards, with, with regard to."

Intercessions: "a falling in with, meeting with, an interview, a coming together, to visit, converse or for any other cause, that for which an interview is held, a conference or conversation, a petition, supplication."

Giving of Thanks: "gratitude; actively, grateful language (to God, as an act of worship)."

So if I might paraphrase this verse, I would say, "Based on what I just said about holding fast to the faith, I exhort therefore, that, before everything else, you 1) recognize your need and bring it humbly before God, 2) direct your wishes and will towards God in prayer, 3) have a conversation with God where you speak about your petitions to Him on behalf of others and yourself, and 4) that you speak actively and gratefully to your God as an act of worship. Do all this for yourself and for everyone else as well."

It's a big command that Paul gives here. However, his language makes is clear that this is vital. How can I implement this kind of prayer in my own life?

Swerved

1 Timothy 1:5-7 "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm."

The end of the commandment, when it is all said and done, it all comes back down to love, to charity. Paul knew this, Timothy knew this. Paul's positive admonition here makes sense, it is what we would expect. However, the contrast that he draws is perhaps a less obvious admonition.

Where would someone be if they swerved away from love out of a pure heart, a good conscience, and true faith? I would probably say selfishness and pride. However, Paul points out that those who swerved ended up in vain janglings, trying to be teachers of the law though they did not understand it. This vain, empty talk is doing nothing to build up the church, nothing to win the lost, nothing to disciple believers.

I guess the lesson here is that sometimes we don't have to fall to the "hard opposite" of a Christian virtue in order to be missing the mark. Sometimes lack of effectiveness, vanity, rooted in pride, can result in us wasting time. Which is something our enemy loves to see.

Love Of God & Patience

2 Thessalonians 3:5 "And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ."

If you were to ask any Christian, do you want more love of God and patience in waiting for Christ? Their answer would most undoubtedly be 'yes'. In this verse, we learn that getting to 'more' is part of the Lord's work of sanctification in our lives.

The word "direct" has the idea of making straight the way, or removing hindrances that would obstruct your course. What kind of hindrances does God need to remove in order for you to grow in your love for Him? What is holding you back from patience?

Prayers in the Bible are everywhere if we will just look. These are prayers that we would do well to pray for ourselves and for others.

The Day Is At Hand

2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand."

Like so many things in life, understanding the coming of the Lord is all about balance. Other places in Scripture, we are told that He is coming soon. However, here Paul seems to say something different. What gives?

Think about it this way - if you believe that literally within the next few minutes, Christ would return and take you to Heaven to be with Him for eternity, how much motivation would you have for pursuing any long-term projects or any audacious undertakings? Not very much.

Or on the other hand, if you believe that Christ's return is a long ways off and we have plenty of time, how much urgency would you feel? Not very much.

This balance between motivation and urgency is what we are looking at here. Jesus wants us to know that His return is imminent, meaning that it could happen at any time - in the next second or in the next millennium. The timing is not what is important. What is important is how our belief about His return moves us to action. He will come like a thief in the night, no one knows the day or the hour. For these reasons, we ought to live with an urgency of action while at the same time not neglecting long-term projects that God calls us to.

How do you feel about Christ's return? Is the urgency stealing your motivation? Or visa versa? How can you re-balance your perspective today?

Manifest Tokens

1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 "So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:"

Our natural selves are never happy about any kind of suffering or persecution. Our natural selves seek to avoid it at all costs. However, this church was not walking in their natural selves. Instead, they were walking by faith in the Spirit of God. As a result, they were able to see beyond the here and now.

The key here is patience and faith. Patience, knowing that this too shall pass. This is not the end of our story, merely a chapter and we just have to wait patiently until the end is revealed. And faith, believing that there is a reward coming. Believing that serving Christ faithfully is worth any price we must pay. Believing that persecution and tribulation are manifest evidence that we are counted worthy of God's Kingdom.

How do you view suffering and persecution? How are you doing on patience and faith today?

Grace. Amen.

1 Thessalonians 5:28 "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen."

When a letter to the Christian church ends, the parting words are generally close to the same. This final verse of 1 Thessalonians is pretty representative of many of the letters in the New Testament. While it sounds very nice, I don't think we truly understand the significance here. The writers, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, could have ended their epistles in a myriad of ways, yet the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is present more often than not.

What is this grace?

Grace is defined as: "good will, loving-kindness, favour. Used of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues."

Suddenly, ending the epistle with a prayer that the grace of Jesus Christ would be with them, makes a lot of sense. This is basically the entire sanctification process summed up in a single word. God's grace is what draws us closer to Christ, helps us grow in our faith, knowledge, and affection, and spurs us on to "work out our own salvation", showing our faith by our works.

How are you experiencing God's grace in your life? Do you feel it? Do you see it in every single area of life? If you don't, chances are, you're just not looking close enough. Are you letting the holy influence of His grace work in your life to change you to become more like Christ?

Today, my prayer for you is exactly this - May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

He Will Do It

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it."

I have heard verse 24 used quite often by itself. Typically it is just used to say that whatever "it" is, we can rest assured that God is faithful and He will do "it" whatever "it" may happen to be. However, if you take this verse in context, you find that it is very specific exactly what "it" is.

Taken in context, "it" is comprised of 2 things - sanctification and being preserved blameless.

Once we are saved, we begin the process of sanctification. The word "sanctify" has the idea of purifying, setting apart, hallowing, to separate from the profane and dedicate to God. This is indeed a process, something we will not complete until we are home in Heaven with Him. 

In this process of sanctification, God is preserving us as blameless. This means that He stands on guard so that we have no cause for censure. This is the completed work of Christ's sacrifice on the cross being worked out on a daily basis in our lives.

God is faithful. All the time, every time, without exception. These things that we have listed are God's plan for each and everyone of His children. He is faithful, He can be relied upon fully, to do it. To sanctify us and preserve us in blamelessness. Praise God!

Honest Walk, Lacking Nothing

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 "But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing."

In these verses in a formula that, if followed, will result in us living a sincere, impactful life. It will also result in us "lacking nothing". Here it is:

The first ingredient is brotherly love toward fellow believers, always increasing more and more. This means treating each member of the body with the same kind of love we would show to a family member.

The second ingredient is studying to be quiet. "Studying" means to strive earnestly, to make it our aim. Being quiet here has the idea of "to lead a quiet life, said of those who are not running hither and thither, but stay at home and mind their business." Therefore, we should  make it our aim to not be busybodies, but instead should focus on making sure our own affairs are in order.

The third ingredient is to do our own business, to work with our own hands. Most people will realize from experience that each has enough to do on their own without worrying about what other people may or may not be doing.

If we follow this formula, those who are without will see what we say and what we do in line with each other. This will allow us to have a powerful testimony. Also, if we follow this formula, we will "lack nothing". Now this doesn't necessarily mean we will always have everything we want. Instead, I believe that it means God will always provide for us, and if we are not busying ourselves snooping in the lives of others, we will not have the temptation of discontentment.