2016 Day 216 – 1 Timothy 1

04 Thursday Aug 2016

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1 Timothy was written as a letter of encouragement and instruction from Paul to Timothy who was a young leader in the early church. Timothy was one of Paul’s closest companions and was sent to the church at Ephesus to help counter false teachings and to help lead the church. Paul hoped to visit Ephesus in person, but in the meantime, he wrote a letter to help strengthen them in his absence. Paul starts by thanking Christ for allowing him to serve in 1 Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even Paul recognized that serving is a privilege and can only be done when we acknowledge the mercy and grace granted to us through Christ.

2016 Day 215 – Philippians 4

03 Wednesday Aug 2016

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As we conclude the letter from Paul to the church in Philippi, Paul gives some final instructions in Philippians 4:8, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. What Paul is saying is to focus on the good things and try not to think of the bad. What we put into our minds will ultimate control us. If we focus on the negative, we will be negative. If we focus on the positive, we will be positive. Paul tells us to program our minds with the positive focusing on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. If we fill our minds with these things, there will be no room for anything else.

2016 Day 214 – Philippians 3

02 Tuesday Aug 2016

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Just because something sounds good, moral, and/or ethical does not mean it is. Unless we are willing to take the time and compare what we hear to God’s truth, then we are destined to be deceived by what this world has to teach us. In Philippians 3:2 Paul warns us, Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those manipulators of the flesh. We hear it all the time in the media when people talk about tolerance. Tolerance has a broad appeal which, if we allow, has the potential to lead us to accept even the things God has clearly said were wrong. The best way to mitigate deception is to take it to the source of truth. If you believe the Bible, then you have already have access to the truth.

2016 Day 213 – Philippians 2

01 Monday Aug 2016

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Humility requires a true perspective of ourselves. Paul asks us to be true servants and humbly put others before ourselves as though they are better than us. This is regardless of how they may act. In Philippians 2:3 Paul says, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain, but in humility consider others better than yourself. Sadly, “common courtesy” is not very common. But through the example of Christ and the help of the Holy Spirit, we can love and respect others and treat them as we would like to be treated.

2016 Day 212 – Philippians 1

31 Sunday Jul 2016

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Today we begin reading Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi, which was meant strengthen the believers. Paul wanted the believers to know his strength and desire to live came from Christ alone. In Philippians 1:21 Paul says, For to me, to live is Christ and to die gain. Paul was not only willing to die for the cause, but he actually preferred to be with Christ. Though, he recognized his mission was not yet complete and he still had work to do for the Kingdom. Paul was single-mindedly focused on serving Christ and others as long as he could on this earth.

2016 Day 211 – Ephesians 6

30 Saturday Jul 2016

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We cannot expect to face the evils of this world if we do not stand behind God’s protection. In Ephesians 6:13 Paul says, Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. God’s armor protects us if we choose to look for His guidance and protection through the minefield of life.

2016 Day 210 – Ephesians 5

29 Friday Jul 2016

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Christ brought each of us out of the darkness and into the light. We should live our lives accordingly. In Ephesians 5:8 Paul says, For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. When you are in a dark room, it is hard to move around. When the lights are turned on we are able to move about freely. Living in the light is not a sacrifice, it is freedom from struggling in the darkness.

2016 Day 209 – Ephesians 4

27 Wednesday Jul 2016

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One of my biggest struggles in life deals with anger. While 99% of the time I am“happy-go-lucky”, when the wrong buttons get pushed, I become a different person and it is hard for me to get over it and move on. To make matters worse, even though I know “sleeping on it” is not productive, it becomes a vicious cycle and is hard for me to just let it go. Paul addresses this in Ephesians 4:26-27, 26 In your anger do not sin: do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.  I have learned over the years that even in a heated state it is better to talk things out than to simply walk away. The truth is the longer we hold onto pain that causes anger, the more likely we are to act in a sinful way. Anger is not sinful in and of itself, but the way we respond to anger can be. God never leaves us alone to deal with our own emotions. If we let Him in to help us, we can deal with it in a healthy and productive way.

2016 Day 208 – Ephesians 3

26 Tuesday Jul 2016

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What an amazing freedom we have to approach God directly through our individual prayers. In Ephesians 3:12 Paul says, In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. Because of Christ, we have the ability to approach God directly through prayer. We are not hindered or limited by an intermediary. Praise God for the privilege of having a direct and loving relationship with Him.

2016 Day 207 – Ephesians 2

25 Monday Jul 2016

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There is nothing any one of us can do to deserve eternal life. God’s grace is how we have come into salvation. In Ephesians 2:8-9 Paul says, 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. God ultimately gives us the gift of salvation because He loves us and He knows we were incapable by our own power to live a life worthy of eternal life. It is a gift from Him which does not require anything of us. We may feel like we owe God something for this gift, but we don’t. His grace is sufficient.