I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Timothy 1-4.

    The first thing I want to point out is that there is value to being the child of parents who were faithful. Paul does not go into detail about that value. I can say from personal experience that having been raised by faithful parents has given me a deep-seated trust in God. It has certainly helped me to be less ashamed to tell others about Christ than I might otherwise have been. I do not believe that it can be emphasized too much that we need to not be ashamed to tell others about our faith in Christ, not even when doing so may result on our suffering.

    Paul encourages Timothy (and us) to flee lust of all kinds and instead pursue righteous living. One of the points on which he challenges Timothy is a challenge to me as well. He tells Timothy to avoid foolish, ignorant arguments. However, he does not clearly define what makes a foolish argument and tells us to instruct those who oppose the truth. Yes, he tells us to do the latter gently, but it is oh so easy to go from gently instructing someone to arguing strenuously, especially when they fall into Paul’s description of what many people will be like in the last days. As I look around me today, I have to conclude that we are in the last days that Paul spoke of. Our society is filled with people who love only themselves and their money.

    I could write more about Paul’s description of those people, but you can read that for yourself. Paul writes how we can counter such people and their teachings. We counter those things by remaining faithful to what we have been taught and by immersing ourselves in Scripture, which will teach us what is true and point out to us what is wrong in our lives. We must preach the word of God whether times are favorable or not. The time is coming, and for many people has already come, when people will not be willing to listen to wholesome teaching and will instead seek out those who tell them what they want to hear. We are to patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage those around us. The key word in that being “patiently”. I need to keep a clear mind and not let anger, or any other emotion, overcome the logic and sense which God’s Spirit has given me.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Timothy 5-6.

    Paul gives Timothy instructions about caring for widows. I think that these instructions give us an idea about how we should care for all who are in need. The first step in caring for those in need is that we should care for those in our own family who fall into need to the best of our ability. The second aspect of Paul’s instructions on caring for those in need is that they should do everything in their power to care for themselves. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul said that those who are unwilling to work will not eat. I am a firm believer that we as a Church should seek to provide meaningful work for those who otherwise have difficulty supporting themselves.
    As I read this, Paul is saying that those who have a personal relationship with those in need should coordinate the efforts to provide for their needs, providing from their own resources as much as they are able to do so. We should only turn to the Church as a whole when the needs exceed our ability to care for them ourselves. Another point Paul makes is that those who receive assistance from the Church should, to the best of their ability, demonstrate the characteristics of Christ. If we want the Church to care for us when we are no longer able to care for ourselves we should use our talents to serve others in the Church while we are able.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Timothy 1-4.

    Paul instructs Timothy to stop those who teach things contrary to the truth and who waste their time on meaningless speculation. We should not spend out time debating things which do not us, or others, to live a life of faith. Instead, let us spend our time discussing things which help us, and others, have a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. The result will be that we will be filled with love for others and for God. To some degree, the sort of thing Paul is talking about is what rules, what law, we should follow. Rules of behavior, the Law, are not for those who do right. They are is intended for those who are ungodly and sinful. The Law, rules of behavior, is intended for those who do anything which contradicts wholesome teaching.

    At the end of chapter 2 Paul has instructions for Timothy regarding the role of women in the Church. He goes from there to discussing in the beginning of chapter 3 the qualifications for leadership in the Church. These two discussions are clearly linked. Paul writes that women should dress modestly. They should attract attention to themselves, not by jewelry, nor by elaborate hairstyles, nor by the clothing they wear, but by the good things they do. As I read this and started to write about it, I realized that Paul actually started this section with instructions regarding men. In verse 8 of chapter 2 (just before he writes what I just commented on about women) Paul writes that men should be in prayer, lifting up their hands without anger and argumentativeness. I believe that what Paul writes here as instruction for men and for women applies to the other sex as well. Women should be in prayer without lifting up their hands in anger and argumentativeness and men should dress modestly.