1 Timothy 2 - 7.14.21
Scripture
1 Timothy 2:1
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people
Observation
Paul continues writing his letter to Timothy, urging him to understand the importance of prayer. He also highlights and instructs the roles of various people in society, including those in leadership, men, and women.
Understanding
Right away the reader can see the importance of prayer fro Paul, as he mentions it first. Although it seems like a coincident, the fact that he begins with this exhibits Paul’s belief in the power of prayer. He breaks down prayer into several different categories.
Petitions: this refers to a request that is made for something that is desired. These, however, are made humbly and respectfully they are not demands in an effort to pressure God. Petition is similar to supplication, which refers to boldly approaching God and making our requests known, again in a humble manner.
Prayers: these just refer to the broad description of communication to God.
Intercession: these are requests made to God on behalf of other people, whether the other people know it or not. In my opinion these are the toughest prayers to pray because sometimes we don’t see the results we want in our own timing.
Thanksgiving: this ties all the above mentioned together as it is essential to give God thanks, rather than always coming to Him and asking for things.
All these, Paul argues, must be available to all everyone. And guess what, they are! Except sometimes we don’t always use the tools so readily available to us, which is why I think it is important to break them down and understand them further.
Life Application
Prayer is obviously important, but sometimes we don’t use it. Again it seems simple because it is. If you don’t know what to pray start with:
A: adoration; praise God and show Him awe in your prayers
C: confession; confess anything that weighs heavy on your heart
T: thanksgiving; give thanks to God for everything that He has done
S: supplication; humbly and boldly make your requests known to God
-Allison Khan
1 Timothy 1
SCRIPTURE
1 Timothy 1:3-7
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
OBSERVATION-What does it say?
Paul wrote this letter to his protege/disciplee, Timothy. Timothy was a young Pastor and this is the first letter Paul wrote to him.
UNDERSTANDING-What does it mean?
Be on guard towards false doctrines.
Paul “urges Timothy to be on guard for false teachers and false doctrine (gotquestions.org).” He also urges him of his call to stay in Ephesus in order to oppose false teachers, as many were teaching false doctrines. Paul didn’t want Timothy to fall into that trap with his own ministry.
LIFE APPLICATION
Stay connected to Truth through God’s Word.
With everything we read, listen to, people tell us, we “hear from God” etc., we need to make sure it lines up with what God says in His Word. We should also have it confirmed by a trusted Spirit filled person/leader(s). The reason why we need to bounce it off another Spirit filled person or people is because the enemy is also well versed in Scripture, yet he is the master of deception and lies. He knows how to twist God’s Word out of context. The temptation of Jesus is proof of that. Because Jesus was so immersed in the Scriptures daily, the enemy couldn’t get a foothold in his life. I pray that we as Believers would be the same way.
Dear Lord, I pray that we would meditate on your word day and night, as David did in the Psalms and be so well versed in Your Word and so connected to You, our Vine, that the enemy cannot have a foothold in our life. I pray that we would fill our minds with Your Truth daily. Amen.
-Michelle Gaddi
Luke 24-7.12.21
SCRIPTURE
Luke 24:38-40
And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.
OBSERVATION-What does it say?
When Jesus was crucified, the apostles and disciples were left with a feeling of loss, not only because their friend was gone, but also because they felt they had lost their hope of a savior of Israel. Within a short period of time, Jesus had told the apostles, very clearly, he would be taken and crucified. He explained it was necessary for Him to suffer in order to fulfill the prophecies about him. Yet, they were left with a feeling of despair when it all happened. In a bit of irony, He shows himself to them without revealing who he was. In doing this, he draws out of them their testimony and then he gives them the final piece of the puzzle, His resurrection.
UNDERSTANDING-What does it mean?
Some of my favorite movies to fall asleep to are The Lord of The Rings. I mean, I seriously love these movies, but without fail I will fall asleep about one quarter of the way through the movie. One cause of this, is the fact that my kids are too young to watch these. Therefore, we have a tendency to start them late in the evening. Since I have a tendency to live as if I were already taking advantage of the 55+ discount, I am usually ready for bed by about nine pm. So starting a three hour movie at 8:30 never goes well. Of the movies, the second, ‘The Two Towers,’ is my favorite. I would argue that it has the best battle scenes of any movie, ever. In one of the most pivotal moments in the movie, the Battle of Helm's Deep, it appears as all hope is lost and the protagonists have their back against a wall, literally and metaphorically. As the hero, Aragon, appears to be riding out to his death in a blaze of glory, in comes help from Gandalf the wizard, who had previously told him he would be there. In the movie, you can see the expression of relief and the amazement that help was actually there. Several times in scripture God gives us similar cliffhangers, like when the priests carried the Ark into the Jordan while it was flooding (Joshua 3), or when Jonah demands to be thrown in the sea, or when Jesus allows Lazarus to hang out in a tomb for three days before raising him from the dead (John 11). But his death and resurrection is the ultimate cliffhanger. While all of his closest companions are dumbfounded, Jesus comes almost satirically, “Hey guys, what happened, why are you so sad?” Right now, it feels like we are in a bit of a cliffhanger moment. What’s going to happen with church, with my job, with the economy and our freedoms? But God knows what is next, He told us He wins and what happens at the end. But he asks us to trust Him in the in between.
LIFE APPLICATION
Jesus, I will lean on You and Your wisdom. I will cling to You for my peace and my comfort, for you are my strength and my refuge (Psalm 46).
-Tyler Galloway