In His Service

                                        Honor, Respect, and Contentment 1 Tim. 5:1-8   Paul knew the scripture spoke of honoring those who were their elders.  “Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged. Fear your God. I am the Lord .” (Lev. 19:32) And in teaching Timothy to respect the elders of Ephesus, as well as those who were his age, he needed to understand the fear of God that he must have in order to stand forthright, get all wisdom, understanding, insight, and knowledge in leading these people. So let’s read the first portion of scripture.  “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”  Paul had had Timothy with him for a few years by now, and he knew that Timothy understood the value of ...

  Watch Your Life and Doctrine Closely 1 Timothy 4:9-16  This is a good question to ask ourselves and others. “What is the motivation for striving and laboring in our lives?”, and “Is it in the hope of man’s abilities and dreams or is it in the hope we have in our God, the Lord Jesus Christ?” So let’s answer those questions through the Word of God that is the only truth we have that is absolute and immutable. Let’s read the first portion of the text, “This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things.   Paul again relies fully on the truth of God’s word and the Holy Spirit’s inspiration of the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. The word of God is the revelation of the blessed hope of the church. "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that throu...