God's Word For Every Day

1 Timothy 1:1-2:15 “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance” (1 Timothy 1:15). Help us, Lord, to receive this Gospel truth – and to have this Gospel testimony: “I received mercy … the grace of our Lord overflowed for me” (1 Thessalonians 1:13-14). Help us to say, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith”; “God forbid that I should glory except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:16 & Galatians 6:14). Help us to be “eager to preach the Gospel” (Romans 1:15). 1 Timothy 3:1-4:16 What are we to believe? How are we to behave? Lord, these are very important questions. We’re not only to believe the right things. We’re to live the right way. Help us to be “nourished in the words of the faith” so that we “may know how one ought to behave in the household of God” (1 Timothy 4:6 & 3:15). Help us to “watch our life and doctrin...

“Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!” (Mark 11:9). Blessing is in Jesus. Blessing comes to us through Him. There's no direct route to God's blessing without going by way of Jesus. He is "the Way, the Truth and the Life." We come to God the Father through Him (John 14:6). When we are deeply aware of our sin, we rejoice in this: There is one God and one Mediator between God and us, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for us all" (1 Timothy 2:5-6). 

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty” (Isaiah 6:3); “Your sins are forgiven” (Isaiah 6:7). “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am the worst of them” (1 Timothy 1:15). — Awesome holiness: It was my sin which sent Christ to the Cross. Amazing love: Christ has taken my sin to the Cross. I receive His forgiveness.

"God is my stronghold, my merciful God!" (Psalm 59:9,17). God has shown mercy to us. He has forgiven our sins. He gives us the strength that we need to live as His faithful servants. This is the testimony of the Psalmist. It's also the testimony  of the Apostle Paul:  " I thank Christ Jesus our Lord that He has trusted me and has appointed me to do His work with the strength He has given me.  In the past I cursed Him, persecuted Him, and acted arrogantly toward Him. However, I was treated with mercy because I acted ignorantly in my unbelief.  Our Lord was very kind to me. Through His kindness He brought me to faith and gave me the love that Christ Jesus shows people" (1 Timothy 1:12-14). Paul looks back to what he used to be - "In the past ... ", and he says, "Everything has changed." He tells us that this has nothing to do with himself. Paul isn't saying to us, "Look at me. I'm a bit special." What he'...

Do we stop believing this just because it comes to us from a long time ago? No! We keep on saying, “Praise the Lord! It’s true!” We keep on singing the song of our Saviour.

We begin with some great verses from Titus - "Jesus Christ ... gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:13-14); "He saved us, not because of deeds dine by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5). There are kings who need to be prayed for (1 Timothy 2:1-2), and there is the King to whom we offer prayer (1 Timothy 1:17). To understand the nature of God's kingdom, we must understand the character of the king. God's kingdom contrasts with the kingdoms of men. (a) Kings are "in high position" (1 Timothy 2:2), but "the king of ages" is in the highest position of all. (b) The kingdoms of men last for a time, but "the king of ages" is immortal. (c) The kingdoms of men display great outward show, but "the king of ages" and his kingdom works in...

1 Timothy 1:12-17 The Lord saved Saul of Tarsus. The Lord changed him. Saul - "blasphemer, persecutor, arrogant man" (1 Timothy 1:13) - became Paul, a humble man, who worshipped and served the Lord.   *  humble - "worst of sinners" (1 Timothy 1:16) * worshipper - "Unto the King ... " (1 Timothy 1:17) * servant - "the ministry ... an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life" (1 Timothy 1:12,16).

"I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God ... the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh ..." ( 1 Timothy 3:15-16 ). We read, in 1 Timothy 3:16 , of our deeply-held convictions concerning our Saviour, Jesus Christ: "God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory." Paul is not only speaking about beliefs that we hold with our minds - 'I believe this about Christ. I believe that about Him.' He's speaking about beliefs that change the way we live - "how you conduct yourselves in the house of God" ( 1 Timothy 3:15 ).   When Paul speaks about "the mystery of godliness", he's speaking about "God was manifested in the flesh". He's also speaking about "how we conduct ourselves in the house of God." This is the practical mystery - How can ...

‘That’s just ancient history’: this is what many people say about the Bible story. Is that all there is to it? or Is there something more? The Bible story challenges worldly people to think again – to question their assumption that everything can be explained without God. Could it be that the world’s ‘answers’ are not as convincing as we’ve been led to believe? Could it be that there’s an ‘old, old story’ that we still need to hear and believe – a story that tells us that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15)?

I was reading Psalm 58 . It speaks about sin. As I read these dark words - words that show us up for what we really are: sinners, I thought about something else: salvation. Thank God - His Word shows us more than our sin. It show us that we can be saved by the grace of God. It show us that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15). When your sin gets you down, let the Saviour lift you up.