The great Physician

# 16 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:8-9a, “But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person,” (1 Tim 1:8-9a) The law is good! The dos and don't of Scripture are (in the Greek) “kalos” beautiful, valuable, when used as “nomimos” that is, “according to the rules.” The word nomimos comes from “nomos” which means “prescriptive usage.” With these definitions in mind, we can see how valuable the Law is when it comes to running spiritual medical tests on our souls. For instance, doctors prescribe blood tests in order to help determine the presence of disease. Once the disease is found, he can prescribe the medicine and treatment needed to heal the patient. Sometimes the prescription is used to help control the disease in an ongoing manner. For instance I have been diagnosed with high blood pressure and I take medicine to keep it under control. Left unchecked it could be fatal. In the spiritual realm, the “prescriptive use of the Law helps locate the problem. (Sin) It points us to the only cure for our disease (Jesus) And then we continue to take in daily doses of the Law and Jesus to help keep our disease in check. Just as in medicine, the dosage is important. Too much Law is an overdose that shows up in legalism. Too little Law results in carnality which pulls us away from Jesus. Jesus is our Great Physician, the Healer. He uses the Law and Gospel in the right doses to cure us of our fatal disease of sin. For this we join with David in Ps 103:1-5 and give Him praise and thanks. “Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.” Isn't this some of what you want from your earthly physicians? Healing and renewed vigor! How much more then should we desire our spiritual healing from above! Don't delay! Get on your knees and make the call today! Call on Jesus and be saved!

Coming Back to the Point of Departure

# 15 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:5-8, “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. 8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, (1 Tim 1:5-8) Today, I want to spend some time on the third use of the Law. (the dos and don'ts of God's Word.) By way of review, the first use is the restraint of evil in this world, The second use is to show all of us our sinfulness and thereby drive us to Christ. The third use is to show us how to live God-pleasing lives. This use is for the converted soul that desires to show love to God because of the great love that He has shown to us. “We love Him because He first loved us. (1 Jn 4:19) So how do we show our love to the Father? We do it by loving His Son, because As Jesus said, they are one and the same: Joh 10:30 "I and My Father are one." How do we show our love to Jesus? He told us in Joh 14:15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.” The word “keep” in Scripture almost always means “to treasure something.” If you love Jesus you will treasure the dos and don'ts of His Word. Oh how wonderful is the Law of God. Ps 19:7 says, “ The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul;” And the word “converting means, “ moving back to the point of departure.” You don't need to customize it to your audience, you just need to proclaim it trusting that God will apply it to the hearts as necessary. Some will hear it and evil will be restrained. Some will hear it and be driven to the cross, and others (believers) will hear it and learn how to express love to the Father! Three sets of ears hear the Law when it is preached. The unconverted, the about to be converted, and the converted. It is vital for the sake of the about to be converted that the gospel is also proclaimed. When cut to the heart for their sins they need to hear those precious words of Peter in the first presentation of Law and Gospel in the early New Testament church: Ac 2:37 Now when they heard this, (the Law, “Thou shalt not kill) they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" 38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Receive the Law and the Gospel, and be brought back to your point of departure.

The Second Use of the Law

# 14 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:5-8, “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. 8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, (1 Tim 1:5-8) Last time we began talking about the three uses of the Law (the dos and don'ts of God's Word.) The first use being the restraint of evil in this world even amongst the unbelievers. The second us is to show all of us our sinfulness and thereby drive us to Christ. In Ro 7:7, we read, “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet." Is the Law bad? Are the dos and don'ts of God's Word bad? No Paul says! When God's Law comes to us externally through our hearing or reading of God's Word. It strikes a chord of confirmation with the Law that God has put in the heart of every man and woman He ever created. It affirms what we really know deep down inside. And awakens an opportunity for godly sorrow over our sins. Without the reminder for instance that it is wrong to covet, Paul and others would continue in the sin of covetousness, oblivious to it, because it had been buried....forgotten, under layers of a hardened heart. But the Law smashes through those layers and awakens our awareness of sin, it prepares the previously hardened heart for the sweet message of forgiveness through faith in Jesus. Ho 10:12 says, “Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, (plow your heart with the Law! Allow the Law to do it's work!) For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.” Say the Law! Display the Law! Proclaim the dos and don'ts of Scripture! Preach it! Some need to hear it in order for the fallow ground to be prepared for the seed of the Gospel! True, some may already be aware, but even they need to hear it for the purpose of the third use of the Law, which we will get to next time.

The First Use of the Law

# 13 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:5-8, “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. 8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, (1 Tim 1:5-8) Paul's beef with these self-proclaimed teachers was their mishandling of the Law (the dos and don'ts of God's Word.) There are three generally accepted uses of the Law of God, and it's important that we understand what they are, for in understanding them, we are then able to use the Law, lawfully. Those three uses are: (1) to restrain evil, (2) to show us our sinfulness and therefore drive us to Christ. (3) To show us how to live God-pleasing lives. The sum of the ten commandments according to Jesus was to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Let's talk about each one of these uses: First of all, the restraint of evil. Did you know that every person created by God has His Law in their heart? Ro 2:14,15 says, “ for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) These dos and dont's are there for believers and unbelievers alike! But more often than not are buried under layers of indifference, cultural mores, and sin. As we look around our world today and in our land we see evil becoming more and more unrestrained. One of the reasons this is happening is the tool used for the restraint of evil (the Ten Commandments) have been removed from the public square. Those commandments serve as a reminder to all who read them of the Law that God has written on their heart, and without consciously being aware of it are capable of restraining the evil that also resides in the heart. Without these reminders, the downward spiral of evil will continue. No wonder the devil and his dupes are so adamant about removing them from our schools and the public square.

What Is Our Purpose?

# 12 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, ( 1 Tim 1:5) In this one passage, we see the flow of faith. It starts with saving faith, a faith that is not hypocritical but real. This faith is a gift from God as we read in Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. This gift of faith moves us to act on the command of Jesus to be baptized, which produces a good conscience as we read in 1Pe 3:21 There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Why is a good conscience produced? Because it is no longer bothered by sin! In baptism, our sins are washed away, as we read in the account of the Apostle Paul's conversion: Ac 22:16 'And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.' There may be disagreement in the church about WHEN to baptize, but all Christians understand the importance of this act commanded by Jesus. We baptize, because it's what Jesus told us to do. Mt 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; Now armed with the graces of a sincere faith in Christ and baptism, the follower of Christ loves from a heart made pure! This is the desired effect of faith and baptism. Acts of love, and love is defined as benevolence, which is a disposition to do good. It is this kind of love that shows the world we are followers of Christ! Joh 13:35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love (same word) for one another." Sometimes, as a believer, we find ourselves asking, “What is my purpose?” Well here it is, spelled out in the 5th verse of the first chapter of 1 Timothy! Love with a faith-filled pure heart!

Keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing

# 11 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, ( 1 Tim 1:5) What commandment? Where have we seen this word “commandment' before in this letter to Timothy? Well, back in verse 1, Paul stated that he was an “Apostle by the commandment of God!” Two different Greek words are used. The first means by “authoritative decree” and was meant to establish Paul's credentials, and the second use, found in our reading today, means “a charge.” The purpose of God in establishing the office of Apostle by authoritative decree was to give these men a charge to pass along the teachings of Jesus which were delivered personally to these men. These teachings, when believed and practiced will produce disciples who love from a pure heart, with good or clean consciences. Both of these fruits flow naturally from those with a sincere unhypocritical faith in Jesus! The key element of course is the sincere faith in Jesus. Without sincere faith in Jesus, the conscience is still burdened by guilt because it is still stained in sin. As Jesus said to the religious rulers of His day in Joh 8:24 "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." Further, any love that comes from the unconverted, comes from a heart that is not pure by God's standards and falls short of His glory. Isa 64:6 But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. So you see why the gospel must be kept the main thing. This is the charge that God gave to His appointed Apostles to pass on! It must be received and believed in order to produce love and clean consciences! Jesus said in Mt 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. Keep the main thing the main thing!

Building Up Our God-given Faith

# 10 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia--remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. Let's talk about “godly edification which is in faith.” Obviously, we have two choices here. We can either give ear to superfluous teachings that raise fruitless questions, which inevitably lead to the great enemy of faith....doubt, which, when left unchecked will shipwreck our very salvation! Or we can follow the course of “godly edification which is in faith.” The word “godly” tells us that this latter course is of God, it is the course that He desires for us to pursue. The word “edification” means “confirmation”, which is defined as “the process of supporting a statement with evidence” “Godly edification” therefore, is wrapped up in a package called faith, and Heb 11:1 says this about faith, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” It's an inward confirmation or conviction that God and His Word are true! Some other things about faith: We know that faith is a gift of God: Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, and we know He measures it out individually: Ro 12:3b, “as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” And we know that the exercise of faith is pleasing to Him: Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him,” The point is this: Don't go chasing after superfluous doctrines that will lead you away from the main thing and displease God! God has granted you and I the gift of faith and measured it out to us, and we need to use it! We need to put it into play! We need to step out of the boat as Peter did, as he responded to a one word command of Jesus, “Come!” Every time we meet circumstances in our life with an eye toward obedience and trust of God and His Word, we exercise our God-given faith, we edify it, or build it up, and this is pleasing to Him!

Adding To the Word of God Part II

# 9 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia--remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. I want to spend one more day on this matter of adding to the doctrine of the Apostles. We have mentioned the warning given to us in Re 22:18, “For I (Jesus) testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;” If that's not a stern enough warning for you, there are others: Pr 30:5,6 says, “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. 6 Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar. Adding to the word of God sets you up to be a liar, and here's the thing about lying, once you start you need to fabricate more and more stories to cover your tracks. These stories become the main thing rather than the Word of God! In De 4:2, we read, "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. Adding to, or taking away from the words of God are hindrances to “keeping” or treasuring the Word of God, because these extra teachings send you off on bunny trails that become more important than the Word itself. In this case listed in Deuteronomy, the people were led away to worship Baal and were destroyed, while those who held fast to the Lord were spared! These additions to, and subtractions from, the Word of God are with us in churches today. I urge you to stop and consider the teachings of your church. How do they line up with the Word of God? Are some teachings being ignored or denied? Are there superfluous practices and teachings that are presented as Gospel truth? Heed the words of the prophet Isaiah who said, in Isa 8:20, “ To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”. Light, darkness, or shades of gray, what will it be for you?

Don't Add To the Scriptures

# 8 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:3 “As I urged you when I went into Macedonia--remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.” (1 Ti 1:3) Paul's first order of business in his letter to Timothy is to reign in the superfluous doctrine that was popping up in Ephesus and the surrounding area. These teachings cause disputes and divisions that tear down, rather than build up. The word “cause” here means to present an occasion and the word “disputes” means to question. Superfluous teachings, (adding to the Scriptures) provide opportunities to question the veracity of the Scriptures. It is an age old ploy of Satan who pulled it on Eve in the Garden when he said, “ "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 "but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'" This is the first example of “adding to” the Word of God found in Scripture and bears mentioning here. A careful reading of Scripture will show that God never commanded Adam and Eve not to touch the fruit, He told them they were not to eat of it. The touching of the fruit was a fable, something added to the Word of God. Think of the effect of such an addition to the Word. Eve cannot eat of the fruit without first touching it. She touches it, and nothing happens. Well if she touches it and nothing happens, then why be afraid to eat of it? And sin enters the world through the portal of adding onto Scripture. No wonder Jesus warns us in Re 22:18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;” Beware of the teaching of fables. Are the teachings IN Scripture or not? Be a Berean who are spoken of in Ac 17:11, they heard the apostle's teaching but then checked it out in the Word of God. They , “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”

Grace, Mercy and Peace To You

# 7 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:2 To Timothy, a true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Have you ever wondered why so many of the New Testament letters begin with the phrase, “grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord?” Maybe you have attended worship services where the pastor will begin His message from the pulpit with those same words. “Grace, mercy, and peace to you.” The number one reason we see this greeting is it is the primary message that God wishes to convey to His creation through His church. There is a beautiful picture of this portrayed in the throne vision in the Book of Revelation. Re 4:3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. There is much symbolism here, but let me try to briefly picture what is being portrayed. The Son of God is seated on a throne, completely surrounded by a green rainbow. It's green because it symbolizes life, it's a rainbow because it is the sign of God's covenant of grace, mercy, and peace. Grace, mercy, and peace emanate from the throne, which is surrounded by the 24 elders who represent the church, and the Office of the Word. (the 12 patriarchs of the OT and the 12 Apostles of the NT. These 24 elders receive this message of grace, mercy, and peace, and are charged with passing that message along in the power of the Holy Spirit until our Lord returns. It's not that we are commanded to start every sermon in that manner, but it certainly serves a s a good reminder to all who serve in the office of the Word. Father, let us be faithful stewards of Your message of grace, mercy, and peace.

Godly Mothering

# 6 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:2 To Timothy, a true son in the faith: Let's spend a little more time today getting to know Timothy and his family. We were introduced to him in Acts 16:1-4, Then he (Paul) came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. This “certain Jewish woman” was Eunice. She and Timothy's grandmother Lois, were likely converted (became disciples) during Paul's first missionary trip to Lystra. Timothy was from a family that would have been greatly frowned upon by the Jews because it was a spiritually mixed marriage. His father a heathen Greek and his mother a Jew. I think his mother deserves special mention here for her role in discipling young Timothy. Granted, it would have been a lot easier for her if she had married a believer as the Bible instructs us, but that mistake didn't cause her to throw up her arms in despair. She sought to make the best of the situation and that included honoring her husbands role as head of the household which would explain why Timothy had never been circumcised. Circumcision could not be carried out discreetly, but instructing Timothy in the Word of God could be done discreetly and it was as we read in 2Ti 3:15, Paul speaking to Timothy says, “and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” In spite of an unbelieving spouse, Eunice saw to it that her son was taught from the Scriptures, and this paved the way for his later conversion to Jesus Christ. Let me just encourage those of you who find yourself in a spiritually mixed marriage today. Don't despair! There are things you can do to honor your mate and at the same time see to it that your children are taught the Scriptures. Strive to bring your children up in the admonition of the Lord and at the same time heed the advice of 1Pe 3:1 Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives.” Is it easy? Nope. Is it worthwhile? Trusting God for results is always worthwhile.

Hardship and Hard Times Are Part of the Deal

# 5 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:2 To Timothy, a true son in the faith: This letter is addressed to Timothy, who Paul describes as a “true son of the faith,” which would lead us to believe that Timothy has been personally discipled by Paul, and therefore credentialed as a worthy spiritual leader in the church. The advice in this letter would serve Timothy well, and future generations too. Further, a “true son” is one who has experienced difficult times and stayed the course. Heb 12:7 says, “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?” And in Paul's second letter to Timothy, he says, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. (2 Tim 3:12) Bottom line is this, A true son of the faith will experience hardship. Jesus said in Joh 16:33b "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." We get introduced to Timothy in Acts 16:1-4, Then he (Paul) came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek. 4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. One of Timothy's first act of enduring pain and tribulation was to be circumcised. We know of course that this was totally unnecessary, but Timothy willingly submitted to it, in order to not be a stumbling stone to the Jews. In getting circumcised Timothy would remove a barrier that might have prevent him from delivering the decrees to the Jewish audience in the region. He was indeed a “true son in the faith,” Not because of circumcision, but because he was willing to endure hardship. In our world today of “cushy” Christianity, we might ask ourselves, what are we willing to endure for the sake of the Gospel?

Unity In Substance and Unity In Purpose

# 4 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope, (1 Tim 1:1) God the Father and the God the Son...inseparable. They worked together in Creation, as we read in 1Co 8:6, “yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.” And they worked together in creating the Apostle Paul. It was by Their commandment that he was made, just as sure as creation was commanded into existence. Ps 33:9 says, “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” It's interesting that God is spoken of here as our Savior. We usually reserve that term for Jesus, but then, it is as Jesus said, “I and the Father are One!” (Jn 10:30) Jesus is referred to as our hope. We need both! We need salvation and hope. These two terms, “Savior and hope,” are key focal points of this letter to Timothy. False teachers abounded in the days of Timothy and they will abound until our Lord's return. These false teachers can sidetrack us and rob people of their hope and dash their very salvation! Paul writes this letter to Timothy to help him stand against any and all who would seek to rob the churches of their blessed salvation and hope! This letter then, will be most helpful to us today to fight false teaching. May it cause us to pause and consider what is right and true in Scripture, and may it shore up our confidence in the salvation of our God through the hope of Jesus Christ! May we always keep grace and faith the main thing! Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

The Making of the Apostle Paul

#3 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope, (1 Tim 1:1) Think of all the words the Holy Spirit could've used here instead of the word “commandment” He could've said, “by the appointment of God,” or “by the commissioning of God,” or “by the will of God,” but He didn't. He said “by the commandment of God!” The Greek word means, “by injunction or decree,” and it comes from another Greek word that means “to arrange upon.” The idea of “arrangement” should cause us to pause and consider Creation, by that I mean when God spoke, (commanded) things were “arranged upon” this earth by His command!. He commanded there to be light and there was! The point being, when God commands something, it happens! In this instance, God's commandment trumps free will. Paul had no choice in this matter. He would be an Apostle. We read about it when Jesus met Him on the road to Damascus in Ac 26:16-18, “'But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make (To what? To make! And that speaks of create!) And what did God purpose to make Paul? We continue in v16, “a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. 17 'I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 'to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.' In short, He made him an Apostle, sent to the Gentiles (you and I) to open our eyes and turn us to Jesus, that we may receive forgiveness from Him and an eternal inheritance in heaven! God said, Let there be light!” And there was! God said, “Let there be an Apostle Paul,” and there was! And because there was an Apostle Paul, the light of the Good News of salvation was brought to the nations! Brought to us! Thank You Father for the precious gift of Apostle's bearing light.

Credentials

#2 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope, (1 Tim 1:1) We don't write many letters these days. Everything is typically done through instant communication. We post, we tweet, we message, we text, many times leaving whole words and grammar in the dust. Not so in biblical times, and therefore we can garner much from the Holy Spirit inspired words we find on the pages of Scripture. In this letter to Timothy, Paul begins with the typical practice of the day. He starts out by identifying himself and giving his credentials, then he makes note of who the letter is addressed to, and then follows with the body of the letter. His credentials are important lest anyone question young Timothy about the authority of his teaching. “Who are you young Timothy to tell us how to live and do church?” And Timothy simply has to produce the letter and say, “This is who I am, this is where my authority comes from!” So Paul begins the letter by identifying himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ. What is an apostle? An apostle is two things. He is either an ambassador for the Gospel or a commissioner of Christ. There is a difference. In the sense of ambassador, an apostle is a representative sent out by a church as we read in 2Co 8:23 “If anyone inquires about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you. Or if our brethren are inquired about, they are messengers (apostles) of the churches, the glory of Christ.” But Paul uses the word here in a higher sense. He is a messenger to be sure, but he is one of 13 that have been appointed directly by Jesus Christ. His words and the words of the other twelve have clout because they received their authority to speak directly from a person to person encounter with Christ. These words are part of the foundation of the church as stated in Eph 2:20, “ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,” and that's why we read of the early church that they, “continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, and not just the doctrine of Christ! They are one and the same! (Acts 2:42) Shouldn't we do the same. There is just as much red r-e-d, in the words of the Apostles as in the words of Jesus. Therefore let us heed all of the Bible, not just that portion written in red.

A Brief Overview

#1 In today's Prime Time Devo I am going to start a new series as I look at Paul's letters to Timothy. It is generally agreed that these letters were written shortly before Paul's martyrdom in 66 A.D. They are sort of a last will and testament handed down to Timothy, who was a “spiritual son” of Paul if you will. Last words are important, they are usually, those things that the soon to be departed person desires to stress and pass on as vital information to the next generation. Every good father desires to pass along his accumulated wisdom to his children, and this is just one of the filters we will apply as we go through these letters verse by verse. This is stuff that the Holy Spirit, speaking through Paul wants His church to know! It is advice designed to keep the church operating as God intended and so in 1 Timothy, we will find warnings about false teaching. We will find exhortations and instructions for prayer! We will find qualifications for church leaders! And instructions for taking care of widows, which may be more important than we think in light of the passage in James that says, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (James 1:27) But 2 Timothy is even more treasured by the church because it is Paul's farewell letter. There is a special emotional fervency to this letter as it was written when the end was near for Paul. In this letter, Timothy (and all believers) are encouraged to be good soldiers in the Kingdom of God . We are encouraged to “rightly handle the Word of God.” We are reminded, in one of my favorite and foundational passages in all of the Bible that, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16,17) The letter also contains warnings about the itchy ears of the Last Days and therefore Timothy is charged to remain faithful to the word preaching it “in season and out of season.” Father, help me as we dive into these Holy Spirit inspired letters of Paul. Help me to rightly divide it, and may it be a source of encouragement for all who read and hear these words.

A Recap

748 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ki 2:10 So David rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. 11 The period that David reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. And so ends the life of David. I began this verse by verse exposition with 1 and 2 Samuel in May of 2011. My prayer is that you have been encouraged, enlightened, and strengthened along the way. My favorite verse in these two books remains as 1Sa 15:22 Then Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.” I like that verse because it reminds me that the act of ritualistic sacrifice, which can be likened to attending a weekly worship service is a source of delight for God, but an even greater source of delight is our obedience to His Word. Sometimes we spend an hour in a worship setting declaring that Jesus is Lord, but our lives reflect a different story! Jesus said in Lu 6:46 "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?” Thankfully, the door to repentance remains open to us, as it opened to David, in still another favorite part of this study, namely his affair with Bathsheba and the consequent murder of her husband Uriah. The Psalms bear out how heavy this sin weighed on David's heart as he kept sweeping it under the rug. When Nathan confronted him with his sin, David confessed, “I have sinned against the Lord,” and Nathan then pronounced God's forgiveness to him. Can there be any sweeter words to hear? Adultery, murder, and upon confession...forgiven. If you take nothing else from this 3 and a half year study, let it be this: There is no sin that Jesus did not pay for on the cross! Confess it! Repent of it! And receive his promised forgiveness! You don't have to carry the weight of your sins! Cast them upon Jesus who paid for them on the cross and remember: 1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit

747 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ki 2:7-9, "But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8 "And see, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, 'I will not put you to death with the sword.' 9 "Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood." Again, this is meant to be a picture for us of Judgment Day. David representing the age in which we now live, or the first advent of Christ, and Solomon representing the age of the second advent or second coming of Christ. All accounts will be settled on that day. The believers and unbelievers are allowed to live side by side in the first advent but in the second advent, which begins on Judgment Day, those with faith in Christ will be shown mercy, those who lacked faith and had nothing but disdain for Christ will be relegated to hell. Barzillai who's faith was evidenced by his act of mercy toward David when he was fleeing from that rebel Absalom (a type of Satan) will be shown mercy as promised in Mt 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. The unmerciful such as Shimeii who cursed David as he fled Absalom will receive no mercy. It's interesting to note that Shimei cursed David when it appeared Absalom was winning, but when David returned victoriously, he changed his tune and pled for mercy. Shimei was that type of person who only follows Jesus when the times are good....in short, bottom line, he was a lukewarm hypocrite. And as such, he has no place at the table, no place in heaven. Shimei was guilty of the only unforgivable sin...the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. This sin is committed as we resist the Holy Spirit conviction that Jesus is Lord and Savior, and a quick rule of thumb concerning it is this: If you are worried about it....you haven't committed it. Father keep my faith hot and without hypocrisy, in Jesus name Amen.

Are You A Wheat Or A Tare?

746 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ki 2:5 "Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet. 6 "Therefore do according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace. It seems a little unfair to us, that David passes this responsibility onto Solomon. Why didn't David take care of this problem while he was king? Why pass it on to Solomon? Well, once again we see a beautiful picture painted for us concerning future events. David serves as a picture of the reign of Christ in the here and now, while Solomon is a picture of the reign of Christ when He returns. During this first era, those who reject Christ or play the hypocrite are allowed to live side by side with the true followers of Christ, but one day when Christ returns, (as signified by the reign of Solomon) justice will be served. The Joabs of this world will realize that they didn't get away with anything! This account in 2 Kings is parallel to the parable of the wheat and the tares: Mt 13:24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 "but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 "But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 "So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' 28 "He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them (the Joabs) up?' 29 "But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 'Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."'" The reign of Christ is coming. How about you? Are you wheat? Or are you a tare?

Passing the Faith Along

745 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ki 2:3,4, "And keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; 4 "that the LORD may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, 'If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,' He said, 'you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.' (1 Kings 2:2-4) David is on his death bed, speaking to his son Solomon and he seeks to remind him of the importance of living in accordance with the Word of God. If Solomon will treasure God's Word in this life, he will prosper. Then he reminds Solomon to pass the same advice on to his sons, and of course this would mean that they would in turn pass it on to their sons. The advice and associated promise holds true for all. Of course we know that even as this advice was handed down, it wasn't always followed and this resulted in spiritual decay in the land and in the personal lives of the offspring of David and Solomon. It got so bad that the nation actually split immediately after Solomon's reign into two kingdoms: The Northern kingdom and the Southern kingdom, and both were eventually run over by the Assyrians and the Persians. The northern kingdom was carried off in captivity by the Assyrians and dispersed, ceasing to exist even to this day, and the southern kingdom was conquered by the Babylonians, and by the grace of God was restored after a 70 year captivity. This is the lot of nations who fail to pass on this truth to their sons. Fathers, mothers, listen to me. If you think your talk with your sons and daughters about the birds and the bees is important, it pales in comparison to this talk! Tell your children about the importance of walking with the Lord, and the promise of prosperity that goes with it. This talk in and of itself covers the birds and the bees and all other things! And if they listen, they will enjoy a prosperous life. But let's not just talk about it, let's live it out before their eyes. Pass this godly heritage on to your children. It's the best gift you can give them. Right now, it seems the only ones doing the talking are the godless institutions in the land, and unfortunately many of our children are listening. Father give us a sense of urgency in living our faith out before our children, pointing them to jesus in word and deed!