The Blessings of the First and Second Tithe

179 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17,18, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, (1 Tim 6:17,18) We Americans are rich, and these commands are for those who are rich in this present age, (the period of time that passes as we wait the Lord's return.) I hesitate to bring this up because I don't want it to sound like I'm tooting my own horn, but I want to share with you how liberating the idea of a first and second tithe has been for our household. I read a book several years ago that spoke of the biblical principle of the second tithe. Let's be clear first of all, that there is no such requirement for a second tithe in the New Testament. At best it can serve as a guideline, which is what we have done in our house for many years. We have also used the first tithe as a guideline for giving to our local congregation. Although not required in a legalistic sense in the New Testament, we have been greatly blessed by the Lord as we adhere to it's principles. Based on the uses of the two tithes as stated in the Old Testament, this is what we do. We tithe 20% of our net income. The first 10% going to our local congregation, and the second 10% is broken up into two parts. The distribution of the second tithe is too complicated to put into words in this short devotional, but this is what we do with it. Two thirds of the second tithe goes to benevolence. Any needs of the financially strapped that come our way are able to be met with this portion of our tithe without detracting from our giving to our local congregation. This has fostered an attitude of cheerful giving as we seek ways to bless those in need. The remainder of the second tithe, goes to what we call our fellowship fund, it's almost like a Christian party jar! It enables us to participate in the rich enjoyment of God's financial blessings mentioned here in v17! It provides funds for simply celebrating the goodness of God for ourselves and others. The second tithe seems scary at first, (for some, even the first tithe is a little scary.) I'm just sharing what we have been led to do, and to tell you it has been very freeing.

Enjoy the Blessings of God

178 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. We Americans are rich, and these commands are for those who are rich in this present age, (the period of time that passes as we wait the Lord's return.) We've looked at the first three commands, Thou shalt not be haughty, Thou shalt not trust in uncertain riches, and Thou shalt trust in the living God. Today I want to spend some time on this statement about God, “who gives us richly all things to enjoy.” The word “richly” is meant to conjure up thoughts of an abundant harvest. I think it would suit us all well to picture a cornucopia, spilling out over a thanksgiving table symbolizing blessed abundance. It's true that we planted the seeds, tilled and cultivated the soil, but none of that would have done any good without the rain that God supplies in the proper amount. So that cornucopia is only overflowing because of the overflowing goodness of God. So let us be thankful for the riches we enjoy. They could be taken away at any time. One of the ways to express that thanks is to enjoy your riches. I don't care what God has given you in the material realm or the spiritual realm....enjoy it! Spend it, don't hoard it! Give it away! You don't have to feel guilty about being blessed! Enjoy it! I think one of the saddest things about the stay at home son in the parable of the Prodigal son, is he had all the blessings of the father's house, but never took the time to enjoy them. How about you? Are you afraid to be a little extravagant? Are you up to pouring a bottle of perfume over the feet of Jesus or are you going to begrudge such an act? You know in the Old Testament there was such a thing as the second tithe. A second ten percent that was set aside for the purpose of feasting at God-ordained feasts! This tithe was spent on whatever the heart desired for the purpose of glorifying God and adding joy to the feast! Seems to me we could use a little more of that today, without sacrificing our duties to the poor! God gave it to you! Enjoy it!

The First Three Commandments For the Rich

178 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. We must not deny this, we are the rich! And as the rich, the Holy Spirit speaking through the Apostle Paul gives us some commands. Number One: Thou shalt not be haughty. Don't think you are better than others simply because you possess a lot of things. Your soul is no more valuable or less valuable based on what you possess. Number 2: Thou shalt not trust in uncertain riches! The word “trust” here means expect. Don't expect that your bottom line is always going to be there. The Great Depression taught that to our forefathers, and we have yet to learn that lesson to the degree that they did. Jas 4:13,14 puts it this way: “ Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. “ Number Three: Thou shalt trust in the living God! Or as James puts it in James 3:15, “Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." Trusting in the living God rather than temporary riches is to expect Him to be true to His Word. And don't forget, He and His Word are eternal, but riches are temporary. You can't take them with you, and one day they will all be destroyed by fire. 2Pe 3:10,11 says, “ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Thou shalt trust in the living God! In other words, “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things (all that you need) shall be added unto you”

Thou Shalt Not Be Haughty

178 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. Let's establish a couple of things here. First of all, we are the rich! I am not writing this in some third world country. We live in a very affluent society. Secondly the rich (you and I) are commanded to do some things here. We are commanded to not be haughty. Just because you and I have been blessed with wealth does not mean that we should think more highly of ourselves than we ought. Never forget, this wealth can be taken away at any moment. Pr 23:5 says, “Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.” Never think for a moment that because you have money, goods, and abundant material things that you are somehow better than anyone else. This is an ancient trap! And you know what? We don't help the situation when we fawn over the well off in church! Jas 2:1-4 says, “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” With all of your fawning, have not you helped breed an attitude of haughtiness in the rich man? Have you not fostered an attitude of inferiority in the poor? Remember this from the Book of Proverbs, it will go a long way in fostering humility: Pr 22:2, “The rich and the poor have this in common, The LORD is the maker of them all.” There is no room for haughtiness in that statement.....only thankfulness, and that's the way it should be.

I Have Met the Wealthy and He Is Us

178 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. It was just a few verses back that Paul was addressing the matter of wealth and now he returns to it, but this time it is in an entirely different vein, and the difference is very important for us. A couple of verses back, Paul was talking about those who are driven to be rich and run the risk of shipwrecking their faith as their love of mammon replaces their love of God! “The LOVE of money is the root of all evil!” But what about those people who are wealthy simply because God has blessed them? What about those who are well off because they followed good biblical stewardship? What about those who come into an inheritance, or any other kind of windfall? This is good that Paul brings this matter up because he gives great guidelines for those who are wealthy in this present age! And guess what? That would be you and I, and so many others that have been blessed to live in the affluent U.S. of A! Notice a guideline that is missing? It's that one that Jesus gave to the rich young ruler in Mt 19:21, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." It's missing, because it's not necessary. Jesus used that extreme instruction for the rich young ruler because the rich young ruler foolishly thought he could obey his way into heaven. So take heart wealthy person. There is no need to give everything away. No need to take a vow of poverty! However, there are some things that the wealthy are commanded to do. We'll look at some of these things in the days ahead!

When the Unapproachable Becomes Approachable

176 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:14-16, “that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.” ( 1 Tim 6:14-16) The Holy Spirit speaking through Paul, reminds us that Jesus will be returning and that the time of His appearing is only known to the Father. The Bible tells us in Mr 13:32 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Then He breaks out into this wonderful praise of God! God is the blessed, that is the fully satisfied, Potentate. By that we take Him to be the only Authority who has need of nothing. He is the King of all kings, and Lord of all Lords! There are no authorities anywhere that are not subject to Him! Once again we are reminded of the truth of Ro 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” This self sufficient God has been that way throughout all eternity. He alone has immortality, every thing and every other created being has a beginning, and their beginning was in His hands, and the timing of the end will also be in His hands! He abides in unapproachable light and any hint of darkness (sin) cannot stand in His presence. 1Jo 1:5 says, “ This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” No man, tainted with sin, can see God. God told Moses in Ex 33:20, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live."But God put on humanity in the form of Jesus, (God in the flesh) to give us a view of the Father, as Jesus told Phillip in John 14:9, “ He who has seen Me has seen the Father;” The Father, who is worthy of all honor and has, and will, wield His power through all eternity. Amen, (truly truly!) As Paul describes the holiness of the Father, we can't help but wonder what will become of us? How can we possibly be in His presence? We are all sinners worthy of eternal punishment! That's where Jesus comes in! And this is the Good News, it is by faith in Jesus that we are saved. God looks at us having been clothed with the righteousness of Christ and therefore we are enabled to be in the presence of God for eternity. 1Co 15:53 says, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” Our only hope is to be clothed with Jesus on That Day. Have you received Jesus as your Savior?

Spontaneous Praise

176 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:14-16, “that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.” ( 1 Tim 6:14-16) I love it when Paul breaks out into these magnificent doxologies! They are like spontaneous explosions of words of praise describing in greater detail the God who loves us. They are easy to recognize because most times you could delete them from the text and not lose anything in the translation. For instance, verse 15 could be eliminated here and nothing would be lost in the shuffle! But here's the thing, they are not eliminated! They are there for us to absorb in all their glorious words! Some have suggested that these outbursts are proof positive of the very presence of the Holy Spirit as the words of the Bible are being penned. It is as Peter wrote in 2Pe 1:21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. I really like the thought of the very presence of God through the Holy Spirit prompting these outbursts. For one thing one of the duties of the Holy Spirit is to magnify Jesus! Jesus speaking of the Holy Spirit in Joh 16:14 says, "He will glorify Me,!” And when God the Son is glorified, God the Father is glorified! Joh 13:31,32 says, “ So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. 32 "If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately.” In my mind, these outbursts are helpful as we learn more about the qualities and will of God and help us to find those words that we often have a difficult time finding as we seek to adequately praise our Triune God! You know the One who is the only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, and everlasting power!.............. All praise to Him!

Lessons From Tylenol

175 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:13,14 I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, (1 Tim 6:13,14) As we have been saying, this is very important stuff? What stuff? The commandment! What commandment? The word commandment here means “authoritative prescription.” The authority here of course is Jesus Christ, our Great Physician.” His prescription is the Word of God! And this should take us back a couple of verses to 1Ti 6:3, “If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness,” So this commandment or authoritative prescription, is to continue to teach and consent to the wholesome (health giving prescriptive) words of Christ AND to the doctrine of Christ, (or what we are to believe about Jesus!) When your doctor prescribes medicine for you, he doesn't seek to dilute it, or taint it with other compounds. The medicine he prescribes for you is designed to work with your body and restore your health. So it is with the doctrine of Christ and all other wholesome words of Jesus. The Word of God and the teachings of Jesus and about Jesus are not to be tampered with. Timothy is charged here with keeping the medicine of the Word of God pure and unadulterated, and in 2Ti 2:2, he is charged with passing it along to those who would follow, and that includes us today! This command is for all for all time! In 1982, seven people died in Chicago from ingesting Tylenol tablets that had been tampered with. This tragedy resulted in the packaging that we use even to this day to prevent a recurrence. How much more should we resolve to keep the Word of God pure and unadulterated because what we believe about Jesus determines whether we spend eternity in heaven or hell! Jesus said in Joh 12:48 "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

What's Pilate Got To Do With It

173 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:13,14 I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, (1 Tim 6:13,14) How does Pontius Pilate manage to wriggle his way into this portion of Scripture? This question is more important than one might think. I hate to keep bringing it up (not really) but the mention of his name ought to cause us to think of the Apostle's Creed. You know that part in which we declare that Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried! This was the witness, (the Greek word here is martyrdom) of Christ, which was ordered by Pilate. It is the baptism that Jesus spoke of in Mr 10:38,39, that we are all to be baptized with. “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" 39 They said to Him, "We are able." So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized;” His crucifixion, ordered by Pilate is the basis of the good confession of our faith, that confession of Timothy's “in the presence of many witnesses,” mentioned in the preceding verse, namely baptism! The Bible tells us in Col 2:12) that we are “buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.' It is in our baptism that we are martyred without necessarily having to endure the physical aspect of what some disciples have endured, and certainly not enduring the extent of what Jesus endured on the cross for us. “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Rom 6:3,4) And so the actions of Pilate are a very important part of our faith story, for as we enter the waters of baptism, we put on Christ and enter into all that Jesus has done for us: Ga 3:27 says, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

The Author of Life

173 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:13a I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, (1 Tim 6:13a) This is the second time in this portion of Scripture, that Paul has called upon God as his witness, so what he is about to say must be important stuff! And don't overlook his statement about God “who gives life to all things!” God gives physical life to all things and spiritual life to all things! Let's look first of all at the physical aspect of God-given life. It seems like a no-brainer, but abortion statistics tell a different story. If we REALLY believed that God is the giver of life, then we would not end the life of unborn children via abortion. In fact this truth should cause us all to rethink our attitudes about who determines what children should come into this world and when. I want to call your attention to an incident recorded in 2Sa 6:23, “Therefore Michal (mih' cal) the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.” Wait a minute, God had taken it upon Himself to close the womb of Michal! Are you kidding me? God can open and close wombs? Yes, He has the power to do this. He is the Creator (or as Paul states here in this letter to Timothy, the giver of all life!) Some examples: He opened the womb of the aged Sarah, and she gave birth to Isaac. He opened the womb of Leah and she gave birth to Reuben. He opened the womb of Hannah and she gave birth to Samuel. He closed all the wombs in the house of Abimelech (Gen 20:18) It is as He says in De 32:39 'Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.' God knows life. He knows when to bring it, and He knows when to end it. Ps 139:16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. He has purposes for the shortest life and the longest. The sooner we learn this truth and live it out in our own lives, the sooner the scourge of abortion will end in our land! Let us never forget, in the matters of life and death.....Father knows best!

Baptism Always Requires Witnesses

171 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:12, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Tim 6:12) Timothy, you, and I, and all believers, are called to eternal life by the gospel. Ro 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes,” but we do more than believe, we make a public profession of our faith in the presence of many witnesses. How did Timothy do that? How do you and I do that? We do that by submitting to baptism. It's what we Christians do. Mr 16:16 says, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. You see baptism always requires a witness. You cannot baptize yourself! And even if there be just the baptizee and the baptizer as was the case with Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunich, there still are many witnesses at our baptism as we read in Col 2:12-15, “buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” Baptism is among other things, a public spectacle, it is visible God-given proof to the invisible principalities and powers that the one being baptized is now all in with Jesus! It tells the angels, (good and bad) that the battle is on! That's why the Holy Spirit, speaking through the Apostle Paul reminds us and encourages us to “fight the good fight!” Because like it or not, he who believes and is baptized is entered into a lifelong war, the noble battle of faith. The Good News is we enter the battle with the Son of God in us and on our side. And He defeated the devil when He rose from the dead. This same resurrected power is available to us as we fight the good fight of faith!

Fight To Stay In the Hand of Jesus

171 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:12, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Tim 6:12) The good fight of faith begins when you come to faith and ends when at last the prize of eternal life is consummated, in other words on that Day that you and I stand before the Lord where our eternal sentence is handed down. Grasp this truth! There is such a thing as eternal life and Judgment Day! Heb 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” What happens on that Day? Jesus summed it up in Mt 25:46 "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." And now you and I should have a better appreciation of the goodness (the nobility) of this fight. Eternal lives are at stake! Our lives, the lives of our spouses, children, friends, neighbors, co-workers, should we then draw back from the fray? It is important that we understand that the grasping of eternal life is not something we do in our own volition. We must always remember it is by grace we and everyone else are saved. Eph 2:8 says, “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.” And Jesus reminds us in Joh 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. Jesus has laid hold of the prize for us and by God's gift of faith, He holds us in His open hand, not a clenched fist. We have the freedom to walk away, and therein lies the battle. Fight to stay in the nail scarred hands of Jesus! Fight the good fight of faith! The world, your flesh and the devil will seek to lure you away. Stay put! The devil may dive bomb you like a pesky bird in that open hand, but he cannot snatch you away if you remain in the hands of Jesus!

This Ain't Mamby Pamby Land

169 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:12, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Tim 6:12) I remember my attitude about Christians in my pre-conversion days. For one thing I felt Christianity was a life lived in “mamby pamby” land. Lovey dovey choruses of Kumbayah were not for me. Real men quaffed beers, used coarse language, and participated in “tree knockin' down “ contests. Wow, was I in for a surprise when Jesus laid hold of me! I found out soon enough that you don't know what a real fight is until you lock horns with the devil, the world, and your flesh! Let me tell you, real men follow Jesus, and when you start to follow Jesus, the fight begins in earnest! The Holy Spirit, speaking through the Apostle Paul calls this the noble fight. The noble contest of life. Surrender your life to Jesus and enter the most noble fight on earth! Can there be anything more manly than that? Pursue! Contend! Here is Christian manhood, red-blooded, strenuous! Here too is the highest cause in all the world: THE FAITH! To give one's life for that is noble! Where is the nobility in a drunken stupor? Where is the nobility in gathering goods, and good times? What do you do when the good times come to an end? No! The fight of faith has eternal consequences! Everlasting effects for you, for your family, your neighbor, your world! And you fight a powerful enemy that you cannot see and you fight him to the end! This fight is not fought with fists, it is fought on our knees! It is fought in yielding to the Holy Spirit who uses you in powerful ways as you lean on Him to learn to love others by putting them first. Where is the manliness in living the selfish lifestyle of your past? Real manhood comes when you start to practice laying down your lives for others. This laying down does not require the actual act of martyrdom, although that may happen, rather it's a simple matter of laying down time that could have been spent on selfish pursuits, and laying them down to spend time and love on others.

This Is WAR!

169 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:12, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Tim 6:12) Sometimes in our rush to lead people to saving faith in Christ, we forget to tell them that they are about to enter a lifelong conflict of supernatural warfare. The devil is a sore loser and he will step up the pressure in the spiritual battle in an attempt to separate you from the love of God. Remember his name in the Greek is diabolos and it means to cast asunder or separate. The devil is his name and separation from God is his game. There is a chilling reminder of this fact spelled out for us in Eph 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Don't blow this off! Let it sink in! Let it bring chills to your spine! You have an invisible powerful enemy of your soul who desires to separate you from the love of God and bring you down to perdition with him on the last Day! But has God left us defenseless? No! In the very next verses in Ephesians 6, He gives us a strategy to use in fighting this enemy: 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--” Truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer. These are all things given to us by God! Use them to fight the enemy. To neglect any one of them is to give the enemy an opening with which he may use to drive a wedge between you and God!

Like A Carrot On A Stick

168 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. The word “O” is emphatic! It puts an exclamation point on what the Holy Spirit is speaking through Paul. Further, using the term “man of God,” as opposed to naming Timothy, reminds us that this advice is for all followers of Christ. The word “man” here knows no gender, it means human being. So this is for all of us, and we are given two instructions that in reality are one. We are told to flee some things and pursue others. When we properly flee, we are engaged in pursuing, and when properly pursuing, we are engaged in fleeing. A halt in flight, is a halt in pursuit, and visa versa. The carrot in front of us, moving us to pursuit includes righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. The dog nipping at our heels are “these things” which were mentioned in the preceding verses, and can be summed up as false ideas about Christ, lust for money and goods, and covetousness. Are you a Christian? Then (1) engage yourself in the pursuit of righteousness: This would be those things that are expected by the One who sets the rules...namely God! (2) Pursue godliness: worship of Jesus that breaks out in the aforementioned righteousness. (3) Faith: Assent to divine truths, especially the saving gospel, (4) Love: Agape love, giving others what they need, not necessarily what they want. ( here you can see the fleeing/pursuing relationship. Fleeing love of money and covetousness produces pursuit of benevolence (or agape if you will) (5) Patience: A quality that endures trying circumstances. (6) Gentleness: Humility, which basically means to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, believing that He is in control. It is this quality that helps the Christian to be patient. These things that we are told to pursue on earth will never be perfectly attained this side of glory, nonetheless we engage in the pursuit, because to stop pursuing is to let the dog nipping at your heels have his way and lead you into the deadly traps of false teaching, worship of mammon, and covetousness, which is idolatry. So let us pursue! Let us not weary in doing these good things, knowing that we will fail at times, but our Savior is right there with us ready to pick us up and get back in the race!

Love of Money

167 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Tim 6:10) This is one of the most misquoted passages in all of Scripture. People are fond of saying, “money is the root of all evil,” it's not! It's the LOVE of money that is the root of all evil! It is being greedy for money, an obsessive longing for possession of it, that is the root of all evil. Picture yourself as a plant. Your root system provides you with water and nutrients and it anchors you to the soil. If love of money is your root, if it is what is feeding you, your actions will be far different than the one who is fed by their love of God! And if money is anchoring you to the soil, well good luck when the market crashes or the deal falls through! Another misconception we have about this verse is the word “evil” We rightly think of horrible sins committed for the love of money. A classic example would be the murder of Naboth by Jezebel and Ahab for the sake of possessing Naboth's vegetable garden! More on that later. In the Book of James we are given the reason for most fights and wars: Jas 4:2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. These are evil side effects of the love of money, but the word evil here, means to retreat, to pull back, and the real evil of the love of money is the pulling back from saving faith! And as Paul states here, some have allowed their love of money to shipwreck their faith and thereby pierced them through with many sorrows. Do you still want to love money more than God? Then read of the piercing death of Ahab and the ignoble death of Jezebel in 1 Kings 22:29-38, and 2 Kings 9:33-37. An even worse fate awaits those who jettison their faith for the sake of money. Repent of your love affair with money before it's too late. This very day your life may be required of you! What will your possessions do for you then? Do you desire to be lifted from this temptation. Then pray the prayer of Peter we mentioned last time in the Prime Time Devo, as he was sinking into the depths he cried out “Lord save me!” and I might add, “from the tentacles of mammon!”

Temptation Sucking You In? Cry Out To Jesus!

166 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:9, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. (1 Tim 6:9,) I have a squirrel problem. They are thriving in my yard and they are thriving on my fruit trees and vegetable garden. So I bought a trap. It works great. I put some peanuts in the back of the cage, the squirrels enter the cage to get the peanuts and the door slams shut behind them. After a while they got wise to it and refused to enter the trap, so I sprinkled some peanuts along the way leading them into the trap and they eat the trail of nuts all the way to their capture. Pr 6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep- 11 So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man. This is the way of those who are disposed to accumulating goods and money. They are consumed by it, they reach for it every chance they get. Unlike the squirrels I trap and release, this preoccupation with accumulating wealth ultimately leads to destruction and perdition. You cannot serve God and mammon. The word “temptation” here is interesting. It means the deep sea or open sea. Imagine falling into the deep and open sea without a life jacket. Little old you against the massive sea. You are caught up in something from which there is no escape. The deep keeps calling to you desiring to overwhelm and consume you by drowning. This is what will happen to those whose mind is occupied with accumulating goods and wealth! Those who worship mammon rather than God! They end up with all the other spiritual pirates in Davey Jones locker! Only this perdition is not wet, it is the hell that Judas found himself in for thirty lousy pieces of silver! What to do? It is so easy to fall into this trap! I want you to think of Peter. The only man other than Jesus to experience walking above temptation (the deep sea if you will) when Jesus invited him to come to him on the water. What happened? Fear overcame him and he slipped into the depths of the sea! Is this not the way of temptation? Fear opens the door and down we go into the depths! Were it not for Jesus reaching out to Peter and pulling him out, he would've been lost! What did Peter do when he got caught up in the sea? The same thing you and I should do when we get caught up in temptation. He cried out to Jesus, “Lord save me!” Temptation sucking you in? Swirling in the depths? Cry out to Jesus!

The Greatest Way To Travel

165 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. Once again we see that word “godliness.” Remember, as used here in 1 Timothy the term has nothing to do with righteous behavior, rather, it's all about Jesus. It is the “doctrine of Christ,” It is what we as Christians must believe about Jesus. On that Last Day when Jesus returns to judge the world, it will not be about what we have accumulated or the good deeds we have performed, it will be about what you and I have done with the Son of God! Ac 17:31 says, "because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." We are all going to leave this world! If not by death, then by the rapture, and we are not taking any THING with us. The Holy Spirit, speaking through Paul reminds us again of that fact. It is great gain (the phrase means “the greatest means.” This is the greatest way to pilgrimage on this earth. Travel with faith in Jesus and no concern about gathering material things. Job said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD." 22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. (Job 1:21,22) Jesus reminded us in Mt 6:31-34, “Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Let these words from Jesus, Job, and Paul be our travel itinerary as we live in this world, for it is the greatest means of travel!

Beware of the Prosperity Gospel

164 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:4,5, “he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, 5 useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. ( 1 Tim 6:4,5) Paul continues his description of false teachers. Using smoke and mirrors, and wrangling over words with minds that have been rotted by an obsession of the flesh to finding loopholes and exceptions to the clear commands of God in order to justify sin. These useless wranglings (the phrase means misemployment, or misuse of the true meaning of the Word of God. It's twisting Scripture to fit our flesh rather than the Spirit. These false teachers see godliness (the doctrine of Christ) as a means of financial gain. What do I mean by that? Well, the doctrine of Christ includes the teaching that Jesus is God in the flesh and that upon ascending into heaven, He sent His Holy Spirit to indwell all believers! Some see an opportunity to gain financially from this arrangement. They pervert Col 1:27 to read, “Christ in you the hope of riches, instead of Christ in you, the hope of glory! Classic example is Simon the sorcerer in Ac 8:18-22, “And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, "Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit." 20 But Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 21 "You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 "Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. This portion of Scripture a clear warning for teachers and leaders in the church to check their motivation! There are some charlatans out there who twist the words of Scripture and the gift of the Holy Spirit in order to line their pockets and unfortunately, there are often many gullible sheep, blinded by the possibility of obtaining their own riches, who gladly withdraw from their bank account rather than following Paul's advice to withdraw from THEM!