Author: admin

Before you begin today’s reading and reflection, take a few minutes to create or find a “sacred space”. If you’re in your room, make yourself a small space with as few distractions as possible. Put aside any books, music, magazines; turn off your phone; get away from your email/facebook; turn off your music; etc.

Now, pull out your Bible, and as you take some deep breaths, pray this short prayer: “Lord, help me be still and listen to your voice now and throughout this day and the next. Amen.”

(You can choose to read the whole chapter, or just the passage that is shown)

⁷ Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, ⁸ do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, ⁹ where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.  ¹⁰ Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’  ¹¹ As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’”

¹² Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. ¹³ But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. ¹⁵ As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

¹⁶ For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? ¹⁷ And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? ¹⁹ So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Reflection:

1. Chapter at a Glance: The author continues his argument that Jesus is supremely great. He is greater than the angels, the author of a great salvation, and great enough to become man to accomplish it. Now, the author turns his attention to Moses, regarded by the Jews as the greatest of men.  The author accepts Moses’ greatness but shows that as great as he was, Jesus was greater by far.  Next, the author pointed out that the generation Moses led failed to respond to God’s voice, and as a result was unable to enter God’s rest.
2. These verses warn against two enemies of the spiritual life: a hardened heart (v8) and unbelief(v12).  The Exodus generation heard God’s word through Moses.  However, they would not trust God and refused to obey Him.  As a result, they found neither rest nor peace.
3. This is the same with us today.  When we heard and responded to the message of Jesus, we are invited to experience a rest and complete inner peace.  However, if we are not willing to trust God completely and refuse to respond to God’s voice, then we will not experience this peace of God.
4. Stay quiet before the Lord and reflect: Are you saved yet miserable?  Do you believe God but still anxious?  Have you repented yet unresolved?  Could it be that you have hardened your heart, and are unwilling to obey God?  Ask for guidance and a willing spirit to trust and obey God.

Prayer & Journaling:

If you have a prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 25:23-24

²³ The north wind brings forth rain,
    and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.
²⁴ It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
    than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

Before you begin today’s reading and reflection, take a few minutes to create or find a “sacred space”. If you’re in your room, make yourself a small space with as few distractions as possible. Put aside any books, music, magazines; turn off your phone; get away from your email/facebook; turn off your music; etc.

Now, pull out your Bible, and as you take some deep breaths, pray this short prayer: “Lord, help me be still and listen to your voice now and throughout this day and the next. Amen.”

(You can choose to read the whole chapter, or just the passage that is shown)

¹ Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. ² For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, ³ how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, ⁴ while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

⁵ For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. ⁶ It has been testified somewhere,

“What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? ⁷ You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, ⁸ putting everything in subjection under his feet.”

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. ⁹ But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

Reflection:

1. Chapter at a Glance: This chapter begins with the first of several warnings found in Hebrews.  Christians must heed Jesus’ message.  It reveals the destiny God gives us through Jesus who took on humanity to break the enslaving grip of death and Satan on human.
2. The image of “drift away” pictures an ancient sailing ship, anchored near shore.  As the sailors sleep, the wind picks up, and the anchor begins to drag slowly across the sandy bottom.  By the time the sailors awake, the ship is pitching dangerously in heavy seas.
3. God’s word is a sure message, confirmed by witnesses who heard Jesus teach and saw His miracles, and confirmed by the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Yet it is so easy for us to neglect.  Unless we give constant heed to Christ’s word, we can drift unaware from our moorings and lost our way in life.
4. Have you neglected God’s word?  Have you ever found yourself drifting away from God?  How did you get back to God?  Ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen your commitment to give Scripture your constant attention and make sure to put God’s Word into practice.

Prayer & Journaling:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell me.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in the  “Spiritual Journal” book.

Proverbs for Today 25:19-22

¹⁹ Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble
    is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.
²⁰ Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart
    is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,
    and like vinegar on soda.
²¹ If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,
    and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
²² for you will heap burning coals on his head,
    and the Lord will reward you.

Before you begin today’s reading and reflection, take a few minutes to create or find a “sacred space”. If you’re in your room, make yourself a small space with as few distractions as possible. Put aside any books, music, magazines; turn off your phone; get away from your email/facebook; turn off your music; etc.

Now, pull out your Bible, and as you take some deep breaths, pray this short prayer: “Lord, help me be still and listen to your voice now and throughout this day and the next. Amen.”

(You can choose to read the whole chapter, or just the passage that is shown)

¹ Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. ³ He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

⁵ For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”?

Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?

⁶ And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”

⁷ Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.”

⁸ But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

¹⁰ And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; ¹¹ they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, ¹² like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”

¹³ And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

Reflection:

1. Chapter at a Glance: The author makes a vital point that we can trust the Old Testament, for God spoke to man through the prophets of old. But we can trust the New Testament even more, for the agent of that revelation was God the Son!  God did not merely speak to us through men, He became a man, and spoke to us directly. The author drew on the Old Testament to show that Jesus the Son is superior to angels in His nature and in His mission.
2. Everything of Christianity hinges on Jesus. The author of Hebrews tells us clearly and unmistakably who Jesus is. Jesus, the Son, is the “heir of all things”, the visible expression (the radiance) of God’s glory, an exact imprint of God’s nature. Jesus, the Son, upholds the universe, while His word alone enables it to exist. Jesus, the Son, having dealt decisively with the problem of sin, sat down at the right hand of God, the place of power and authority.
3. Spend time meditating on the passage.  How incredible it is that Jesus is to be like a mirror to reflect God’s image to the world!  Then consider the monumental act of holding everything together.   He is indeed the backbone of human history!  Is your knowledge of God different from what is described here?
4. Ask God for the courage and guidance to help you mirror Jesus to the world, reflecting him as you go about every day.  Consider how you might reflect Jesus today – and do it.

Prayer & Journaling:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell me.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in the “Spiritual Journal” book.

Proverbs for Today 25:15-18

¹⁵ With patience a ruler may be persuaded,
    and a soft tongue will break a bone.
¹⁶ If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,
    lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.
¹⁷ Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house,
    lest he have his fill of you and hate you.
¹⁸ A man who bears false witness against his neighbor
    is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow.

Before you begin today’s reading and reflection, take a few minutes to create or find a “sacred space”. If you’re in your room, make yourself a small space with as few distractions as possible. Put aside any books, music, magazines; turn off your phone; get away from your email/facebook; turn off your music; etc.

Now, pull out your Bible, and as you take some deep breaths, pray this short prayer: “Lord, help me be still and listen to your voice now and throughout this day and the next. Amen.”

(You can choose to read the whole chapter, or just the passage that is shown)

⁸ Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, ⁹ yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— ¹⁰ I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment.¹¹ (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) ¹² I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. ¹³ I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, ¹⁴ but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. ¹⁵ For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, ¹⁶ no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

¹⁷ So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.¹⁸ If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. ¹⁹ I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. ²⁰ Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

REFLECTION

1. Paul asked Philemon to stop seeing Onesimus as a runaway slave, and to begin seeing him as a dear brother.  The gospel makes the same request of each of us. We’re to see everyone as individuals of infinite worth and value, for whom Christ died. And we are to see Christians as dear brothers/sisters and to love them as members of our family.
2. Are there one or more Christians that you have a hard time accepting as brother or sister in Christ?  Why is it hard to think of this Christian this way?  Is it the background, ethnicity, behavior, cultural or theological difference, or something else? What would need to change in you in order to accept this person as a Christian brother or sister?
3. Talk to God about your struggle of accepting others.  Thank God that He accepts your and sees you and other believers as no less than His very own children.  Ask God to help you see others with the same eyes.
4. As you encounter people this week who are different from you, remind yourself that God sees them with the label “my children” – and that means you too.

Prayer & Journaling:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell you.

If you have a prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 25:11-14

¹¹ A word fitly spoken
    is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.
¹² Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold
    is a wise reprover to a listening ear.
¹³ Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
    is a faithful messenger to those who send him;
    he refreshes the soul of his masters.
¹⁴ Like clouds and wind without rain
    is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.

Before you begin today’s reading and reflection, take a few minutes to create or find a “sacred space”. If you’re in your room, make yourself a small space with as few distractions as possible. Put aside any books, music, magazines; turn off your phone; get away from your email/facebook; turn off your music; etc.

Now, pull out your Bible, and as you take some deep breaths, pray this short prayer: “Lord, help me be still and listen to your voice now and throughout this day and the next. Amen.”

(You can choose to read the whole chapter, or just the passage that is shown)

¹ Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, ² to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.³ For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. ⁴ But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.⁸ The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.⁹ But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. ¹⁰ As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him,¹¹ knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

REFLECTION

1. This letter is full of ethical admonition and moral exhortation. Yet, Paul in closing reminded us again that we do good works not in order to win the favour of God, but because God’s favor has been graciously given to us in Christ. Therefore, we ought to live like it. We are to live disciplined, purified, spiritually committed lives – lives that put faith into practice – not in order to get somewhere with God but rather, because of the mercy of God.
2. In doing what is good, which are you more motivated by: the call of duty? Fear of judgment? Hope of Christ’s return? Gratitude for what God has done for you? Desire to work for peace in your relationships? Needs of others?
3. Read vv4-6 again slowly.  What do you know about God’s grace?  How does this knowledge affect your desire to do good? Tell God about it.

Prayer & Journaling:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell you.

If you have a prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 25:8-10

What your eyes have seen
⁸     do not hastily bring into court,
for what will you do in the end,
    when your neighbor puts you to shame?
⁹ Argue your case with your neighbor himself,
    and do not reveal another’s secret,
¹⁰ lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,
    and your ill repute have no end.

¹ But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.² Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.³ Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, ⁴ and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.⁶ Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.⁷ Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, ⁸ and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. ⁹ Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, ¹⁰ not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, ¹³ waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

¹⁵ Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

REFLECTION

1. Paul exhorts Titus to “speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine.”  Such things include the proper conduct expected of Christians, both male and female, young and old, and of those who are servants.  Even Titus was to present himself as an example for others to follow.
2. Paul then writes of the grace of God that brings salvation to all men.  Grace teaches us about the way we live, for grace teaches us to reject sin and to do good. Jesus Christ redeemed us from sin. But he has a purpose for us beyond that: he wants to purify us, to eliminate the sin, and to create in us a desire for good behavior “so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior”.
3. People often judge the gospel by the way Christians live. The way we live, the way we work, the way we treat our families and neighbors, all make a difference in how receptive people will be to the message we share.  Do you make the gospel look good, or do you give people reasons to complain?

Prayer & Journaling:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell you.

If you have a prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 25:4-7

⁴ Take away the dross from the silver,
    and the smith has material for a vessel;
⁵ take away the wicked from the presence of the king,
    and his throne will be established in righteousness.
⁶ Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence
    or stand in the place of the great,
⁷ for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
    than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

¹ Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, ² in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began ³ and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;

⁴ To Titus, my true child in a common faith:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

⁵ This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— ⁶ if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.⁷ For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, ⁸ but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. ⁹ He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

REFLECTION

1. One of Titus’ tasks was to strengthen the organization of Crete’s churches. This was done by appointing leadership teams in each congregation according to the qualifications Paul laid out for Titus.
2. If your church search committee is currently looking for people who meet these qualifications to become elders or deacons, would you be qualified for nomination? Why or why not?
3. Identify the qualities in vv8-9.  Which quality on this list do you most desire to develop in yourself? Where or who can you ask to help you develop them?

Prayer & Journaling:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell you.

If you have a prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 25:1-3

¹ These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.

² It is the glory of God to conceal things,
    but the glory of kings is to search things out.
³ As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,
    so the heart of kings is unsearchable.

¹ I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: ² preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. ³ For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, ⁴ and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. ⁵ As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

⁶ For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

REFLECTION

1. Paul has known plenty of discouragement, and persecution.  But he looked back over his life with a sense of satisfaction without regret or shame.  Through it all, Paul kept on serving.  He fought a good fight.  He ran a good race.  He kept the faith.  And now he looked forward to his reward.
2. Paul wants us to know that God has the same reward for each of us.  We can also live our life here aware that this earth is temporary, and all its pleasures are passing.  We will yearn not for the things of earth, but for Jesus to return.  This yearning will keep us, as it kept Paul, faithfully committed to God and whatever ministry God has given us, until we meet Christ in person.
3. What would it take for you to be at peace with your own death? Do you have a sense of completion?
4. In what way could you encourage someone in the next generation to continue the work of Jesus Christ?

Prayer & Journaling:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell you.

If you have a prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 24:30-34

³⁰ I passed by the field of a sluggard,
    by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
³¹ and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
    the ground was covered with nettles,
    and its stone wall was broken down.
³² Then I saw and considered it;
    I looked and received instruction.
³³ A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,
³⁴ and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

¹⁰ You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, ¹¹ my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.¹² Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³ while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it¹⁵ and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

REFLECTION

1. The Bible is good for us and it gives us doctrine (it tells us a truth that means more than our opinions). The Bible gives us reproof and correction (it tells us when we are wrong in our thinking or conduct). The Bible gives us instruction in righteousness (it tells us how to live rightly before God and men).
2. Imagine you are living an interactive life with God, all day long, you experience God gently showing you the truth, exposing your rebellion, correcting your mistakes, and training you to live his way.
3. Why would this be the best way to live? Are you willing to live like this?

Prayer & Journaling:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell you.

If you have a prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 24:27-29

²⁷ Prepare your work outside;
    get everything ready for yourself in the field,
    and after that build your house.

²⁸ Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause,
    and do not deceive with your lips.
²⁹ Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;
    I will pay the man back for what he has done.”

¹⁴ Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. ¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. ¹⁶ But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, ¹⁷ and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,¹⁸ who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. ¹⁹ But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

²⁰ Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. ²¹ Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

²² So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. ²³ Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.²⁴ And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,²⁵ correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

REFLECTION

1. Slowly read these verses (esp. 22-26) and let the message saturate your heart and mind.  Imagine Paul is sitting beside you, speaking these words to you directly.  How do you feel when you hear them?  What part of the passage resonates most with you?  Why? 
2. Would the “evil desires of youth” seem a little patronizing?  Or you just like to have “foolish and stupid arguments”, or there is still bitterness in you that you get into “quarrels” a lot?  Perhaps Christian maturity such as “be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful” seems impossible or defeating?  Maybe with some people you’ve lost hope that they might “come to their senses”?
3. Continue to sit in silence and explore what God might want you to do with this instruction.  How are you to live it out today? This week? This month?

Proverbs for Today 24:23-26

²³ These also are sayings of the wise.

Partiality in judging is not good.
²⁴ Whoever says to the wicked, “You are in the right,”
    will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,
²⁵ but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,
    and a good blessing will come upon them.
²⁶ Whoever gives an honest answer
    kisses the lips.

³ I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. ⁴ As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. ⁶ For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, ⁷ for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

⁸ Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, ⁹ who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, ¹⁰ and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ¹¹ for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, ¹² which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.¹³ Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

Reflection

1. It’s amazing what people are willing to suffer for.  Some are willing to suffer to receive a gold medal.  Some are willing to suffer to reach a mountaintop.  Some are willing to suffer to obtain certain physic.  Others sacrifice home and family to make more money on a job that takes them constantly on the road.
2. Paul asks believers to “share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God” (v8).  The gospel is the expression of God’s grace, revealed in Christ’s appearance, that announces God’s victory over death and invites everyone to come to Him for “life and immortality” (v10).  Now that is something worth suffering for.  In times of suffering, if we learn to rely on the power of God, they become opportunities for God’s continued effort to transform us into his image.
3. Use this new melody to an old poem by Annie Johnson Flint (1866-1932) to reflect on the cost and blessings of following Jesus.  “God has not promised skies always blue”    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcH0nMt-pTU

Proverbs for Today 24:21-22

²¹ My son, fear the Lord and the king,
    and do not join with those who do otherwise,
²² for disaster will arise suddenly from them,
    and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?

¹¹ But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,¹⁴ to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,¹⁵ which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

REFLECTION

1. Paul talked about some of the things that can mess up a person’s life in the first part of the chapter (vv3-10).  He then told Timothy to run from them and to run toward something else: “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness” (v11).  Timothy is told to run hard and fast, holding nothing back, why?  To win, of course.  And why do we run to win?  Because this is a race worth winning, and therefore it should engage the whole of us – body and soul, mind and spirit, all our strength, all our time, all our attention, all our heart.
2. There is no time for detours of gossip or dead ends of speculation on the course.  The race is to the swift, not the slacker, to the one who is running hard and fast for the finish line, not the one who is wandering off course on some fanciful side trip.  How well are you running this race?

Prayer & Journaling:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell you.

If you have a prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 24:17-20

¹⁷ Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
    and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
¹⁸ lest the Lord see it and be displeased,
    and turn away his anger from him.

¹⁹ Fret not yourself because of evildoers,
    and be not envious of the wicked,
²⁰ for the evil man has no future;
    the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

¹ Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, ² older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

³ Honor widows who are truly widows. ⁴ But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.⁵ She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, ⁶ but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. ⁷ Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. ⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹ Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband, ¹⁰ and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work.

REFLECTION

1. The church should care for the widows with no family to care for them.  Widows have been vulnerable individuals throughout the Scripture and God has always shown special concern for their protection. Timothy was to value and honor these windows.  They were to be kept busy and active in the church, and were involved in training the younger women as in Titus 2.
2. How many widows do you know in your extended family, or among your close friends?   How are their needs met?  How is your church doing in caring for people in need?  What endeavors should you make in this area?

Prayer & Journaling:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell you.

If you have a prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 24:13-16

¹³ My son, eat honey, for it is good,
    and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
¹⁴ Know that wisdom is such to your soul;
    if you find it, there will be a future,
    and your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁵ Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous;
    do no violence to his home;
¹⁶ for the righteous falls seven times and rises again,
    but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.