Author: admin

The apostle Paul first met Timothy when, on his second missionary journey, he visited the city of Lystra. Timothy’s mother and grandmother were believers, but his father was not. The busy, type A apostle saw something in Timothy that led him to invest his life into him. While Paul sometimes missed such opportunities, such as in his dealings with John Mark, he always had people around him into whom he was investing his life. Long after Paul was gone, the people he discipled continued to proclaim the message Paul had so faithfully preached.

What do you give to those you are mentoring or working with? Paul began with the goodness of God. He wished God’s grace on his young protege. Grace is God’s undeserved favor. It is what makes us like Jesus. Paul also sought God’s mercy in Timothy’s life. While Timothy was apparently a godly and sincere young man, everyone needs God’s mercy. And finally, Paul sought God’s peace. Peace is what we experience when everything between God and us, is as it should be. That was what Paul was striving for in Timothy’s life. As he walked with the young man, Paul sought to lead Timothy into the quality of walk with God in which he could experience everything God intended for him.

Whose life are you currently investing in? Are you helping them experience God’s grace, mercy, and peace?

True servants of God are people who function out of a sense of divine calling. They hold their positions because God clearly called them to it. One of the greatest weaknesses of today’s church is the number of people who serve in leadership positions as a result of their own choice and political maneuvering rather than by divine appointment.

Those who reject God’s call, also forfeit His corresponding power and blessing. How many leaders do you know today who are holding a position (at times tenaciously) but who demonstrate no evidence of God’s hand on their lives?

That could not be said about the apostle Paul. Paul had no doubt why he was doing what he was. God had called him! Why else would Paul suffer such abuse from his opponents and endure such disappointments from his alleged friends? Why would Paul keep preaching in the face of dire death threats? Why did Paul never give up, even when he was in excruciating pain? His sense of divine call gave him the strength and motivation to forge ahead, knowing he was fulfilling almighty God’s call on his life.

What has God called you to do? Do you have a clear sense of His purposes for you? Is that what is motivating your current leadership role? If you have grown discouraged or you feel uncertain of your future, take time to review and ascertain your call. The call of God can radically reorient your life and enable you to accomplish things you might never have dreamed were possible.

No one hated the church any more than Saul did. No one had done more to harm the early Christians than had Saul. He had brought great suffering to many godly, innocent people. Yet when he was converted, he instantly became a “brother” to every believer of his day. No longer was he an enemy. He was now family.

Christianity has no place for second-class members. There is no probation period where new converts must first adequately prove themselves before they are accepted. The moment someone becomes a Christian, they join the family of God as full members.

Saul had so persecuted the church that it took time for some to believe he was sincere. But he was no less family. His past was not held against him. No penance was required. Each believer knew that, but for the grace of God, they too would lie beyond the pale of divine salvation.

Who in your life do you struggle to accept as a member of the family of God? Are you skeptical of some? Do you watch and wait for some to fail? Or do you warmly embrace and encourage each new believer with the fervency of someone who has never lost the wonder of God’s grace in their own life?

God does not save us in order to make us comfortable. He saves us for His own glory. He does not redeem us so He can always “be there” for us. He transforms us so we can always be there for Him.

The risen Christ did not sugar coat His call on Saul’s life. He told him from the very beginning that His will was for Saul to suffer greatly. And he did. No one would have willingly enlisted for the assignment Saul was given. But once Saul met Christ, he realized he had no choice. He must obey. He owed Christ everything. Saul had no illusion that his life would get easier once he became a Christian. In fact, people began trying to murder him once he became a follower of Jesus.

God’s will is not that everyone should suffer like Saul did. The truth is that God has graciously blessed many of us to a far greater degree than we deserve. But for some of us, His will may include hardship. Are you prepared for that? Have you resigned yourself to gladly embrace God’s will for your life? Can you accept the challenges as well as the blessings God assigns to you?

At times God tells us things that seem unbelievable. In the first century, few things would have appeared to be a greater impossibility than that Christianity’s greatest enemy would become a Christian. Saul had terrorized the church. He had brutally hunted down believers and cruelly thrown them into prison. He was filled with anger and murder. No one seemed farther away from salvation than he did. Yet Saul was actually at the very doorstep of a spiritual new birth.

Are there people in your life who seem beyond the possibility of salvation? Are there people who are bitter at the church or critical of the Christian faith? They may not be as far away from salvation as you think. In fact, if we truly know and appreciate God’s power, we will recognize that all things are possible. Even as people are cursing God’s name, the Spirit may be inexorably drawing them toward the Savior.

You ought never to be surprised when a notorious sinner or outspoken agnostic accepts Christ. Likewise, you should never give up on anyone who seems beyond Christ’s reach. History demonstrates that Christ has found a way to reclaim even the most hardened of sinners. Perhaps He is at work right now in someone’s life you would least expect.

Being a shepherd in biblical times was not necessarily an honorable occupation. They were viewed as nomadic people whose definition of personal property was extremely flexible. When the flocks packed up and moved on, so, often, did the possessions of local inhabitants. So untrustworthy were shepherds that their testimony could not be admitted as evidence in a court of law. They would have been the last people you would think of to entrust an important message. Yet that is what God did.

The first people to ever be entrusted with the Gospel message were shepherds. The angels could have made an announcement in the Roman palace or the courts of the temple or the meeting chamber of the Sanhedrin, but they did not. Heavenly messengers were dispatched to announce the amazing news to people who were considered least in their society.

And how did the shepherds respond? They glorified God. They gladly received the good news. They were filled with praise for what God had revealed to them. They knew full well that they had been entrusted with something extremely important. God is no respecter of persons. He loves each individual. He wants each one to know the incredible news of what He has done for them. He also allows us the amazing privilege of delivering that message on His behalf.

There are many world religions today that appeal for people’s loyalty and devotion. Each clamors that it, alone, has the truth. Some are wholly intolerant of any rival. Each proclaims that it alone, bears the true marks of divinity. It is in this context, that Christianity declares that it is the true faith and provides the only path to salvation.

While there are many distinctive attributes of the Christian faith, there is one that is particularly compelling: joy. As soon as Jesus was born, the angels announced that their message was one of “great joy.” How could it not be? Salvation from every sin had been provided. Victory over death was finally possible. Alienation from the Creator was overcome. The power of darkness and lies was finally broken. Even the angels of heaven could not but express joy at the deliverance of such great news!

Christianity, in its essence, is a joyful religion. You cannot truly believe it and follow it without being filled with the joy of Christ (John 15:11). Too often we forget this. We become so embroiled in secondary issues that we lose the joy that should be ours at being adopted into God’s family. People who truly “get” what Christianity is really about, will be joyful people.

People throughout the ages have sought to know and understand God. Scientists have attempted to ascertain the mysteries of the universe and the laws the Creator built in to it. Theologians have grappled with doctrines and sought to glean from various Bible verses a clear picture of who God is. Philosophers have debated difficult issues such as: how could a loving God allow evil into the world? Countless Bible studies are held each week, around the globe by people sincerely desiring to know God better. The apostle Paul, one of the greatest theologians in history, declared that his greatest aim was to know Christ.

After we have spent 10,000 years inhabiting heaven, we will still have only begun to grasp a sense of who God truly is. Nevertheless, this verse offers a glimpse into the divine character for those who wish to understand His heart.

Ever since humanity’s fall in the Garden, God had been planning His glorious rescue of His creation. He had prepared His people by sending prophets throughout the centuries. God had waited until the Roman Empire had a common language and transportation system to carry the Gospel message to the corners of the globe. God had preserved His people through centuries of enemy attacks and global crises. Finally the time came to launch the greatest assault ever taken upon evil. The fate of humanity throughout the ages hinged on the outcome. Yet there was no room. When God’s only Son came to earth, there was no room for Him. He had to be born in a stable and laid in a feeding trough. Almighty God’s Son! Could God have found a palace for the sacred birth? Certainly. But He chose instead, the most humble of circumstances. That is God’s heart. It is not pomp and pageantry that delights our God. Rather, God is driven by a love that is willing to do whatever it takes, and a humility that delights in the lowly. That is the God we serve, and love.

History rolls on relentlessly. Time refuses to stand still for anyone. There was a time when the world trembled at the deeds of Alexander the Great. But he has now been dead for thousands of years. The world was also once under the powerful rule of Caesar August, the greatest emperor the world had ever seen. But he, too, eventually drew his last breath. Too often we function as if world events are being driven solely by the ambitious men and women who march across the world stage. It is as if dictators and terrorists are determining the future. But that is not so.

God has a divine plan He has been orchestrating since sin first entered into humanity. World leaders may defy God and blaspheme His holy name, but ultimately they are but instruments in his hands. How could the mighty Caesar in imperial Rome know that a decree to increases his revenues could assist in God’s plan to redeem the sins of humanity? In fulfilling a tax requirement, Joseph was bringing his betrothed wife to a divine appointment. God can use the most mundane human regulations and requirements for His purposes. Always be watching for God’s activity around you. Sometimes it occurs in the most unusual of circumstances.

Have you ever done a survey of all of God’s promises in the Bible? Have you ever made a list of everything God has promised to do for you, if you would believe Him? Or Obey Him? Or love Him? God offers many promises that aren’t even contingent on us doing anything! It is amazing enough that the Creator even knows us individually. What is incomprehensible is that He actually has plans for us in which He intends to use our lives for His divine purposes.

Too many of God’s people live their lives as if they must do the best they can for God. They try to be moral. They try to be faithful spouses and kindhearted parents and hardworking employees. But it never crosses their minds that almighty God has infinitely more He intends to do through them. We are content to offer up our ordinary, mediocre lives as an offering to infinite God.

The teenaged Mary could have dreamed all of her life and never imagined all that God intended to accomplish through her ordinary life. Developing her own plans would have been a colossal waste of time. Instead, Mary was an “early adopter!” That is, as soon as God revealed His plans for her, she was quick to embrace them, regardless of how frightening or immense they appeared to be. Oh that we had the simple, obedient faith of Mary! Could we not also pray, “Behold the servant of the Lord! Be it done to me according to your word!”