Tuesday Reading: 1 Timothy 4:11-16
Key Verse: 1 Timothy 4:12
12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Devotion:
It should not just be that desire to tell people the truth but also that heart-felt desire to do what is righteous. That can be very hard when we are living in a world that surrounds us with all manner of evil and vain distractions, but try we must. God has already told us that He will not allow things into our lives that we cannot stand up to – so when those temptations do come our way we should be ready standing and knowing that they can be turned away and that we can continue to stand up for God in everything that we do.
This particular verse can be looked at from two points of view, one being that we should not allow people to look back on our youth or past and allow them to be able to pick up on all the wrong things we have done. In other words we should not be doing those things wrong so that they have nothing to turn back on! Or the other way of looking at it is to make sure that people do not have occasion to look at the youth that surround us and pick up on the bad things that they do… but how can we possibly stop that? Simply by teaching them what is right, right now, before they go there!
One of the things that has become my passion is to minister to the youth in my area. Whilst I do not get as much time as I would like to be able to spend with them I do treasure each moment I can spend with them now. When my children were growing up I spent far too much time making sure that my work and my business were getting the right attention and did not focus enough on them. Fortunately God was walking with us at the time and was able to keep them mostly on track even when I was failing at times. I praise God for the way that my children have been able to survive this world and now He has given me a charge to reach out to those children that simply do not get the Godly attention they so richly need.
We need to stand by God and trust Him with everything in our walk; and that also means that we need to trust that He will send us in the direction that he needs us and that we will be able to listen to Him when He calls for us. But when He does call we need to make sure that we go forward in faith, in love, in deed, in our actions and above all in all purity. Children in a society that is not walking with God need His protection always and we need His protection to be able to walk close to them to encourage them. Be aware of what the evil one can do and stick with God!
Points to Ponder:
Are you listening to God’s instructions?
Are you obeying those instructions?
