Wednesday 13 Jun 2012

Wednesday Reading: 1 Timothy 3:14-16

Key Verse: 1 Timothy 3:16
16  And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Devotion:
When we say that we serve a living God it is not that we are slaves to a God of wrath but rather that we are willing servants to a God that is real, is alive and continues to reign of all. Yes God is awesome. Yes God is to be feared. Yes God is Holy and Just. Yes God is not to be trifled with. But God has continued to show His love for us, man, in ways that we marvel at and struggle to see as logical when we find out what state we are in in His eyes.

When this letter was written by Paul to Timothy it contained many aspects of encouragement, discipleship and teaching not just to Timothy but to all that would read it over the years. Paul was a very busy man as he strove to fulfil the task of preaching the gospel to others as God had commanded him to and we see that he did feel guilty about not being able to be with everyone all of the time. Even we, in this digital age, must admit that we cannot be everywhere at once. We can spread God’s Word more readily and quicker than the Apostles would ever have dreamt of being able to, but we cannot personally accompany people in multiple places. Whilst emails, personal messages and phone calls may go a long way to being able to encourage others, it is that personal accompaniment or that personal touch that makes the biggest difference.

Paul was under no doubt that his being there with Timothy would have made a bigger impact than just sending a letter, but because he knew that he may not make it in time, the letter was the best option available. As long as we, the recipients, are willing to sit down and read the words carefully and take them in as if Paul was personally with us, we can obtain the encouragement that Paul wished for Timothy.

The encouragement for us to seek God through Christ must come from the fact that the Apostles were personally instructed by Christ in what they should be doing in order to spread the gospel. They were given the absolute truth so that they could pass that truth on to us so that we too could pass it on to others. That truth is that God gave us His only Son in the form of a man so that our sin debt could be collected and paid for once and for all to free us from the debt once and for all. Praise God!

Points to Ponder:
What does it take to encourage you?

How much do you look to God’s Word for encouragement?