Friday September 10, 2021

Friday – September 10th – 1 Timothy 4:1-2     -----     
 
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 
2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 
 
The Daily Walk Bible inspirational thought for today:
      CLOSE YOUR EYES AND YOU WILL SEE EVERYTHING YOU ACTUALLY POSSESS.*
 
    Happy Friday to you! We are on the brink of yet another weekend in 2021 as the traditional work week draws to a close. I wonder if today’s inspirational verse had a similar effect on you as it did me. I would categorize my initial response as chilling, convicting, and yes, awakening. We tend to spend so much of our time and effort in gathering things around us, yet when we are finished here on earth none of our possessions will go with us to our final destination. And even sadder is that what we leave behind has the potential to become objects of conflict by those who stand in line to inherit. The awakening for me is that I need to invest more time and energy into where I will end up, and not on what I will end up without.

     In our pick verses today, we begin the fourth chapter in Paul’s first letter to Timothy, the young preacher assigned to lead the church in Ephesus. With this new chapter Paul begins it with a five-verse teaching on a subject he is very familiar with– false teachings in the last days. It goes without saying that what Paul is writing in the mid-part of the first century is still extremely relevant today. No one knows when the “last days” will actually happen, but signs of defections from accepting the truth that comes from God has been readily apparent in every generation since this writing. The tug of war for the souls of believers is a never-ending battle. Satan will use every tactic available to lure Christians away from a faith in Jesus. One of the greatest weapons of the devil is championing truth that is only slightly off base, but then even partial truth in the eyes of God is completely wrong. Those who eventually depart from the Christian faith that they once embraced usually do so because they have accepted altered truth as their new reality. Discerning God-centered truth is a full-time job for every believer. We must stay in the word, we must stay connected in a community of faith, and we must seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in all things.

Blessings
   Pastor Jim
Saturday – September 11th – 1 Timothy 4:3-5

*Tyndale. The Daily Walk Bible NLT (Daily Walk: Full Size) (Kindle Locations 48857-48858). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

1 Comment


Rick - September 10th, 2021 at 7:05am

Another reason for Christians to drift from Christ is that their foundation all along was more sand than rock. Construction on that foundation never ends.