Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

2 Timothy 2 1You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. 3Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. 5Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. 6The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Observation: As Paul continues to instruct his young disciple Timothy he urges him to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. That is an interesting phrase, how can you be strong in grace? If grace is a free gift in what sense can we be strong in it. As Paul goes on to describe what this looks like, he uses several analogies such as a soldier, athlete and farmer. In each case though in or

Encouragement to Be Faithful 3I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. Observation: In his second letter to his protégé “Timothy”, Paul encourages him to be faithful to the calling he has received and to fan into flames the gift of God, which he received through the laying on of hands. Apparently Timothy’s mother and grandmother successfully passed on the faith to their son/grandson. My first question is: what about his dad/granddad? Maybe this is

Paul's Charge to Timothy 11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. Observation: As Paul concludes this letter guiding his young mentor Timothy, he gives him this final charge. He realized that as Timothy sought to carry out his calling, there would be plen

Advice About Widows, Elders and Slaves 1Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. 3Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. 4But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. 5The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. 6But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. 7Give the people these instructions, too, so that no one may be open to blame. 8If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Observation: As Paul ends his letter to Timothy, he close

1 Timothy 4 7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. Observation: We all know how to train to run a race. We run a certain amount of miles to prepare each week. We vary the intensity. We try to eat better and watch the amount of alcohol and caffeine intake. Or, we know if we want to lose weight how many calories we need to consume and how much exercise will burn the right amount of calories or fat to get to our optimal level. And if we do these things we are likely to see good results. But Paul counsels Timothy to also train himself to be godly. Paul recognizes the value of physical training, but sees a much higher value in spiritual training. Importantly as we train or learn to be godly we see the benefits both now and in the life to come. As we read in the first few verses th

Daily Bread 1 Timothy 3 Overseers and Deacons 1Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. 2Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. 8Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscienc

Daily Bread 1 Timothy 2 1I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Observation: Paul shows his heart for lost people, including those in authority. He urges the believers to not just pray for themselves, but for all people, especially those with maximum influence. Before we would to lead anyone to Christ, the ground must be softened by prayers and intercession on behalf those whom Jesus died for. Importantly, we don’t have to convince God to be motivated to save people. God desires all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. As they discover the truth it will set them free from everything that would destroy their lives. There are some who think God is arbitrary or capricious about

1 Timothy 1 The Lord's Grace to Pau l 12I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 13Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Observation: As Paul begins his encouragement for his son in the faith, Timothy, he shows where his true strength comes from. Paul says that Jesus has given him strength and considered him faithful. It is out of Paul’s experience of grace that saved him from his past life where he finds strength to be faithful. As Timothy faces persecution and purveyors of bad doctrine, it will be this same grace and strength that will help Timothy to be faithful to the call of God on his life. Apparently it was prophesied that Timothy would be a leader in the church, and Paul recalls that for

2 Thessalonians 3 Warning Against Idleness 6In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 7For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. 10For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." 11We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. 13And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right. 14If anyone does not obey ou

11For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. Stand Firm 13But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. 16May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. Observation: Paul spends time talking about the lawless one who is at work deceiving people in the world. Before Jesus comes back a second time, this lawless one will be a

Daily Bread 2 Thessalonians 1 Thanksgiving and Prayer 3We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. 4Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 5All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. Observation: 2 Thessalonians has many of the same themes as 1 Thessalonians, including Paul’s encouragement to them to stay strong in faith and love. And also the reminder that when Jesus returns those who persecute them will receive what they deserve. In

Daily Bread 1 Thessalonians 5 16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 19Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22Avoid every kind of evil. 23May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. Observation: As Paul concludes this letter to this young church, he tells them to focus on three things. Be joyful, pray and give thanks. And he adds this is God’s will for you in Christ. Sometimes we wonder what is God’s will for us in Christ? There you have it! Sure we have some decisions that cause us to wonder where God is leading us. I am not trying to minimize the importance of those decisions. But as we live out our lives the more we focus on these th

Daily Bread 1 Thessalonians 4 Living to Please God 1Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. Observation: Paul concludes this short epistle to the Thessalonians, and in this last chapter urges them how to live their lives. He tells them that they have been sanctified or “set apart”, and should avoid things like sexual immorality, not only to show that they are God’s holy people, but also for their own good. (I.e. God doesn’t give us commands to make our life boring or miserable, but to protect us from things that spoil our lives!) What I like about verses 1-2 is that Paul says that he instructed them to live a life in order to “please God”. Many of us are good at being “people pleasers”, but that is not what Paul is saying. He is saying be a “God pleaser”. And then he says

Daily Bread 1 Thessalonians 3 1So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. 2We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God's fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. 4In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. 5For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless. Timothy's Encouraging Report 6But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you. 7Therefore, brothers, in all our distres

1 Thessalonians 2 Paul's Ministry in Thessalonica 1You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. 2We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. 3For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. 5You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 8We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. 9Surely you re