1 Timothy 1 (HCSB)
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope:
2 To Timothy, my true son in the faith.
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
False Doctrine and Misuse of the Law
3 As I urged you when I went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach different doctrine 4 or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies. These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan, which operates by faith. 5 Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. 6 Some have deviated from these and turned aside to fruitless discussion. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on. 8 But we know that the law is good, provided one uses it legitimately. 9 We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral and homosexuals, for kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching 11 based on the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was entrusted to me.
Paul’s Testimony
12 I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry— 13 one who was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Engage in Battle
18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies previously made about you, so that by them you may strongly engage in battle, 19 having faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and have suffered the shipwreck of their faith. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are among them, and I have delivered them to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 4): Lord, please forgive me for not always putting my faith in Your plans and often even trying to be in control. Help me to release this control to You, Lord.
PROMISE (verse 14): Your grace is an over-flowing grace and covers everything and every mistake we make if we simply give it to You.
ATTITUDE (verse 16): God, please help me to embrace and internalize Your attitude of patience that You have shown towards me, so that I may be patient with others.
COMMAND (verse 5): You command us that the goal of Godly instruction is LOVE which comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.
EXAMPLE (verses 12-14): Lord, please help me to follow Paul's example. Although he had a very sinful past, he did not allow that to form his identity anymore as he placed his identity in Jesus!
*DAILY NOTE: Identity is such a lost thing to me. For so long my identity has not been in Jesus. It has been in the flesh, the sin, the world, others, my past experiences, my past mistakes, and pretty much everything but Jesus. Father, I need help to truly know who I am to You and in You. Please continue to help guide, mold, and mentor me so that I can know what You say my identity is, Lord. Thank you.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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