not measuring up

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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not measuring up

1 Timothy 1:12-14 (JDV)

1 Timothy 1:12 I give gratitude to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful, appointing me for the assistance –
1 Timothy 1:13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief,
1 Timothy 1:14 and the favor of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and care that are in Christ Jesus.

not measuring up

Paul had been telling Timothy that some would use the law as a standard for condemning others, but would reject the excellent message (the gospel) which is the only thing that can change a heart.

He uses himself as an example of this. His life was changed because Christ had mercy on him. He did not “measure up” to God’s standards. He came to God like everyone else does: through repentance and faith.

LORD, thank you for having mercy on all of us — who do not measure up.

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legitimate law

Posted on May 3, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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legitimate law

1 Timothy 1:8-11 (JDV)

1 Timothy 1:8 But we know that the law is good, provided one uses it legitimately.
1 Timothy 1:9 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,
1 Timothy 1:10 for fornicators, homosexuals, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is different than the sound teaching
1 Timothy 1:11 that conforms to the excellent message about the glory of the blessed God, which was entrusted to me.

legitimate law

Timothy would encounter “Bible teachers” whose only concern was to show others how holy they were. But Paul told him that they were using God’s law in an illegitimate way. Its legitimate purpose is to condemn lawbreakers.

If you are really concerned about making yourself holy, you will seek the excellent message: the gospel. Only thorough God’s grace can we overcome our tendency to break his law.

LORD, build us up with your gospel!

 

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the right results

Posted on May 2, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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the right results

1 Timothy 1:5-7 (JDV)

1 Timothy 1:5 Now the intended result of our instruction is care that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.
1 Timothy 1:6 Some have missed these and turned aside to fruitless discussion.
1 Timothy 1:7 They want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on.

the right results

How do you know if all your Bible study is producing the right results? Those results should be:

  • a caring heart toward others
  • a good conscience internally
  • a sincere faith in God

If our Bible study is not producing that, then we may have turned aside to fruitless discussion.

LORD. Show us how to use your word to produce the right results.
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clarity, courage, commission

Posted on May 1, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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clarity, courage, commission

1 Timothy 1:3-4 (JDV)

1 Timothy 1:3 As I urged you when I went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus so that you may direct certain people not to endorse different doctrine
1 Timothy 1:4 or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies. These promote empty speculations rather than God’s commission, which operates by faith.

clarity, courage, commission

Paul had described Timothy in the salutation to this letter as his “true son in the faith.” It looks like Timothy wanted to join his true father in the faith, and leave Ephesus. It must not have been easy as a young man to manage a major city with multiple congregations. He probably felt incompetent at times, and wished he could be back with his mentor.

But Paul told him to stay put. Timothy was exactly where God wanted him, and exactly where Paul needed him. Jesus had given them all a Great Commission, to make disciples of all nations, and Ephesus was ground zero for Timothy.

LORD, give us clarity as to where you want us to start making disciples for you, and courage to get there and stay put.
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loaded letters

Posted on April 30, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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loaded letters

1 Timothy 1:1-2 (JDV)

1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, a missionary of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope:
1 Timothy 1:2 To Timothy, my true son in the faith. Favor, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

loaded letters

We should be careful not to draw too much from a mere salutation, but it is hard to follow that rule in Paul’s letters. He fills his salutations with such deliberate wording that it is hard not to stop and analyze each word.

  • Paul identifies himself with the task he was called to. An apostle is a person sent from a superior with a message. I use the word missionary because I think it denotes the kind of relationship and task that Paul was describing.
  • Paul addresses Timothy as more than just a coworker. He had helped disciple this man. He was concerned that Timothy become all that God meant him to become, and not get sidetracked or deceived.
  • Paul was a man of prayer, and his prayers overflowed into his daily work. We should not be surprised that his letters contain prayers.

Paul’s letters were deliberate. Even their salutations — were loaded with content.

LORD, make us people who make every moment count for you.
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how short my life is

Posted on April 29, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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how short my life is

Psalm 89:46-52 (JDV)

Psalm 89:46 How long, Yahveh? Will you hide perpetually? Will your anger keep burning like fire?
Psalm 89:47 Remember how short my life is. Have you created all the sons of Adam for nothing?
Psalm 89:48 What courageous person can live and never see death? Who can save his throat from the power of Sheol? Selah
Psalm 89:49 Lord, where are the former acts of your covenant faithfulness that you swore to David in your reliability?
Psalm 89:50 Remember, Lord, the ridicule against your servants – in my heart I carry abuse from all the peoples –
Psalm 89:51 how your enemies have ridiculed, Yahveh, how they have ridiculed every step of your anointed.
Psalm 89:52 Blessed be Yahveh permanently. Amen and amen.

how short my life is

The final appeal that ends this psalm is an appeal for God to remember how short a human being’s life is. God lives permanently and is blessed permanently, but the lives of the sons of Adam are short. Our lives are too short to allow anything to come between us and our great God. If he is angry with us, we must repent and reconcile with him. If he seems hidden and not displaying his power by answering our prayers, we must keep storming his doors, seeking his presence. Our lives are too short to just let it be.

LORD, your servants are being ridiculed. Remember us!
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no one else

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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no one else

Psalm 89:38-45 (JDV)

Psalm 89:38 But you have spurned and rejected him; you have become enraged with your anointed.
Psalm 89:39 You have repudiated the covenant with your servant; you have completely dishonored his crown.
Psalm 89:40 You have broken down all his walls; you have reduced his fortified cities to ruins.
Psalm 89:41 All who pass by plunder him; he has become an object of ridicule to his neighbors.
Psalm 89:42 You have lifted high the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice.
Psalm 89:43 You have also turned back his sharp sword and have not let him stand in battle.
Psalm 89:44 You have made his splendor cease and have overturned his throne.
Psalm 89:45 You have shortened the days of his youth; you have covered him with shame. Selah

no one else

Up until this point, the psalmist had been celebrating God’s faithfulness to his covenant and king. Now it appears that God has changed his mind. Either the king has sinned and needs to repent, or his loyalty is being tested.

Either way, God is in control, and any follower of God needs to keep clinging to him, even if it seems God has become enraged. We have only one Savior. We have no other option.

LORD, we come to you for help. We have no one else.
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like the moon

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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like the moon

Psalm 89:19-37 (JDV)

Psalm 89:19 You once spoke in a vision to your covenant devotees and said: “I have granted help to a warrior; I have lifted high someone chosen from the people.
Psalm 89:20 I have found David my servant; I have anointed him with my sacred oil.
Psalm 89:21 My hand will always be with him, and my arm will strengthen him.
Psalm 89:22 The enemy will not oppress him; the wicked will not afflict him.
Psalm 89:23 I will crush his foes before him and strike those who hate him.
Psalm 89:24 My reliability and covenant faithfulness will be with him, and through my name his horn will be lifted high.
Psalm 89:25 I will extend his power to the sea and his right hand to the rivers.
Psalm 89:26 He will call to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the rock of my deliverance.’
Psalm 89:27 I will also make him my firstborn, greatest of the kings of the land.
Psalm 89:28 I will permanently preserve my covenant faithfulness for him, and my covenant with him will endure.
Psalm 89:29 I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as sky lasts.
Psalm 89:30 If his sons abandon my instruction and do not walk by what I judge,
Psalm 89:31 if they dishonor my prescriptions and do not keep my commands,
Psalm 89:32 then I will call their rebellion to account with the rod, their iniquity with blows.
Psalm 89:33 But I will not withdraw my covenant faithfulness from him or betray my reliability.
Psalm 89:34 I will not violate my covenant or change what my lips have said.
Psalm 89:35 Once and for all I have sworn an oath by my sacredness; I will not lie to David.
Psalm 89:36 His offspring will continue permanently, his throne like the sun before me,
Psalm 89:37 like the moon, established permanently, a faithful witness in the sky.” Selah

like the moon

The moon does not always appear in the sky, but it is there. God compared his faithfulness to David with the moon. It waxes and wanes. It is sometimes full, sometimes partial — invisible when it is “new” — but that moon is always there. This is a wonderful simile describing God’s faithfulness to his chosen king.

LORD. thank you for your covenant faithfulness — always there.
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great and good

Posted on April 26, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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great and good

Psalm 89:5-18 (JDV)

Psalm 89:5 Yahveh, the sky praises your wonders – your reliability also – in the assembly of the sacred ones.
Psalm 89:6 Yes, who in the sky can compare with the Lord? Who among the sons of gods is like Yahveh?
Psalm 89:7 God is greatly feared in the council of the sacred ones, more awe-inspiring than all who surround him.
Psalm 89:8 Yahveh, God of Armies, who is strong like you, Yah? Your reliability surrounds you.
Psalm 89:9 You rule the raging sea; when its waves surge, you still them.
Psalm 89:10 You crushed Rahab like one who is slain; you scattered your enemies with your powerful arm.
Psalm 89:11 The sky is yours; the land also is yours. The world and everything in it – you founded them.
Psalm 89:12 North and south – you created them. Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at your name.
Psalm 89:13 You have a mighty arm; your hand is powerful; your right hand is lifted high.
Psalm 89:14 What is right and what you judge are the foundation of your throne; covenant faithfulness and truth go before you.
Psalm 89:15 Fortunate are the people who know the joyful shout; Yahveh, they walk in the light from your face.
Psalm 89:16 They rejoice in your name all day long, and they are lifted high by your righteousness.
Psalm 89:17 You see, you are their magnificent strength; by your favor our horn is lifted high.
Psalm 89:18 Surely our shield belongs to Yahveh, our king to the Sacred One of Israel.

great and good

All of God’s attributes can be categorized as reflecting his greatness or his goodness. His people can go forward because they have a great strong God (8) and he is also a good righteous God (16).

Thank you, LORD, that you are good, holy, and righteous, and also great, strong, and mighty.

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celebrate him

Posted on April 25, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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celebrate him

Psalm 89:1-4 (JDV)

Psalm 89:11 I will sing about Yahveh’s covenant faithfulness permanently; I will proclaim your reliability to all generations with my mouth.
Psalm 89:2 You see, I will declare, “covenant faithfulness is built up permanently; you establish your reliability in the sky.”
Psalm 89:3 (The Lord said,) “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn an oath to David my servant:
Psalm 89:4 ‘I will establish your offspring permanently and build up your throne for all generations.'” Selah

celebrate him

What do you sing about? David chose to sing about God’s covenant faithfulness to him and his family.

Our life’s significance is found not in how hard we work, but who we worship.

LORD, we chose to celebrate you and your faithfulness.

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