Author: Ben Bourland

“He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?” 1 Timothy 3:4-5 -> me: Today’s reading was 1 Timothy 3:1-7 [Paul’s instruction on the character of an Overseer (Pastor, Elder, Minister, etc.)]. 

The first thing Paul says is that ‘If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task’ (vs. 1).  When Marianne and I were called on by our Pastor to pray about entering into the church’s eldership candidate program, I was very humbled and spent a lot of time reading all I could about Biblical Eldership.  I didn’t necessarily ‘desire’ to be a church elder but what I did desire was to serve my Creator with all of my heart, mind, soul, and strength; to glorify Him.  Here are my thoughts on this ‘desire’: The desire comes from a call.  The desire is pure in the action of being a servant to the Lord; only wishing to be used by God (as an apparatus) to Guide, Guard, and Grow the flock.  Therefore, glorifying God in every action, intent, and motivation.  There is no possible way of doing this effectively without embracing God’s strength and wisdom that only He can give; embracing through dwelling on God’s word day and night and seeking His will and purposes for His church. 

So, if you overcome that hurdle, there is another big one -> A man who cannot govern his children graciously and with good discipline, is no man for government in the church.  Potential in a greater sphere can be indicated only by a similar skill in a lesser sphere.  This is just as important today as it was in Paul’s day.  These words do not apply to just overseers; they apply to all professing Christians.  More simply stated: Lack of proper management at home-life disqualifies a person from leadership in the church.  Paul uses the same Greek verb for fathers ruling their children (prohistemi) that he used later for elders ruling the church -> 1 Timothy 5:7, 1 Thessalonians 5:12, and Romans 12:8.

“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.” 1 Timothy 2:8-10 -> me: Today my reading was 1 Timothy 2:8-15.  For some people, this passage is very hard to read as it goes against everything our society and culture is trying to tell us right now.  For Timothy this part of Paul’s letter spoke right to the heart of what he was dealing with in Ephesus.  For us, in 2020, it has relevance as well.  Let me focus on what the Lord has been revealing to me as I have pondered this passage over the last couple of days.  The nitty gritty of what Paul is getting at is distractions.  Distractions from the power of the gospel and the power of the Christian witness to not only those inside the church but outside as well.  Paul starts out this section with “I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling”.  Then he says a very important word -> ‘likewise’.  It is about focus (lowering the distractions around us) so that we can give all of our attention to the only One that matters – our Father in heaven through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Men are to lift holy hands without anger or quarreling and women are to not be distracted by focusing on their own appearance.  I also feel that another phrase from Paul is super important about his direction to women that we can all take away – “with modesty and self-control…with what is proper for women who profess godliness”.  What is proper for women who profess godliness?  It is the intentions of focus of the new creature they have become in the Lord.  What is proper becomes clear when we understand the role we have here on earth in light of a gospel that must get out before the end of the age comes.  Proper becomes clear when we throw away our wants and desires of the fleeting world in order to focus on the example and hope that is the Lord Jesus Christ.  Uber point -> Don’t be distraction (to yourself or others) in your worship of the One Who gave Himself for you, the One Who purchased you with the ultimate price.

“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;” 1 Timothy 2:8 -> me: Today’s passage was 1 Timothy 2:1-8.  Paul really moves into the meat of this epistle to instruct Timothy in ways of Pastoral-ship.  He starts with the importance that we should pray for everyone.  The wide the subjects of our prayer time the larger our vision becomes.  He then tells Timothy to pray for leaders and people in places of influence.  It is easy for us to leave out city, state, national, and world leaders in our prayer life but Paul tells us that praying for these can bring peaceable living and an undisturbed life…well, that is definitely not what we have now but praying for our leaders is no less important as it is a way that we Christians can have a part in the movement of God’s hand across a nation and world.  As we pray we develop godliness, reverence, and seriousness (holiness) and in stressful times like now these can be intensified.  Ultimately our goal as Christians, in fellowship with Christ, is to do things that please God – in our prayer, worship, and service…not to earn our salvation or God’s love (not possible) but to put a smile on His face when He looks in our direction and sees His Son’s reflection in ours.  The holy place of prayer is anywhere we are as long as we have the right attitude of mind, pure actions, and pure motives; these are essential in Christian worship. 

“This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith” 1 Timothy 1:18-19 -> me: My reading today was only 3 verses ending chapter one of 1 Timothy.  I became caught up primarily in Paul’s use of ‘shipwrecked’ as a way our faith is impacted when we ignore or reject a good conscience.  In order for us to ‘wage good warfare’, faith and morals are inseparably linked and epitomize the spiritual side of the Christian warrior’s armor.  The Greek verb used for ‘reject’ verse 19 is a strong one meaning a violent and deliberate rejection.  The nautical imagery is interesting in that a ship usually has everything we need in it for our voyage but if we ignore the charts and essentially do what we want against our conscience, we become unstable and prone to ground ourselves or break up on the rocks.  We become stuck in an unwanted place and we miss achieving our intended destination.  Dictionary: CONSCIENCE -> an inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one’s behavior.  This plays out in that fellow Christian who has deliberately chosen to entertain an enslaving sin, or reject the prodding of the Holy Spirit in their lives.  We see their faith consistent bashing into the rocks of doubt, confusion, or progressive unbiblical movements.  Ignoring a good conscience can be an open door to falling subject to false teaching.  Paul ends this passage with the calling out of 2 individuals (Hymenaeus and Alexander) who have been ‘handed over to satan that they may learn not to blaspheme”. Because Paul used the word ‘learn’ here it means that the handing over is meant to win them back into church through reconciliation as they learn their lesson through the reaping of the desires of their flesh. 

“…formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 1:13-14 -> me: Today my passage of study was 1 Timothy 1:12-17. These 2 verses above stood out to me for a couple of reasons. 1) The reflections of Paul on Christ’s enabling power only magnified his own sense of unworthiness. 2) God recognized in Saul of Tarsus a servant of mighty potential once he was enlightened. 3) Grace is an operative and formative force dominating both thought and action. 4) Grace is super-abundant in its ability to overwhelm any sin that has come or will be. I have felt this continual unveiling of my sin the closer I get to my Savior that Paul talks about. I have come to pray for it now; asking that the Lord, through His Holy Spirit, would reveal my tendencies toward sin so that I might act against it in His strength giving power. Acceptance of grace with just a simple faith leads to a life abiding in Jesus Christ where we receive an ability to love and grow our faith. This in turn becomes the evidence of that grace that started it all. I must allow myself to stay in this cyclical place – a vortex of peace, clear conscience, and hope to be with my Savior in heaven forever. What a gift God has given us in the ability to taste a little of heaven right here on earth in the here-and-now.

“…the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,” 1 Timothy 1:9-10 -> me: Today my reading was 1 Timothy 1:8-11.  Paul is laying out the purposes of the law for the two classes of people.  1) Those who are in fellowship with Christ Jesus through the acceptance of Him through faith that He died on the cross to pay for all our sin.  2) Those who are rebellious against God and others.  God created the Law before Jesus as way to give His children a way of identifying their sin.  In fact that law served as a way to hold sinners captive to a judgement they were due because of their willingness to sin.  In verse 8 Paul says ‘Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully’.  What the heck does that mean??!!??  I have spent quite a bit of time today researching this through scripture and the help of scholars and I believe I now have a good grasp.  Rather than talk about what the Law does for the non-believer lets talk about what we as Christians should do with the law.  In Romans 3 Paul says “by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” and then he says “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law”.  So what do we do if the Law is good but we should no longer be slave to the Law?  It means that the Law is no longer our means of justification.  That justification comes through faith in Christ alone.  So my focus, my whole being, should be to look first to Him for my salvation and justification…at the same time, the way I can use the law for the right purpose is to dwell on it (like it says in my life verses in Psalms 1:2) as a way to remember what Jesus has done for me.  I cannot use the law to win my salvation but I can use what the law represented in who I was before I met Jesus and use that to glorify His wonderful gospel all the more.  To remind myself of how much thanks and gratitude I owe Him for allowing me to die to that Law in order to live in HIS righteousness; a righteousness I did not earn and that I do not deserve.

“As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” 1 Timothy 1:3-5 -> me:  At the encouragement of one of our pastors at church, I am taking a small break from Jeremiah to make my way through 1st and 2nd Timothy as well as Titus.  Today was 1 Timothy 1:1-7.  Here is my takeaway from today -> False teachers are more interested in their own intellectual satisfaction than what they should know by faith.  The gospel and obedience to God’s work are all about FAITH.  Most importantly, LOVE springs from faith.  This love comes about through a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith itself.  Just like Timothy, I have a duty to protect my church from false teaching.  By losing their Christian bearings, these false teachers drifted into a trackless waste.  Without love they produce meaningless chatter…their focus is on their own people pleasing perception.  The irrelevance of the content of a message is a hallmark of a false teacher.  So what does this tell me – I must watch my own motives; first and foremost my heart is made pure by the word of God (John 15:3) and not only that but Jesus said that there is a special reward for those pure of heart —> They get to see God!  My faith must be sincere, not just a pretense without a solid foundation.  I must check my conscience (by listening to the Holy Spirit) that it is clear.  Finally, I must act by ‘charging’ or ‘commanding’ those who are false teaching to cease.  This is huge…and scary. 

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”” Jeremiah 17:9-10 -> me: I was only able to get through 3 verses today.  These verses are best summed up with the ‘Meaning’ written in my Tyndale Commentary -> ‘The sinful ways of individuals and the people as a whole will lead to disaster, because they have forgotten the Lord. Whatever is hidden in people’s hearts is not hidden from God. He will reveal the truth about every human being. This is true of the nation and also of individuals. The choice between God and the idols, truth and deceit, is ultimately a choice which will result in blessing or curse.’  When I live my life with the understanding that God sees the inner sanctum of my heart, mind, and thoughts, I am vigilant about crucifying my sin at every turn I get.  As a sinner I strive to live an upright and righteous life, but I do this clinging to the perfection of my Savior Jesus Christ.

“Blessed is the man who trusts IN the LORD, whose trust IS the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not  anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 -> me: What an amazing set of verses to run into today in Jeremiah.  My life verses are Psalm 1:1-3 and so these verses resonated with me so well!  Today my reading was Jeremiah 17:1-8.  First God uses imagery to explain how embedded the sin of Judah is. He says that their sin is written on the tablets of their hearts with an iron stylus with a flint tip.  There is so much here – 1) the sin is deep: iron was very heavy and drove itself deep into the rock. 2) sin catches fire: the flint tip would spark and flame when struck and dug into the stone of their hearts.  3) tablets of sin had replaced tablets of the law on their heart.  Israel’s greatest sin was turning to other earthly sources for protection, happiness, and strength.  Israel turned to Assyria for help instead of God, they trusted in their own intellect instead of leaning into God’s wisdom and purpose.  God says that people who forsake Him are like bushes in the desert; even in the rain it will not survive and the person who lives in the desert will have no support because it is void of God’s hand.  BUT!!!  Then we come to verses 7 and 8!  Who doesn’t want to be a tree planted by a stream, tapped into living water, where they are always full of God’s grace, where there is no fear of a year of drought, and because of the consistent living water always bearing fruit!

“Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the LORD.” Jeremiah 16:21 -> me: Today I went through the whole chapter of Jeremiah 16.  This is another chapter where we see the protection of God over Jeremiah.  He gives Jeremiah instructions for how to live in the land during this time so that he does not get exposed to the emotional horror that is about to befall the Jews.  He tells Jeremiah not to marry or have children because they will die of horrible diseases.  He tells him not to enter a house where there is a funeral meal because He has withdrawn His blessing, love, and pity.  He finally tells him not to enter a house where there is festive eating and drinking because He plans to bring to end and silence all sounds of joy and gladness.  God tells Jeremiah that there will likely be 3 questions he is asked and then follows with 2 answers – Q1) Why has the Lord declared such disaster on us? Q2) What wrong have we done? Q3) What sin have we committed against the Lord our God?  A1) Because your fathers forsook Me and followed other gods and served and worshipped them.  A2) Because you have behaved more wickedly than your fathers.  You are each following the stubbornness of your evil hearts rather than following Me.  God follows this up by saying – “Because of these things – I will show you no favor.”  Yikes.  In verses 14 and 15 there is a ray of hope in that God will at some point restore them out of bondage and the children of Israel will no longer talk about the God who brought them out of Egypt but the God who brought them out of the land of the North (Babylon).  The chapter ends with today’s QT verse.  God will receive and confirm the glory due His name.