1 Timothy 6:1-21 What are you running to? All of us live with a goal and a finish line; the only question is what they are. What is your life's purpose, what are you pursuing, and what is the goal of your life? Leadership demands that we chase after the right things and climb the right ladders.Paul challenges Timothy to, "Flee from all this (pursuit of wealth), and pursue righteousness, godliness,...

1 Timothy 5:1-25 Everyone needs a rocking chair in the kitchen. When my mother was elderly, dealing with cancer, and sitting in a rocker in my kitchen area, she quoted my grandmother who said, “A rocking chair always needed to be in the kitchen.” When I inquired more about the statement, she explained that as a woman aged, she could live with the family, sit in a rocker in the kitchen and still be...

1 Timothy 4:1-16 We are in a war for truth. Since the Garden of Eden, Satan has been spreading lies and enticing people away from the truth of God. His work has never stopped and continues in our lives and those around us. The question is: how are you going to fight amid this battle?The way we fight in this spiritual war is to walk in and communicate the truth. We need to stand firm on the truth a...

1 Timothy 3:1-16 What are the most critical qualities of leadership? What characteristics should we seek in prospective church leadership? Is it the successful businessman? Is it a wealthy individual or a charismatic person with lots of friends? Paul wants us to understand the necessary qualifications for a person in leadership according to 1 Timothy 3.So often modern leadership is focused on comp...

1 Timothy 2:1-15 If you were to take over a company, what is the first thing you should do? If you were promoted to boss, what should your first act be? If you are a new parent or entering into a marriage, what is the best first step you should take as a leader? Paul in 2 Timothy 2 is going to help us answer these questions.We might think leadership starts with casting vision or making a loud, ene...

1 Timothy 1:1-20 Our reading of 1 Timothy begins what are called the Pastoral Epistles. The letters of 1&2 Timothy and Titus provide critical instructions for leadership. Since every one of us is called to make disciples and thereby function as leaders, these letters are critical for our understanding and our lives. So, as you begin reading, consider the people and areas of life which God has plac...

2 Thessalonians 3:1-18 “The Lord is faithful.” Do you believe this statement to be true? Through the ups and downs of life, have you experienced God’s faithfulness? What did this look like?Understanding God’s faithfulness is one of the key truths for us to embrace about God. Even if everyone else abandons us, God never will. In 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul mentions the wicked and evil, the idle, busybo...

2 Thessalonians 2:1-17 Are you able to survey the brokenness of our world and still have a sense of peace, hope, and joy? Paul was concerned the Thessalonians were becoming “unsettled or alarmed,” so he wrote about their ultimate source of peace —Jesus. The truth which should bring hope into our lives is Christ’s return and his making all things right. Regardless of life's challenges, Christ's tri...

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12 How do you feel about God being a judge and Christ returning to judge the world? Podcast interviewees recently claimed if we got rid of the doctrine of hell and God’s judgment, then it would make Christianity a lot more palatable to our culture. Though easier for people to swallow, they would be embracing a lie. The doctrine of hell and God’s judgment is true and brings hope...

1 Thessalonians 5:4-28 Are you the same person during the day as you are at night? Most of us are probably the worst version of ourselves at night. We get tired, grumpy, angry, and just want to be left alone. This is even more true as we consider crime rates, DUIs, and other illegal activity during the day versus at night. Darkness brings out the worst in everyone, which is why, as believers, we a...

1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:3 Our culture and even Christians view many sins as okay if they do not seem to hurt anyone. This is especially true around sex. Behaviors such as pornography, sex outside of marriage, and homosexual sex are viewed as normal, ordinary, and justified behaviors. Yet Paul points out a myriad of problems with this perspective in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8.To walk in any sexual sin is ...

1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:13 We can all confuse pleasure and contentment with joy. We can become pleasure addicts seeking the next fix or feeling a loss of pleasure when things don’t go according to plan.There is an experience that is more satisfying than momentary happiness and it is joy. It is not fleeting but a deep state of mind that is obtainable by all believers. Joy is ultimately not to be foun...

1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:8 When you think of a model you might think of a person walking along a runway wearing unrealistic, extravagant, costly clothing. Someone who is attempting to draw attention to themselves. Paul called the church of Thessalonica models but a completely different type. They were models that embodied a life of following Jesus and, in doing so, showed how life should be lived. So...

Colossians 3:18-4:18 Jesus said the two greatest commands were to love God and love others. These are not meant to be two distinct realities but rather a love for God that overflows into a love of everyone. Paul’s focus in Colossians 3-4 is on what it looks like to love others well. He wanted the church to understand that their relationship with God should impact all other relationships. How do yo...

Colossians 3:1-17 Get your mind out of the gutter! This is a phrase you have probably heard many times and potentially even used yourself. Today's passage challenges us not just to get our mind out of the gutter but to get it all the way to heaven. We are to think upon things of God, things which are eternally meaningful and significant. This idea of dwelling upon eternal things may simply seem li...

Colossians 2:8-23 Would you like a warranty on that? Would you like to supersize your drink or make that a meal? Wherever we go we are bombarded by attempts to sell us a newer, bigger, and better version of what we already have. This is not only true of material things, but Colossians 2 tells us there is a similar spiritual temptation to think that Jesus is not enough.Paul tells the church that Ch...

Colossians 1:18-2:7 Have you ever been asked an absurd question like: if you were a tree, what type of tree would you be? Or, if you were an animal, which one would you be? Obviously, the right answer is: who knows?!?!? I am not a tree and I am not an animal; I am a human made in the image of God. Yet Scripture often uses the imagery of plants and animals to help us understand who we are. Read Col...

Colossians 1:1-17 One of the most beautiful and succinct descriptions of Jesus is Colossians 1:15-20. This is a helpful passage for us to reflect on as we consider the identity of Jesus. Paul begins by stating that Jesus is truly God and has revealed God in a way that had never occurred previously. No one could see God, but when Jesus took on flesh, he revealed the invisible. Then, as God, Jesus i...

Philippians 4:1-23 The world we live in is a constantly changing environment. The values of the world are always in flux; what is considered moral is up for grabs, and truth changes on a whim. Amid this, we are called to “stand firm.” We are not to be moved; instead stand upon God’s truth.In Philippians 4, Paul explains the characteristics of a firm foundation. We are to walk in unity and love for...

Philippians 3:4-21 I took an accounting class in college. One of the challenging aspects of accounting was figuring out whether something was an asset or a liability, whether it was a credit or debit. If you had to list everything in life on an accounting ledger, what would go on which side? You might initially think that things like relationships, jobs, material assets, and a myriad of other thin...