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The book of Timothy was likely written around 62 to 64 AD, shortly after Paul’s first imprisonment. Paul was writing to his protege’ and “spiritual son” Timothy who was leading the church in Ephesus.

1 Timothy 3 offers timeless guidance on the kind of character God desires in those who lead His people—and, by extension, in every believer. Paul lists qualities for overseers and deacons such as being above reproach, self-controlled, faithful in marriage, temperate, gentle, and good managers of their households. While written for church leadership, these traits model Christian maturity and integrity in all areas of life. The passage reminds us that spiritual influence begins with personal character, not position or charisma.

For everyday life, this means living with consistency—what we are in private should match what we claim in public. It challenges us to pursue humility, self-discipline, and respect for others. Our homes become the first testing ground for faithfulness and stewardship, showing that godly leadership starts in small, unseen acts of service.

Paul also stresses that the church is “the pillar and foundation of the truth,” grounding our behavior in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our conduct reflects the reality of that truth to the world. Whether leading a family, workplace, or ministry, we are called to be examples of grace and integrity that point others to Christ.

In essence, 1 Timothy 3 calls us to a life of credibility, compassion, and conviction—living in such a way that Christ’s character is visible through ours, and our influence builds up the people and communities God has entrusted to us.

Psalm 97

God is King. Jesus is King. Holy Spirit is King. Does your life reflect that? Who calls the shots?

Psalm 97 is a royal psalm declaring God’s justice, sovereignty, and righteousness. The first five verses set the scene as you would in an intense thriller movie. Dark clouds are surrounding him, the base of His throne is righteousness and justice, fire spreads ahead of Him and destroys His enemies, lighting flashes, and finally mountains melt. If you don’t have a picture of the awesomeness of God after reading those verses, I’m not sure you ever will.

Verse 6 reminds me of Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s in all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein”. God is sovereign. The heavens declare His righteousness and all the people’s see His glory!

Idolatry has always been a practice throughout all of world history. The heart of flesh that we all have is futile and exceedingly wicked (Jer. 17:9). Humanity always wants to worship something they can see and handle. We know that any idol is utterly useless (Ps. 115:4-8). This same line of thinking is what led Israel to want a king and is what led Catholicism to have a pope. We want to see our “king” with our own eyes. We want him to protect us and to speak for us. We want to be able to actually see him, not just see the evidence of Him. Don’t put your trust in the pope, in any king other than THE KING!

Know that God still reigns and is still sovereign. The political climate may lead us to think that there can’t be a God who is directing all authority, but there is. His name is Jesus. Obey His commandments for He is King. You can’t call Him King if you don’t obey Him. Someday, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess. Don’t wait until that day, for it will be too late. Trust in Jesus today and obey Him.

Today’s Reading : Psalms 95

Throughout our daily conversations, we use familiar phrases and words to relate our emotions and our situations. These phrases are part of our common speech.  These are commonplace when you’re speaking to people who have similar backgrounds. As an example, this past Halloween evening, while giving out candy I met my friend and their child.  When I saw them I stated  “you made out like a bandit“. The dad laughed and the child looked at me with confusion.  The dad and I are from the same generation. I was congratulating the child on a very productive trick-or-treating and  then I had to explain it that he got a lot of candy and it was a good thing.

Sometimes the words and phrases that we use can have a hidden meaning or a hidden message. It’s about the audience and the speaker. The speaker has to know the audience and has to direct the information and the language to them. When the message is not clear a disconnect happens and then there is a loss in translation or a point of confusion due to the hidden messages.

In today’s passage,  we see the author’s gratefulness and  appreciation for the deliverance and the joy that God has given the people. But as you read through the psalms, there are hidden messages that we might not see, but are  familiar to the people of Israel. That’s where we have to dive deeper and to see the true meaning of the scripture and the verses.

“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭95‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.” Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.””

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭95‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

In these sections we can see the gratitude and the happiness that we have for God and for the salvation that is given to us.  

In the latter sections, we have the hidden messages. 

Meribah is the place where the newly freed people of Israel became mad at God and began to quarrel (the direct translation of Meribah) about God’s provision and promises. 

This is where they began to test, Massah, God’s ability to fulfill the promise.  They allowed their own understanding to override God’s promises.  They hardened their hearts and attempted to do things on their own.  This testing didn’t happen just once but continuously throughout their 40 year journey. Even Moses was susceptible to doing things his way, and this prevented him from going into the promised land.

God has many things ready for us and has many things promised to us. We all have questioned God’s provisions and God’s ability to fulfill his promises. When God has promised these things to us and we have a relationship with Him, we have to be able to wait until his promises are fulfilled.  

Let us pray that God allows us to see the hidden messages that He has in store for us. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to give us comfort in the times when we feel unsettled and anxious about the promises that He has in store for us. May we pray that God continues to give us refreshment and give us peace in the times of our anxiety and our struggles.

Be blessed

“What comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.” ~ A.W. Tozer

Psalm 94 serves as a reminder for me about who God is. Sometimes we forget. Maybe you’ve been shunned or put down. Maybe “good people” have treated you unfairly, or you were left out — not invited to the table, not included in the group.

In those moments, we might assume it’s discipline. We think, “I deserve this because of what I’ve done.” But statements like that reveal a lot about what we actually believe about God. If we see Him as only just, then we might interpret hardship as punishment, it’s His justice being served. If we believe we must be good to earn His favor, then we assume our suffering is somehow keeping us in His grace.

But Psalm 94 paints a different picture. It reveals several encouraging truths, even in hardship, about God: His steadfast love (v.18), His active consolation (v.19), and His role as our stronghold and rock of refuge (v.22). The psalmist doesn’t describe a God who punishes His children, but rather One who holds them steady when they’re about to slip.

Today, we also remember another expression of God’s character, the ultimate gift of Jesus. Because justice demands a price, God sent His Son to pay it in full.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” — Isaiah 53:5 (ESV)

Through Jesus, justice was satisfied and mercy was magnified.

Psalm 92

Has anyone ever woken up in the morning to pray or lied down at night to pray and not found at least one thing to give thanks to God??  I know, me either.  In fact, it is 1,000% the opposite.  I bet anyone of us could sit down and write a list to last all day long of everything in our lives that we could thank God for.  I mean, He has given all of us everything that we have so far achieved or received. He brought us through yesterday, gave us this day today, and God willing that we wake up tomorrow and are blessed to praise Him for all we have again until our time on Earth is done.

Psalm 92 is a reminder of this, to be thankful while also being humble.  Sing about His love in the morning and His faithfulness at night.  There will never be a shortage of reasons for any of us to never give thanks to and worship God.  The cycle will repeat every day for the rest of your life.

What we see in the second half of this passage is familiar throughout many stories and messages in the bible.  The wicked always seem to flourish momentarily but it never lasts forever.  It’s the righteous who are always the last left standing.  Verse 12, “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon”.  This is God’s people, compared to those that seem to be doing great for a while but wither away, much like a weed.  Even when the tree gets older, it stays fruitful, fresh and full of life.

Verse 15, “The Lord is upright; He is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in Him.”

“Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”

Psalm 90:14 is a heartfelt plea from Moses for renewal and joy in the midst of human frailty and divine judgment. Having reflected on the brevity of life and the weight of sin earlier in the psalm, Moses turns to God with a humble request — that His mercy would come early, filling the hearts of His people with satisfaction and gladness. The phrase “satisfy us early” speaks not only of urgency but also of a desire to begin each day anchored in God’s steadfast love. Moses understood that true joy does not come from possessions, achievements, or length of years, but from being satisfied in the mercy and presence of God Himself.

This verse reminds believers that while life is fleeting and uncertain, joy can be constant when rooted in divine mercy. Each morning becomes an opportunity to be filled anew with the assurance of God’s forgiveness and faithfulness. When our hearts are satisfied in Him first, even difficult seasons can be met with peace and gratitude.

For today’s Christian, Psalm 90:14 calls us to begin each day by seeking God’s mercy through prayer and reflection on His Word. It is an invitation to let His grace shape our outlook before the demands of the world take hold. In doing so, our hearts are steadied, our attitudes transformed, and our days filled with rejoicing — not because life is easy, but because God is enough.

Heavenly Father,
Satisfy my heart this morning with Your mercy and love. Before the noise of the day begins, fill me with the joy that comes only from knowing You. Teach me to find my contentment not in what I achieve, but in Your steadfast presence.

When I am weary, remind me that Your compassion is new every morning. When I am anxious, let Your mercy quiet my spirit. May the joy of Your salvation steady me through every challenge, and may my words and actions reflect the gladness that comes from walking with You.

Lord, help me to live each day aware of how brief life is, but also how rich it can be when spent in Your grace. Let Your favor rest upon me and establish the work of my hands for Your glory.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Written with the assistance of ChatGPT

2^nd Thess. 1

Both Paul’s first letter and his second letter deal heavily with eschatology, or the study of end times. Paul is trying to clarify some misunderstandings that the believers in Thessalonica had about the rapture and Jesus’ second coming to the earth. The emphasis of this first chapter of Paul’s second letter is to provide some comfort and hope for this church which is suffering some intense persecution. Despite the hardship, persecution, and suffering this church was facing, Paul commends them for their growing faith and love for one another. A common theme throughout the church in history is that when persecution runs rampant, faith grows. When persecution is nonexistent, faith is weakened. It is because persecution refines the faith of the church the same way that fire refines and purifies gold. It makes you worthy of the kingdom of God in the sense of sanctification, not justification (v.6).

Sometimes it is hard to trust that God is just when you are suffering persecution and you don’t see immediate vengeance. Passages like this help us to cling to the truth that God will make every wrong right when He returns. Sin requires a punishment. Either you pay that punishment or you let Jesus pay that punishment on the cross by surrendering your life to Him. God promises that those who do evil and don’t obey the gospel will suffer a painful punishment from Jesus’ presence and from the glory of His power. What does this passage encourage the believer who is suffering persecution to do?

1. Cling to the hope of eventual rest (v.7)
2. Consider your persecutions an opportunity to witness (v.4)
3. Count your persecutions as a purifier of your faith (v.5)

God will take vengeance. He is a just God. Be patient in your tribulation. He has overcome the world (John 16:33).