Today's reading: 1 Timothy 2:1-15

'I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.' - 1 Timothy 2:12 ESV

I was in one of our Life Groups last year and heard one of our female students say, "I don't like this" when reacting to this passage. I have to agree with her. When I only look at the words on the page (without context), it bothers me as well.

Is the local church supposed to be hard patriarchy where the women are second-class members? This was certainly true in first-century Jewish and Greek culture. William Barclay wrote, "The respectable Greek woman led a very confined life. She lived in her own quarters into which no one but her husband came. She did not even appear at meals."

In light of Galatians 3:28 (check it out), we can't imagine this is what Paul had in mind when he said "quiet." There has to be something more cultural (not intracultural) happening in this 1 Timothy passage.

From Phoebe (Romans 16:1-2) to Philip's four daughters (Acts 21:9) to Junia the missionary (Romans 16:7) to Priscilla who helped teach Apollos (Acts 18:26) to Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:46-55) to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18) -- we see that women were not silent. We have been the better for it.

Everyone in the body of Christ has a role to play (Ephesians 4:16). This does not undermine the role of men in the church. On the contrary, when women live their lives in faith, love, holiness, and modesty, everyone in the church benefits (I pray these four over my daughter every day). So this passage doesn't oppress women; it instead gives them a seat at the table.

Men are still supposed to be the lead servants in the marriage relationship (see Ephesians 5:21-33) and in the local church (see our reading for tomorrow), but we are equal in value, both in the church and in our homes.

Today’s reading: 1 Timothy 1:1-20

“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” - ‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Paul starts this first letter to his protege, Timothy, in the most interesting way. He warns him of false teachers and how he should not get sucked into their arguments.

One of the words that keeps coming up in 1 Timothy is the word conscience (used 4X). Paul includes it here in between a pure heart and a sincere faith. It is important!

Eugene Nida defines “conscience” (syneidēsis) as the “the psychological faculty which can distinguish between right and wrong.”

I cannot think of a more relevant word for our world today and what we see missing so often. So many people do not know the difference between right and wrong. They make our conscience subjective to our circumstances.

Yet God created our conscience to help us know right from wrong, and the Holy Spirit heightens this sensitivity (see John 16:8).

Felt convicted lately? Don’t dismiss it. Instead, confess it.

Today’s reading: 2 Thessalonians 3:1-18

Even while we were with you, we gave you this rule: "Whoever does not work should not eat either." - 2 Thessalonians 3:10

Much is said in the local church (and in the New Testament) about not relying on our own working but on the working of God. Look no further than Galatians 2:20.

Yet here we see that the Thessalonian church had a rampant problem of idleness. The economy at this time was to the point where those with a skill or trade were forced to become day laborers to make ends meet. Yet some were probably free-loading off others in the church to avoid common, hard work.

This may lead us to this question: "What work would we be unwilling to do to ensure that we, and our families, will be provided for?"

Any kind of work will take a great amount of humility and grit to carry out consistently, even if we are doing something that we love. May we, as Christians, be known as the hardest working people around. May we be known for our tenacity, honesty, and reliability.

All while bringing glory to Jesus!

Today’s reading: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17

“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.” - ‭‭2 Thessalonians‬ ‭2:8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Much is said of this “man of lawlessness” or “Antichrist” in the book of Revelation. After reading the verse above (and all of our passage today), my mind went immediately to Revelation 19:11-21. The scene is set and pictures Jesus riding on a white horse, exalted in power. His blood-drenched robe is leaving a trail of white (see verse 14). Jesus even seems to have a tattoo to remind us of who He is (see verse 16).

The battle is set. Armies face-off against Jesus. Yet the clash is over before it begins and ends with the Beast and the False Prophet being tossed into the lake of fire.

Jesus never loses.

The Antichrist will be a very convincing counterfeit at the end of time. He will lead many away from faith in Jesus. Yet all King Jesus needs are His words to win a great victory.

Who are you following today?

Today’s reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-12

“They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed...” - 2 Thessalonians‬ ‭1:9-10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

One of the goals Paul had at the start of this second letter was to show the end of those who were persecuting the Thessalonian church. The Christians were assured that God would bring justice and that their suffering was not going unnoticed.

In these two specific verses, we see the contrast of life after death between those who insist on going their own way and those committed to following Jesus no matter what consequences follow on earth.

What is so terrifying about hell? (A place initially prepared the Devil and his angels — Matthew 25:41)

Endless punishment is enough to startle us, but the worst part is separation from God. All joy? Gone. All love? Gone. All hope? Gone. The 

In the end, everyone will want eternal life, but many will miss it. May this motivate us to keep sharing the Good News about Jesus!

Today’s reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:4-28

“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” - ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Paul ends his first letter to the Thessalonians with a barrage of short bursts of challenge. The commands in verses 12-18 are decisions we can make every day to live the best life possible. Though things will be challenging in this fallen world, neglecting these will make life even harder.

To name a few:

1) Make sure those who serve the church (ministers) have their needs met.

2) Live in peace with each other.

3) Warn the lazy (God expects us to work hard).

4) Encourage the timid (God the expects us to be bold).

5) Take care of the weak.

6) Be patient with everyone (they all have stories).

7) Do good to others (responding to evil with evil leads to chaos).

8) Rejoice always (chairo: to enjoy a state of happiness; see Colossians 1:24)

9) Pray continually.

10) Be thankful.

Are you ready to be obedient to Jesus and shine bright in this dark world?

Today’s reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-18, 5:1-3

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” - ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭4:16-18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Here we see echoes back to Daniel 7:13, 12:2.

I love what Leon Morris says about this passage:

“There are many points on which we should like further information. But when Paul comes to that great fact that makes everything else unimportant, he stops. There is no need (and no more) to add to that.”

Six verses do seem to be quite inadequate to describe the end of time as we know it and a grand reunion with those Christians who have died before us. Yet we have what we need here.

We need to know that we will see our Christian family again. It only gets better from here!

Today’s reading: 1 Thessalonians 2:9-20, 3:1-13

“And may the Lord make your love grow and overflow to each other and everyone else, just as our love overflows for you.” - 1 Thessalonians 3:12 NLT

When we decide that we want to follow Jesus, one of the first things that God starts to work through with us is our love for others.

God’s desire is for our love toward each other to scale to the point of an overflow (excess).

The word Paul uses for grow is pleonazō, and it means “to cause an increase.” The word he uses for overflow is perisseuō and it means “to go beyond” or “more than enough.” 

Both words are associated with intensity. This means that God’s call to love will require us to be stretched. We know from this verse that it is God who will do the stretching. He will increase our capacity to care for others.

This isn’t easy work, but it is necessary for our growth as followers of Jesus. Ultimately, love will bring greater unity to the church and get more people into the family of God who have yet to say “yes” to Jesus.

Today’s reading: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-10, 2:1-8

“So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord.” - 1 Thessalonians 1:6 NLT

Biblical joy can exist, and often deepens, alongside any suffering.

Imagine Paul cringing as he sees these new disciples encountering resistance almost immediately from persecutors in Thessalonica. Maybe he initially thought, “I hope they survive this!” or “God, could you have given them a little more protection at the beginning?”

No, Paul uses the word “rescue” (in verse 10) as he describes what God has done for the Thessalonian Christians.

I wonder how much joy we are missing out on each day because our perspective is off. Some of us view resistance as a sign that we are doing something wrong. What if we decided to see suffering as an invitation to a more secure form of joy?

It is hard to rob someone of joy who has already dismissed the idea of it being a generated emotion.

Draw us close, Jesus!

Today’s reading: Colossians 3:18-25, 4:1-18

“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart... Epaphras, a member of your own fellowship and a servant of Christ Jesus...He always prays earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong and perfect, fully confident that you are following the whole will of God. I can assure you that he prays hard for you.”
- Colossians‬ ‭4:2, 12-13‬ ESV

These verses are so great because Paul gives them a specific instruction and then shows them an example, from their city, of what being devoted to prayer looks like.

The word used for “devote” is proskartereō, and it can also mean to “persist obstinately in” or “to attend constantly.”

There is no day that will not require an incredible amount of prayer. Moment by moment, we are to remember that we should not want to do this alone. We need God’s help and we need others to intercede for us.

The beautiful thing is that when others pray for us, we are more likely to return to the favor. May we be these prayer trendsetters.

Epaphras got it. He was asking God for strength and growth on their behalf. May we join him in this kind of stubborn prayer!