Journey through the New Testament: 1 and 2 Timothy

1 Timothy ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’ (1:15). To each of us, God says, ‘Watch your life and doctrine closely’ (4:16). What we believe is important. How we live is also important. If our faith is real, it will lead to a change in our way of life. There is a …

Continue reading Journey through the New Testament: 1 and 2 Timothy

Responding to God’s Word (49): Mercy there was great and grace was free, pardon there was multiplied to me…

The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1:14). God has saved us and called us to a holy life: not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace (2 Timothy 1:9). What …

Continue reading Responding to God’s Word (49): Mercy there was great and grace was free, pardon there was multiplied to me…

The encouragement and the challenge which comes to us from God’s Word

The Word of God comes to us with words that are very encouraging, and it comes to us with words that are very challenging. There is the encouragement that comes to us from knowing that God is the God of our salvation - "the Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation through …

Continue reading The encouragement and the challenge which comes to us from God’s Word

Searching the Scriptures and finding the Saviour

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse …

Continue reading Searching the Scriptures and finding the Saviour

Praying Through God’s Word: 2 Timothy

2 Timothy 1:1-2:7Lord, we’re not to keep Your Word to ourselves. You’ve given us the “Gospel.” Help us to share it with “faithful” people who will “pass it on to others” (2 Timothy 1:11,13 & 2:2).2 Timothy 2:8-3:9Help us, Lord, to “remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead” (2 Timothy 2:8). Jesus is the living …

Continue reading Praying Through God’s Word: 2 Timothy

The Holy Spirit Leads Us In The Way Of Victory.

John 15:20, 26, 16:13–15, 33, Rom 12:2, 2 Tim 3:12, 1 John 5:4–5 Jesus was ‘persecuted’. We will be ‘persecuted’ - ‘all who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted’ (John 15:20; 2 Timothy 3:12). We have no guarantee that life will be easy. In all our difficulties, ‘the Spirit of truth’ directs …

Continue reading The Holy Spirit Leads Us In The Way Of Victory.

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord… your labour in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Jeremiah 48:1-49:6; 2 Timothy 1:1-18; Psalm 119:81-88 “A curse on him who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!” (Jeremiah 48:10). We should not be lax in doing the Lord’s work, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a Spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). Through …

Continue reading Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord… your labour in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Through the power of the Spirit of God

Jeremiah 48:1-49:6; 2 Timothy 1:1-18; Psalm 119:81-88 “A curse on him who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!” (Jeremiah 48:10). We should not be lax in doing the Lord’s work, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a Spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). Through …

Continue reading Through the power of the Spirit of God

The Holy Spirit In The Life Of Faith (with links to audio version)

Here are two links to an audio version of a lecture, given in January 1987: The Holy Spirit in the Life of Faith, Part One The Holy Spirit in the Life of Faith, Part Two _________________________________ The Holy Spirit is the Breath of God. All Scripture is God-breathed. We experience the Breath of God upon …

Continue reading The Holy Spirit In The Life Of Faith (with links to audio version)

Strengthened by the Word of God and the Spirit of God

“The Spirit entered me when the Lord spoke to me” (Ezekiel 2:1). These words come to us from the prophet, Ezekiel. The name, Ezekiel, means “strengthened by God.” How was Ezekiel strengthened by God? In Ezekiel 2:1, we read about the Word of God: “the Lord spoke to me” and the Spirit of God – …

Continue reading Strengthened by the Word of God and the Spirit of God

God is calling us to be faithful in the ministry of His Word.

Jeremiah 49:7-50:10; 2 Timothy 2:1-26; Proverbs 25:21-26:2 Jeremiah speaks of a time of judgment upon Babylon (Jeremiah 50:1-3) and a time of blessing upon the people of Israel (Jeremiah 50:4-5). If the blessing, and not the judgment, is to come in our own day, we must be faithful in the ministry of God’s Word (2 …

Continue reading God is calling us to be faithful in the ministry of His Word.

Love, reaching out to us; love, changing us; love reaching out through us

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). "All Scripture is God-breathed" (New International Version), What, exactly, does this mean? Who are we to say that we understand, exactly, what it means? The King James …

Continue reading Love, reaching out to us; love, changing us; love reaching out through us

Called back from the way of sin … Called into the way of the Lord

"He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" (Proverbs 29:1). Sometimes, we need to hear words that we don't want to hear. We need a good telling-off. We need to be shown where we've gone wrong. Why? Does God want to humiliate us? No! He wants to lead us out of …

Continue reading Called back from the way of sin … Called into the way of the Lord

Good News for this generation

"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son... " (Hebrews 1:1-2). This is more than the prophets speaking about God. This is God, speaking through the prophets.The prophets looked forward to Jesus, God's beloved Son. God speaks to …

Continue reading Good News for this generation

Always seeking, never finding

"The word is very near you" (Deuteronomy 30:14). Some people are always searching - but never finding. They look here, there and everywhere ... and, then, they start again ... and so, the search continues ... always searching, never finding. They tell us, "It's all about the search." Jesus tells us something very different. He …

Continue reading Always seeking, never finding

From strength to strength, from faith to faith, from glory to glory

"Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:1). By the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are led from strength to strengh, from faith to faith, and from glory to glory. (1) From strength to strength The phrase, "from strength to strength" is taken from the hymn, "Soldiers of …

Continue reading From strength to strength, from faith to faith, from glory to glory

Wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus

The beginning of wisdom is this: get wisdom (Proverbs 4:7). Whatever else may be said about wisdom, may we never tire of saying this: "the Holy Scriptures are able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15). Where would we be without this wisdom: wisdom for salvation through faith in …

Continue reading Wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus

God’s Word is always relevant.

Jeremiah 50:11-51:14; 2 Timothy 3:1-17; Psalm 119:89-96 This part of Jeremiah’s prophecy is concerned with God’s judgment upon Babylon. God sets Himself against those who set themselves against Him. We live in times when “evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13). In such times, we …

Continue reading God’s Word is always relevant.

Lord, help us to be faithful to You.

"But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra — what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But …

Continue reading Lord, help us to be faithful to You.

"I have fought the good fight. I have completed the race. I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).

The good fight, the race, the faith - three descriptions of the Christian life: It's a fight to be fought - in the strength of the Lord. It's a race to be run. It's a faith to be kept. How are we to keep on running? How are we to keep on believing? We need …

Continue reading "I have fought the good fight. I have completed the race. I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).

The Blessing of God, the Grace of God and the Glory of God

Genesis 12:1-4: 2 Timothy 1:8-10; Matthew 17:1-9 God's Blessing - Given,  Accepted And Enjoyed (Genesis 12 & 13) The “land” was given to Abraham by God. It was to be the land of His “blessing” (Genesis 12:1-3).  God’s gift of grace calls forth our response – “Abraham went, as the Lord had spoken to him” …

Continue reading The Blessing of God, the Grace of God and the Glory of God

Preaching God’s Word – our joyful privilege and our solemn responsibility

Jeremiah 51:15-64; 2 Timothy 4:1-22; Psalm 119:97-104 The Word of God is to be preached, even if it is a difficult message. In face of the judgment pronounced upon Babylon, God says to His messengers, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud” (Jeremiah 51:61). Paul calls on Timothy to “preach the …

Continue reading Preaching God’s Word – our joyful privilege and our solemn responsibility

Renewed By God’s Salvation, We Are Strengthened For His Service.

Ps 51:10, Matt 15:8, 2 Tim 3:5, 1 Pet 4:11, 5:11 In all the service we offer to God, there is to be the offering of worship: ‘To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever’ (1 Peter 4:11; 5:11). We will not learn to serve God unless we are learning to …

Continue reading Renewed By God’s Salvation, We Are Strengthened For His Service.

Through the power of the Spirit, let us walk with our Saviour, as we learn from the Scriptures.

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, …

Continue reading Through the power of the Spirit, let us walk with our Saviour, as we learn from the Scriptures.

When everything seems to be getting out of control

In 2 Timothy 1:7, we have words that are very encouraging and very empowering: The Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and a sound mind (or self-disicipline). We come to God with our fears. He comes to us with his love. We come to God in our weakness. He …

Continue reading When everything seems to be getting out of control

Jesus, our Saviour, is the light that guides us, as we read the Scriptures.

These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31). John tells us why he wrote his gospel. It was to bring his readers to faith in Jesus. Let's look beyond John's gospel. Let's look at "all …

Continue reading Jesus, our Saviour, is the light that guides us, as we read the Scriptures.