Things are not always as they seem …

"Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”" (Genesis 27:22). This is a picture of deception. It's a reminder that we need to pray for discernment. In Matthew 7:21, Jesus warns us: "Not everyone who says …

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 …

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 …

What are we looking for?

What are we looking for? Are we looking for what's new? or Are we looking for what's true? The older we are, the more we're able to look back and say, "The world has changed so much during my lifetime." There have been such huge advances in technology. We can understand why so many spend …

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 …

When people turn away from following the Lord

Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), James son …

Good news that everyone needs to hear

Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say (Proverbs 8:6). As I was reading this verse, I recalled "a trustworthy saying" that is given to us in 1 Timothy 1:15, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Listen! This is a trustworthy saying." This is what Paul is saying to us when he …

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 …

Words of love, hope and truth

"And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the …

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 …

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 …

"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 …

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” …

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 …

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 …

Yesterday and today and for ever

Can we dismiss "the old, old story of Jesus and his love", just because it comes to us from such a long time ago? or Does Jesus bring to us something that we should always remember? There's something about Jesus that we should never forget: "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead" (2 Timothy 2:8). …

True wisdom comes to us…

"The Holy Scriptures are able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy 3:15). True wisdom comes to us when we listen to what the Holy Scriptures have to say to us. When we look for wisdom, are we looking for something new? God is calling us back to something …

Redeemed by the Lord, let’s live for his glory.

The Kingdom Of God: 1-2 Timothy and Titus We begin with some great verses from Titus - "Jesus Christ ... gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:13-14); "He saved us, not because of deeds …

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 …

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, …

The Holy Spirit in the Life of Faith (links to an audio version)

Links to a lecture given, in two parts, in 1987. The Holy Spirit in the Life of Faith, Part One The Holy Spirit in the Life of Faith, Part Two

Holy Saviour, Holy Scriptures, Holy Spirit

2 Timothy 3:10-17 God comes to us in our Holy Saviour, through the Holy Scriptures and by the Holy Spirit. When God comes to us, in love, we are changed by His love. His love creates in us love for Jesus, God's Word and holy living. These changes in us come from the God of …

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 …

Links to Rev James Philip’s notes on 1 and 2 Timothy

1 Timothy 2 Timothy

Create in me a clean heart, O God.

Help us, Lord, to worship You. Help us to say, “To You, Lord, be the glory and the power for ever and ever” (1 Peter 4:11; 1 Peter 5:11). Deliver us from a “form of religion which denies Your power” – “These people honour Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me” …

Studying the Word of God

Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15). Study: what does it mean to study the word of God? What about hearing and reading the Word of God? When we hear the Word of God, we must accept …

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead.

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection (Philippians 3:10).  Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! …

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 …

God’s Word is not to be kept to ourselves.

2 TIMOTHY  1:1-2:7 -  God’s Word is not to be kept to ourselves. Paul was called by God to be a ‘preacher’ of the ‘Gospel’ (11). He passed God’s Word on to Timothy, encouraging him to share the message with ‘faithful’ people who would pass it on to others’ (13; 2:2). Everyone has their part …

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 …

God’s Word changes 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). God's Word changes us. How does it change us? God's Word teaches us how we are to live. God's Word rebukes us, calling us back from the …

Some words of encouragement

"I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day" (2 Timothy 1:12). What a great testimony of faith this is! These great words of faith direct our attention away from ourselves to our Saviour. What we are unable to do for …

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 …

God’s Written Word – And His Living Word

"The Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15). In the Bible, we have God's written Word. The Bible points us to Christ. He is God's living Word - "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God …

Revealed to us – by the Lord

"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his" (Daniel 2:20). "As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive" (Daniel 2:30). What a contrast there is between the Lord and his servants! Revelation does not come from ourselves. …

2 Timothy

This letter was written by Paul, an older servant of the Lord. He sent it to Timothy, a young pastor. This letter is full of Gospel truth. Paul encourages young Timothy to be faithful to the Lord. He warns him against being deceived by those who are enemies of Christ and His Gospel. Our faith …

The degree of AUG

"The Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding" (Proverbs 2:6). Reading these words brought back to me some distant memories from many years ago. Jim Elliot, (October 8, 1927 – January 8, 1956) was a Christian missionary, and was one of five killed during Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Whatever comes our way

"You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings, what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.  In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus …

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 …

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 …

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 …