Pray for Your Leaders

In today’s Bible reading*, Paul tells his spiritual son Timothy that Believers should pray for those in authority over them. He uses several Greek words for prayer, each covering a different type of prayer. And he tells Timothy to pray “for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may…

What to do with False Doctrine?

We begin reading 1 Timothy in today’s Bible reading.* Paul reminds Timothy that he should teach people not to teach false doctrine or pay attention to myths and endless genealogies. Why? Because they “promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan which operates by faith”. (1 Timothy 1:3-4, CSB) Paul refers to Timothy as his “true…

Paul’s Thorn

If you’ve been around church for a while, you may have heard of Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”. Today’s Bible reading* includes Paul’s brief discussion of his thorn. Paul never tells us specifically what his thorn was. Obviously, he was using the word as a metaphor for something else. Some have speculated it was poor…

Another Jesus, Spirit, and Gospel

A few years ago, the Parker County Texas Sheriff’s Department (in the county where I pastor) issued a warning about counterfeit money being passed off as being legitimate. In a news conference, they highlighted the easily-discerned marks of these counterfeit bills. Anyone who has handled much money should be able to spot these counterfeits, if…

Our Weapons of Mass Destruction

If you’ve been around church very long and you’ve heard about “spiritual warfare”, you’ll find one of the key passages on the subject in today’s Bible reading*. Paul says, “For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, since the weapons of our warfare are not of the…