Tag Archives: Spiritual Growth

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One Word 365 – 2014 Edition

For the past few years, I’ve selected a single word to live by throughout the year. As I’ve described before, this is a word that defines my life for the year, and helps undergird everything I do for the next twelve months.

One Word 365

I’ve settled my focus on several different words over the last few years. For example, in 2011, I chose to focus on the word passion. This word underlined all I did throughout the year. It defined the year. Everything I did, I did with enthusiasm, and passion was pretty visible in most areas of my life.

In 2012, I chose the word commit. One of my biggest struggles in life has been to stick to many of the things I decide to do. Focusing on this word helped me to address that deficiency.

Last year, in 2013, I chose the word intentional. We have a large family, and as a result, we have a lot going on. I realized that I needed to be intentional, especially in my relationships with family and friends, and in my ministry.

Each year, I choose to identify and implement a single word as a part of my life plan. I add this word to the beginning of my plan, and try to use it as a piece of the foundation for every portion of my plan. Some areas are more successful than others.

The past half a year has been a pretty crazy year for my family, and for me, personally. We’ve seen several major changes in our lives, from the birth of our sixth child, to a move to the Midwest from Florida, to a change in ministry role, from youth minister to a lead minister role. I’ve also started a master’s degree program, which requires some time.

Add all of that to the higher priority things, such as family time, personal growth, fun and leisure, and it starts to get pretty hectic.

It’s been obvious to me that I need to slow down, take a deep breath, focus, and wait.

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2014 Bible Reading Plans

One of the most critical disciples we can develop in our lives is consistent, daily Bible reading. I believe strongly that we should take in something from God’s Word on a daily basis. And I believe that the benefits far outweigh the time investment. It’s completely worth it.

Bible Reading Plan Ebook

I’ve written several times in the past about this discipline:

I firmly believe that this is a critical element of our spiritual lives. And it seems to be lacking in a lot of people’s lives. I think, when you experience the many benefits of consistent, daily time spent in God’s Word, you’ll develop a craving for more.

God’s Word truly does change us.

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:20-21

1 Timothy is somewhat unusual in its ending. It lacks the usual benediction and final greeting that Paul typically puts in his letter. Instead, 1 Timothy is all business right up to the very end, and concludes with a final charge to Timothy.

You can see it in 1 Timothy 6:20-21:

1 Timothy 6:20-21

Paul finishes off his letter to Timothy with a final charge, the third such charge he has given (1:18-19, 6:13-16). It might be the fourth charge, if you see 4:6-10 as a charge.

Paul has given Timothy many explicit instructions in this brief letter, but almost every one of them centers around the false teachers and their influence in the Ephesian church. That factor even is seen in Paul’s concluding remarks and final charge.

This final charge comes in two parts.

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:17-19

After Paul’s spontaneous break for a doxology in last week’s passage, he returns to the topic of verse 9, worldly wealth.

Take a look at this week’s passage in 1 Timothy 6:17-19:

1 Timothy 6:17-19

Some scholars believe that this passage doesn’t belong here. Either it should have come earlier in the letter and has been misplaced, or it has been added after the fact. More likely, after breaking into a bit of spontaneous worship, Paul returns to his point, and provides some insight for those who already have worldly wealth.

His instruction here carries the force of a command, and in fact, he conveys the authority to Timothy to make this a command to those who have wealth. Who is he speaking to? The implications are far-reaching, especially to America, who holds a significant portion of the world’s wealth. So we must take heed of these instructions.

In this section of Scripture, Paul gives some very specific instructions. he gives us two things to avoid, four things to do, and two things to gain.

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How To Stay Encouraged: Expect God To Act

One of the things I hear most often in ministry is, “I just don’t ever see God doing anything in my life.” The truth is, nothing could be further from the truth.

How To Stay Encouraged: Expect God To Act

When we see God’s activity in our life and in the lives of those around us, that becomes a major source of encouragement for anyone to see.

God is active. He has a plan for your life and my life and is working it out to completion. That much is easily clear from the Bible.

But often, God’s activity in our lives is dependent upon our faith. When we believe that he will do something, he often follows through on that. If we don’t expect God to move, we will probably never see him do something. I’m not saying that he isn’t doing something, but we will surely miss whatever it is.

But when our faith gets involved, that seems to add energy to God’s activity, and increases it to the next level.

I believe that we need to expect God to do something in two critical areas of our lives.

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How To Stay Encouraged: Remember The Purpose Of The Church

Discouragement comes pretty quickly when we take our focus off of the end goal. One of the best ways to stay encouraged is to keep the ultimate goal in mind at all times.

How To Stay Encouraged: Remember The Purpose Of The Church

All too often, especially in ministry, discouragement hits like a ton of bricks. There are lessons and sermons to prepare, people to visit, programs to plan, office tasks that need to be accomplished, and a ton of other stuff, some related to my role as a minister, some more mundane. Like sweeping up the mess left behind after an event, or filling the paper towel holders so they will be ready for the next event.

At times like this, the busyness can be overwhelming, and discouragement is just around the corner.

One of the best ways to combat this discouragement is to remember the true purpose of the church. Jesus stated it pretty concisely when he gave his followers the Great Commission, in Matthew 28:18-20:

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

When you look at the big picture, all the busy details fall into place, and everything you do seems worth the effort all over again. I believe that there are three main ways that remembering the purpose of the church helps us to stay encouraged.

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:13-16

In last week’s passage, Paul give a very personal charge to Timothy, although it was given in the context of the false teachers. In our passage for this week, Paul expands on that charge, and makes it very solemn.

You can see it in 1 Timothy 6:13-16:

1 Timothy 6:13-16

This is a bit of a bigger passage than we normally take a look at. But since it’s all one continuous thought, it doesn’t make sense to break it up over a couple of weeks. So let’s look at it in its entirety, verse by verse.

Verse 13

God is described as the God who gives life to everything. The verb used here conveys the idea that God gives or preserves life. This brings the image to mind that God holds all things together and keeps the universe in motion (Colossians 1:17).

Paul goes on to state that just as Jesus made the good confession before Pilate, and in this he encourages Timothy to stand fast and hold to the good confession he made when becoming a follower of Christ. While the specifics of what Paul intended aren’t clear, this much is easily inferable.

Verse 14

Paul calls Timothy to “keep this commandment.” There is some debate as to what this refers to, and there are several possibilities. (1) It may refer to the charge just given in verses 11-12; (2) a charge he received when he was baptized; (3) a charge he may have received at his ordination; (4) all of Christianity, in whole; or (5) the commandment for Timothy to persevere in his own faith and ministry, which we saw in 1 Timothy 4:16. In my examination of different commentaries, there seems to be equal support for each of these, especially the second and last ideas. Regardless, Timothy is to keep this command until Christ returns.