Author: Dave Dishman (Page 179 of 458)

Paul encouraged Timothy to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

In doing so, Paul referred to Timothy’s faith, which first took root in his grandmother, Lois, then infused his mother, Eunice. Paul also pointed to his own example, as well as the heroic service of Onesiphorus, who searched out and revived Paul as he languished in prison.

Paul encouraged others to be strong. To the Ephesian church he wrote, be strong in the Lord and in his might power, and encouraged the believers in Philippi that he remained content in all situations through him who gives me strength.

Grace is the inward source of such strength. I cannot produce this on my own, but I needn’t remain passive. I can eagerly ask the Lord for his help to appropriate the power of grace.

Jesus told Paul, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. So Paul responded with this philosophy: Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Unique strength to face the world flows from the grace found in Jesus Christ. Paul possessed it. Lois, Eunice, Onesiphorus and Timothy gained it. This strength in grace waits for you and me. Ask the Lord to begin to grant it in your life.

2 Timothy 2 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Alireza Esmaeeli

Mark Twain once remarked, the older I get the more clearly I remember things that never happened. 

How far back can you remember? How many people from your past can you call to mind? I can think back two generations, but beyond that I rely on old photos and stories from family.

How about six generations? No one carries a living memory of those ancestors, they exist as a genealogical records and family lore, if we’re lucky enough to possess those.

Solomon wrote of the finality of death and the reality that we won’t be long remembered. No one remembers the former generations…for the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered; the days have already come when both have been forgotten.

Both the good and the bad of my life will fade from the minds of future generations. I’m OK with that. Solomon’s stark assessment pricks the bubble of my pride and reminds me that I’m not quite as important as I think.

Solomon added, to the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness. Fretting about a future legacy that evaporates bit by bit is so much less important than pleasing the Lord today.

Which is good for me to remember.

Ecclesiastes 1 & 2 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Roman Kraft 

Be content with what you have—it’s quite a trick, isn’t it?

A vast industry exists to stop you and me from feeling content. Marketers expose us to thousands of ads a day via billboards, television, radio and the internet. Students attend universities to study advertising, sometimes called creative communication.

Advertisers hope to shape you—to influence you—to mold you into the type of person they want you to be. Do they keep the flourishing of society at the heart of their business model? Do they have your best interests at heart? Of course not. Profits make their bottom line, and our money is the means to their success.

Counter this churning with Paul’s wisdom. Writing to expose those who hoped to act godly and therefore achieve financial wealth, Paul added:

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

A simple thought running counter to a message we hear a thousand times a day, every day of the year.

Contentment never follows the purchase. Material goods wear out, fall from mind, or simply get lost in the back of a closet. The answer we’re told is to buy more and feel better. We often do feel better for a short time, but still lack contentment.

Take Paul’s word to heart. Close your computer and turn off the TV. Roll his words around in a quiet moment. Let this radical idea of contentment with godliness, of resting in the Lord and enjoying his gifts, settle into your soul.

1 Timothy 6 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez

After dramatically inaugurating worship at the new temple with fire from heaven, God appeared to Solomon in the dark of night. The Lord heard Solomon’s prayers and promised to bless, as long as Solomon remained faithful.

Even in the hardest times, the Lord reminded Solomon to not lose faith, but to turn back to God.

When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

There’s no magic formula to elicit the Lord’s actions on our behalf. But in his words we see the prerequisites. First, it requires humility. All throughout the scriptures the Lord blesses the humble. The proud need not apply.

Then we see the need to pray and seek the Lord’s face, to go before the Lord on our knees. This process requires perseverance, for the Lord’s timing rarely matches our own. He’s concerned about our strength of character rather than our convenience.

Finally, the Lord demands us to turn from wicked ways. Not veer slightly, but U-turn back toward him. Repent is the old word, meaning we return to the Lord sorry for our actions and ready to change. One simply cannot continue in sin and hope for the grace of God to increase.

The Lord spoke of the newly blessed temple in Jerusalem: Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

May the same be true of the places we worship, as we tame our haughty spirits, return from our wayward actions and seek the Lord’s face.

2 Chronicles 7 in reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Jonas Gerlach