As I read the Bible through every year, the idea that many ways exist to reach God fades from my thinking. While I believe that every person is born with an inherent sense of something bigger outside of themselves, only one way leads to knowledge of the truth.

Paul wrote to Timothy with clarity on this topic. I’ve reversed the order of his instructions as it helps me gain a better picture of the Lord’s intent:

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.

One is the operative thought here. One God, one mediator, one payment for all people. Jesus Christ is the one. Other options simply are not efficacious. If it sounds constraining, it should. A narrow path leads to a narrow gate—the only possibility.

But in this exclusivity don’t miss the Lord’s concern for the every:

God our Savior wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

One opens the door for every. Restricted and yet available. That’s the crazy appeal of the gospel.

Best of all, once you give in to this limited option, a new world blooms and eternity becomes a welcoming place. Unlimited exists on the other side of exclusive.

1 Timothy 2 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Dorrell Tibbs

In the construction of Solomon’s magnificent temple the architect erected pillars, then named two of them specifically:

He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin and the one to the north Boaz.

What lies behind the choosing of these names?

Jakin means he will establish, and Boaz means in him is strength. When entering the temple these two columns reminded worshippers of their dependence on Yahweh. The Lord established the nation of Israel, and the Lord held robust force found no where else.

Twin pillars of stability and strength supported the nation of Israel and their house of worship, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

It’s good for me to grasp the meaning behind Jakin and Boaz. Because I easily forget the Lord’s hand in my life, it’s also good for me to recognize that my heart cries out for visible reminders of the Lord’s stability and strength.

1 Kings 7 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Hisham Zayadneh

Tragic news filled my feed last week as I followed the story of the doomed submersible exploring the wreck of the Titanic. I’ve also followed the stories of overloaded boats floundering in the Mediterranean as desperate migrants seek a new start in Europe. Shipwrecks seem as real now as they’ve ever been.

Paul wrote to Timothy to fight well and avoid the fate of certain men who shipwrecked their faith:

Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.

A shipwreck brings to mind catastrophic scenes. Not simple veering off course, but full on disaster. Paul shared a startling insight into his relationship with these men who crashed their faith and pulled others down with them:

Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

Paul’s excommunicated these men from the church, hoping to shock them back to rightful thought and living. The scourging of Satan expressed the level of punishment Paul felt necessary to understand their status—shipwrecked yet unaware.

I know people who’ve suffered shipwreck in regard to the faith, and if you’ve followed the Lord very long you do as well. Perhaps the best we can do is to follow Paul’s model, and pray for the lash to return them humbled and chastened back to the Lord.

1 Timothy 1 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Humberto Chávez

Sometimes it’s hard for me to know what to pray for others. So when I read this passage recently I wrote it in the front of my journal, where I’ll see it regularly and remember to pray these words over those friends and family the Lord brings to mind.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

Good deeds and good words remain in short supply. It’s reassuring to know the strength of the Lord, through the power of the Holy Spirit, infuses us as we step out into the world.

Scripture provides a powerful basis for our prayers, as we believe these words came from God to the writer. With this in mind, pray for one another, emboldened in the eternal encouragement and good hope gained from the Lord.

2 Thessalonians 2 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Matt Walsh