As I was reading my Greek New Testament the other day I made an interesting discovery. I was reading the passage where it talks about the qualifications of deacons and deacons' wives Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the…
Jesus and the Father are both God; but there is only one God; but Jesus and the Father are distinct from one another---how can we reconcile these distinctions? How can we explain these truths without explaining them away? Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus give us some powerful verses to help us understand these powerful…
As I've been studying the pastoral epistles, I keep being impressed with just how often Paul stresses the importance of doctrine to the two young men that he is mentoring. In an age where so many preachers want to give inspirational sermons, I feel like the emphasis on doctrine in these books is extremely relevant…
A couple years ago, before I was even dating the woman who would become my wife, I wrote a post (based on Titus 2) about why I wanted my future wife to be a housewife. When Cheyanne and I began to keep in contact she happened onto this article; she read it, and a couple…
When I think about Timothy and Titus as men, I can't help but think about their personal relationship with the apostle Paul. These men knew and were mentored by the great Paul, who penned some of the most powerful verses in our New Testament! I am a tad envious of the lives that these men…
I always knew that grace was God's undeserved favor. Even when I did not deserve it, Jesus died for my sins so I wouldn't have to go to hell. But to my shame, that is pretty much where my thoughts on grace stopped. I didn't meditate on the implications of grace: what his grace meant…
For the last couple days I have been reading the pastoral epistles---Paul's two letters to Timothy and his letter to Titus. Paul wrote these three letters to young men who had just been put in leadership positions in the church to give them advice on how to be good pastors; as a young minister myself,…
Genesis 23 starts off with a small story, almost incidental, that never caught my attention until a few days ago. Abraham's wife Sarah, the "mother of nations" (Genesis 17:16) who conceived Abraham's miracle child Isaac, died at 127 years old. Doubtless this was heartbreaking for Abraham--he had followed the Lord for years now with this…
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the…
I was reading the book of Hebrews the other day, and the Lord began to comfort me with a couple passages from the book of Hebrews. It is easy to get frustrated with certain factors in our lives: we're human. We are flesh and blood, and we have limitations and temptations that often beset us.…
Lectionary 