Grace, Mercy, and Peace

Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace.…
— 1 Timothy 1:2

If you’ve ever felt like problems were mounting and growing all around you and you didn’t have enough strength to make it another step, then I have some very good news for you! Today you’re going to discover that God extends a very special measure of mercy to people who feel like they are being swamped by the affairs of life. Stay with me, because what you’re about to read is exactly what you need to start your day!

In all of the apostle Paul’s epistles, he begins by greeting his readers with “grace” and “peace.” The exact wording from letter to letter may vary, but each of these epistles begin with some variation of a greeting that involves the words “grace” and “peace.” (See Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Philippians 1:2; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; and Philemon 1:3).

Why did Paul so often use these two words in his greetings when he wrote his epistles? The answer is very simple. Because he was an apostle to the Gentiles or the Greek-speaking world, it was necessary for him to greet his foremost readers in a customary Greek manner. During New Testament times, the salutation of “grace” was the customary greeting exchanged between Greeks when they approached each other. Just as we would say, “Hello, how are you doing?” as a polite way of greeting someone we meet, the Greeks would say, “Grace!” when greeting one another.

This word “grace” is the Greek word charis, which means grace but also carries the idea of favor. So when a person greeted someone with this salutation, it was the equivalent of his saying, “I greet you with grace and favor.”

But Paul wasn’t only addressing the Greek world. As a Jew himself, he also wanted to greet the Jewish world that would be reading his epistles. When the Jews met each other, their customary way of greeting one another was to say, “Shalom!” In fact, this is still the customary greeting exchanged between Jews in Israel today. The Greek equivalent for the Hebrew word shalom is the word eirene, which is the word for peace.

By using both of these two greetings at the beginning of his epistles, Paul brilliantly reached out and embraced both the Greek and the Jewish world at the outset of his writings. One scholar has said that by using both the terms “grace” and “peace,” the doors were thrown open for the whole world to read his letters. It is obvious that Paul deliberately addressed those letters to both the Gentile and Jewish world.

Because of the meaning of the words charis and eirene and how these words were used as a form of greeting, it is as though Paul was saying:

“To those of you who are Greeks, I greet you with grace and favor, and to those of you who are Jews, I greet you with peace and shalom.”

When Paul wrote the books of First Timothy, Second Timothy, and Titus, he inserted the word “mercy” between the words “grace” and “peace” in his greeting, making the salutation read “grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father.” In all three of these epistles, he was not writing to an entire congregation; rather, these letters were private letters intended to be read only by Timothy and Titus.

Why did Paul alter his traditional greeting to include the word “mercy” when he wrote these personal letters? Well, in all three of these letters, Paul was writing to someone in the ministry who felt overwhelmed by the affairs of life. For instance, when he wrote his first letter to Timothy (the book of First Timothy), Timothy was feeling overwhelmed by the phenomenal growth in the church under his care. Such growth is every pastor’s dream; however, Timothy was young, and he was pastoring what had become the world’s largest church. This was therefore a very challenging time in Timothy’s life.

Timothy was feeling so challenged that he apparently wrote a letter to Paul, asking him for advice on how to choose leaders for his fast-growing congregation. As the young minister faced this daunting task, he needed to be reminded that there was special “mercy” available to help him in his time of need. Thus, when Paul wrote to Timothy, he inserted the word “mercy” between the traditional greeting of “grace” and “peace.” He said, “Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace…” (1 Timothy 1:2).

Several years after Paul wrote that first letter to Timothy, the political environment in the Roman Empire radically changed and public opinion turned violently against believers. Just as the Church had grown quickly before this change occurred, it now began to quickly diminish as believers were captured, imprisoned, enslaved, and killed. Many believers also defected from the Christian faith and went back to their old pagan temples in order to comply with the wishes of the government and to save themselves from death.

The tragedy occurring inside Timothy’s church was devastating. The size of his prized congregation was declining daily right before his eyes. His heart was broken as he watched leaders defecting and going back to their old ways in order to escape death — trusted team members who Timothy had thought would be faithful to the very end.

Apparently Timothy had written a letter to Paul, expressing his fears and hurts about the crisis he faced, so Paul wrote him back. That second letter to Timothy (the book of Second Timothy) is Paul’s response to Timothy and to the predicament that surrounded the younger minister on every side. Writing Timothy to encourage him to be strong in the Lord, Paul began his second letter by once more inserting the word “mercy” between the words “grace” and peace.” He said, “To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace…” (2 Timothy 1:2).

The third time Paul inserted the word “mercy” between his traditional greetings of “grace” and “peace” was in his letter to Titus. As with Timothy, Titus found himself in a very difficult circumstance. After Paul started the church on the island of Crete, he left before the church was completely established and before leaders were firmly set in place. Paul left Titus to finish the job he didn’t complete in Crete, instructing him to make the final selection of church leaders and then to establish them in their positions.

The people who lived on Crete at that time were famous for being lazy gluttons and liars. They were a devious, mischievous people who were very difficult to trust. Even more, Crete was known to be a repository for criminals and barbaric-like people. Paul wrote to Titus and told him, “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting…” (Titus 1:5). This would have been a monstrous task for even the most seasoned leader, and it loomed before Titus as a huge and daunting assignment.

The circumstances Titus faced were so immense that when Paul wrote to him, he said, “To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace…”(Titus 1:4). It wasn’t enough for Titus to hear about grace and peace — he also needed to be reminded that there was special mercy available to help him in his situation.

In all three of these cases, the readers were facing serious situations and needed to be reminded that God’s mercy was extended to help them bravely face and overcome their challenges.

You may need to be reminded of the same thing today. If you are facing a situation that would normally be devastating or overwhelming to you, grab hold of this good news: God has made a special measure of His “mercy” available to you! Don’t try to face the ordeal in your own strength until you end up feeling swamped and overwhelmed; instead, realize that God’s mercy is available to meet you right where you are. If you’ll open your heart to receive from God, He will tuck a special measure of mercy between the grace and peace He is offering you today. So why don’t you allow God’s mercy to assist you with the challenges you are facing at this very moment?

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I thank You for making special mercy available to help me in times of struggle and hardship. I admit that I often try to handle all my challenges on my own, but I know it is impossible for me to overcome my obstacles without the help of Your mercy. So today I am opening my heart and asking You to extend a special measure of mercy to assist me through this challenging time in my life. I thank You in advance for pouring this mercy upon me, and by faith, I receive it right now.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that God’s mercy is working in me! God promises mercy to me, and I receive it by faith. That mercy empowers me to overcome my negative emotions, my struggles, and all the obstacles the devil has tried to set before me. Because God’s mercy is working in me, I am well able to rise above the struggles I face and to overcome them victoriously!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Can you think of a time when you were suddenly invigorated by a supernatural flow of divine mercy that surged into you and gave you the strength and courage you needed to face and overcome a difficult situation?

2. When you became aware of that special mercy, how did it affect both your attitude and the situation you were facing?

3. If you are specially challenged by a situation in your life right now, why not take a few minutes today to ask God to give you a special measure of mercy to help?

Partners in the Gospel Of Jesus Christ

Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.
— Philippians 1:4,5

When I think of all the people who have financially supported our ministry throughout these many years that we’ve been serving in the former Soviet Union, it fills my heart with gratitude to God for putting such wonderful and faithful people in our lives. Without them, we would not be able to do the front-line, cutting-edge, frontier-type work that God has assigned to us.

In fact, a day never passes that I don’t dedicate time to pray for and to specially thank God for those who support us with their prayers and offerings. You see, they are our partners in this work of God. We don’t use this term lightly; we truly mean it when we say that these friends and supporters of our work are our ministry partners.

You see, Denise and I are aware that:

• It is our partners’ money that pays for the large evangelistic crusades we hold in various locations in this part of the world, where thousands of people come to Christ and the local churches grow and are strengthened.
• It is our partners’ money that enables us to purchase television equipment and to pay for broadcast time on television — an outreach that sends the Good News into millions of homes in nations where the Gospel is only now beginning to penetrate.
• It is our partners’ money that has enabled us to preach the Gospel through television to the several million people who have come to know Jesus Christ as a direct result of our television broadcasts. That means millions of people will go to Heaven because of broadcasts that our partners paid for with their gifts and offerings.
• It is our partners’ contributions that consistently help us print massive quantities of books and literature, which we then distribute to people who respond to Christ through television, through crusades, and through our other various outreaches in this part of the world.
• It is our partners’ gifts that assist us as we establish and strengthen churches in hundreds of locations across the eleven time zones of the former USSR. Without their gifts, we wouldn’t be able to do this vital church-establishing work that is having such a great and eternal impact.
• It is our partners’ faith-sown gifts that make it possible for us to help the poor, the needy, the homeless, and the orphans who live in this part of the world.

My wife and I understand that although we are the ones God has anointed to lead this work, we couldn’t do any of it without the financial support our partners send to our ministry every month. It is their gifts that make it possible for us to accomplish all that God has called us to do.

Every time I pray for our partners, the law of sowing and reaping, found in Galatians 6:7, is the foundation of my petitions for them. I ask God to bring a rich harvest back into the lives of those who have sown financially by faith into this precious work of God. I desire and expect them to be blessed because of the acts of generosity they have shown toward the work of God.

This must be how the apostle Paul felt about those who financially supported his ministry. The church of Philippi was among his most faithful supporters. That is why he told them in Philippians 1:4 and 5, “Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.”

By using the word “always,” Paul lets us know how frequently he prayed for his partners. In Greek, it is the word pantote, which means always, at all times, or constantly. This lets us know that praying for his partners was a regular occurrence in Paul’s daily life — something he did habitually. Paul understood what my wife and I are also well aware of — that his partners’ role in his ministry was just as important as his role. Therefore, Paul made his responsibility to pray for them a very high priority in his life.

The word “prayer” is the Greek word deisis. This word describes a heartfelt request for God to answer a concrete, specific need — usually some type of physical or material need. The church of Philippi was suffering financially at this time. Considering how they gave of their finances despite their own financial struggles, it makes sense that Paul prayed earnestly for God to answer and meet the concrete, physical needs of this sacrificially giving church.

When Paul says he is “making request,” the Greek tense carries the idea of Paul continuously making requests for the Philippian believers. This is definitely not a one-shot, occasional prayer; rather, Paul makes it very clear that praying for these believers is a part of his daily pattern. The word “request” is again the word deisis, now used twice in this verse, which categorically substantiates that Paul was asking God to answer and provide for the physical, tangible needs of this church. And notice that Paul said he made these requests “with joy.” It was no burden for him to pray for his partners; he did it with pleasure and joy.

In Philippians 1:5, Paul explains the reason he feels so passionate about these believers who had so faithfully supported his ministry. He says, “For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.” The word “fellowship” is the Greek word koinonia, a word that depicted partnership or a mutual participation in some project or event and often referred to a partner, a sharer, or a companion.

Paul felt about his supporters the same way my wife and I feel about our supporters — that they are partners. By supporting the ministry with their finances and prayers, these partners actually enter into the work of the ministry and mutually work side-by-side with those on the front lines.

Paul had told the Corinthians, “Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one…” (1 Corin-thians 3:8). The word “one” is the Greek word hen, which in this context means one in purpose, one in aim, or one in terms of being on the same team and having the same goal.

You see, Paul had a revelation that every person is essential in accomplishing the work of God. He knew that those who water the work with their prayers and finances are just as important as those who do the actual work of tilling the soil and planting the seeds. If the first group tries to do their job without the assistance of the other group, failure will be the inevitable result. On the other hand, if both work together as a team, appreciating and valuing each other’s role in achieving their common purpose, the result will be a great harvest.

So when Paul wrote to the Philippians and spoke of their “partnership” in the Gospel, he truly did mean that they were his partners. He was doing his part and they were doing theirs — and together they made a great team that was having an eternal impact. One part of that team wasn’t more worthy of honor than the other part. Everyone was on the same team, moving toward the same goal; they were simply fulfilling different roles to get the job done. Paul was a planter, and those who gave of their finances were the waterers. Both were essential to the success of the work.

And notice that the Philippians had been partners with Paul’s ministry “…from the first day until now.” They had been with him for a very long time. Through the years, people had come and people had gone in Paul’s life; those who stayed with him through every circumstance and challenge were precious and rare. Paul was keenly aware of how special it was that the church of Philippi had not only supported him from the very beginning, but were also still standing with him as his partners in the work of the Lord!

Philippians 1:4,5 could be interpreted to read:

“I am always praying for you. In every one of my prayers, I am asking God to meet the tangible and physical needs in your lives. And I want you to know that praying for you is one of the greatest joys of my life. Why, you’ve been my partner in the work of the Gospel from the very start, and you’re still with me now. Because of that, praying for you is a very special joy for me.”

Never let the devil tell you that your partnership with a Gospel ministry isn’t important. Think of what would happen if everyone simultaneously stopped giving! Preachers would be like automobiles with no gas in the tank. Although equipped to go with a vision burning in their hearts, they would be unable to do their work and fulfill that vision because of their “empty tanks.”

The gifts you sow into a ministry “put gas in the tank” so the work of the ministry can go forward! Thus, it isn’t just the minister’s work but your work as well. One plants, another waters, and God gives the increase.

I want to thank you for what you do for God’s work. Your partnership in the Gospel is not a light matter. It is one of the most significant things you can do in this life. When you stand before Jesus and see all the people who are in Heaven because of the gifts you sowed, that is the golden moment when you’ll really understand the power of every single gift you ever gave for the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I thank You for allowing me to be a participant in the Gospel by sowing my finances every month into ministries that are touching the world. Help me to always be aware of the great impact my gifts have and to never let the devil make me think that what I do is unimportant. My gifts and prayers help “put gas in the tanks” of these ministries so they can take the Gospel forward. I want to give faithfully to these works, Lord. Therefore, I ask You to increase me financially so I can give even more! I want to partner with them to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth and to help fill Heaven with the souls of those for whom Jesus died.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that I am a faithful supporter of the work of God. I give regularly, consistently, and passionately to see the Gospel go forward around the world. My gifts are important. What I sow really does make a difference. Because of this, I am faithful to do my part, and God will reward me both here and in eternity for the financial seed I’ve sown to help further His Kingdom around the world.

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. What ministries or outreaches do you regularly and faithfully support with your finances?

2. How did the Holy Spirit lead you to support these particular works?

3. Do you pray for these ministries as well as give of your finances?

Confront, Forgive, and Forget

…If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
— Luke 17:3

It is difficult for most people to confront someone else regarding an offense, but sometimes confrontation is necessary. Ignoring confrontation is often what causes bad feelings to turn inward and fester into something much worse. Those ugly feelings can sit in the pit of a person’s stomach, churning away until he becomes so upset that he can hardly see straight.

Usually it’s better to kindly say what you feel and get over it than to let those raw emotions turn into an ugly monster, just waiting to crawl out at an opportune moment and attack its victim. That is frequently what happens when you allow ugly emotions to go unchecked. Confrontation may be uncomfortable, but it’s a lot less painful than having to apologize later for erupting in a fit of flesh like a volcano that spews destructive lava all over its surroundings.

This is exactly why Jesus said, “…If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him” (Luke 17:3). The word “trespass” is the Greek word hamartano, which means to violate a rule; to cross a line; to commit a grievance; or to miss the mark. By using this word, the Bible teaches you what to do when someone has violated you, crossed a line he shouldn’t have crossed, committed what you perceive to be a grievance against you, or seriously missed the mark of what you expected of that person: You are to “rebuke” that person for what he did.

The word “rebuke” is the Greek word epitimao, which in this case means to speak frankly, honestly, and politely as you tell a person how you feel that he has wronged you. This doesn’t mean you have to speak to him like he’s a devil; it just means you need to directly and honestly confront him.

This issue of honesty is a big one in the Body of Christ. Many believers are dishonest about what they really think and feel. Inside they seethe with anger toward someone about a perceived offense. Yet on the outside, they smile and pretend as if everything is all right. This dishonesty divides believers and keeps God’s power from freely flowing between members of the Body of Christ.

Believers put themselves on dangerous territory when they harbor hidden disagreements or secret petty grievances against other people, yet go around smiling and acting as if everything is all right. They’re not just being dishonest — they’re engaging in outright lying and deception!

When you refuse to confront an offense, you are just as wrong as the one who violated your rights and stepped over the line. Jesus said, “…If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him…” (Luke 17:3). That means if you are going to be mature in your relationships, you must learn how to confront others when you feel they have wronged you. It may be difficult to do that, but it’s a lot less painful and leaves less scars than does a soul that is filled with bitterness and resentment.

When you have to confront someone regarding an offense that you perceive he has committed against you, I recommend that you take the following three steps:

Step #1

Don’t confront anyone until you’ve first made it a matter of prayer.

Prayer resolves a lot of problems by itself. There have been times in my own life when I’ve been upset with someone, only to discover after getting into the Presence of God and praying about the matter that my own attitude was uglier than the actions of the one who wronged me. Once I recognized my own sinful condition, I couldn’t hold a thing against the other person anymore; I just wanted to get my own heart right before God.

Prayer will put you in a position where God can speak to your own heart. After praying, if you still sense that you are supposed to confront the other person, make sure you pray for that person first. The Spirit of God may give you a strategy regarding what to say, as well as when and how to say it.

Believe me, taking directions from the Holy Spirit about how to confront someone will only help you. Confrontation without prayer is like barging into the middle of the fray with no preparation. Therefore, let prayer be a time of spiritual fine-tuning as you prepare to do what you need to do.

As you pray, spend a few minutes thanking God for your offender. This will help bring you to a new level so you can deal with the issue at hand in the right spirit. Remember the good things that person has done. Take time to reflect on all the enjoyable moments you’ve had with him and all the benefits you’ve gained in life as a result of that relationship. It’s difficult to remain angry at someone when you are thanking God for him at the same time!

Step #2

Don’t confront anyone with a judgmental attitude.

We’ve all made mistakes — and that includes you! So assume that your offender would not deliberately hurt or offend you. Take a positive position about the other person.

When you do finally sit down to talk with the person who offended you, start the conversation by assuring him that you know he didn’t intend to do what he did. Tell him that somehow the devil got into the middle of your relationship with him through his actions — and now you want to get the devil back out of the relationship as you get your heart right with him. This immediately removes any sense of an accusatory spirit and puts the spotlight on the devil instead of on that person. The issues will still be dealt with, but from a different perspective.

Starting from this approach is much more beneficial than taking a defensive approach that treats the other person as if he were your adversary. Remember, that person is not your enemy; he isn’t on the other side of the line, fighting a battle against you. Your relationship may be going through some rough times right now, but you still need to view the two of you as being on the same side. The purpose of this time of confrontation is not to prove how wrong the other person is; it is to learn how to work together better and how to keep the channel of communication open and in the light.

Step #3

Remember that you, too, have been offensive in the past.

Never forget that you’ve probably offended people in the past. You didn’t intend to do it. You didn’t even know you did it until the person later told you. You were probably embarrassed or sad when you heard how the devil had used some statement you innocently made to leave a wrong impression.

When you were in this type of situation, didn’t you want the person you had offended to tell you the truth rather than to walk around harboring bad feelings about you? Weren’t you glad when that lie of the devil was exposed and your relationship was made right again? Weren’t you thankful for the opportunity to make things right with that other person?

So when someone offends you, remember that you’ve stood in his shoes in the past. Were you forgiven at that time? Were you shown mercy? Now it’s time for you to show the same forgiveness and mercy to someone else that has previously been shown to you.

If you still feel the need to confront the person who offended you after following these three steps, you should now be able to do it with the right attitude. You have prayed about the matter; you have been in the Presence of the Lord. Now your heart is free, liberated from negative feelings and attitudes toward that person. You are finally in a position to go to him or her in a spirit of love and reconciliation instead of in a spirit of accusation. As Jesus said, “…if he repent, forgive him” (Luke 17:3).

The word “forgive” is the Greek word aphiemi. It means to set free; to let go; to release; to discharge; or to liberate completely. It was used in a secular sense in New Testament times in reference to canceling a debt or releasing someone from the obligation of a contract, a commitment, or promise. Thus, it means to forfeit any right to hold a person captive to a previous commitment or wrong he has committed. In essence, the word “forgive” — the Greek word aphiemi — is the picture of totally freeing and releasing someone. A modern paraphrase of this Greek word would simply be to let it go!

This means you and I don’t have the privilege of holding people hostage to their past actions if they repent and ask us to forgive them. If they sincerely seek forgiveness for offending us, we are obligated to “let it go.” If your offender repents and sincerely asks for forgiveness, Jesus said you are to put away the offense and no longer hold on to it. You must release those ugly feelings you’ve held against that person. You have to let it go!

• So are you able to let go of the offense that someone has committed against you?
• Are you able to put away that offense once and for all instead of dragging it up again and again?

Just as God has removed your sin as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12), you must now decide that this person is freed in regard to that past offense. Once you forgive him, you cannot drag up the offense again and again. You have released and liberated him completely from that sin. Therefore, you never have the right or privilege to pull out that offense later and use it against him. It is gone!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, please help me have the courage to lovingly speak to those who have sinned against me. Help me know how to tell them what they did wrong and kindly ask them not to do it again. If they repent and say they are sorry, please help me forgive them for what they did and then release them completely from that grievance, never to bring it up again. Help me put that offense out of my mind forever, just as You have done so many times for me!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that I am courageous, bold, and loving in the way I confront people who have sinned against me. I do not hold bitterness inside my heart; instead, I politely speak to those who have wronged me so my heart can stay free and they can learn from the experience. God’s Spirit is changing me and helping me to speak to my offenders from a gracious, helpful spirit, rather than from a spirit that is bitter and critical. Therefore, the end result of each difficult situation is reconciliation and peace instead of division and discord!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Can you think of a time when someone truly forgave you for something wrong you did to him or her? When that person forgave you, what effect did this genuine forgiveness have on your life?

2. Are you able to forgive others as you have been forgiven, or do you find that you keep reaching into the past to try to drag up those past issues again and again?

3. Who is it that you need to confront and forgive right now? Why not spend some time in prayer and get the heart of God for this situation so you can go to that person in the spirit of Jesus and make things right in your relationship with him or her?

Never Go to Bed Angry!

…Let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.
— Ephesians 4:26,27

Have you ever gone to bed sizzling with anger about what someone did or didn’t do or about what someone said or didn’t say? If you think about it, you’ll realize that this last phrase pretty well summarizes the primary reasons people get offended, insulted, irritated, or upset. Isn’t it true that people’s various responses or lack of responses in a given situation can send you to bed fuming if you allow yourself to take offense and get all worked up?

I have to admit that I’ve gone to bed angry on more than one occasion. How about you? Have you ever tossed and turned this way and that way, unable to sleep, because you were aggravated about something that happened? Did you become more and more angry the longer you thought about that issue?

Ephesians 4:26,27 warns us, “…Let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.” The word “wrath” is the Greek word parorgismos, a compound of the words para and orgidzo. The word para means alongside, as in something that is very close to you. The word orgidzo is the Greek word for wrath, which depicts someone whose mood is so upset that he becomes completely bent out of shape over some issue.

When orgidzo (“wrath”) is operating in an individual, it often starts as silent resentment. That resentment slowly builds up inside the person, becoming stronger and stronger until one day, it finally explodes in rage! And because the resentment has simmered silently for so long, the outburst of explosive wrath is usually way out of proportion to the situation that caused the anger in the first place.

But when these two words are joined together, forming the word parorgismos, it presents the image of a person who brings anger to his side and then embraces it. Instead of rejecting anger or pushing it away when it shows up, this person draws anger to himself and then nurses it, nourishes it, feeds it, and holds it close. The aggravating issue gets “under his skin” and soon becomes so entrenched in him that it becomes his constant companion and partner. He takes the offense with him wherever he goes — and that includes taking it to bed with him!

When a person goes to bed sizzling over something that has inwardly angered him, the entire night becomes an opportunity for the devil to work inside his mind and emotions. As soon as the person’s head hits the pillow, the devil begins to bombard his mind to prevent him from sleeping and to stir up his anger even more.

Remember, the name “devil” is the Greek word diabolos. This word diabolos is derived from two Greek words: dia, which means through, as when referring to penetrating something all the way through; and ballo, which means to throw. When these words are put together to form the word diabolos, it paints a vivid picture of the devil as one who repetitiously throws accusations at the mind — striking again and again until he ultimately penetrates the mind with his slanderous lies and relationship-destroying insinuations.

But the devil likes to look for the most advantageous times to strike your mind with his lies — and one of his favorite times to do this is when you go to bed at night. That is why Paul urges you, “…Let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.”

The word “place” is the Greek word topos, a Greek word that describes a specific place, like a real geographical place on a map. The word topos is where we get the term for a topographical map. This is very important, for it tells us that the devil is seeking a specific place, an entry point, through which he can enter our minds and emotions to stir up trouble and affect our relationships.

So don’t go to bed angry and let your mind become a movie screen on which the devil can portray every foul thing he wants you to meditate on all night long. That only allows the enemy to steal your peace and infuriate you even further. Why not instead deal with that anger or unforgiveness before your head ever hits the pillow? Do everything you can to stay free of anger, wrath, and strife, for these fleshly emotions are the entry points the devil uses to wage war in your mind.

If you find that you can’t deal with this problem by yourself, talk to your spouse or call a friend and ask that person if you can talk and share something that has been weighing heavily on your heart. Ask him or her to listen to you and to help you see things in a better light. You may be surprised to find that a different set of eyes sees the situation very differently than you do. And as you listen to a different side of the story, it may even help you release the offense that angered you so you can put the entire issue to rest forever.

But whether or not you decide to talk to a friend about the matter, one thing is for sure: If something or someone has upset or offended you, you will only make matters much worse if you let yourself go to bed angry!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I am sorry for the times I’ve allowed my anger to rise up and take control of me. I realize that I have no excuse, for the Spirit of God inside me is present to restrain me and to produce the fruit of the Spirit in me. I now see that I have opened the door to the devil in the past by allowing wrong attitudes to be pervasive in my life. I want to shut the door to the devil so he can no longer find access to me, to my family, to my business, to my church, or to any part of my life. To shut that door tight, I am asking You to help me remove uncontrolled anger from my life!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that the Holy Spirit is producing His fruit in me and my character. I am filled with the mind of Christ; therefore, anger and temperamental outbursts have no place in me. I am self-controlled, patient, and kind. When others do or say something to me that is wrong or unjust, I respond in the spirit of Jesus Christ. I refuse to allow offense to gain a foothold in my mind. I am determined to keep the door shut so the devil can no longer gain access to my life!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Have you ever noticed that bad things happen when you get upset or lose your temper? It would be worth your time to seriously ponder this question today.

2. Can you think of five times in your life when something bad happened as you were allowing anger and strife to get the best of you?

3. What steps should you take to make sure your anger doesn’t continue opening a door for the devil to send his attacks into your life?

Isn’t It Time for You To Quit Daydreaming And Get To Work?

But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.
— 1 Timothy 4:7

When the time came for our family to move to Moscow to start our next church, my wife and I knew that God wanted us to turn over the care of our large church in Riga, Latvia, to our associate pastor. After serving as a son in the Gospel for many years, he was as well-trained and prepared as anyone could be to step into the position of senior pastor of that church.

My associate was so excited. Just as we were certain he was the man to lead the church, he was convinced that God had chosen him. This was the day he had dreamed of for so long! After serving me for so many years as my associate, he would finally step into the senior pastor position and lead this great church. The vision of God was exploding in his heart as he dreamed of what would be accomplished in the ensuing years.

So with great reverence, my associate and his wife knelt on the platform of the large auditorium before the Riga congregation; then Denise and I laid our hands on him and installed him as the leading pastor of that congregation. After turning over the church to his care, my family and I turned our attention to the new work God had called us to establish in Moscow.

After the first year of leading that church by himself, my former associate told me, “Rick, I had no idea how much responsibility is placed on the senior pastor of a church. I thought I understood so much, but now I see that there was so much I never comprehended. It was only after you left and the whole weight of the church became my responsibility that I really began to realize the enormous responsibilities of a senior pastor.”

I listened with great interest as he continued to give me his views about leading a large church. Then he said to me, “You know, it finally dawned on me that this was my responsibility and that I couldn’t depend on anyone else to lead this church. As pastor, it’s up to me to guide and to see that things are being done correctly. It’s a huge responsibility to lead a church — much bigger than I ever realized!”

That conversation made me think of what Timothy went through after he became the pastor of the church of Ephesus — the largest church in the world at that time. Imagine how extremely stretched Timothy must have felt as he led the world’s largest and most famous church! Yes, he had served at Paul’s side for many years and was as prepared as anyone could possibly be for such a task. But now Paul was gone, and all eyes were on him!

The demands placed on the pastor of a large church are immense. His care for the church is nonstop. Twenty-four hours a day he must be available to the members of the congregation. Leaders must be trained; rebels must be corrected; and finances are needed to pay for the church as it grows. And in addition to church responsibilities, the pastor is most often a husband and a father as well. He has a massive church family to oversee and manage, and he also has his own personal family for which God will hold him responsible.

Timothy was just settling into the job of senior pastor when Paul wrote him the letter that became the book of First Timothy. At the time, Timothy’s responsibilities were increasing daily. His massive church was becoming even more massive as it continued to grow. He was constantly training new leaders and replacing old, rebellious leaders who thought Timothy was too young to be pastor of such a prominent church. And in the midst of it all, Timothy was learning how to cope with being the most visible Christian leader in a large metropolitan city. It was in the midst of these developments that Paul wrote to him and said, “But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.”

The Bible doesn’t tell us exactly what these old wives’ fables were. However, it seems that Timothy may have been so exhausted that he was starting to daydream about finding an easier and more trouble-free way to do his job (like all of us are tempted to do from time to time). I have personally wondered, Was Timothy tempted to daydream about life in the ministry becoming simpler? Was he hoping that things would eventually become a lot less hectic, demanding, and complicated? If Timothy was thinking along this line, his musings would definitely fall into the category of a fable!

When God trusts you enough to give you more and more responsibility, it always demands more of you, not less. I gave up the idea many years ago of thinking that life would eventually become less demanding. Ministry is work, and none of us should ever forget that fact!

If you are mightily anointed by God, it is just a fact that your schedule will get busier, your demands will increase, and your challenges will grow. But as long as you allow God to develop your character along the way, you will find that you’re able to successfully manage anything He puts on your plate!

Paul ordered Timothy to quit fantasizing about things getting easier, telling the younger man to “…refuse profane and old wives’ fables….” The word “refuse” tells us how strongly Paul felt about Timothy’s frame of thinking. It comes from the Greek word paraiteomai, and it means to reject, to refuse, to rebuff, to decline, to snub, or to decisively turn away from something. It denotes the attitude of a person who is so disgusted with something that he has resolved he will have nothing to do with it. His feelings about this issue are so pungent that he sharply rejects what is being offered to him and vigorously declines any form of participation in it.

Whatever these “old wives’ fables” were, Paul viewed them as extremely detrimental — so much so that he strictly ordered Timothy to reject these notions. To better understand what these “old wives’ fables” might have been, let’s see what the words “old wives” and “fables” mean in the original Greek.

The Greek word translated “old wives” is grauodes, which comes from the word graus, the word for an old woman. But when the word graus becomes grauodes, it denotes anything that is old-womanish. The word “fables” is the word muthos, which typically describes fictitious stories and is where we get the terms myths and mythology.

The word muthos describes legends, folklore, or fairy tales — the kind of stories an old woman would tell to entertain her grandchildren. One New Testament Greek scholar speculates that Paul was saying in effect, “Timothy, it’s time for you to quit fantasizing that you’re going to escape hard work and find an easier way to do what God has called you to do. Why, this unrealistic kind of thinking is the stuff of fairy tales! You’re thinking like an old woman who tells fairy tales to children.…”

Instead, Paul challenges Timothy to adjust his thinking and to take a different approach to the challenges he faces. Rather than pray for these challenges to go away, Timothy should embrace those challenges and use this time to develop himself. This is Paul’s message when he tells Timothy to “…exercise thyself rather unto godliness.” As noted earlier (see November 3), the word “exercise” is the Greek word gumnadzo, which describes the strenuous physical exercise required to produce the finest athletes.

When you are physically or mentally exhausted, your mind may be tempted to daydream or to wander to other places. It is amazing how the mind tries to escape from reality. But rather than let yourself float away on a cloud of fantasy that doesn’t help you fulfill your God-given assignment, ask the Holy Spirit to help you see things realistically. That’s the only way you’ll be able to put your whole heart and soul into completing your task exactly as Jesus wants it done! You can do great things for God’s Kingdom, but it will require both concentration and commitment!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, help me to stay focused on what You have called me to do and to embrace everything that comes with Your call on my life. Forgive me for the times I’ve tried to find a shortcut to avoid responsibility. I want to put my whole heart into the race You have set before me — to fulfill my assigned task fervently, passionately, and with the highest level of excellence.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that I am both faith-filled and realistic about what God has called me to do. I realize that it’s going to take hard work and commitment to take this assignment to the high level that God expects of me. I refuse to shrink from my responsibilities, and I choose to put my whole heart and soul into the task Jesus has given to me.

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Have you been trying to mentally escape from the responsibilities of your life? Have you been living in a fantasy that things are going to change without any effort?

2. What do you need to do to bring concrete change to the challenges you are facing in your life? What steps can you start taking today — right now — to start turning things around for the better?

3. Have you considered asking a close friend to help you focus on the things you need to be doing to get things moving in the right direction in your life? Who is a friend you could depend on to encourage you to take the right steps toward needed change?

The Peaceable Fruit of Righteousness

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
— Hebrews 12:11

As you grow in your walk with God, you will discover that one of the strongest forces you’ll have to face and overcome is your own flesh! Your flesh will try to oppose you, stand against you, and coax you into believing that you can do a little but still get a lot.

If you’re going to be mightily used by God, your flesh must be disciplined so it can become an instrument through which the Holy Spirit can flow. You have to pay the price of crucifying the flesh in order to have the resurrection power of Jesus Christ expressed through your life.

If you look at a child with no parental guidance or discipline, you’ll see exactly what the flesh does when it has its own way. The child will probably lie around, watch television, and eat junk food from morning till evening. And any person who lets his flesh do what it wants will most likely adopt the same lifestyle! That’s why dealing with the flesh is almost like chastening a child. The flesh must be controlled, corrected, and made to obey even if it wants to do otherwise. The process is painful, but the rewards are eternal!

This is what Hebrews 12:11 is talking about when it says, “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

The word “chastening” in this verse is the Greek word paideia, an old Greek word for the education or instruction of a child. It comes from the word pais, the Greek word for a boy. However, as time passed, the word paideia came to signify the education of all children. By the time of Plato, the word paideia included not only the education of children, but also of adults. The concepts of discipline and regimen were so intrinsically interwoven in this word that in Luke 23:16 and 22, the verb form of the word paideia is translated as the word “chastise” and refers to Jesus being whipped or scourged as punishment.

So when this verse speaks of “chastening” in Hebrews 12:11, it refers to disciplinary attitudes and actions that lead to one’s betterment in life or to one’s education. The fact that this word can also be translated as a whip, a scourge, or punishment explicitly tells us that rigid discipline is required for the flesh to be chastened and changed so that fruit can be produced in one’s life. The word paideia describes not only the process of education and change, but also the attitude required to bring about these benefits. An attitude of discipline is obligatory if the flesh is ever to make the needed changes.

Although the benefits of disciplining the flesh are too many to list, Hebrews 12:11 informs us that when this disciplinary process is in full force, it doesn’t seem joyous but rather feels “grievous.” The word “grievous” is the word lupe, the Greek word for pain, distress, trouble, grief, or sorrow. Although the discipline itself is good for us and provides us with the means to change, the flesh hates it when discipline is forced on it!

Haven’t there been moments when your flesh screamed in disgust at the idea of discipline and commitment? It may be painful for the flesh to be crucified, but it is essential if you’re going to render your flesh dead to sin and alive to God so He can transform it into an instrument through which His power and wisdom can flow!

Hebrews 12:11 says that this discipline will yield “…the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” The word “exercised” is the Greek word gumnadzo. This word gumnadzo depicts radical discipline! It was the word the ancient Greeks used to portray the athletes who exercised, trained, and prepared for competition in the often barbaric athletic games of the ancient world. It is where we get the word gymnasium.

This word gumnadzo (“exercise”) portrays people who want to develop and change so much that they are willing to put themselves through vigorous, demanding, and strenuous discipline in order to bring about change and to achieve the results they desire. Now Hebrews 12:11 uses the word gumnadzo to tell us that if we will discipline the flesh, we will see great results in our lives, for we will begin to yield “…the peaceable fruit of righteousness….”

Let’s face it — there is nothing more thrilling than to see progress in your life. But to get the kind of progress you desire, you will be required to do something more than you’ve been doing. You will have to say no to your flesh, denying its appetites and disciplining yourself to do what God says even if your flesh doesn’t want to do it. This process often feels long and laborious, but afterward when you can see and appreciate the results, you’ll be so glad you didn’t quit!

So let the Holy Spirit exercise His discipline in your life. If you’ll pay the price to crucify your flesh and to submit yourself to discipline, it will pay off with big dividends. You may not see immediate, tangible results while you are training and preparing. But eventually you will see the fruit of your labor, and you’ll be so glad you took your flesh to school and taught it to obey!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I admit that I need help in bringing discipline to my flesh and my emotions. Forgive me for being too easy on myself, and help me to be fiercely committed to bringing my body and my flesh under the control of the Holy Spirit. I want to be Your instrument so Your power can flow freely through me. So please help me today to submit to Your Word and to the control of Your Spirit. From this day forward, I purpose to no longer give my flesh the freedom to have its way in my life!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I declare that the Word of God and the Spirit of God are working inside me! Every day my flesh is being rendered inoperative and my body is responding less and less to sin as I reckon myself alive unto God. I am God’s instrument. His power flows through me. Because I am allowing God to bring discipline into my life on a daily basis, I have become a mighty weapon He can use to set people free and to make a significant difference in the world around me!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. What is the number-one area in your life in which you know you need more discipline? What have you been doing to bring discipline to that part of your life?

2. If you haven’t yet made any plans to change in this area of your life, what steps do you plan to take now that you’ve read today’s Sparkling Gem? Do you want to stay the way you are, or do you want to bring that part of your life under the control of the Word and the Holy Spirit?

3. Name three areas of your life (such as diet, emotions, thought life, laziness, etc.) that used to be out of control but are now successfully crucified and brought under the control of the Holy Spirit.

The First Requirement of a Leader

This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
— 1 Timothy 3:1

One time many years ago, Denise and I were driving down the street, discussing our concern for certain church members who reflected no desire for excellence in the way they lived. As we discussed our desire to see the people in our church display a greater desire for excellence in their lives, we happened to look out the car window. There we saw one of our church members, an older woman, walking down the sidewalk. This elderly lady was extremely poor and had suffered miserable hardships in her life; yet every time we saw her, she always wore a beautiful smile on her face. My wife and I had commented to each other on many occasions about this woman’s “never-give-up” attitude.

Like millions of other people living in the wreckage of the former Soviet Union, this woman had lost her money, her job, and even her national identity when the Soviet Union collapsed. As a pensioner, she existed on a salary so low that we didn’t know how she even survived from day to day. Her monthly pension was barely enough to buy bread and milk. (This sad situation has happened to many people in the former Soviet Union. It’s heartbreaking to see so many who live in despair, having lost all hope and sense of purpose in life.)

But on this particular day, this elderly lady’s hair was beautifully combed and her face was prepared for the day. She had put on her best dress jacket, and she was holding her head high as she walked down the street. She looked as if she were a queen!

Then we noticed that the woman wobbled as she walked. Looking at her feet, we saw that her shoes were almost completely worn out and were surely causing her great pain as she slowly strolled along. When I saw how this little old woman hobbled along in old, worn-out shoes with her head held so high, it both blessed and saddened me. I felt sorry that her financial situation was so bleak and that she had to walk in such a decrepit pair of shoes. But her spirit and her mental attitude were so strong that she refused to let life get her down — and that blessed me!

I thought of all the people we knew who faced much less challenging situations, yet who sat around griping and complaining about everything. Because they didn’t have the same desire this woman had to keep pressing toward excellence regardless of the obstacles, they were much more prone to give up and quit. But this little woman put on the best she had in an effort to look as excellent as possible in the midst of her very difficult circumstances.

It is sadly true that many believers live low-level lives simply because they have no ambition, passion, or desire to do anything to improve themselves. Their complacent attitude prevents them from ever doing anything better with their lives.

Considering the fact that the Spirit of God lives in believers and wants to take them higher, it is hard to understand any believer who:

• has the ability to improve himself but doesn’t.
• has the money to buy better clothes but doesn’t.
• has an iron to press his clothes but doesn’t use it.
• has a comb to comb his hair but doesn’t care how his hair looks.
• has the opportunity to study and increase his knowledge and skills but never cares enough to do it.
• has been reared in a good home with godly parental examples but allows his living quarters to look like a pigpen.

It is very important for you to understand that God doesn’t choose passionless people to do mighty works. He carefully observes a person’s attitude and desire before He lays His hand upon him and calls him to do something historic and monumental. Attitude and desire are very important to God; in fact, Paul wrote, “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.”

As noted earlier (see May 25), the word “desire” is the Greek word orego. This word pictures a person who wants something so badly that he stretches forward to obtain what he wants. It literally means to be outstretched or to stretch forward. The idea is of a fierce, unyielding desire to have or to be something. It refers to a person’s inward attitude and determination to always do the best he can with what he is and to become the best he can be.

You see, when a person has loads of talent and potential but never combs his hair, irons his clothes, makes his bed, washes his car, or cleans his pigpen of a home, it should deeply disturb us. It should especially concern us if that person has money to improve himself but never does it because he doesn’t care.

A person who never attempts to make improvements in his living conditions is not someone I want to serve alongside me in my ministry. I know from the way he lives that he isn’t a person with high standards of excellence. Likewise, an individual who is content to remain at his current level of proficiency at work, never striving for greater results, demonstrates a low level of desire to attain excellence.

This is probably not the kind of person God can trust to do great things for His Kingdom! A person’s “take-it-easy, don’t-rock-the-boat, never-achieve-anything-special” attitude reveals a lack of the passion and desire needed to be a mover and a shaker in life. This person could be developing his mind. He could be striving for excellence in his work. He could be reading books and developing skills of professionalism in his chosen field. Instead, he sits around in a puddle of mediocrity, satisfied with the status quo.

If you know someone who is called of God and loaded with gifts and talents but who is lazy in his approach to life, let me encourage you to speak correction to this person in love. God will never select that person to do anything great until he becomes willing to change. Why would God trust this kind of person with an important task when he can’t even make his bed or comb his hair? Regardless of the talent or gifts this person possesses, he is eliminated by his own lack of desire.

This issue of desire is not a second-rate issue. It is right at the top of the list of requirements for excellence! It’s so critical to advancement in life that when the apostle Paul gave Timothy his list of character requirements for Christian leaders, the first thing he put on the list was desire (1 Timothy 3:1).

When God observes your life, does He see the kind of desire that is essential for leaders? If not, what are you going to do to change this in your life — starting today?

My Prayer for Today

Lord, please help me stir up my desire to make significant changes in my life. I am so sorry for the times I’ve allowed complacency to keep me stuck in the same ol’ place for such a long time. I want to change. I want to grow. I want to be different. I am asking You to supernaturally fill me with so much desire that no power on earth and no force in hell can stop me from becoming everything You want me to be!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that I am filled with enough desire to make significant leaps forward in my life. I am not going to stay the same as I have been in the past. I am getting up and moving forward. I’m stretched out toward the goal and completely committed to achieving the dream God has for me. I will not stop, nor will I allow anything to distract me from reaching out to become ALL that God has planned for me to be! 

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. If you were to gauge the level of your desire for excellence, how would you rate yourself (with #1 designating the least desire and #10 the greatest desire)?

2. If you were to ask people who know you well to gauge your level of desire, how do you think they would rate you? Why don’t you go ahead and ask them this question so you can find out what others see in you? You might learn something very valuable by allowing a dear friend to speak so honestly into your life.

3. In your opinion, what is the number-one area of your life that needs to change?

If You Want To Be a Leader

This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
— 1 Timothy 3:1

When Denise and I were young in the ministry, we had a young man on our staff who was gifted in music and communication. This man had previously worked in the field of business, where he had done well until he was accused of taking funds from the cash register. A question had been raised about his integrity, and he was released from his job. However, I ignored every report about his lack of integrity because I was so impressed with his gifts and abilities.

I was most impressed by this man’s ability to sing and write music, as well as his natural abilities to influence others. Soon I asked him to join our team. This turned out to be one of the most painful mistakes I had made in my life up to that time. Inviting this young man to come into our inner circle was like personally inviting Judas Iscariot to betray me! It didn’t take too long until I began to see what kind of person he really was. The truth was far different from what I had first thought.

This young man talked only about himself. He looked for opportunities to put me down when others were present. He constantly exaggerated his importance in the eyes of others. I tried to overlook these faults, attributing them to his youthfulness. I hoped he would grow out of them. But as time passed, he didn’t grow out of those troublesome traits; in fact, he became worse.

I met with the young man every morning and tried to teach him principles from God’s Word. But he was a classic know-it-all! He acted as though he already knew everything, and it didn’t take too long for me to realize that I had no real spiritual authority in his life. There was no foundation between us on which to build. Furthermore, he didn’t seem to want a relationship; he was simply looking for a way to promote himself.

In terms of gifts and talents, this young man was everything a pastor could desire to have in an upcoming leader. But after a period of time, I found myself praying for a peaceable solution to our problem. I asked God to remove him and thus deliver us from a very uncomfortable situation, and eventually God did just that. Our dreadful experience with this young man was an important lesson in my early ministry of what not to do — a lesson I have not forgotten and have sought to never repeat!

As I have worked with pastors throughout the years, I have heard similar stories countless times — stories of pastors who were unwise in the way they chose leaders and eventually had to pray for a way to get a wrong person out of an important position. Just as I did when I was young in the ministry, these pastors also selected leaders according to the gifts and talents they saw rather than on the basis of the principles Paul so clearly laid out in First Timothy 3:1-7.

When Timothy’s church was growing and he needed leaders to help him with his growing congregation, he asked Paul for advice about how to select leaders. Oddly enough, when the apostle Paul wrote Timothy back, he mentioned nothing about looking for people who were gifted or talented. Instead, Paul gave Timothy a list of what I call “character requirements” for those filling leadership positions in a local church. These “character requirements” were intended to be Timothy’s guidelines for choosing the members of his leadership team.

However, don’t think that these principles apply only to the church. When applied to the sphere of business, these principles will also safeguard any businessperson from making the critical mistake of choosing a wrong person for an important position.

Paul began this text on leadership selection by saying, “This is a true saying, If any man desire the office of a bishop.…” Before we go any further, I want us to stop and look at the word “bishop” in this verse, for it is a word that has taken on an incorrect religious connotation that brings confusion to readers of the New Testament.

The word “bishop” is the Greek word episkopos. It is a compound of the words epi and skopos. The word epi means over, and the word skopos means to look. The word skopos by itself means to watch, to look, to observe, or to survey. But when the word skopos has the prefix epi added to the front of it, it becomes the word episkopos, which presents the idea of a person who has oversight. In other words, because this person has been placed in charge of a particular job or responsibility, it is his duty to supervise, manage, and provide oversight of it.

In secular Greek society, this word episkopos was used to picture a ruler who was entrusted with the care of a city or country. The task of that political leader was to provide oversight of an entire geographical area. That means he assumed management of the region and all the citizens who lived there and was personally held responsible for everything that happened under his care.

But the word episkopos was also used in the world of construction to depict supervisors who had oversight of construction sites. As the supervisor at such a site, an episkopos was required to ensure that funds were spent properly, that expenditures didn’t exceed the budget, that people did their jobs correctly, and that the construction of a building was done according to code and in compliance with the desires of the architect. In other words, he was responsible for the entire project from beginning to end.

The word episkopos could be used to express the functions of:

• an overseer
• a manager
• a director
• a supervisor
• a superintendent
• an administrator

The reason it is so important to understand this is that when most people hear the word “bishop” (the Greek word episkopos), they think of a religious individual dressed in a long black gown, wearing a huge, heavy gold chain around his neck with a gold cross dangling at the end of it. This image is emphatically not what Paul had in mind when he used the word episkopos (“bishop”). Timothy didn’t need religious leaders clad in black clothing and decorated with religious emblems; he needed godly leaders who could help him lead the flock!

You see, Timothy was building a huge congregation in Ephesus. In a sense, you could say he was in the “spiritual construction business.” Because he was overseeing the massive, influential church of Ephesus, Timothy needed people he knew he could lean on to help him manage, direct, and supervise his growing congregation. He was looking for people who would take on the responsibility of entire areas of ministry, fulfilling their duties faithfully as they helped him supervise both people and projects within the church. These leaders had to be trustworthy individuals who would stick to the vision he gave them while making sure the people under their supervision properly performed their jobs and worked within the time frame and budget assigned to their project.

This is precisely what every pastor and business owner needs. As a church or business grows and expands, a pastor or business leader must have people he can rely on to do a good job and fulfill his desires. If he lacks such leaders, he will be limited in his ability to lead a large, growing organization. His arms only reach so far, and if he doesn’t have good helpers to stand at his side and assist him, he’ll never be able to oversee an organization that grows beyond his reach. He must have people who can help provide oversight, management, and supervision for the many tasks that must be performed within his church or business.

So I want to ask you today: Are you the kind of person that your pastor or employer can trust with bigger responsibilities? If he was looking for someone to step into a leadership position with greater responsibility, do you think he would think of you as a candidate for the job? What have you done to show yourself to be reliable? Why would your superior want to trust you to oversee a group of people, to manage a particular project, or to direct an entire department within the church or business?

It is just a fact that there are many gifted and talented people whom God will not use because they are not dependable. Gifts and talents are great, but they aren’t everything. Throughout history, God has bypassed many people who were mightily gifted because He knew they couldn’t be trusted with assignments given to them. Instead, He has chosen less gifted people He could count on to be faithful!

Are you a person God must bypass because you’ve been unfaithful, or does your record show that God can trust you to take on the responsibility of a leader?

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I ask You to help me become faithful and dependable. I want to be the kind of person others can rely on. I ask You to forgive me for those times when I got so lazy and complacent that I didn’t follow through on commitments and, in the end, let other people down. I thank You for the gifts and talents You have placed in my life, but please help me bring my character to such a high level that You and others will know I can be trusted.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that God’s Word and God’s Spirit are turning me into a tower of strength! When people think of me, they think of reliability. I do what I’m asked to do, and I do it with excellence. People find me faithful and trustworthy, and they want me to be a part of their team. I am exactly the kind of person who helps bring success — and as a result, both God and man are excited to have me on their team!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Can you think of a person who is so reliable that everyone relies on him or her when there is a job that needs to be done? What can you learn from the way that person works and lives?

2. Can you think of a person who has failed people so many times that now no one wants to work with him or her any longer?

3. What part of you is the strongest — your gifts and talents, or your character?

Don’t Disqualify Yourself!

But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
— 1 Corinthians 9:27

Recent years have been painful for the worldwide Christian community as they have witnessed famous Christian leaders fall into sin time and again. Not so long ago, I sat in a hotel room and watched with a broken heart as a famous evangelist, whose voice once touched the nations of the earth, preached with almost no effect on television. Because sin in his personal life had become public information years earlier, his words now seem empty, hollow, and irrelevant. Although he once preached to the nations of the world, now the world mocks him because they discovered the message he preached and the life he lived were not the same.

To me, one of the saddest things in the world is to see a man or woman whom God once powerfully used to preach the Gospel to millions of people around the world fall into sin. When that happens, it brings such shame to the name of Jesus Christ. These individuals may have once mightily impacted their nation or city for the Kingdom of God. But even if they are repentant and receive the forgiveness of God for the sin they committed, other people don’t forget so easily. Like it or not, such sinful actions discredit them and ruin the effectiveness of their ministry. What they did or permitted themselves to get dragged into “disqualified” them from being as effective as they were before.

The apostle Paul wrote First Corinthians 9:27 to let us know that he never wanted to become discredited or disqualified. This is what he said: “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

When the King James Version uses the word “castaway,” it is actually the Greek word adokimos, which comes from the word dokimos, an old Greek word that means approved. But when an a is added to the front of the word, making it the word adokimos, it reverses the condition, which means this is no longer an approved person. Now this person has become disapproved, discredited, or disqualified.

This is a person who has lost a high position he once held. Although he was once honored and respected, he has now become a “castaway.” He has lost his testimony and forfeited his reputation; as a result, he has become discredited, dishonored, and shamed.

I’m certain that Paul must have seen many people fall into sin during the course of his ministry. One example that comes to mind is Demas, a leader who was so beloved and respected by the Early Church that he is mentioned along with Luke in Colossians 4:14. But this same Demas who was once respected on the same level with Luke is mentioned again in Second Timothy 4:10, where we discover that Demas forsook the apostle Paul, abandoned his faith, and escaped into the world to spare himself from possible persecution.

People often make the tragic mistake of thinking that just because they have been successful in the past, they will continue to be successful in the future. But I have known many ministers of the Gospel who once experienced great success in the ministry and then slowly allowed their fire to go out. Whether they fell into sin or just became lethargic and complacent, the result was the same: They lost the cutting edge they once possessed in their ministries.

The primary reason people become discredited and shamed is that they don’t control their flesh. Instead of crucifying the flesh and submitting it to the control of the Holy Spirit, they pander to the cravings of the flesh. As a result, they become dominated by the desires of the flesh, and those fleshly desires very deceptively lead them to fall into sin.

Paul was a great apostle who was filled with divine revelation and had preached to more people than anyone else in his day. Nevertheless, one of his greatest concerns was that after doing all he had done for the Kingdom, he might later become a “castaway” — the fate suffered by others whom he had known. Paul didn’t consider himself so high and mighty that he couldn’t imagine this happening to him.

Rather than make the mistake others had made by letting his flesh get the best of him, ultimately destroying both him and his reputation, Paul acted with great determination to keep his flesh under control. This is why he said, “…I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.…”

The word “subjection” is the word doulagogeo, a compound of the word doulos and ago. The word doulos is the word for a slave, and the word ago is the Greek word that means to lead. This means that Paul mastered his body and flesh rather than allowing his body and flesh to master him. He knew that many believers allow themselves to be led about by their fleshly desires. But Paul was determined that he would be the master of his own flesh. He was going to keep it in “subjection.” In other words, he was going to lead his flesh about as his slave rather than be its slave and pander to its carnal desires.

By mastering his body and keeping it under his control, Paul made his flesh an instrument through which he preached the Gospel. His feet became his tool to take the Gospel to places that had never heard the Good News. His eyes became instruments through which he was able to identify needs that God’s power could meet. His voice became the voice of salvation, healing, and deliverance to those who heard him preach. His hands became the hands of God that brought a healing and compassionate touch to those in need. Paul’s body, which he determined to make his slave and his instrument, was never allowed to have its own way. Rather, Paul kept it under his command and made it his slave for the purpose of accomplishing his God-given dreams.

If you continue going the way you are going right now, is your physical body going to be a fine-tuned instrument that God can use, or is it going to be the very tool the devil uses to bring you into discredit and shame? Who is running your life today — you or your flesh?

If the apostle Paul was concerned that he could become discredited after all he had seen and done in the service of God’s Kingdom, I think it would be wise for you to be concerned about who is running your life as well. Don’t cut your flesh too much slack, friend, or it won’t be long before it’s running all over you and telling you what to do. You will reap the same result as others do when they refuse to discipline their flesh. In other words, you will eventually become broken by it.

Don’t join the ranks of those who were once used by the Lord but are now set aside and ruined because they refused to bring their bodies into subjection. Your reputation, your influence, and the souls of unsaved men and women are at stake. Make sure you don’t become a castaway after all the good you have already done! 

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I never want to become a castaway who was once used mightily by You but who has now become disqualified for further use. I know of other people to whom this has happened. They were once mightily used, but they have since become discredited and disqualified because of their lack of passion or the immoral mistakes they have made in their lives. Help me to maintain Your fire in my soul and to walk a straight and narrow path that leads to life and abundance. I don’t want to stray from the path You have set before me or to knock myself out of the race. Holy Spirit, I am asking You today to help me do everything I need to do to remain a viable, useful vessel in the hands of God.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that I walk with God and make it my aim to be an upright, moral, and godly example. I refuse to allow sin to have a place in my life. When evil thoughts try to invade my mind, I take those thoughts captive and command them to leave. I am the temple of the Holy Spirit, and these thoughts and ideas have no place inside me. I have invested too much of myself into the work of God to allow such low-level thoughts to pull me down and take me out. Because I am committed, determined, and serious about my walk with God, my future is bright and the anointing of God will grow ever stronger on my life!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Do you know ministers of the Gospel or well-known Christians who no longer have the powerful testimony and influence they once did in the Body of Christ because they allowed themselves to fall into immorality? Did those individuals lose their testimony to the extent that no one wants to hear what they have to say any longer?

2. As you ponder what happened to those individuals, what do you think was the primary mistake they made with their lives that allowed the devil to take them down and take them out?

3. As you look at what you are permitting in your own life, can you think of any destructive stronghold that could eventually grow into a problem serious enough to knock you out of the race of faith? If yes, what is that sin, and what are you going to do about it?

Is It Time for You To Make An Attitude Adjustment?

In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
— 2 Corinthians 11:27

I remember an employee we once had in our ministry who got distressed because she was transferred to an area of the ministry that didn’t have air control to suit her taste. Those in charge tried to adjust the thermostat to her liking, but they could never seem to please this individual. First it was too cold, and then it was too hot. And that was just the beginning. Next, this person complained because her office didn’t have a window. Nothing we could do seemed to please this worker.

Because I believed this employee had great potential, I personally went to her to discuss her impossible-to-please attitude. If that employee was going to reach the level God desired for her, it would require a serious attitude change on her part. I wanted this unreasonable complaining to stop. When we hired this person, we had never agreed that she would be provided with a window or that we would meet the ideal atmospheric conditions she demanded.

I talked through these complaints one at a time with this employee. We had bent over backwards to make this person happy; now it was time for this employee to quit complaining and make an attitude adjustment in order to make me happy. Her constant complaining was bringing a spirit of discord into our organization that I didn’t like. I decided I would not tolerate it any longer.

When I first spoke to this person, she showed thankfulness for the correction. But by the next week, she was back at it again — mumbling, murmuring, complaining, and sowing seeds of discord. The temperature wasn’t right; the chair at the desk wasn’t comfortable; the lunch hour wasn’t the exact time she desired; there was no window in her office, and on and on and on. When I saw that this employee wasn’t going to make the attitude adjustment I required, I decided to make an adjustment myself by removing her from our staff. That was that person’s last week in our office.

It is unacceptable for us as Spirit-filled believers to be complaining people. After all, we are the ones who claim to possess the power of Almighty God!

To constantly complain about small annoyances such as those mentioned above is unacceptable. If it’s possible to fix those little inconveniences, then fix them. But if the air can’t be adjusted to your liking or if you can’t have an office with a window, it’s time for you to put a smile on your face and do a good job for your employer with a happy attitude. He didn’t hire you to grumble and complain. He hired you to be a blessing!

The fact is, sometimes we don’t get to have everything just the way we’d like to have it. Yet even in those moments, you and I should serve with all our might. If we are being paid to do a good job and to be cooperative with our employer and fellow employees, then we need to do what we are being paid to do! The day we give up that servant’s attitude to become a source of constant complaining is the day we cease to be a blessing and become instead a hindrance that is no longer needed on the team.

If you’re filled with the Holy Spirit and the power of God, it’s time for you to get tough! You can do your job with joy, no matter what circumstances surround you! You can be victorious in any environment, even in working conditions that aren’t exactly what you wish they could be. Besides, if you can’t handle tiny inconveniences such as the ones we talked about earlier, how in the world do you ever think you’ll be able to stand against the devil and the strategies he will try to use to assault you when you step out in faith?

As the apostle Paul continues telling us about his experiences in Second Corinthians 11, he lets us know that he has faced all kinds of inconveniences in order to obey the will of God. I’m sure he didn’t enjoy those inconveniences, but he didn’t allow them to affect his attitude or to keep him from fulfilling the task God had given him to do.

Let’s look at a few of the inconveniences Paul endured as he marched forward to obey God.

In Hunger and Thirst

In Second Corinthians 11:27, he tells us that he endured “hunger” and “thirst.” The word “hunger” is the Greek word limos. The word “thirst” is the Greek word dipsos. These words refer to being hungry from a lack of food or thirsty from a lack of drink.

This means there were times when Paul didn’t have sufficient food to eat. This doesn’t mean he was poor and therefore couldn’t buy food. But in this verse, Paul is recalling times of inconvenience when food simply may not have been available to him and his fellow travelers.

Paul no doubt traveled through inhospitable, barren terrain where food was not abundant. Also, because of the great distances between some of the cities to which Paul and his team walked, it wasn’t always possible for them to carry enough for their journey. In such times, they would simply run out of food and drink.

Yet this lack of food and drink didn’t affect Paul’s desire to go onward to the next town. Hunger and thirst was only an inconvenience — certainly not enough to hinder him from pressing on ahead.

To make sure we understand how serious this deficit of food was from time to time, Paul went on to say that he was “…in fastings often….”

In Fastings Often

The word “fastings” is the Greek word nesteia. It refers to skipping or foregoing meals voluntarily. In this case, Paul and his team probably skipped meals because there was no time to eat. The word “often” is pollakis, and it means many times, often, or frequently.

The apostle Paul and his team kept a rigid routine and a busy schedule. Eating food was obviously not a high priority on his list of things to do. First and foremost, he wanted to accomplish his God-given objectives for each day and for each city where he labored. This doesn’t mean Paul was against eating. It simply means his thoughts and focus were not on the comfort of food.

I know that when I travel to hold leadership meetings and crusades in the territory of the former Soviet Union, I am so focused on what I am called to do that personal comforts are always a last consideration. I frequently forget to eat because I am so consumed with the work before me. This is the kind of “fastings often” Paul makes reference to in this verse. Eating was not the highest priority on his mind.

I have personally known many people who took a missions trip and then swore they would never take another one because they didn’t like the food they were given to eat on the trip. I am astonished when believers are so finicky about what they eat that they allow the issue to steal their joy and affect their obedience to God.

It perplexes me when people bewail that the food doesn’t taste like food “back home.” Of course it doesn’t! They’re not home! Then after grumbling about the food, they go to an evangelistic crusade where they expect to exercise spiritual authority to cast out demons. But how in the world do they ever think they’ll have power over demons if they don’t even have enough power to be thankful for a meal that is placed in front of them?

The phrase “in fastings often” tells us about Paul’s priorities. He didn’t take his trips to taste and experience the local menu. He went to get a job done. Good food or bad food, he went where the Lord told him to go. Time to eat or no time to eat, he was determined to succeed at the job he was given to do. Nothing as insignificant as food had the power to knock this man out of the race.

But how about the next inconvenience he lists? He went on to tell us that there were times when he and his team were also “…in cold and nakedness.”

In Cold and Nakedness

This phrase could refer to many instances in Paul’s life. For instance, he may be remembering the “cold” he felt as he treaded seawater after one of his three shipwrecks (see October 22 and October 26).

Paul may also be remembering the “cold” he felt during one of his many imprisonments. Ancient prisons were notorious for being damp and cold. Prisoners often contracted terrible cases of lung disease and died prematurely on account of these damp conditions. To make a captive’s stay in prison even more miserable, the captor would often strip him almost naked before throwing him into the cave-like cell. It isn’t possible to state definitely what Paul is referring to in his statement about “cold and nakedness,” but whatever event he is remembering, it’s obvious that it was not a pleasant experience.

In the former Soviet Union where we live, all public buildings and apartment complexes are centrally connected to a city-wide heating system. The heat is turned on for the entire city on a set day every fall, and the heat is turned off for the entire city on a set day every spring. Regardless of the temperature, the heat is not turned on or off until that date on the calendar. And once it is turned on, there is no thermostat in buildings, so the best way to control the temperature is either by opening the windows to let the cold air in or by closing the windows to retain the heat.

If it turns cold before that date in the fall when the heat is turned on, it means the entire city experiences the cold that permeates every apartment and office. Sometimes when the weather turns cold earlier than expected, the citizens may live in the cold for quite a lengthy period of time. When that happens, there is nothing people can do about it except dress in warmer clothes and try to keep themselves warm. Complaining won’t change the situation, so people learn to work and function in the cold.

I admit that this isn’t a pleasurable experience, but grumbling about the cold doesn’t make the days pass any faster. Therefore, people mentally adjust to the inconvenience; then they live and work in the cold until the day finally comes when the city turns on the heat. Everyone survives the temperature because they have no choice. They make the mental adjustment to deal with the cold and are therefore able to live through the inconvenience.

Sometimes that is the way it is with life. We don’t always get what we want or live in the style we prefer. But if we’re not getting exactly what we want and we can’t do anything to change the situation, we have a choice: 1) We can constantly complain and make it worse on ourselves and everyone else; or 2) we can make a mental adjustment and decide that we’re tough enough to handle the situation until things change. The second choice is the one God wants us to make, for this is the one that demonstrates the attitude of Jesus Christ in our lives!

So if you’ve been grumbling or complaining about a situation that just can’t be fixed to your liking, it’s time for you to quit grumbling and to start rejoicing. Put praise in your mouth, and choose to be positive. As you do, you will find the strength to endure any hardship you are facing with joy.

As you make the choice to endure this hardship in the joy of the Lord, the Holy Spirit will fill you with a spirit of victory. And in the end, you will find that you came through the difficult situation you were facing much more quickly than you ever imagined you could!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, please forgive me for the times I’ve been a whiner and a complainer! I am so sorry that I’ve made life miserable for the people who work with me at my job or at church. I recognize that I complain more than I should, and I admit that I have been wrong. I repent for my wrong behavior, and I’m asking You today to help me make a mental adjustment. Help me learn to be thankful for the blessings I have and for the salary my employer pays me. Help me to serve with a happy heart and to be a continual source of blessing instead of a continual source of complaint.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that I am a blessing to my employer, my boss, my director, my supervisor, and to my pastor. They see me as a team player and a fine example of a Christian worker. My attitude is positive. I am willing to do what I am asked to do. I am never a source of contention; instead, I am a constant source of blessing to those who are over me. They are glad I work under them because I exhibit such a cooperative spirit of joy and thankfulness.

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. What are some of the inconveniences you face at your place of employment or where God has called you to serve? Are these annoyances really so terrible that you have a right to be upset about them? Or does God want you to deal with these inconveniences in the joy and the power of the Holy Spirit so you can gain the victory over them?

2. If your employer, supervisor, or pastor has tried to adjust things to your liking, have you expressed your thankfulness to that person for his or her attempts to please you? Remember — the person in authority over you didn’t have to do anything at all to please you. So have you ever thanked that person for trying?

3. Is God telling you to make a mental adjustment so you can function victoriously where He has called you to live, to serve, and to work? What is that adjustment you need to make in your attitude?