Whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme

  Good morning. Paul then mentions two men who had suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith… whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme. Wow! Can he do that? He did the same thing in first Corinthians. There he said he did it for “the destruction of one’s flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord Jesus”. I guess that’s – if you are dead, you can’t keep sinning. Now Paul tells Timothy a most important thing to do as the leader of a church: first of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. Paul said this, even though Nero was in power in Rome. We don’t get to pick and choose which rulers we pray for. God can change the hearts of rulers; but we need to pray for them. Sometimes something awful has to happen to them like it did to Nebuchadnezzar, when he was basically turned into an animal mentally; but that is God‘s decision, not ours. Father help us to remember to pray for our leaders nationally and locally.

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