Daily Inspirations

   Good morning. For this reason (to follow) we must pay closer attention to what we have heard (the gospel), so that we do not drift away from it. And the reason – for if the word spoken through angels (The 10 Commandments on mount Sinai) proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty (the penalty for disobeying some of the laws of Moses was death), how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation (infinitely greater than what the law could bring)? After it (the gospel) was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed by those who heard it. The apostles and other disciples who were with Jesus from the beginning proclaimed it to others, who then proclaimed it to even more people, finally ending with the author and readers of Hebrews. Father protect Your people during the storm. Send Your angels to minister to those who need it.

   Good morning. For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You.” There is a well-known group that thinks Jesus was an angel. And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “and let all the angels of God worship Him.“ Of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.” My Bible says that the author of Hebrews selects a passage that intimates the deity of the Messianic ( Davidic) King, further demonstrating the Son’s superiority over angels. But to which of the angels has He ever said, “sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet“? That is again emphasizing that Jesus was not an angel. Are they (angels) not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? I heard one preacher say that this verse meant that we had the right and ability to command angels to do whatever we needed them to do. I disagree. Father thank You that we have ...

   Good morning. Continuing about the Son: when He had made purification of sins He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name then they. Man by his own efforts could never make purification for sins. Not even the blood of animals sacrificed for sins could do it. It took the blood of Jesus. It was a sign of great honor to be able to sit at the right hand of the king on earth; much more to be able to sit at the right hand of the King in heaven. The Jews highly regarded angels; in fact my Bible says that the Dead Sea Scrolls reflect the expectation that the archangel Michael would be the supreme figure in the Messianic Kingdom. Sadly, even today there are Christians who exalt angels and the seeing of them as important. In fact several years ago, there was someone ministering in the area, and people would come back to church with the report that they saw angels. It’s not to say that th...

   Good morning. Today we start the book of Hebrews. God, after He spoke long-ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways. The author (who does not identify himself, and as of the writing of my Bible, is still unknown), is of course talking about incidences recorded in the old testament. In these last days (does not necessarily mean that he believed Jesus would return at any moment) has spoken to us in His Son (it was no longer secondhand knowledge through the prophets; instead, it was straight from the “horses’ “ mouth) whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world (this is what John said about Jesus). And He is the radiance of His glory (Paul in second Corinthians – beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord) and the exact representation of His nature (John – and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory as of the only begotten from the Father full of grace and truth). Father go with the reader an...

   Good morning. I pray that everything is better for you today. Today we are looking at the book of Philemon. Wanna see it again? 😎 There are a few things we will look at. First, as always, Paul butters him up (I hear of your love and faith you have toward the Lord Jesus and all the saints;  I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake) before he hits him with it. I could order you to do this, but I would rather appeal to you as Paul, the aged and the prisoner of Christ. You wouldn’t refuse an old man’s last request, would you? Apparently one of Philemon’s slaves had stolen from him, gone to Rome, and was ministering to Paul, after he became a Christian. By law, this was punishable by death. Paul asked him to forgive the slave. If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account; I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your ow...

   Good morning. Concerning these things (God saving us) I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. Don’t get embroiled in side issues, which even if you win the argument, you lose the other’s soul. Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self condemned. My Bible says that the Greek for this phrase became a technical term in the early church for a type of heretic who promoted dissension by propagating extreme views of legitimate Christian truths. A good thing, taken to the extreme, can become a bad thing. And that is the end of the book of Titus. Father continue to daily minister to the reader and his/her family, meeting their every need.

   Good morning. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared (love is the reason He saved us; and His love for us was Jesus), He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness (that’s what the law of Moses was about, but it did nothing to save us – it was all up to us), but according to His mercy (we deserved total destruction), by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit (The triune Godhead is here declared to be at work in the process of salvation), whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. And why did He do it – so that being justified by His grace (not by works) we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Father thank You that You did not leave us to our own devices to try to obtain salvation; but You did it all out of love for us.

   Good morning. Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. Paul has said this elsewhere about being subject to rulers that we might live a peaceable life. As always, it does not mean to do or say things contrary to the Word of God. For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. Since we also behaved like the people of the world at one time, we should not be condemning, but rather encouraging them to become committed to the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though at one time we were so far from God, He did something miraculous to bring us to Him. Stay tuned next time for what it was. Father bring tremendous blessings upon the reader and his/her family.

   Good morning. Continuing with, the grace of God appearing: instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age (if we have been saved by grace, our daily lives should express the results of that grace), looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus. My Bible comments that it is possible to translate this phrase as the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, as though it were talking about two separate people. But this rendering better represents the Greek construction. It is an explicit testimony to the deity of Christ. In other words, Jesus is not only our Savior, He is also God. Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. Just like with the children of Israel in Egypt, He did not just bring us out (of sin), He brought us in to the promised land (a life of...

   Good morning. One of the things that the older women are supposed to do is to encourage (or train) the young women to love their husbands, and to love their children. First, he is not talking about agape love. That comes naturally from the Holy Spirit, especially towards other believers - you don’t have to be encouraged to do that. He is talking about “brotherly“ love. Why would they have to be encouraged or trained to have “brotherly love“ towards their husbands; weren’t they in love with them when they got married? I don’t know how prevalent it was back then; but marriages were arranged without any love between the two. If what was depicted in the movie “fiddler on the roof” is true, it still happened not that long ago. Paul then talks about the behavior of young men and young women. For the grace of God has appeared (through Jesus), bringing salvation to all men. Now Paul did not mean that everyone would be saved, just that they would have the opportunity to be saved. Si...

   Good morning. To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They constantly look for “mistakes” to put down others; so that they can feel that they are above them – just like some people do today. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed. Sadly this is becoming prevalent today; religious groups claim they know the way to God, but their actions contradict things in the Bible. But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. In other words, don’t just “tickle their ears“, saying things that are compatible to what they are saying. Paul then gives guidance for how older men and women are to behave. Father help us to walk in the purity of Your word, doing all that You say for us to do.

  Good morning. Why do you need to hold fast to the faithful word: for there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers (remember that when you deceive others, you too are easily deceived), especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach, for the sake of sordid gain. Apparently they were saying that you must be circumcised to be saved. That is a falsehood that Paul long fought against. Also they were not teaching these things for sake of purity of doctrine, but in order to gain followers and contributors. Titus needed to be grounded in the word to refute the error of their teachings. Paul told Titus to reprove them severely so that they may be sound in faith, not paying attention to Jewish myths and Commandments of men who turn away from the truth. Father help us to stay grounded in Your word so that we will not be deceived by the error of unprincipled people.

   Good morning. Talking to Titus: For this reason I left you in Crete, that you set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you. While the Bible does not say that Titus was an apostle, these are the responsibilities of an apostle. Perhaps Titus was an apostle in training. Paul then gives the qualifications for an elder, most of which we have seen before in Timothy, so I won’t repeat them. Paul does here call an elder an overseer, which is what an elder does for a church. I will mention the last qualification: holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict (we will learn more about these men next time). Father thank You for those who oversee the church. Give them wisdom and knowledge to direct our paths.

   Good morning. Now we start the book of Titus, one of Paul’s converts. Paul, a bond servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God (sometimes we forget that God chose us) and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness (there are truths of various types – this one is of godliness), in the hope of eternal life (remember that if you don’t possess it yet, it is still hope – a confident expectation), which God, who cannot lie (we choose whether to tell the truth or a lie – God has no choice; He cannot lie), promised long ages ago, but at the proper time manifested (remember that God told what He was going to do in the Bible, but people were not able to understand or willing to accept it), even His Word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior. To Titus, my true child in a common faith. Father continue to meet all of the needs of the reader and his/her family.

   Good morning. At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. If that happened to us, we would be taking Xanax, and asking God to bring down fire upon all of those people who deserted us. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. If we said that, it would be strictly figuratively; but when Paul said it, it could be literally true, since Jesus had appeared to him at other times. So that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. Even in the midst of what was one of his gloomiest times, Paul was still concerned about spreading the gospel. One of the times when Jesus did appear to Paul in a prison cell, He told him that he must go to Rome to witness also. It was probably the only way that the leaders of Rome would ever be able to hear the gospel. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heave...

   Good morning. OK Paul, so you believe it is time for you to die. Do you moan and groan and beg for a few more years to live? I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. He uses three ways to state that he has done what he was supposed to do. In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing (it wasn’t just for spiritual “superstars“). A wreath (crown) was given to the winners of fights and races in the games. Paul then gets “human“ for a few verses. He mentions some people who have left, and says that only Luke is with him. He tells Timothy to bring Mark with him. This is the same Mark that Paul and Barnabas got into a big fight over because Mark left them on their first journey. Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them on their second journey, but Paul was adamant that he should not go with th...

   Good morning. Instead of turning aside to myths, Timothy: be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. Paul did not say that Timothy was an evangelist; he said to do the work of an evangelist. What does an evangelist do – evangelizes (preaches the good news). I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. A drink offering was the pouring out of a liquid, usually wine, as a sacrifice to God. The most notable drink offering in the old testament was that of David when he told his men he yearned for a drink of water from the well at Bethlehem. One of them slipped through Saul’s army and brought back a drink of water from the well. David said that he could not possibly drink it, since the man had risked his life to bring it to him; so he poured it out as a drink offering to God. Paul knew that it was his time to depart - die. He doesn’t moan and groan about it. We will see next time what ...

   Good morning. So Paul, why should we be ready at all times to preach the word? For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. Everyone needs to be grounded in the word from youth to old age. That is the only method to prevent turning away to teachings that are not of God. I have said this before. They don’t train bank tellers how to detect counterfeit money by handling and looking at various counterfeit bills. They train them by handling over and over again real ones; so that they know how real ones feel and look. You don’t train believers by telling them all of the false teachings that are out there; you train them by having them “handle” the truth, the word of God. When people believe in a falsehood, they don’t want someone teaching them about the truth; they ...

   Good morning. Paul then gives Timothy a “warning“, which we should all take to heart today. I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus (Paul is not making some frivolous statement), who is to judge the living and the dead (you know it is getting serious, when he brings judgment into it), and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word (that was Timothy‘s main job, not making sure that the church picnic turned out great); be ready in season and out of season (in other words, be ready at all times - us too; you never know when opportunity will arise); reprove, rebuke, exhort, (those three words do not mean to coddle the parishioners) with great patience (we want to see results now, and sometimes it takes a little longer with certain people) and instruction. Next time we will see why Paul gave Timothy this admonition. Father help us to be ready at all times to share Your word with those who need to hear it.

   Good morning. You, however, continue you in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Too many people stray from their beginnings in Christianity. The Word does not change. It is not just for when you are a child in the Lord. Its teachings are for a lifetime. And a very important verse: all Scripture (Paul is probably referring to what we call the old testament) is inspired by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. If it is not inspired by God, it is not Scripture. It is good for everything in life. The word “adequate“ is not adequate to describe what the word translated adequate means ??? In our thinking, adequate means just barely good eno...

   Good morning. So how do we avoid the error of the men we been talking about? Now you (Timothy) followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings. That is how we do it today; only we don’t have Paul’s example to follow. We have to follow the example of the church leaders that we trust. Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Wow Paul; that statement really inspires us to live godly! Today it is definitely true. People who do wrong things do not simply ignore those who do godly things. They persecute them, because the good deeds of those who are godly expose their bad deeds, and they come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Another thing that is so true today: evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. One cannot simply remain at the same level of evil. He or she will progress to even worse things. Also when one deceives others, that person i...

   Good morning. It’s not enough that these people from yesterday have all these bad things wrong with them, there are those who – enter into households and captivate (“enslave” mentally and emotionally) weak (not silly, like the King James says) women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses. They are always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. The simplicity of the gospel is not enough for them, they want to know the “deeper“ things of God. If you’re not careful, the enemy will deceive you into actually seeking the “deeper“ things of Satan. Paul then mentions two men, who opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith. But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as those two men’s folly was also. Tomorrow Paul will tell us how to not fall for the error of this type of people. Father give the reader energy for the rest of the week.

   Good morning. But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. You’re telling me! And now something that sounds just like today’s world: men will be lovers of self (everything is about me, me, me), lovers of money (root of all evil), boastful (many times from a feeling of inadequacy), arrogant (their self-importance makes them above everybody else), revilers (when you can’t win the argument with logic, you revile those who believe differently), disobedient to parents (too many times this is where it starts), ungrateful (when you give things to people without requiring anything from them, they eventually become ungrateful and turn on you), unholy, unloving (remember, they only love themselves), irreconcilable, malicious gossips (this is how you get back at people that disagree with you), without self-control (I want it all, and I want it now!), brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to...

   Good morning. The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth. Paul, that is so hard to do. We all want to react negatively when others attack us. But the goal is not our vindication, but the salvation of those who are attacking us, and the best way to do that is by “turning the other cheek“. Also, so that they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. Sometimes it is almost like they are zombies, obeying without question their “master“. We want to shake them and say, “Wake up! Don’t you see how wrong this is?“ Father help us to show forth Your love and patience to those we come in contact with every day. Give the peace that passes all understanding to the reader and his/her family.

   Good morning. Flee from youthful lusts (notice that Paul did not say to ignore or just casually walk away from) and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. God did not just say don’t do this or don’t do that; He told us what to do in place of. If we are pursuing the good things that he listed, we will not be influenced as much by the bad things. Paul reiterates what he has said before: refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. It kind of goes against the old saying: “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me“. In today’s society, we have too many quarrels going on about the use of certain words. And if you can’t win the argument with logic, just change what you call something. Then you can say, “oh I’m not talking about that, I’m talking about this“. Father help us to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with our fellow brethren. Go with the reader an...

   Good morning. Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “the Lord knows those who are His,“ and, “everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness”. Despite the two men that we talked about yesterday or others who preach heresy today, nothing will destroy God‘s church. When it says that “the Lord knows those who are His”, it doesn’t mean that He has a list of their names – He is intimately acquainted with us. And because of that, we should not be doing wickedness. Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. “I am just a clay pot in the house of the Lord“. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. The honor comes not from being made out of a precious metal versus clay, but in cleansing yourself from all wickedness. Fathe...

   Good morning. Remind them of these things (in the “song“ that we looked at yesterday), and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words (sometimes there is a spiritual disagreement simply about certain words and what they mean. An example would be the word baptism), which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. Avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Paul then mentions two men (One of whom he already mentioned negatively in first Timothy) – who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. Even today, the words of some “preachers” upset the faith of believers. Father help us to always present ourselves approved to You as a workman who does not need to be ashamed...

   Good morning. … But the word of God is not imprisoned. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen (in the end, that includes us), so that they also may obtain salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. If Paul had given up, we would not have a lot of the New Testament, which we treasure today. It is a trustworthy statement (what follows could easily have been the words of a song or some sort of catechism that they recited): If we died with Him, we will also live with Him (My Bible says that the Greek grammatical construction here assumes that we died with Christ in the past, when He died for us on the cross. We are therefore assured that we will also live with Him eternally.); if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us (also mentioned in the gospels); if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. Father thank You that we have all of this in You. Help us to remain tr...

   Good morning. Remember he is talking to Timothy, the pastor: suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t give up just because living conditions are not optimal. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. Probably the key word there is entangles. It does not mean that a preacher does not have anything to do with everyday life. It means that he should not be so involved with it, that it takes away his focus on preaching the word. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead (The Messiah was not supposed to die, but remain forever. That God raised Him from the dead gave Jesus special consideration), descendent of David (The Messiah was to be a descendent of David), according to my gospel (all of this contradicted the Jews’ beliefs about the Messiah), for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. ...

   Good morning. Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard (same Greek word as yesterday) through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure (deposit, not the Greek word thesaurus) which has been entrusted to you. God has a high bar when it comes to His standards, and sometimes preachers use lower standards so that they won’t lose members. And now the way the gospel is to be spread throughout the world: The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Paul didn’t whisper one thing into Timothy’s ears and something different to the other people listening to him. Timothy was to then pass that on to other faithful people who would pass it on to still others. That is the whole basis of the idea of discipleship. Sadly that pattern was interrupted centuries ago. If it had continued, things would be totally di...