Luke 17:5-6, II Timothy 1:1-14 The apostles in our Luke account ask the Lord to increase their faith. They see faith as something measurable that the more you have the more you can do. Jesus turns this concept of increasing faith around by saying if you have a mustard seed of faith you can move mountains. Jesus is talking about the strength, the intensity of one’s faith versus its size. They have what the writer of II Timothy says in today’s passage, “the cowardice of spirit.” We can’t be too hard on them however since this was well ahead of Pentecost when they finally received the power of the Holy Spirit. I love this Timothy passage since it commends Timothy’s mother and grandmother for bringing him up in the faith. It even mentions them by name, which is something unheard of in ancient patriarchal literature. Note his father and grandfather are not mentioned. Paul tells him to rekindle and ignite the faith they taught him telling him that God has given him a spirit of pow...

Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16; I Timothy 6:6-19 Our Psalm for the day, which has been made into some beautiful songs, tells a lot about the protection of God who will deliver us from trouble. The last verses tell how God will deliver and protect those who love the Lord. God will satisfy them with a long life and show them God’s salvation. There is no promise of riches here – no prosperity gospel, but what the Psalmist finds more important, protection and a relationship with God who brings long life and salvation. Money is discussed in I Timothy. He continues his talk about godliness saying how there is great gain in it combined with contentment. The godly do not seek riches but are content with what they have – the basic food and clothing. Then comes the famous verse often quoted that the love of money is the root of all evil. Those who seek it fall into temptations and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction that can lead to wandering away from the faith when money become...

  Jeremiah 8:18-9:1, I Timothy 2:1-7 Jeremiah has a sick heart and is weeping for Israel for the brokenness of the daughter of my people. He cries out asking if there is a balm in Gilead, a physician to save the spiritual health of Israel. You see Gilead was known for its balm, a substance grown there that could cure one from physical diseases. It had this power to soothe and heal. Unfortunately, Jeremiah doesn’t know of the great physician Jesus who will come to bring salvation. I Timothy tells of this great physician who has brought salvation. It is the one mediator between God and humans – Christ Jesus. The healing balm being his blood for the atonement for our sins. He gave himself a ransom for all. In this passage the writer tells how the aim of all worship should be salvation for all. Included in our prayers should be the kings and all who are in high positions. Why? So, we can live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. In these Pastoral letters in ...

Jeremiah 18:1-11, Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18 These both can be difficult passages. The Jeremiah account talks about God changing God’s mind on whether the Lord who has shaped them for a good purpose will change God’s mind to destroy them if they continue to do evil. Then we have the Psalm 139 passage used controversially to decry abortion. The potter and the clay metaphor we have been brought up with tends to tell how God shapes our lives and if we combine this with Psalm 139, God has shaped us from the womb. The Psalmist says, “It was you who formed my inner parts and in your book are written all the days.” From this view one can feel that God has shaped them from the womb for a purpose. I’ve always struggled with the “wonderfully made” since I wish the Lord would have made me better looking. Now Jeremiah hears the voice of the Lord who has taken him to the potter’s house. God talks about shaping nations and breaking down, destroying them if they are evil. Yet God will change God’s m...

Jeremiah 2: 4-13, Psalm 81:10-16 The Lord is angry with the families of Israel. Their ancestors went far from the Lord going after worthless things and due to this became worthless themselves. They forget how God brought them safely to a bountiful land full of good things – yet they defiled it. Not only did the rulers transgress against God – the prophets even turned to Baal – the foreign god and went after things that did not profit. The Lord tells how the people have exchanged their glory for something that does not profit. God says they have committed two evils. One is forsaking the Lord – the fountain of living water. Two is digging our cisterns (tanks for holding water) for themselves – going their own way but the cisterns they make can hold no water – they leak. Only the living water God gives can satisfy, is worthwhile, and profitable, and doesn’t run out like the false things they make and go after – false gods and worthless things that hold no water. In Psalm 81God tells...

 Jeremiah 1:4-10, Psalm 71:1-6 Jeremiah receives his calling as a prophet from God to which he replies, “I can’t do it since I’m only a boy.” God reminds him that God knew him before he was in his mother’s womb and had him consecrated – set aside – for this job before he was born. God calms his fears by stressing how God will direct him to the people God sends and he will speak whatever God commands him to say. It is as if God tells him to lean on the Lord. This is eloquently stated in our Psalm that God is the Psalmist’s hope and trust that he has leaned on from birth. God has been his protector since he was in his mother’s womb. The Psalm begins stating that the Lord is who he has taken refuge, a strong fortress he can depend on to save him from the wicked, unjust, and cruel. Back to Jeremiah’s call, the Lord tells him not to be afraid of the people God is sending him to since the Lord will be with him and will deliver him. To encourage him further the Lord touches his mout...