Category: “Listening to God” Devotional

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=1Timothy+005

 

1 Timothy   Chapter 5 (ESV)

¹ Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, ² older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

³ Honor widows who are truly widows. ⁴ But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.⁵ She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, ⁶ but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. ⁷ Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. ⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹ Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband, ¹⁰ and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work.

 

REFLECTION:

1. The church should care for the widows with no family to care for them. Widows have been vulnerable individuals throughout the Scripture and God has always shown special concern for their protection. Timothy sought to value and honour these widows. They were to be kept busy and active in the church, and were involved in training the younger women, as described in Titus 2.
2. How many widows do you know in your extended family, or among your close friends? How are their needs met? How is your church doing in caring for people in need? What endeavors should you make in this area?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

The Least of These – youtu.be/vyXVvM0m6P8

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=1Timothy+004

 

1 Timothy   Chapter 4  (ESV)

⁶ If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.⁷ Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; ⁸ for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. ⁹ The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. ¹⁰ For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

¹¹ Command and teach these things. ¹² Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. ¹³ Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. ¹⁴ Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. ¹⁵ Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. ¹⁶ Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Many people go to the gym to work out in order to develop themselves physically. Christians are to “work out” to develop spiritually. A weight lifter develops his skill by lifting weights. A Christian develops his ability to live a godly life by making godly choices. To grow spiritually, you need to concentrate on those acts that show your love for God and for others.
2. On a scale of one to ten—one being spiritual flabbiness and ten being spiritually fit—how would you rate your spiritual fitness? Why? How could you make your life a better example for others “in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (v12)?
3. Write these five words on an index card: speech, conduct, love, faith, purity. Ask for God’s help to live out these areas throughout the day.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Psalm 23 – Surely Goodness, Surely Mercy – youtu.be/Mo3HgtT_OiE

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=1Timothy+003

 

1 Timothy   Chapter 3  (ESV)

¹The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. ² Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³ not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. ⁴ He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, ⁵ for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? ⁶ He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. ⁷ Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

 

REFLECTION:

1. This passage lists the qualifications for elders/pastors who are charged with spiritual oversight of a local congregation. Read this passage a few times slowly and carefully noticing the moral expectations presented in this passage. Let each instruction direct your thoughts to areas in your life that are to be examined by the Holy Spirit. In which areas does your life look different from the model Paul presented?  (You don’t need to work through the whole passage.)
2. Ask God to help you make small changes so that the transformation may begin in you and that you may display qualities of genuine spiritual life.
3. Pray for the leaders of your church: pastors, ministry committee members, cell leaders, etc. Pray that their lives may continue to be transformed by God.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Tis So Sweet To Trust in Jesus – youtu.be/-DdgkvnsHjM

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=1Timothy+002

 

1 Timothy   Chapter 2  (ESV)

¹ First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, ² for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. ³ This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. ⁷ For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

⁸ I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling.

 

REFLECTION:

1. God “desires all people to be saved” (v4).  This is an important verse if you have prayed for unsaved loved ones and been discouraged by their lack of response. We know from Scripture that not everyone will be saved; but we also know that God desires all to come to know Christ. This means that when you pray for any individual’s salvation, you can be confident that what you are praying for is definitely in harmony with God’s wishes and desires.
2. The most effective evangelism is supported by the evidence of “a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (v2). It is not appropriate to use sudden calamities as a means of frightening people into accepting the gospel. Instead, unbelievers should gradually develop a longing and admiration from seeing the peace and goodness manifested in the daily lives of ordinary believers. That is the proper and dependable gateway to the gospel.
3. Sit quietly before God and wait. If you will, lift up hands and pray earnestly for those people and needs that the Holy Spirit brings to mind.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Be Thou My Vision – youtu.be/i9cuRc1RMbE

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=1Timothy+001

 

1 TIMOTHY  
Introduction
After Paul was released from prison in Rome, he discovered that leaders in the Ephesian church had distorted the genuine message they had first heard from Paul himself. They had misapplied certain Jewish practices and borrowed some others from the philosophies of the day. They restricted certain foods, forbade marriage and stressed controversial speculations as the path to spiritual progress. At the same time, they tolerated immoral behavior. So Paul sent his co-worker Timothy to Ephesus and wrote him a letter, which he was expected to share with the church. He hoped it would give Timothy the power and influence to set things in order until Paul could get to Ephesus himself.

Paul’s focus is on what true leadership in the church looks like. This would help the Ephesians reject those who weren’t qualified and replace them with those who were. Paul includes a special warning toward the end of his letter about the dangers of greed, which seemed to be at the root of their problems.

Throughout the letter Paul uses the phrase Christ Jesus—that is, Messiah Jesus—which emphasizes the kingly rule of Jesus. This helped remind the church that Jesus is their real leader and is the clearest model of authentic leadership.

www.bible.com/zh-TW/bible/111/1TI.INTRO1.NIV

 

1 Timothy   Chapter 1 (ESV)
¹² I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, ¹³ though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, ¹⁴ and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. ¹⁶ But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. ¹⁷ To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁸ This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, ¹⁹ holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, ²⁰ among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

 

REFLECTION:

1. In this paragraph, Paul presented a “before” and “after” of his own life. Before he met Jesus, he was “a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” (v13). After he met Christ and experienced the overflow of His grace, Paul became a different man. Violence is changed into compassion, blasphemy to praise, persecution to brotherly love.
2. This is what is unique about the truth of the Gospel. It isn’t just a collection of true facts, or a compilation of doctrinal data. The truth of the Gospel is vital, transforming, and dynamic. It can change your life to be more vibrant and more like Jesus.
3. Close in prayer by putting your own name in place of the general word “sinners” in verse 15. Then read verses 16-17 as your own prayer of thanks to God.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Worthy is the Lamb – youtu.be/1gKsPMR00_Y

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=SongofSolomon+008

 

Song of Solomon 8 (ESV)

She

¹ Oh that you were like a brother to me
who nursed at my mother’s breasts!
If I found you outside, I would kiss you,
and none would despise me.
² I would lead you and bring you
into the house of my mother—
she who used to teach me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
the juice of my pomegranate.
³ His left hand is under my head,
and his right hand embraces me!

He

⁴ I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
that you not stir up or awaken love
until it pleases.

She

⁵ Who is that coming up from the wilderness,
leaning on her beloved?

Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother was in labor with you;
there she who bore you was in labor.

⁶ Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death,
jealousy is fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
the very flame of the Lord.
⁷ Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love
all the wealth of his house,
he would be utterly despised.

Final Advice

Others

⁸ We have a little sister,
and she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
on the day when she is spoken for?
⁹ If she is a wall,
we will build on her a battlement of silver,
but if she is a door,
we will enclose her with boards of cedar.

She

¹⁰ I was a wall,
and my breasts were like towers;
then I was in his eyes
as one who finds peace.

¹¹ Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;
he let out the vineyard to keepers;
each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.
¹² My vineyard, my very own, is before me;
you, O Solomon, may have the thousand,
and the keepers of the fruit two hundred.

He

¹³ O you who dwell in the gardens,
with companions listening for your voice;
let me hear it.

She

¹⁴ Make haste, my beloved,
and be like a gazelle
or a young stag
on the mountains of spices.

 
REFLECTION:

• The language of verses 6-7 is rich and beautiful. What qualities of love are named? How are these qualities unique to the long-term commitment of marriage?
• In what ways does marriage require a willingness to give one’s self to his or her partner (v12)?
• The woman desires that the man take full possession of her. She surrenders herself to him, yearning for “one flesh” union. The “seal” (v6) in ancient Israelite society was typically a stamp that was pressed on soft clay to leave an impression that served as a person’s identification. She wants to be marked as belonging to her beloved, with all her inward (“your heart”) and outward (“your arm”) being. However, our sense of individuality often rebels against this idea, and the danger is great in a fallen world. But the woman expresses a desire that we all have to be intimate and safe in the presence of another. Therefore, the ideal relationship between a man and a woman serves so well as a metaphor for our relationship with God.
• When is it difficult for you to surrender yourself to those who love you? When is it difficult for you to surrender to God’s love for you?
• Ask God to make you responsive to His unending love for you.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:
How He Loves Us – youtu.be/QS1d-u3oQp0

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=SongofSolomon+007

 

Song of Solomon 7 (ESV)

He

¹ How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
O noble daughter!
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
the work of a master hand.
² Your navel is a rounded bowl
that never lacks mixed wine.
Your belly is a heap of wheat,
encircled with lilies.
³ Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
⁴ Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are pools in Heshbon,
by the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon,
which looks toward Damascus.
⁵ Your head crowns you like Carmel,
and your flowing locks are like purple;
a king is held captive in the tresses.

⁶ How beautiful and pleasant you are,
O loved one, with all your delights!
⁷ Your stature is like a palm tree,
and your breasts are like its clusters.
⁸ I say I will climb the palm tree
and lay hold of its fruit.
Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
and the scent of your breath like apples,
⁹ and your mouth like the best wine.

She

It goes down smoothly for my beloved,
gliding over lips and teeth.

¹⁰ I am my beloved’s,
and his desire is for me.

The Bride Gives Her Love

¹¹ Come, my beloved,
let us go out into the fields
and lodge in the villages;
¹² let us go out early to the vineyards
and see whether the vines have budded,
whether the grape blossoms have opened
and the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.
¹³ The mandrakes give forth fragrance,
and beside our doors are all choice fruits,
new as well as old,
which I have laid up for you, O my beloved.

 
REFLECTION:

• The lover offers his beloved praise in exquisite detail in verses 1-9. What does this reveal about their love?
• In verse 10, we see another variation of the refrain of Song of Solomon 2:16 and 6:3. What truth about love and desire do you find here?
• How does sexual love within a marriage involve discoveries “both new and old” (v13) that a one-night stand does not? In what situations are you likely to be led astray by the media’s depictions of love?
• Married love is exclusive. Spouses belong to one another in a way they do not belong to any other person on earth. The exclusive fidelity of a marriage is a form of chastity, a sacred commitment. However, this exclusivity can sometimes be eroded as time passes and betrayed.
• Here is a suggestion: copy out your marriage vows or verse 10 on an index card or piece of paper. Place it somewhere that you will see it often – in your Bible as a bookmark, in your wallet, on your smartphone, etc. Each time you see it, reflect on how well you are honoring your vows.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

How Great Is Your Love – youtu.be/_LevVVq8uRA

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=SongofSolomon+006

 

Song of Solomon 6 (ESV)

Others

¹ Where has your beloved gone,
O most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned,
that we may seek him with you?

Together in the Garden of Love

She

² My beloved has gone down to his garden
to the beds of spices,
to graze in the gardens
and to gather lilies.
³ I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;
he grazes among the lilies.

Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other

He

⁴ You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love,
lovely as Jerusalem,
awesome as an army with banners.
⁵ Turn away your eyes from me,
for they overwhelm me—
Your hair is like a flock of goats
leaping down the slopes of Gilead.
⁶ Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
that have come up from the washing;
all of them bear twins;
not one among them has lost its young.
⁷ Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.
⁸ There are sixty queens and eighty concubines,
and virgins without number.
⁹ My dove, my perfect one, is the only one,
the only one of her mother,
pure to her who bore her.
The young women saw her and called her blessed;
the queens and concubines also, and they praised her.

¹⁰ “Who is this who looks down like the dawn,
beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun,
awesome as an army with banners?”

She

¹¹ I went down to the nut orchard
to look at the blossoms of the valley,
to see whether the vines had budded,
whether the pomegranates were in bloom.
¹² Before I was aware, my desire set me
among the chariots of my kinsman, a prince.

Others

¹³  Return, return, O Shulammite,
return, return, that we may look upon you.

He

Why should you look upon the Shulammite,
as upon a dance before two armies?

 
REFLECTION:

• In verse 3, the woman says, “I am my lover’s and my lover is mine,” while in Song of Solomon 2:16 she says, “My lover is mine and I am his.” What does this statement and the variation in wording tell you about the relationship?
• Think of someone close to you—perhaps your spouse, a parent, a child, or a very close friend—that you need to affirm. How can you do this?
• Ask God to make you a channel of love and affirmation to those you meet.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Power of Your Love – youtu.be/p6yQzQc0lnA

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=SongofSolomon+005

 

Song of Solomon 5 (ESV)

He

¹ I came to my garden, my sister, my bride,
I gathered my myrrh with my spice,
I ate my honeycomb with my honey,
I drank my wine with my milk.

Others

Eat, friends, drink,
and be drunk with love!

The Bride Searches for Her Beloved

She

² I slept, but my heart was awake.
A sound! My beloved is knocking.
“Open to me, my sister, my love,
my dove, my perfect one,
for my head is wet with dew,
my locks with the drops of the night.”
³ I had put off my garment;
how could I put it on?
I had bathed my feet;
how could I soil them?
⁴ My beloved put his hand to the latch,
and my heart was thrilled within me.
⁵ I arose to open to my beloved,
and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with liquid myrrh,
on the handles of the bolt.
⁶ I opened to my beloved,
but my beloved had turned and gone.
My soul failed me when he spoke.
I sought him, but found him not;
I called him, but he gave no answer.
⁷ The watchmen found me
as they went about in the city;
they beat me, they bruised me,
they took away my veil,
those watchmen of the walls.
⁸ I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
if you find my beloved,
that you tell him
I am sick with love.

Others

⁹ What is your beloved more than another beloved,
O most beautiful among women?
What is your beloved more than another beloved,
that you thus adjure us?

The Bride Praises Her Beloved

She

¹⁰ My beloved is radiant and ruddy,
distinguished among ten thousand.
¹¹ His head is the finest gold;
his locks are wavy,
black as a raven.
¹² His eyes are like doves
beside streams of water,
bathed in milk,
sitting beside a full pool.
¹³ His cheeks are like beds of spices,
mounds of sweet-smelling herbs.
His lips are lilies,
dripping liquid myrrh.
¹⁴ His arms are rods of gold,
set with jewels.
His body is polished ivory,
bedecked with sapphires.
¹⁵ His legs are alabaster columns,
set on bases of gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
choice as the cedars.
¹⁶ His mouth is most sweet,
and he is altogether desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.

 
REFLECTION:

• Sometime after the wedding, the woman failed to respond encouragingly to her lover’s demonstration of affection. This led him to withdraw from her, and she realized that a gap had opened up between them. They were no longer as intimate as they had been.
• Prompted by the friends in verse 9, the beloved describes her lover in verses 10-16. If he did hear her words, how would this have been meaningful to him? Why is it important to make praise specific and concrete as in verses 10-16?
• This is a picture of a couple who is actively adoring, courting and pursuing each other. What is the value of this in a marriage? What have you seen happen when this aspect of the relationship is neglected?
• How does this passage speak to you about your attitude toward those you love? How might you ask for God’s help to change?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Open the Eyes of My Heart – youtu.be/idQ1n3cdgfo

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=SongofSolomon+004

 

Song of Solomon 4 (ESV)

Solomon Admires His Bride’s Beauty

He

¹ Behold, you are beautiful, my love,
behold, you are beautiful!
Your eyes are doves
behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
leaping down the slopes of Gilead.
² Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
that have come up from the washing,
all of which bear twins,
and not one among them has lost its young.
³ Your lips are like a scarlet thread,
and your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.
⁴ Your neck is like the tower of David,
built in rows of stone;
on it hang a thousand shields,
all of them shields of warriors.
⁵ Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,
that graze among the lilies.
⁶ Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
I will go away to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.
⁷ You are altogether beautiful, my love;
there is no flaw in you.
⁸ Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;
come with me from Lebanon.
Depart from the peak of Amana,
from the peak of Senir and Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
from the mountains of leopards.

⁹ You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;
you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
¹⁰ How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much better is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
¹¹ Your lips drip nectar, my bride;
honey and milk are under your tongue;
the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
¹² A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
a spring locked, a fountain sealed.
¹³ Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates
with all choicest fruits,
henna with nard,
¹⁴ nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes,
with all choice spices—
¹⁵ a garden fountain, a well of living water,
and flowing streams from Lebanon.

¹⁶ Awake, O north wind,
and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden,
let its spices flow.

Together in the Garden of Love

She

Let my beloved come to his garden,
and eat its choicest fruits.

 
REFLECTION:

• What do the lover’s explicit words describing his beloved’s physical beauty (vv1-7) reveal about their relationship? What words and phrases help you understand how Solomon feels about his beloved (vv9-15)?
• How does the woman respond to the praise and adoration that is lavished upon her? What does their dialogue reveal about their attitude about themselves as sexual beings?
• If God’s view of sex in marriage is conveyed here, then why do so many couples experience nothing like it? What does it say to you in your relationship with your spouse?
• God pursues you like the lover pursues the beloved in this passage. Praise God and thank Him for His love that never lets us go.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:
You Never Let Go – youtu.be/y83-vMeWc9E