A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach….1 Timothy 3:2

Years ago, a ministerial student approached Dr. H. Edwin Young, and asked about the role of a pastor. “What does a pastor do?” asked the student. Dr. Young wisely answered, “It’s not what I do that counts. It’s who I am. Being always comes before doing.” Pastor Young then talked about the personal traits and character qualities necessary for those who walk with and work for the Lord.

Recommended Reading: 1 Timothy 3:1-7

That’s the way Paul approached the role of bishops and deacons in 1 Timothy 3. He had little to say about what they were to do. Instead he devoted his teaching to the personal qualities that should characterize their lives—morally blameless, faithful in family matters, temperate, mature, and well behaved.

Perhaps God hasn’t called you to be a deacon, bishop, or pastor; but the lesson applies to all of us. As we move into the fall, let’s get back to the basics. Remember:  being comes before doing. Our authenticity trumps our activity. It’s great to be busy for the Lord, but our walk with the Lord is more important than our work for the Lord.

As children of the King, we are to walk worthy of our calling!

1. Edwin Young

Read-Thru-the-Bible: Nahum 1 – Habakkuk 3

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For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with Him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Isaiah 57:15

Recommended Reading

Isaiah 57:15-21

Baby boomers are retiring at a rate of 10,000 per day, and many of them can afford second homes. For some, it’s an investment, providing rental income or real estate value. Others enjoy the fun of living part time in a vacation-oriented area.

According to Isaiah 57, God has two addresses. He dwells in two places. His heavenly home is a high and holy place where He fills the highest heaven with His glory. His throne reigns supreme in the center of Zion, ruling over the physical and spiritual realms of His creation.

But He also lives in the hearts of His humble people; and when He dwells within us, He revives us. His presence restores our souls. His abiding Spirit within us radiates enthusiasm, peace, joy, gentleness, and the very character of Christ.

We cannot lift ourselves to heaven to draw God down, but He comes willingly, gladly, and in grace. He gladly moves into our hearts and makes us His temples.

The great God, who is big enough to fill His mighty universe, is small enough to live within my heart. I am the temple of God. He literally dwells in me. Hallelujah!

Adrian Rogers

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Micah 5 – 7

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Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.

Psalm 42:5

Recommended Reading

Matthew 26:36-38

Counselors tell us the first step in overcoming a problem is admitting the problem exists. That’s why introductions at many recovery group meetings begin with, “Hi, I’m (name) and I’m (name of the problem).” Such self-talk is hard, but in identifying the problem the next steps can move directly toward resolution.

Two of the wisest, godliest men in the Bible used self-talk and plain language when describing their despondency. David spoke to his own soul, asking, “Why are you cast down . . . and why are you disquieted?” And Jesus, on the night of His betrayal and arrest, readily admitted to His disciples that His “soul [was] exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” at the prospect of what lay ahead of Him (Matthew 26:38). Yet along with their honest confessions of pain they voiced their trust in God—David in the same breath as his confession and Jesus moments later when He put His faith in God’s will rather than His own (Luke 22:42).

Tell God, as David did, or tell God and your friends, as Jesus did, if you are hurting. But only tell friends who will strengthen your faith in God.

For the Christian, honesty is not the best policy, it is the only one.

John Blanchard

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Micah 1 – 4

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A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24, NASB

Recommended Reading

2 Timothy 4:9-18

Social media has redefined the concept of a “friend.” In the early days of the most prominent social media platform, people accumulated “friends” by the hundreds. Often those “friends” were people they barely knew—an acquaintance of an actual friend or a long-lost childhood playmate. Yet they were called “friends.” Participants soon realized what psychologists have said: No one can manage more than a half-dozen actual friendships.

True friendships take time, part of which is spent recovering from the disappointments that come with all human relationships. Maybe that’s why Solomon wrote that having lots of friends is dangerous but having “a friend who sticks closer than a brother” is a good thing. Note, “friend” (singular), not “friends.” It’s rare to find a friend who is there through thick and thin and who will encourage us in our walk with Christ. That is, a friend like Jesus who was a friend to His disciples (John 15:14-15).

First, invest in your friendship with Jesus. Second, if you have a friend like Jesus, invest in that friendship as well. The best way to find such a friend is to be that kind of friend yourself.

Jesus takes to heart the sufferings of His friends.

William Hendriksen

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Jonah 1 – 4

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Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Habakkuk 3:18

Recommended Reading

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Say you went to an average Major League Baseball game. Then say you went to the final game of the World Series where you saw a bench-clearing brawl, an inside-the-park home run, and a game-winning hit when there were two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the count was three balls and two strikes. The difference between those two baseball games would justify you saying this: “There are baseball games and then there are baseball games!”

Keep that distinction in mind when you read this: “There is praise and then there is praise!” That’s not to say that some praise is average and run-of-the-mill. All praise of God is good. But it is to say this: There’s a difference between praising God in the good times and praising Him in the bad times. For instance, note the word “yet” in Habakkuk 3:18. That suggests a contrast to what has come before. Habakkuk is saying that even though Israel’s crops and livestock fail (verse 17), “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

Praise in the good times—Psalm 95:1; 98:4, 6; 100:1—is a good thing. But praise in the difficult times renews our focus on God.

Let earth and heaven combine, angels and men agree, to praise in songs divine the incarnate Deity.

Charles Wesley

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Obadiah 1

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Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard…

Luke 1:13

Recommended Reading

Luke 1:13-25

Perhaps you know those who have become cynical toward Christ because of unanswered prayer. They’ve been disappointed, and their disappointment has settled into indifference or bitterness. Many biblical heroes grappled with unanswered prayer—Abraham wanting a son; Moses longing to lead Israel out of Egypt; Paul desiring freedom from his thorn; even Jesus asking for the cup of suffering to pass.

God did answer their prayers, just not as they expected. Prayer isn’t a matter of getting our wishes fulfilled on earth, but of God’s drawing us into His will and working all things for His good.

The angel Gabriel told aged Zacharias, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard.” What prayer? Years before, Zacharias and Elizabeth had pleaded earnestly for a child. They had grown into old age thinking God hadn’t answered their prayers. But not a syllable of their petitions had been neglected by the Almighty.

Don’t worry. God always answers the sincere prayers of His faithful people, though it be at His time, in His way, and for His glory.

You may not think God cares about your problems, but He does. Even now, because you are His child, He is working on your behalf.

David Jeremiah

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Amos 5 – 9

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Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed.

1 Chronicles 28:20

Recommended Reading

1 Chronicles 28:20-21

Near the end of his life, evangelist George Whitefield grew weak but refused to give up. His prayer was: “Lord, I am weary in Thy work but not of Thy work. If I have not yet finished my course, let me go and speak for Thee once more in the fields….” Writing to a friend, Whitefield said, “O to stand fast in the faith…and be strong.”

That’s what we need too—the determination to stand strong till the end. Scripture repeatedly counsels us to take courage and be strong. We may become weary while serving the Lord, but we mustn’t grow weary of serving the Lord. We’re to follow the sample of David, who, in a time of crisis, “strengthened himself in the LORD his God” (1 Samuel 30:6).

Later, in 1 Chronicles 28:20, David advised Solomon to keep going in the strength of the Lord. The New International Version translates 1 Chronicles 28:20 like this: “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you.”

Be strong and courageous today, and He will strengthen your hands.

What! Get to heaven on your own strength? Why, you might as well try to climb to the moon on a rope of sand!

George Whitefield

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Hosea 10 – 14

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And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.

2 Corinthians 12:7

Recommended Reading

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

In his book, My Thorn in the Flesh, Vietnam War veteran Bobby D. Gayton writes about his battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In his struggle, he identifies with the apostle Paul, who pleaded with the Lord to remove his “thorn,” but God simply said, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). For Gayton, PTSD is his thorn in the flesh.

Paul didn’t identify the “thorn” he was battling, but we can sum it up like this: A “thorn in the flesh” is a point of struggle or suffering we’d rather avoid, which God, in His wisdom, allows to go on. He uses it to produce in us a humility that casts our reliance on His all-sufficient grace.

We may not have all our infirmities removed. Yet through our pain and weakness, God’s power and purpose can be revealed. His grace is sufficient. Don’t be discouraged by the struggle. Keep your focus on God and His grace.

The specific purpose of the thorn in the flesh, as Professor F. F. Bruce put it, is to puncture your pride.

1. T. Kendall

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Daniel 6 – 8

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Tune your ears to my voice. Keep my message in plain view at all times.

Proverbs 4:20, MSG

If your old clunker was built in 1980, you probably need a tune-up every 15,000 miles. If you have a car from the 1990s, you can go 30,000, on average, between tune-ups. Newer cars may only need tune-ups at 100,000-mile increments.

Recommended Reading: Psalm 26

When it comes to our internal engines—our hearts and habits—we need spiritual tune-ups frequently. September is a great time for a tune-up. With summer ending and fall around the corner, it’s a perfect time to revisit our attitudes and routines. If your priorities and patterns shifted during vacation, take a few minutes today to recalibrate them. If the last few weeks have disrupted your progress, let this weekend be a “Back to God” weekend.

Have you been skipping church? Start back. Has your daily devotional period fallen by the wayside? Begin at once to reclaim it. Has a bad habit slipped into your schedule? Confess it and turn from it. Get back to square one, and tune your ears to God’s voice. Keep His message in plain view at all times.

Cars specify periodic checkups … (and) the Christian’s spiritual condition needs a regular checkup too…. Have you ever had a spiritual checkup? Have you ever asked for one?

1. I. Packer

Read-Thru-the-Bible: Daniel 1 – 5

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

For I am persuaded that [nothing] . . . shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

Recommended Reading

1 John 4:8-16

When current Kentucky governor, Matt Bevin, was sworn into office, he told an assembled crowd, “If we truly love one another . . . if we have each other’s back . . . then the greatest days of the commonwealth of Kentucky are indeed yet to come.” That sentiment echoes what lovers have told each other for centuries: “Love is all we need.”

While love may not be a bullet-proof shield for politicians or lovers, it definitely is for members of God’s family. If we lose all else in this world we will never lose the love of God. Therefore, we never will lose God, for God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). When he was suffering, the apostle Paul wrote that God’s grace was sufficient for him (2 Corinthians 12:9). He is the same apostle who lost everything in his service for Christ through shipwrecks, imprisonments, beatings, hunger, stoning, and more (2 Corinthians 6:4-10; 11:23-28). He lost everything he didn’t need and kept everything he did need. Most important, he kept the love of God in Christ Jesus.

The same is true for you. Nothing can separate you from God and His love through Christ. He is everything we need.

A piece of bread with God’s love is angels’ food.

Thomas Watson, Puritan

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Ezekiel 41 – 43

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.

Psalm 139:16b

Recommended Reading

Genesis 22:8-14

If a vacationer can afford it, concierge-type travel services can plan and provide for every day—actually, every hour—of an itinerary. From the moment you are picked up at your door until the moment you return, your trip has been planned and executed in detail. For some, eliminating the serendipitous, unplanned moments from a trip removes all the fun. For others, security and not worrying about details is worth the price.

Life as a child of God provides that kind of security. Psalm 139:16 says that God has written down all the days created for us before a single day has come to pass. And Philippians 4:19 says that “my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” That covers the big picture and the details of our trip to heaven. God has arranged the itinerary—the order of our days—and has planned to meet all our needs along the way. So what is there to fear about the future?

Do you know what the future holds? Do you have everything today that you will need in the future? “No” to both questions. But God has already answered “Yes” to both in His Word. We must have faith and courage.

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.

Corrie ten Boom

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Ezekiel 39 – 40

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And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 10:28

Recommended Reading

Proverbs 1:7; 9:10

There’s a principle parents sometimes use with their children: “If you can do the hardest thing (ride a bike) then you can do the not-hardest thing (learn to roller skate).” And it’s a good principle for adults as well. Once we conquer the highest mountain, we know we can conquer the not-highest mountain.

We can reverse the principle and apply it spiritually: If we are not afraid of the most powerful “thing,” we shouldn’t be afraid of lesser “things.” When Jesus sent the 12 disciples out to minister, He gave them lengthy instructions (Matthew 10). There was the possibility of persecution and rejection, but Jesus used the greater-lesser principle: As long as you fear God, there is no need to fear man (Matthew 10:28). After all, God can do the worst—He can send “soul and body” to hell. What can any man do that is as fearful? Nothing! So fearing God (respecting Him, honoring Him) is our greatest defense against all other fears.

Is there something you are afraid of? Take it to God. After all, there is nothing that can separate us from His love in Christ (Romans 8:35-39).

I fear not the tyranny of man, neither yet what the devil can invent against me.

John Knox

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Ezekiel 36 – 38

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How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

Psalm 119:9

In his autobiography, Just As I Am, Billy Graham recalls growing up on a North Carolina dairy farm. “Our barns had tin roofs,” he wrote. “On rainy days, I liked to sneak away into the hay barn and lie on a sweet-smelling and slippery pile of straw, listening to the raindrops hit that tin roof and dreaming. It was a sanctuary that helped shape my character. Whenever I visit a bustling city anywhere in the world now, I like to retreat from noisy boulevards into an open church building and just meditate in the cool, dim quietness. At our home in the Blue Ridge Mountains, my favorite spot is a little path above the house where I walk alone and talk with God.”1

Recommended Reading: Psalm 119:1-9

As our children return to school this fall, let’s remember that God’s schoolroom is called meditation. It’s not enough just to read the Bible, or even simply to study it. We need to find quiet times to mull over its words, meditate on its verses, and ponder its truths. That’s what shapes our character. If you can’t find a barn with a tin roof, any quiet spot will do. Settle down, quiet yourself, be still, contemplate the Lord and His Word, and know that He is God.

By holy meditation the soul doth, as it were, breakfast with God every morning.

Thomas Watson, Puritan

Read-Thru-the-Bible: Ezekiel 31 – 35

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Romans 8:18

Recommended Reading

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Compare these two verses—the one above, and 2 Corinthians 4:17: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

In both verses, the Lord gives the same assurance. Our present momentary suffering and afflictions aren’t as important as we think, when compared to the eternal glory awaiting us in the future.

Imagine you won a contest that awarded you a new automobile—a new Lexus. But on your way to pick it up, you hit a pothole and damage your flat tire. There’s nothing fun about that, but you can put up with the aggravation of a flat tire on your old car because soon you’ll be driving your new Lexus.

When we hit life’s potholes it helps to keep things in perspective. God’s blessings in our lives supersede our earthly trials, and our glory in the future exceeds any problems we face today. If you’re in a tough spot, remember Romans 8:18 and 2 Corinthians 4:17.

These sufferings are but for a moment; but the glory shall be eternal. These will soon pass away; but that glory shall never become dim or diminished…

Albert Barnes, in his commentary on Romans 8:18

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Ezekiel 28 – 30

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I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 4:8

Recommended Reading

Psalm 23

Many children fight sleep, begging to stay up just a little longer, while many adults eagerly count the hours until bedtime. When sleep does not come to the tired, the simple advice of counting sheep may keep our minds occupied from worrying, but counting fluffy creatures does not always lead to sleep. Sleep is relaxing, resting, and letting go. We pause our doing and become still. God in His grace has created us to need sleep and it can draw us closer to Him. Our need for sleep, along with our need for food and water, reminds us of our frailty and His strength.

God never sleeps (Psalm 121:4). He is limitless and has no need of sleep. He delights in drawing close to us and giving us more of Himself and His peace. Whether you sleep through the night or struggle to sleep, God is with you. Tonight, when you lay down to sleep, take a moment to prayerfully give your burdens to God, thanking Him for sleep and the tangible reminder that we can let go and trust Him.

They slumber sweetly whom faith rocks to sleep. No pillow so soft as a promise; no coverlet so warm as an assured interest in Christ.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

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Ezekiel 23 – 24

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Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him; nor can the number of His years be discovered.

Job 36:26

Recommended Reading

Numbers 13:25-33

Our minds jump into overdrive when we encounter obstacles, tension or conflict: We frantically search for a solution by getting as much information as we can. We consider our resources and weigh our options as we scurry toward a solution.

When the twelve spies entered the Promised Land their mission was simple: discover what they could about the land God had promised to give them. But somewhere during their excursion, they forgot. They stopped looking through the lens of God’s power and focusing on their own. When the ten spies declared that they could not take the land, they were partially right. In their own strength they did not stand a chance. Only Joshua and Caleb began with God’s power in mind. They remembered God’s faithfulness and made decisions from this starting point. God had parted deep waters before them, provided food from the sky, and guided them by a pillar of light at night and a supernatural cloud at day.

While we may not be conquering a land, we have the same choice when faced with problems and obstacles. Will we start with God’s faithfulness and power in mind?

I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.

Martin Luther

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Ezekiel 21 – 22

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