We are all soldiers of Christ in a spiritual war. Satan not only opposes men like Timothy but all God’s people. The call to fight the good fight has implications for all believers. We are all to take up the full armor of God and resist the devil’s schemes. In this passage, Paul highlights the two aspects of this basic Christian fight: faith and a good conscience. We must fight for faith and we must fight for a good conscience. Keeping faith is no passive activity but an active fight to turn our thoughts on the Lord and His truth and to think His thoughts after Him. It is to live as His disciples. Keeping a good conscience is also an active fight to respond affirmatively to the pangs of conscience when our thoughts and actions contradict the word of God. It is to steer away from sin and it is to confess and repent (change/renew the mind) when we have sinned. May the Lord evermore guide us to fight to live another day, fight for faith and fight for a good conscience.

Christian life and love are meant to flow from the fountain of gospel gratitude. It is as we brim over with thanksgiving and praise for mercy and grace that we exude the life of Christ and manifest His love. Paul warms our hearts through his own testimony of how the gospel truth transformed his life. May the Lord teach us to live with gospel gratitude.

On this Mother’s Day, we turn to the book of Ruth and its beautiful story of redemption. To redeem means to free by the payment of a ransom—deliverance that assumes a desperate plight. In this story, we encounter both the stunning devotion of a woman to her mother-in-law and the greater reality of spiritual redemption that ultimately points us to Christ. Join us as we consider: 1) Naomi’s plight, 2) her redeemer, and 3) how this story speaks to us today.

The law is good. With this declaration of truth, Scripture shows us that God’s law was meant to bless us. But how does the law do this? At least in three ways as they emerge from this text: 1) protection from evil of the fallen world, 2) conviction for sin which leads us to salvation, and 3) sanctification of the believer unto their conformity to Christ. The law was designed to lead us to the Savior to save us and then to train us that we may be like Him in His love for God and love for man.

The burden that drove Paul to write First Timothy was the distractions that could steer the church away from God’s purpose for her, namely, the administration of God which is by faith, the love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Paul opens his letter with a strong appeal to his authority to ensure that Timothy understood the gravity of the issues at hand and that the church would receive Timothy’s leadership in this matter. In this passage, we find four strong encouragements to guide us away from the thousand termites that can eat away at our own walk with the Lord and the maturation of God’s church: 1) avoid speculative ideas, 2) understand our stewardship, 3) pursue godliness, and 4) exude holy love.