1 Timothy 6:1-2 (KJV) A Lesson for the Working Class

 

1 Timothy 6:1-2 (KJV)

Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.
And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort.

A believer, especially those in the working class, ought to give careful meditation upon this passage.

At first blush, we learn a difficult lesson
Count your master worthy of all honor. It says, “all honor” and not just honor. This is unconditional and unlimited honor. We don’t choose to honor them only when they are honorable. We don’t just give them the honor we believe is their due. We give them all honor.

And we are told why. “That the name of God and His doctrine be not blasphemed.” We are to do it for the sake of the Lord. Even if we feel like they do not deserve any honor, we are to count them worthy of all honor for the sake of the Lord.

The second lesson may be more challenging yet.
If we happen to have a master who is a believer, we are to take care that we do not despise him.

It could be, and often is, that a Christian has a more difficult time with a believing boss than with an unbelieving one. The Christian expects the unbeliever to be in business for material gain. The Christian might forgive the unbelieving master because he knows his master does not know the Lord.

But what about the believing master? Should he expect less of his workers just because he is a Christian? Granted, he is instructed to treat those in his yoke fairly. He is a pay them that which is just and equal. But is he honestly expected to place no expectations or fewer expectations on his workers because of his faith? Is it wrong for the believing master to desire gain from his business and those working in it?

The believing laborer ought to serve that master productively because he is a believer. The benefit they are both partakers of is salvation. Don’t serve him less because he is saved. Serve him thankfully because he is saved.

And for sure, don’t let yourself criticize him because he is saved.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5500 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

1 Timothy 6:1-2 (KJV) A Lesson for the Working Class

Psalms 78:7 (KJV) Godly Rather Than Good

 

Psalms 78:7 (KJV)

That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:

I have been meditating upon the subject of teaching children to be godly rather than just good. I think this Psalm might describe just that.

First, the objective of the father is to make known to the children
Vs. 4-5
He will not hide the wonderful works of God.

Second, his objective is to so teach this generation that they will rise up and teach their children
Vs. 6
It would indeed be a sign of godliness that a generation would pass what they have heard to the next.

Third, there is, I think, a description of godliness
Vs. 7

• They set their hope in God
• They do not forget the works of God
• They keep the commandments of God

There is a negative reinforcement of this lesson
Vs. 8

• A stubborn and rebellious generation
• A generation that set not their heart aright
• A generation that was not steadfast with God

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5500 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Psalms 78:7 (KJV) Godly Rather Than Good

1 Timothy 4:7 (KJV) Worship Well

 

1 Timothy 4:7 (KJV)

But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

The word godliness is, I think, one of those that we tend to think we know but is very likely above us. It occurs 14 times in the Bible, 15 if we count the one time the Greek is translated “holiness.” It comes from a composite meaning “well reverent” or “good worship.” I think we usually define it as “godlikeness.” While God is reshaping us to be Christ-like, godlike sounds to me a bit like Lucifer.

There is some profit in thinking of it as good worship. “Exercise thyself rather unto [good worship].” Good worship isn’t something that happens lazily. The allusion is to the Greek athletes. The best of them were those who prepared best before the competition. Good worship isn’t as much what people see as what happens before what people see.

The best example of godliness, the model that will be the most beneficial to those whose lives we are concerned with, is the example that they never see.

People will benefit most from seeing the results of what they never see. So what they never see is where our personal focus ought to be.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5500 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

1 Timothy 4:7 (KJV) Worship Well

1 Timothy 3:4-5 (KJV) Have Your Children in Subjection

 

1 Timothy 3:4-5 (KJV)

One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

I’ve been pondering the question of how to raise godly children and not just good ones. This passage clearly addresses the concept of good children “in subjection.” Perhaps gravity can apply to godliness. They are not merely to be in subjection, but to be in subjection “with all gravity.” Children must not be simply forced to comply; the father ought to have his children in submission through his reverence, honor, respectability.

I attach that to the next verse that associates his ability to parent with his ability to rule in the church house. It comes down to this; we teach our children to be godly through the example of our own godliness. Our sincere relationship with the Lord is most likely to pass down to our children a passionate relationship with the Lord. Our understanding that we desire to take care of our children’s spiritual wellbeing produces our gravity. We know this is no common responsibility. It is high. It is above us. It is only as God enables us that we might be able to accomplish such a thing.

As to my ponderings then. A parent raises godly children:

By understanding
He knows this is his duty. He is aware that the goal is to raise godly children and not just good ones

By prayer
He sees this as a holy calling. Spiritual matters cannot be accomplished in the flesh. It will always fail. This is such a high calling that it must be left to the Lord.

By example
And in this, the parent’s purpose is not merely to show the children what he desires for them. The parent is sincerely, honestly, reverently seeking their own godliness. Such honest godliness cannot help but be witnessed in the children.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5500 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

1 Timothy 3:4-5 (KJV) Have Your Children in Subjection

1 Timothy 2:14 (KJV) His Place to Fix It

1 Timothy 2:14 (KJV)

And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

John Gill writes, “There is no need to say with interpreters, that he was not deceived first; and that he was not deceived immediately by the serpent, but by Eve; and that he is never said in Scripture to be deceived, as Melchizedek is never said to have a father or mother. The apostle’s positive assertion is to be taken without any such limitations or qualifications; Adam never was deceived at all.”

Adam was fully aware of his action. He may have believed a lie, but Adam was not blinded. He sinned. He chose it.

“He took and ate out of love to his wife, from a fond affection to her, to bear her company, and that she might not die alone; he knew what he did, and he knew what would be the consequence of it, the death of them both”[1]

Do you suppose he considered what would be the consequence to his children?

“inasmuch as he sinned wilfully, and against light and knowledge, without any deception, his sin was the greater: and hereby death came in, and passed on all men, who sinned in him.”[2]

It was his willful choice to join with her transgression. Therefore, it was his place to choose not for himself alone but for his family, the only path that leads to redemption, the path to Jesus Christ.

---

[1] John Gill

[2] Again, John Gill

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5500 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

1 Timothy 2:14 (KJV) His Place to Fix It

Psalms 74:17 (KJV) Summer and Winter

 

Psalms 74:17 (KJV)

Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.

It happens that I woke up this morning to a white Sunday. That presents some challenges. Slick roads could mean low church attendance. Slippery sidewalks mean those who do come must be extra careful. There will be a certain degree of distraction that the snow generates, mainly with the children but some adults too.

Most of us, I think, prefer the summer months: vacations, warm weather, fishing, hiking, camping. Also, church is generally easier to prepare for because we don’t have to put extra care into the building as we do when it is snowing or raining (what most of winter means where I live).

Here’s the thing.

God made both summer and winter. Scientifically we understand the benefits of both. But practically, we can let our preferences get in the way of our faith. God made both. They each have their place in our lives.

The same is true on a spiritual level. God makes for both those times of ease in our lives and those times of extra challenge. One allows us to rest. The other strengthens and conditions us.

Praise the Lord for both summer and winter.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5500 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Psalms 74:17 (KJV) Summer and Winter

Psalms 73:22 (KJV) Animal-Like Attitude

Psalms 73:22 (KJV)

So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.

The thing he felt so foolish about was almost slipping over the seeming ease of the unbeliever.
He had witnessed the life they experienced, compared it with the troubles believers experience. He said he almost turned from the Lord over it.

The thing he was ignorant about was their end
The unbeliever, though knowing relative ease in this world in comparison to the believer, faces an eternal end that, in no way, makes their ease today worth it.

The thing he was animal-like in his attitude for the lost.
How could a believer ever wish evil upon the lost? Their end is so terrible, and we are so undeserving of God’s grace that our only human

response ought to be to hope for their salvation.

It was when he went to the house of the Lord that he learned this truth. It is the house of the Lord that keeps us from slipping. 

May God help us never to take that for granted.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5500 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Psalms 73:22 (KJV) Animal-Like Attitude

2 Thessalonians 2:15 (KJV) Talk About Tradition

 

2 Thessalonians 2:15 (KJV)

Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

I doubt we could ever overexpress the importance of standing upon the things we’ve been taught. It’s always been the case, but it is absolutely

the case that, today, professing believers routinely reject traditional things. Those things they were taught as younger Christians are often dismissed out of hand and with mocking disgust. In many cases, their spirit has been passed down to new Christians, who reject what believers of past generations practiced without reasonably considering their teachings. What a tragedy. It’s leading to a declination of faith that is totally unprecedented.

But the lesson I want to focus on today is the value of the Word of God. Paul said that those things taught in his epistle are as powerful and as weighty as if he were there in person to preach and teach. 

Talk about a tradition. The Bible is, in a manner, as if we stepped back in time and hear the apostle, working under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, teaching us in person.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5500 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

2 Thessalonians 2:15 (KJV) Talk About Tradition

2 Thessalonians 1:12 (KJV) Two-Way Street

 

2 Thessalonians 1:12 (KJV)

That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is in this verse a two-way street. The prayer is that:
The name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you

While we dwell upon this earth, our longing and our mission is to glorify the name of Jesus Christ. This is no doubt a matter for prayer. I imagine it is not on nearly enough prayer lists. We simply cannot glorify his name in the power and wisdom of the flesh. While I am sure the methods of glorifying Him never change, the challenges of doing so certainly do change. May God help us.

That you may be glorified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
While a degree of this glory may be revealed on earth, I think the prayer is more a reflection of what will come to pass in heaven. Today God is about the business of conforming us into Christ’s image. That’s no small task. It is undoubtedly a worthy matter of prayer. But we are sure that it will not be completed in this life.

How I long for that life to come.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5500 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

2 Thessalonians 1:12 (KJV) Two-Way Street