1 Timothy 5:1-8

Relax, Read and Reflect.
Prayer- Lord, Open our hearts and open our minds and help us learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
Advice About Widows, Elders and Slaves
1Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.
3Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. 4But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. 5The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. 6But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. 7Give the people these instructions, too, so that no one may be open to blame. 8If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever
Treat your church family as if it were your physical family. We can all profit and learn to treat each other better if we adopt this philosophy. If we look at women of the church as mothers or sisters, then we would be more apt to treat them with dignity and respect.
Remember that when Paul was writing this there was no social security or pension plan. Paul thought that families should take care of other family members, so church families should take care of the widows and orphans of the church, especially since no one else was. Not reaching out to those in need was a denying of faith in God.
How does this translate in today’s society. Even if our church family has other resources to fall on now, either the government or private funds, they still need the members of their church family for emotional, spiritual and mental support. That is why we need to be ready in all these ways.
Prayer- Lord, Help me be of help to my church family, because they will help me when I am in need. Go-Fight-Win. Amen

1 Timothy 4:11-16

Relax, Read and Reflect.
Prayer: Dear Lord, Open our hearts and open our minds and help us learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
11Command and teach these things. 12Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
15Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Re- Read this passage, especially verse 12. Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young! Timothy was a young man, but he did great things. Young people can do great things through out the world, they have not been beaten down by life, they do not understand the limitations society (not life) puts on them. Live life, but live a life for Christ!
Timothy was ordained by prophecy, but even he had to read to stay up with God. This is something we all need to work on, reading both Old and New testaments. This keeps us close to the Holy Spirit as well as give us continuing education. Be diligent, live your spiritual life as you would live any part of your life, wide open.
Prayer- Lord, give me the strength to live a Godly life and let me live it to the maximum. You deserve nothing less. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.

1 Timothy4:6-10

Relax, Read and Reflect.
Prayer: Dear Lord, Open our hearts and open our minds and help us learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
6If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
9This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance 10(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.
Before I drop my sons Ben and Grider off at school, I ask them two questions. "Are you ready physically as well as mentally, emotionally as well as spiritually?" Paul is basically telling his young student the same things. We can build up our bodies to help withstand disease and ailments, but if we are spiritually fit, we can withstand evil.
Living a Godly life requires practice, but this practice helps us both in this life and our eternal life. We can put our physical bodies to the test in sports and activities, but we put all our hope spiritually in the living God. So I ask all of ya’ll-Are you ready physically as well as mentally, emotionally as well as spiritually? If not, it is time to get in shape.
Prayer- Lord- Help keep us spiritually fit, so we can keep the promise of life. Go Fight-Win. Amen.

Timothy 4:1-5

Relax, Read and Reflect
Prayer- Lord, Open our hearts and open our minds and help us learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen

Instructions to Timothy
1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
Paul was very concerned about false teachers. He saw they were a great threat to the church, and they STILL are. Paul is worried that people may start to follow the teachings of some people, not the teachings of Christ. He did not want the gospel watered down to make it more acceptable for a few. To Paul this watering down was deception, pure and simple. He also believed false teachings were the work of Satan and his little demons.
The devil tries to deceive us by offering imitations of the "Real Thing." By using part of the gospel, and by making rules for living, the false teachers appear to be righteous and disciplined. Remember; righteous living can not remove sin, only God can do that.
We must be always mindful that even if a teacher of the Gospel has impressive credentials, it is not the teaching that saves us. It is Jesus. Another word of warning. It is only through prayer and study that we can protect ourselves from evil.
Prayer- Lord, Protect us from false teachers. Give us the wisdom to recognize Your truth, and the patience to strive daily for understanding. Go-Fight-Win. Amen

1 Timothy 3:14-16

Relax, Read and Reflect.
Prayer- Dear Lord, Open our hearts and open our minds and help us learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen
14Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He[
] appeared in a body,[b] was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.
Are you ready to sing? Paul is. In this short song Paul teaches several important parts of our Christian faith;
1. Jesus was human (appeared in a body, preached among the nations)
2.Had God with him (vindicated by the spirit)
3.Jesus is divine (seen by angels and taken up to glory)
These instructions are simple and to the point. They also show us all we need to know to get started in a life of evangelism and godly living. This is how we should live in the church (universal-not congregational.)
How well do we teach these truths? Remember- we teach by example more than by word.
Prayer- Lord, Thank you for sending your Son to be our foundation of faith, Help us use him to spread Your love throughout the world. Go-Fight-Win Amen.