March 14, 2023
Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:12 – “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.”
What it means
This is the apostle Paul sharing with his protégé Timothy…the simple fact that he is thankful to be in The Lord’s service, and that He has given him strength for the task at hand – preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and enduring all that he had to endure during his ministry. He says that God considered him trustworthy, and officially appointed him to His service, in spite of the fact that he was not a nice man before his calling, to say the least. If we skip ahead to verses 13 & 14, he goes on to say “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” But thankfully, The Lord can see beyond what everybody else can see…He sees our heart very clearly, and can see the vast untapped potential that we all possess, and will give us strength to do infinitely more than we can do on our own.
What it means to me
What an honor it is to serve our Lord side by side with each one of you. I get it, I’m the preacher, but I am in no way more a minister than you are. Joe and Debbie have had the opportunity to touch the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of college kids at Maryville College. Nate has the opportunity to share with customers who need their cable/internet set up. Gay, Tammy, Bill, Gail and Jill are/were teachers who helped to prepare our young kids to slowly evolve into adults…and the list goes on and on. The vast majority of you deal with more people than I do on a regular basis, and as such, are faithful in allowing Jesus to shine through you. Regardless of your primary vocation (past or present), you are all ministers. So today, let us thank God for strength to continue His good work and for considering all of us trustworthy to be in ministry for Him!
Love you, talk to you on Thursday!
In Christ,
Brian