Day 156 – March 23, 2024: I Timothy 1-6

We read the entire book of I Timothy. Let’s set the stage, Paul is probably in Macedonia when he is writing this. He is writing to Timothy whom he considers his son, more of a mentor/mentee relationship. Timothy has taken on the responsibilities of pastoring the church in Ephesus which we know is not a town that has welcomed Paul warmly at all. Paul is trying to give Timothy some pointers on what to emphasize, how to increase your faith while you serve, and some teachings to share with the congregation that were important to him in his ministry.

Chapter 3 contains some important benchmarks to those who would serve as officers in the church. Now, let’s be clear, no one can reach completely these benchmarks, but they are goals after which we ought to strive and who knows, we just might get closer if we try than where we currently are now. It isn’t a super inspirational book for me. It does contain some advice that I might consider pretty specific to its time period and to the church in Ephesus and so not completely applicable to today, but still important enough to understand and be aware that this is a teaching that was inspired by God and God alone.