Beyond the Weekend

December 10 | Devotion

December 10, 2015

1 Timothy 4.12-16

Timothy, the recipient of the letters 1 and 2 Timothy, is a young pastor being trained by the Apostle Paul. In these letters Paul often uses strong language to encourage and instruct the young pastor. Paul knows how dangerous ministry can be and doesn’t want his young protégé to be sidelined. He gives Timothy this strong command: “. . . devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching” (1 Timothy 4.13).

“Devote” is such a strong word! It means we put on blinders to the distractions around us in order to give full attention to the task at hand.  We are to devote ourselves to the Bible. There are countless books and life-giving activities, but the one activity that will consistently ground us in the life and plan of God is reading and meditating on the Bible. As we saw in Day 2, the Bible is God’s breath (2 Timothy 3.16) and lets us in on the very heart of God.

We talk often about having a consistent quiet time or chair time. Many people call this “devotions,” the act of daily devoting ourselves to seeking God in his Word.

Today, take a few minutes to consider this week’s One Big Question: What are some distractions that deter you from being fully devoted to reading and meditating on the Bible? Be sure to discuss this with your small group or a close friend.

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