Scripture to Read: 1 Timothy 1:1
This week we are walking through 1 Timothy 1:1-11. As God led Paul to write to Timothy and, of course, all believers through the ages, we will examine what God is saying to us this week. In 1 Timothy 1:1, God led Paul to introduce himself. We read that Paul was an apostle, which means that Paul had seen the resurrected Christ. There are no apostles today for no one today has ever seen the resurrected Christ. God opened up that door for Paul as recorded in Acts 9:1-9. Note that God led Paul to write, in 1 Timothy 1:1, that he was an apostle “according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus.” The commandment that Paul was referring to was what our Lord shared with Ananias in Acts 9:15, “But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he (Paul) is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.’” Jesus, as He spoke to Ananias, made it clear that Paul was His chosen instrument to share Christ with the Gentiles. God has also chosen each one of us as His instruments (1 Peter 2:9-10) so that we share Christ with everyone crossing our paths. We share Christ because He is our hope, as God clearly shared through Paul at the end of 1 Timothy 1:1. People worldwide live with no hope; that is why we must share Christ so those without hope can find hope in Christ alone.
Challenge & Application
1. What did God teach you today about His call on your life and who Christ is to us and this lost world?
2. How will you share Christ this week so others can know that He is their hope?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!