In the 5 different chapters we read today, the apostle Paul had several advises for; Timothy, Titus and Philemon. Advises that would make anyone of us more effective as ministers and as a Christian. Let's see a few; to Timothy he said; "I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom: Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

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2 Timothy 4:1‭-‬2 NLT. The Boys Scout motto: Be Prepared. Essentially, Paul was saying, be prepared at all times, whether it is favourable or not, season and out of season, be prepared to teach. To Titus he says; "And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. Teach the truth so that your teaching can’t be criticized. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about us.

Titus 2:7‭-‬8 NLT. He was saying to Titus; be a Role Model, be an example. Reflect Christ so much that others can see him in you. Reflect integrity and good works, that's who a Christian should be. To Philemon, Paul says; "I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith while here in prison.

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Philemon 1:10 NLT. While this might seems a simple request from Paul, it's not so easy. Onesimus had taken advantage of his master's kindness and left home. Onesimus was a slave whose generous master, Philemon found out the hard way that people tend to care about themselves. Onesimus abused his privileges and ran away most likely with some of Philemon's property. He would eventually end up in prison where he becomes born again through the ministry of Paul. Having confirmed his genuine conversion, Paul was now sending him back to Philemon to accept him back. The challenge to accept Onesimus back reflects for me the willingness to forgive no matter how difficult.

Let me encourage and charge you today with two sets of advise the apostle Paul gave to his son Timothy in charging and encouraging him as he went through the difficulty of pastoring the church in Ephesus; "Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules. And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things.

2 Timothy 2:1‭-‬7 NLT. Paul says, be strong. Why? Many things will try to steal your strength, you be strong. Our strengths come from joy in God our saviour, don't let anyone or anything take that away. Next, he reminds him that he is a good soldier, an athlete and a hardworking farmer. All the roles require; dedication, sacrifice and commitment. Next advise; "Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived. But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:12‭-‬15 NLT. I sometimes marvel at Christian's surprise at being persecuted. Who else is going to be persecuted but us who stands against the forces of darkness? If you are going to stand for your faith, expect a pushback. Paul says; you remain faithful to the things you have been taught. In the face of darkness, be faithful. Even if there is a pushback and persecutions come, remain faithful.

Paul left Timothy, a young man at this time, to pastor the most difficult church and city Paul ever had to deal with. This in my opinion spoke more about the quality and trust Paul had for Timothy considering the other options. At Ephesus, a riot once broke out after Paul's teaching was leading to people abandoning the worship of gods and dark magic. They began to burn their magic spell books, destroyed their idols of the Greek goddess Artemis and stopped worshipping her altogether. Paul had to be sneaked out of the city because the riot was so violent. It was to this city and church that Timothy was taking charge of. Timothy's age was definitely a problem, he was a young man pastoring a church of much older men and women. And so, Paul writes to him like a son and gives him advises to help him pastor and lead his flock. "The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure hear, a clear conscience, and genuine faith." 1Tim 1:5 NLT. Paul gives Timothy the a clear purpose for his work everywhere and how to accomplish it; it is so that believers will be filled with love that comes from sincerity, a clear conscience and genuine faith. Paul also tells him; "Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked." 1Tim 1:19 NLT. Cling to, hold on to, your faith in God, why? Because it was going to be tested. Timothy's faith was severly tested, and I believe like him all believer's faith will be tested too. Many things will come that will cause us to question whether our faith in God is genuine or whether God is real or not. I call this each person's faith walk with God. Paul says, cling to your faith. He also says to keep our consciences clear because some people, whether unwittingly or deliberately, will violate their conscience. Your conscience is the voice of your own spirit man and God will usually seek to lead you through it. Constantly violating it leads to dead or seared conscience. Paul says; don't do it, keep a clear conscience at all times by walking in faith towards God.

The Thessalonians, having received apostles Paul's first letter needed some clarity, they wanted to know if the day of the Lord, which is Jesus' second coming, if it already began? Paul's response is to point them to the role the antichrist will play as the events that heralds Jesus' second coming unfolds. "Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction.

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2 Thessalonians 2:1‭-‬3 NLT. In our previous studies, we've said that there are actually 2 second comings of Jesus each separated by this man. The first is often referred to as the day of rapture. Paul also mentions some of the things he, the antichrist would do; "He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.

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2 Thessalonians 2:4 NLT. This particular event is the abomination of desolation Daniel the prophet spoke about in; Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11-12. "The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”

Daniel 9:27 NLT. One set of 7 is 7 years. Half that time is 3 and a half years. Daniel says this man will enter into a treaty with Israel and 3 and a half years into that treaty, he will break his covenant and wnter the temple. “His army will take over the Temple fortress, pollute the sanctuary, put a stop to the daily sacrifices, and set up the sacrilegious object that causes desecration.

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Daniel 11:31 NLT. “From the time the daily sacrifice is stopped and the sacrilegious object that causes desecration is set up to be worshiped, there will be 1,290 days. And blessed are those who wait and remain until the end of the 1,335 days!

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Daniel 12:11‭-‬12 NLT. Jesus Christ also spoke about these events; “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!) “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones. “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.

Matthew 24:15‭-‬25 NLT. Interpretation; if you witness this man's appearance and the things he begins to do, you are right in the midst of the 7 years of great tribulation. Jesus says, hide yourself at this moment because the prophet Daniel says it would be 3 and the half years from when the abomination that causes desolation appears to when Christ eventually returns.

What will it be like on the day the Lord Jesus returns to receive his own? The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians; "We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.

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1 Thessalonians 4:15‭-‬17 NLT. There will be an order to his return, first off, we know it will be sudden and it will be in the twinkle of an eye. Next thing people will hear, and I expect this will be in rapid succession, will be; the commanding shout of Christ, then the voice of the archangel and finally the trumpet call of God. While people are still wondering what's going on, all they will notice is that believers, who are alive simply disappear into thin air. In the true order of the things, those who returned with Christ will receive their resurrect body, and then believers whi are alive will disappear. Sounds like crap or a fairytale right? Don't worry, when it happens, remember I warned you.

At the church in Colosse, the major challenge was a teaching going round about how to make our salvation certain through strict discipline. The apostle Paul wrote; "You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

Colossians 2:20‭-‬23 NLT. It comes down to this; grace versus human effort, trusting in Christ's sacrifice on our behalf or exacting our effort. Grace says you died with. Your dying is the solution. Dead people don't taste, handle, touch or strive, they are dead. Grace says your life hidden in Christ is what sets you free to live for God. Human effort says no, touch, don't touch, handle, don't handle, stand, speak, cover your hair, don't wear trousers, don't do this, don't do that, etc. Notice Paul says that at best, such rules, even though they seem wise because they require devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline, some people even brag about how much price they pay in human discipline, Paul says; they deteriorate with time. They ultimately have no answer or help in conquering the evil desires lurking in a person's sinful nature. Which will you choose; grace or rules, the choice is yours?

Good day everyone. In today's devotional, we read through the entire book of Philippians, quite and interesting read. My emphasis today is on the prayers Paul prayed for the church in Philippi. "May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

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Philippians 1:2 NLT. Paul prays this same prayer in all his letters to churches. Grace and peace to be Christ's ambassadors. "I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.

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Philippians 1:9 NLT. If there is a knowledge and understanding every believer needs to grow in, it is the knowledge and understanding of love. Paul says in the next verse that it is what really matters and that it is the secret to living pure and blameless lives. "May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

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Philippians 1:11 NLT. Wow, you know what certainly brings glory to God? It is righteous character in our lives as we represent Jesus.

Imitators of God. Let's talk about Paul's advise on how believers ought to show they are children of God. "Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

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Ephesians 5:1‭-‬2 NLT. What depicts us as children of God is not whether we congregate in our churches or wear emblems that says we are Christians. Paul says we show others we are children of God by imitating God. How can human beings imitate God? Paul's answer is simple, love; to live a life filled so much with love and thereby following the example of Christ. In this verse, Paul is also inadvertently telling us that the standard and type of the love being asked of us is clear, it is the same as Christ's. How did Christ love us, we ought to know if we are going to follow his example? "And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Romans 5:5‭-‬8 NLT. Christ's love might make more sense to us if he died for people that were worthy, instead, Christ died for worthless sinners. That is the kind of love we are called to imitate. Christ's love is sacrificial. It does not think of self first or that it ought to be compensated. It is clear there was no way we were going to be able to equally reciprocate his love, still Christ died for the ungodly. That's the love we are called to imitate. You see, this is what truly depicts us as God's children; displaying to the world the same kind of love Jesus showed us.

Let's take a deep dive into the lessons Paul tries to teach us about God's mysterious plan for our salvation. Paul talks about God's mysterious plan this way; "And this is God's plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God's children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus." Ephesians 3:6 NLT.

For everyone who accepts Jesus, whether Gentiles or Jews, together we make up the body of Christ. Gentiles and Jews together enjoy the same promise of God's blessings through Christ. Paul goes on to say; "God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

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Ephesians 3:10‭-‬12 NLT.

God's plan of salvation wasn't implemented haphazardly, no, his grand plan was clear as God promised he would right from when man sinned; "And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

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Ephesians 1:10‭-‬11 NLT. Thank you God.

Who are you listening to? We focus on Paul's analogy of the constant struggle within every believer;

Spirit versus flesh, the Spirit's nature versus our own sinful nature. Essentially, Paul is saying that the one that dominates the believer, the one a believer is yielding to, will determine what kind of Christian life you have. A life dominated by the Spirit or one dominated by lustful desires.

Your sinful nature or the flesh like some version calls it, constantly wants to animate you just as much as the Holy Spirit wants to. The Holy Spirit has his own desires, following them, will certainly place you in the centre of the will of God. The problem is, the flesh too has it's own desires, and they are usually opposed to the will of God, and following them will leave your Christian walk stranded. "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions." Galatians 5:16-17 NLT. When the Holy Spirit is the one animating and leading you, when the Holy Spirit is the one you are listening to, the result is the fruit of; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. And when the flesh is the one leading and animating you, you will notice these kind of fruit in you; sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasure, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outburst of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Never forget, "...Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure you stay free." Galatians 5:1 NLT. The Christian walk is a call to make these decisions everyday; "For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love." Galatians 5:13 NLT. Choose the Holy Spirit today.