Daily Devotions
–With Pastor Harmon–
Wednesday—September 22, 2021
Devotional Series: Portals of Prayer (July—September 2021)
Scripture: 1 Timothy 5:1-16
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today’s passage (1 Timothy 5:8 – “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever”) needs some context. Paul is giving instructions to the Church – specifically to the congregation that Timothy serves and to the Church in general. In verses 1-8, Paul is giving instructions on how to care for the family of God.
We are to treat older men “as a father, young men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity” (1 Timothy 5:1-2). We, as the Church, are to honor widows who are truly widows (who have no family – who are truly alone). Widows who have children or grandchildren should be cared for by their relatives.
It’s in that context that Paul writes about the one who does not provide for his relatives or household. Paul writes that such folks have denied the faith. They have denied the community that God has called them into. When God raised us from death in sin to life in Christ, He made us members of His family – of a community. With that call comes the responsibility to love our brothers and sisters in Christ – to care for them as family. We are to love them in the same way that Christ has loved us.
To do anything less is to deny the faith – to despise the gift that we’ve received. That’s why Paul says that the one who does not provide for his household is worse than an unbeliever. The unbeliever is ignorant of the responsibilities that Paul describes here for those who are members of Christ’s Body. And so those who know what they should do and choose not to are worse. They are like the servant whose master forgave his tremendous debt. He was set free from his debt. He was given his life back. But he despised the gift (or didn’t even recognize the gift) when he had a fellow servant thrown into prison because he couldn’t pay the debt he owed to the wicked servant.
The grace and compassion that we have received, the resurrection to a new life will produce fruit in our lives in keeping with those gifts. If those gifts are absent or we refuse to extend the grace and compassion we’ve received, then we run the risk of losing the gift. May God give us eyes to see our self-centeredness so that we can confess it and be set free from its chains.
-Pastor Harmon
Tuesday—September 21, 2021
Devotional Series: Portals of Prayer (July—September 2021)
Scripture: 1 Timothy 4
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today’s devotion is based on 1 Timothy 4:8 – “For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” Bodily training is of some value for good health, for gaining or maintaining physical strength, and for gaining or refining physical skills.
Many endure bodily training for the benefit of good health and a well-toned body. I go to the Wellness Center five days a week and I see many people there training their bodies – working at good health and exercise. The wisdom of the day says that if you take care of your body, then you will live a longer and happier life.
And while that may indeed be true, you will still die. That’s why Paul says that bodily training has some value. It can help maintain good health, but it can’t keep you from dying. The benefits of bodily training are limited to this life.
Godliness is another story. Its benefits are eternal. Godliness is a gift of God. By the power of His Word at work in Baptism, God has raised us from death in sin into life in Him. We have been made a new creation. Jesus put our old sinful nature to death when He died on the cross. Joined with Him in a death like His, we are also joined with Him in a resurrection like His. And because of that union, even if we die physically (and we will), we will live in the resurrected life that Jesus has shared with us.
-Pastor Harmon
Monday—September 20, 2021
Devotional Series: Portals of Prayer (July—September 2021)
Scripture: 1 Timothy 3
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today’s devotion focused on the word “confession.” In the Church, that word indicates a confession of sin or a confession of faith. And while those uses may seem to be different, they are actually very much alike. The literal definition of confession is to agree with.
So when we confess our faith in the Apostles’ Creed, we are agreeing with the confession of faith that has been spoken in the Church for nearly 2,000 years. And that confession agrees with the Word of God – both the written Word of God and the Word of God who became flesh and dwelt among men. What we confess and agree to is not an invention of men. It is the Truth that is revealed in Scriptures and in Jesus Christ.
When we confess our sin, we are also agreeing with God’s Word. We are agreeing with God’s Word that tells us that we are sinful human beings who are dead in their trespasses and sin. We are agreeing with the Scriptures that tell us we are not worthy of God’s love.
Fortunately that confession doesn’t end there. In response to our confession, God speaks His Word of Absolution. God tells us that, for the sake of Jesus who gave His life so that we could live, our sin has been forgiven. His blood paid the price to release us from Adam’s curse. And so we also agree with that Word of God. We confess Jesus as our Savior because that’s who He is.
-Pastor Harmon
Devotional Series: Portals of Prayer (July—September 2021)
Scripture: 1 Timothy 5:1-16
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today’s passage (1 Timothy 5:8 – “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever”) needs some context. Paul is giving instructions to the Church – specifically to the congregation that Timothy serves and to the Church in general. In verses 1-8, Paul is giving instructions on how to care for the family of God.
We are to treat older men “as a father, young men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity” (1 Timothy 5:1-2). We, as the Church, are to honor widows who are truly widows (who have no family – who are truly alone). Widows who have children or grandchildren should be cared for by their relatives.
It’s in that context that Paul writes about the one who does not provide for his relatives or household. Paul writes that such folks have denied the faith. They have denied the community that God has called them into. When God raised us from death in sin to life in Christ, He made us members of His family – of a community. With that call comes the responsibility to love our brothers and sisters in Christ – to care for them as family. We are to love them in the same way that Christ has loved us.
To do anything less is to deny the faith – to despise the gift that we’ve received. That’s why Paul says that the one who does not provide for his household is worse than an unbeliever. The unbeliever is ignorant of the responsibilities that Paul describes here for those who are members of Christ’s Body. And so those who know what they should do and choose not to are worse. They are like the servant whose master forgave his tremendous debt. He was set free from his debt. He was given his life back. But he despised the gift (or didn’t even recognize the gift) when he had a fellow servant thrown into prison because he couldn’t pay the debt he owed to the wicked servant.
The grace and compassion that we have received, the resurrection to a new life will produce fruit in our lives in keeping with those gifts. If those gifts are absent or we refuse to extend the grace and compassion we’ve received, then we run the risk of losing the gift. May God give us eyes to see our self-centeredness so that we can confess it and be set free from its chains.
-Pastor Harmon
Tuesday—September 21, 2021
Devotional Series: Portals of Prayer (July—September 2021)
Scripture: 1 Timothy 4
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today’s devotion is based on 1 Timothy 4:8 – “For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” Bodily training is of some value for good health, for gaining or maintaining physical strength, and for gaining or refining physical skills.
Many endure bodily training for the benefit of good health and a well-toned body. I go to the Wellness Center five days a week and I see many people there training their bodies – working at good health and exercise. The wisdom of the day says that if you take care of your body, then you will live a longer and happier life.
And while that may indeed be true, you will still die. That’s why Paul says that bodily training has some value. It can help maintain good health, but it can’t keep you from dying. The benefits of bodily training are limited to this life.
Godliness is another story. Its benefits are eternal. Godliness is a gift of God. By the power of His Word at work in Baptism, God has raised us from death in sin into life in Him. We have been made a new creation. Jesus put our old sinful nature to death when He died on the cross. Joined with Him in a death like His, we are also joined with Him in a resurrection like His. And because of that union, even if we die physically (and we will), we will live in the resurrected life that Jesus has shared with us.
-Pastor Harmon
Monday—September 20, 2021
Devotional Series: Portals of Prayer (July—September 2021)
Scripture: 1 Timothy 3
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today’s devotion focused on the word “confession.” In the Church, that word indicates a confession of sin or a confession of faith. And while those uses may seem to be different, they are actually very much alike. The literal definition of confession is to agree with.
So when we confess our faith in the Apostles’ Creed, we are agreeing with the confession of faith that has been spoken in the Church for nearly 2,000 years. And that confession agrees with the Word of God – both the written Word of God and the Word of God who became flesh and dwelt among men. What we confess and agree to is not an invention of men. It is the Truth that is revealed in Scriptures and in Jesus Christ.
When we confess our sin, we are also agreeing with God’s Word. We are agreeing with God’s Word that tells us that we are sinful human beings who are dead in their trespasses and sin. We are agreeing with the Scriptures that tell us we are not worthy of God’s love.
Fortunately that confession doesn’t end there. In response to our confession, God speaks His Word of Absolution. God tells us that, for the sake of Jesus who gave His life so that we could live, our sin has been forgiven. His blood paid the price to release us from Adam’s curse. And so we also agree with that Word of God. We confess Jesus as our Savior because that’s who He is.
-Pastor Harmon