May 21 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

1 Timothy 6:13-21:

¹³I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;
¹⁴That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
¹⁵Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
¹⁶Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
¹⁷Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
¹⁸That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
¹⁹Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
²⁰O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
²¹Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.

Devotional

What a serious matter it is to be called of God to preach the Gospel. We fear that there are ministers who are not fully aware of this seriousness and are therefore not as faithful and diligent as they should be. Listen to Paul as he speaks to the elders of Ephesus, "Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one, night and day with tears." Where do we find such faithfulness today? And how con­cerned Paul was that Timothy, his own son in the faith should also be faithful in preaching and testifying. He exhorts him, he gives him charge or orders him, he adjures (according to the Greek), he puts him under oath, as it were. He does this "before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom." What a solemn charge this is! He also wants Timothy to remind and to charge his hearers before the Lord. What is he so anxious about? That the word may be preached in season and out of season, and that prayer and thanksgiving be made for all men, that a good profession be made, even as Jesus himself did before Pilate. Paul was even willing to endure all things for the elect's sake, that they might also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus.

Prayer

O God, our Father, when we have done all those things which are commanded us, we must say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. But, O God, how often have we failed to do our duty, and there is noth­ing that we can do to atone for our failures. There is nothing with which we can recompense Thee. We have no good works of our own that merit Thy favor; yet, Lord, Thou hast ordained peace for us; for Thou also hast wrought all our works for us.

We thank Thee: and we thank Thee for the crown of right­eousness laid up for us, solely on account of the merits of Christ. May we put our trust in him, and give him all the glory. Amen.

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Scripture in Devotional: Acts 20:31; 1 Tim. 1:2; 2:1; 6:13; 2 Tim. 4:1; 2:14; 4:2; 1 Tim. 6:12f; 2 Tim. 2:10; 4:7,8.

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