Devotions 06-08-07

I Timothy 4:16
Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things; for as you do this you will insure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

My general problem is that I think of my self to much as to what I want or what I think I need or how I am being treated. I am by nature very selfish and the scriptures teach me that I need to die to self and my selfish cravings. My focus should be on God and His greatness and how I can help the needy of the world because of the goodness of God to me and my family.

But in this case God wants me to pay close attention to what I am teaching and that I carefully do what I am saying. He urges me to persevere or to stay at it without quitting because it will enable me to live what I teach and to communicate with passion what I teach. I am unable to teach the scriptures with passion if I am not wholly living what I believer to be true.

This salvation is not deliverance from my sin nature which I received when I asked Jesus to be my savior. This is the deliverance from the sin that is all around me and causes me to stumble when I am not walking close to my Lord. God's Word will keep me from sin or sin will keep me from God's Word. This salvation or deliverance is achieved by persevering in obeying God's Word, not in the letter but in the Spirit in which God gave it to us.

I need as much prayer as anyone in making this truth a vital part of my life. It requires time and determination along with humble and regular prayer to be able to follow consistently what God tells us to do in His Word. I may have to cut back in ministry or in fellowship in order to keep myself in check so I do not move outside the will of God for my life. There is no shortcut to living what God urges me to do even when I know the scriptures and can teach them so convincingly.