Poison bottles usually carry a symbol, a skull and crossbones, which warns people to stay away or suffer death. Sadly, spiritual poison carries no such label. It often looks like insight, sounds like depth, and feels like devotion. That’s exactly why in 1 Timothy 6, Apostle Paul calls us to take great care with errant…

Every employee has wished for a better boss. What’s less common is the employee himself wishing he were a better employee. That’s certainly what the boss is wishing for: someone honest, hardworking, and respectful even when no one’s watching. Most workplaces run on this quiet tug-of-war. Apostle Paul steps into that tension in 1 Timothy…

A courtroom doesn’t convict on rumor. And praise God that’s true. It requires evidence, witnesses, and due process because a person’s life and reputation hang in the balance. If we get it wrong, either the guilty walk free or the innocent are destroyed. Apostle Paul holds the church to that same standard when it comes…

You know, small things can often turn into big things. A small gas leak in your home doesn’t begin with an explosion. It starts quietly, a faint smell you learn to ignore. Left unchecked, that tiny leak can grow into something huge, leveling a house and taking lives with it. Apostle Paul warns of a…

In 1 Timothy 5, we come across a teaching that at face value seems rather harsh. There were widows who genuinely needed assistance, but that qualification alone didn’t automatically make one eligible for church assistance. No, they had to meet certain spiritual and moral criteria. In other words, they must have lived a life worthy…

Whose responsibility is it to take care of your family? That question isn’t just personal. It’s biblical. In 1 Timothy 5, Apostle Paul addresses the care of widows in the early church. But the principle he establishes reaches far beyond just widows There is no doubt, the church is called to compassionately care for others.…

I’m not sure how many fans there are in this listening audience  for rapper Ice Cube, but back in the early 1990s, he famously dropped this line: “You better check yo’ self before you wreck yo’ self.” Now, that isn’t from the Bible, but the Bible says a very similar thing in 1 Timothy 4:16.…

A surgeon’s time is too valuable to fool with prepping and cleaning the operating room. Nobody argues with that. You protect what matters most by keeping it from being crowded out by what matters less. In 1 Timothy 4, Apostle Paul tells Timothy, a young pastor in a demanding church, to devote himself to the…

One of my favorite shows over the years is “Forged in Fire.” It’s that show on The History Channel that is a blacksmith competition each episode. They are always making some kind of weapon. And one of the things I’ve noticed is that, a blacksmith doesn’t strike hot iron once and call it a sword.…

In 1938, Orson Welles broadcast a radio dramatization of The War of the Worlds so convincing that thousands of listeners believed Martians were actually invading New Jersey. People fled their homes in panic. Welles never meant to deceive people, but the fallout was real. In 1 Timothy 4, Apostle Paul warns Timothy about a far more…