So I went to a friends party for their baby's first birthday today. I haven't been to very many baby birthday parties. It was interesting though. Mind you it was fun and entertaining enough, mostly because of the kids, and catching up with friends. I feel these kind of things will be a lot of my life in the future. A lot of the people were having conversations about babies and children. It is kind of hard to avoid, there are a lot of babies and children. Of course it even goes to the couple who doesn't have or is having a baby, "Are you having a baby?" That has to be a hard question. I got that question from everyone while Kelli and I were married and not expecting a baby. It was sort of the thing to do. It makes me wonder; is it okay for couples not to have kids? Is it still odd for folks to choose not to? Kelli and I debated on whether we wanted to adopt for a while. There are millions of children in countries all over the world who don't have a family, and we could be that family for them. On a side note, we still might do that, we are praying for guidance on that. We are happy as can be with the baby on the way. I suppose though, for some couples, that must be a hard question, whether to have a child or not. We figured, when God wanted it, it would happen. And we already thank Him for it!
I wrote this particular devotional last year and I kept it almost the same, word for word. I loved it. It is super challenging. I still find it really difficult to live up to, and it is straight out of the scripture.
Day 26
Scripture
1 Timothy 4:10-16
- 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. 11 Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Wisdom
- Paul talks to Timothy as a Father in these verses. Giving him wise instruction to be a model for Christ.
- No matter how old we are we can learn from these words. What can you take away from this scripture?
- Jesus never said that you will bring people to Him by force or persecution. He knew you would bring people to Him with love and kindness. You would bring people to Christ with a positive model of Him. If you call yourself a Christian do you model these traits? Use the 5 qualities mentioned here and see where you can improve; speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. How can you be a better teacher of all these things?
Apply
- On a scale of 1-10 rate yourself. 1 being spiritual flabbiness and 10 being spiritually fit. Where do you fall? Why did you rate yourself that way?
- Write down the 5 words; speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. Now keep these with you to remind yourself to ask God daily to protect you and guide you in these areas.
Prayer
- Pray to the Father for the 5 words in your life. Pray to Him daily for guidance and direction so that you can be a better model to your family and friends. Write on the same piece of paper your main areas of life (school, family, work, sports, clubs, groups) and ask the Lord to watch over you as a model for Him in all these places.
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