Prophetic Prospective Daily Devotional

But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

Paul was giving young Timothy, in his first letter to him, such timely tips for how to live in troublesome times and he tells his young ministry partner to share these truths with others.

That exhortation is applicable for us in the troublesome times we find ourselves living in today. Paul was so practical with these principles. He tells Timothy to be a "servant", verse 1, and to give honor to his leader.

Verse 2 is the exhortation to teach these truths to others. And notice, in verse 3, it is doctrine we are to teach. Many today shy away from teaching doctrine because they say "doctrine divides" which is the exact opposite, "doctrine unites" us all under what God wants for us.

We can have contentment by the measure of our "Godliness", or God-likeness, verse 6. Verses 7-8 remind us that we brought nothing into this world and we take nothing out of it when we leave, either at death or at the Rapture. Therefore, be content with the provision of food and clothing that God gives us.

Notice how practical Paul is about money. We should not strive to be rich and the "love of money" is the root of "all evil". Notice Paul did not say having money and being rich was wrong. But striving to be rich thus having a "love for money" is what is bad.

In fact, God has given some in the body of Christ the "gift of giving", Romans 12:8, and therefore that person must have money to give. The people with this gift would be those who do not strive for riches or have a love for money, but God blesses them so that they can give to support His work.

I love the next couple of verses that challenge us to flee, follow and fight. Verse 11 says a man or woman of God will "flee" the evil things, and "follow" after right living, becoming God-like, having faith, hope, patience and meekness.

Verse 12 says, then we are ready to "fight", to fight the good fight for the Lord. Paul concludes by saying we do this until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, "the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and only Potentate", verse 15.

Paul tells us that Jesus is coming and it could be soon, so live in light of that truth, until ...

PRAYER THOT: Help me Lord, to flee evil, follow righteousness and fight the good fight until You call me into the heavenlies.

If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

Paul's instructions to Timothy, a young co-laborer with the Apostle, were based upon the understanding that the Lord is coming soon even though history tells us that was not the case. Paul lived his life and ministry as if the Rapture could happen at any moment and especially in his lifetime.

This is evident in his statement, "we shall be caught up", in I Thessalonians 4:17. Therefore, his instructions to young Timothy were given with that urgency. In fact, Paul believes the "Rapture" is very close in his time as indicated in verse 1.

There were those who at Paul's time in history were departing from the faith. They were not only departing from the faith but were "giving heed", accepting, "seducing spirits", evil spirits and "doctrines of demons." Paul was sending Timothy to the churches the Apostle had started to warn them that the "Last Days" were upon them.

Timothy was to put the churches in remembrance of these things and then make sure they were being nourished in the Word and "good doctrine." Timothy was to help the churches exercise themselves in godliness. That was even better than physical exercise.

It is interesting to note the instructions to Timothy from Paul about his own personal study and application of true biblical doctrine, verse 6, 13 and 16. Timothy was to watch against the "doctrine of demons," verse 1.

Many people are afraid of "doctrine." They say "doctrine" divides and causes division in the “Body of Christ”. This is not correct. The Word of God which was "breathed" into the authors of the Bible, II Timothy 3:16, is "profitable for doctrine." The truth be known, the true doctrines from the Lord unites, it does not divide. Doctrine is the principles that the Lord gives to us to know His plan and direction in all matters.

Paul tells Timothy that he should be reading, meditating and continuing that which he had learned from Paul and then pass it along to others for their benefit. Remember, these instructions were given in light of the times in which they were living, "the latter times."

We are living in the "Last Days" and it would do us good to heed Paul's instructions to Timothy and appropriate them for ourselves.

PRAYER THOT: Dear Lord, help me to discern true doctrine from Your Word, make it applicable to my life and share it with others on a daily basis.

But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

As I sat reading through I Timothy 3 before I took time to rehearse some of my thoughts on our devotional reading for today, I realized what I was reading was a manual for how every man should live his Christian life.

I understand that I Timothy is one of the Pastoral Epistles written by Paul to help guide the young leadership of the first century church in the world at that time. Young Timothy was being trained by Paul and then dispatched across the then-known world to help build up the new churches. Remember, many of the churches Timothy would visit had been founded by the Apostle Paul.

Paul lays out the qualifications for both the "spiritual leaders" of the church and those who are to be spiritual, as well, the "servants" (deacons) at the churches. The leaders are the "bishops", the "overseers", which lead every church to become what the Lord requires them to be in the final analysis, as dictated by His Word.

Paul starts with a "true saying." "If any man desires the office of 'overseer', he desires a good thing." When I read that, I realized that all men "must desire" the office of "overseer" because it is a "good thing."

Please read the list of qualifications, as I did. Now, let me point out several things from these qualifications. Verse 3 says one in leadership should be "someone not given to filthy lucre." This is some one that does not have as his main focus the acquisition of large amounts of money.

Verse 7 says this man, "overseer", as every man, should have a good report from "them" which are from without the church. We cannot be leaders of the Church and have a bad testimony among those who are not in the Church, those not saved.

Starting in verse 8 we see the qualifications of the "deacons" those who God sets aside for "service in the church," the local gathering of born-again believers. Verse 13 indicates that an "overseer" of the church as well as the "servants", they both must have great "boldness" in the faith.

Paul was addressing the leadership of the Church, in these new local groups of born again people who were coming together to learn the ways of the Lord and then going out to win lost people to the Lord. Paul referred to these "bodies of believers" as the "church of the living God".

Notice that Paul, in verse 15, doesn't say that the "church" is the source of all truth, but the "safeguard", the pillar and ground of the truth. The "source of truth" is not the church but the Bible, God's Holy Word, which is "absolute truth". Paul wrote that the leadership of the church is the "caretaker" of all of God's truth.

Paul refers to Jesus as He who was "received up into glory", verse 16, and is coming again, soon. But until then the "church safeguards" the truth and spreads it to a needy people around the world.

PRAYER THOT: Help me Lord, to study the qualifications of a man who desires leadership as I endeavor to lead our ministry under Your direction and, at the same time, live my life out as a Christian.

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.

Each passage of scripture we select for our daily reading is always laden with additional spiritual application beyond what we focus on for the reading and in my prophetic prospective for that days reading. This is true in today's reading as well.

We are exhorted to pray in our key verse and we are told how to pray. I'll look at this in a moment. Please notice the next verse in our expanded reading, verse 2. The focus of our prayers is to be our political, governmental leaders. We are to pray for them first, before the pastor, the missionary and the evangelist. In other words, pray for the "minister in the government" before the "minister in the church".

Let me get back to the "how to's" of prayer found in verse 1. "Supplications" are mentioned first in the different aspects of prayer. This is specifically asking for something to happen. Then there are the "prayers". These are prayers that are offered on a 24/7 basis, it's praying without ceasing, I Thessalonians 5:17.

"Intercessions" are prayers we offer to God and are on the behalf of someone who needs to have their name or situation mentioned before the throne of God. The last mentioned type of prayer, "giving of thanks", should actually be the first prayer offered up to God. We must thank Him before we present our petitions to Him.

Notice again, who we are to pray for first. We are to pray for the kings and all those who are in authority first. These would be political, governmental officials that direct human government in the direction God wants it to go. Remember, God brought human government into existence, Genesis 9:6.

God will use human government, governmental leaders, Revelation 17:17, to accomplish His will and set the world stage for the final drama to play out. In essence, we're talking about God's "prophetic plan" will unfold as He uses human government to direct the world towards the end times.

Therefore, we are to first, pray for those who have the authority. He is preparing this world for the return of His Son and all that follows, as foretold in Bible prophecy.

PRAYER THOT: Help me to remember my priority in my prayer life.

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

The key verse for our devotional reading today, I Timothy 1:15, was written by Paul near the end of his ministry. His statement speaks volumes of how the apostle had grown in his own life during almost 30 years of ministry.

I am reminded that early in Paul's ministry he referred to himself as "the least of the apostles", I Corinthians 15:9. About half way through his thirty years of ministry, Paul realized that he was "the least of the saints", Ephesians 3:8. Now, towards the end of his ministry, Paul realizes that he is the "chief of all sinners".

It is true, that the closer we get to Jesus, the worse we see ourselves to be. Remember, the way we get close to Him today is by talking to Him and allowing Him to talk to us, through the reading of His Word the Bible.

We talk to Him in prayer, as I said, which Paul tells us to do, "without ceasing". The Lord talks to us through His Word, and this is one of the reasons to have a time everyday when you study the scriptures.

First and Second Timothy are referred to as the "pastoral epistles". The author of these "pastors' manuals" gives his young partner in the ministry, Timothy, the instruction that must be passed along to the leaders of the churches that are springing up all over the known world at that time.

Young Timothy is to travel to these churches and assist them in the selection of a leadership team and the training of these newly elected leaders in the proper method of administration in the local church.
God has selected to reach the world through local churches that are planted around the world. The Lord has a way and a plan that these churches must administer.

In both First and Second Timothy, Paul gives the warning to the churches, and all of us that read his instructions, He tells us that the Lord's Return is near. Paul believed that the time when Christ would call us to be with Him in the Rapture was very close at hand.

Remember, when Paul was writing to the Thessalonians about the Rapture, I Thessalonians 4:15-18, he kept using the word "we", believing that in his lifetime he would see the Rapture of the Church. That was almost 2000 years ago. How much closer we must be to the Rapture now.

That is why Paul wanted the church to be operating in a godly fashion, thus Paul's instruction to young Timothy. He charges Timothy to remember his instruction and his study of prophecy, and to "war a good warfare", I Timothy 1:18.

That is how we must live and administer our churches, always moving forward in light of the soon coming of Jesus Christ. The evidence is very clear, The Rapture can happen at any moment, perhaps today.

PRAYER THOT: Lord, help my attitude to be as Paul's was, just a sinner saved by grace awaiting the shout to join You in the heavenlies.

And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.

Paul desires the prayers of the Thessalonians so that as he continues his ministry he will be able to minister the "Word of the Lord" among others as well. Here Paul is teaching "intercessory prayer" to these young believers. Paul's prayer also includes a request for his protection from unreasonable and wicked men, verse 2.

The apostle reminds the Thessalonians, and us as well, that the Lord is faithful to His ministry of establishing us in Jesus and keeping us from evil that may come to confront us.

Paul wants these new converts to love the Lord, to really love Him, verse 5. This is love that is more than "lip service", it is a love that is a love like I have for my wife. That kind of love causes me to want to talk to her and let her talk to me. In our love for the Lord, we can talk to Him, in prayer.

He can also talk to us in His word, as we read it on a daily basis. The love that I have for my wife moves me to want to do things that please her. This is the case as well with our love for the Lord.

Notice the last phrase in our reading, verse 5. Paul wants to direct the Thessalonians and each of us into the "patient waiting for Christ to return". It is difficult for me to be patient. That is something I must learn, patience. Let me suggest that as we wait patiently for the Lord to return, we must be "prepared" for His shout to come at any moment by knowing for sure we are born again.

We also need to walk "pure" each day by laying aside that which is ungodly and evil and living that which is godly and righteous, as we look up for Him to take us to be with Him. We must also be "productive", in winning others to Jesus Christ and helping them to grow even as Paul was doing among the Thessalonians.

Again, I say it is difficult for me to be patient as I await the Lord's shout to join Him in the air. I want it to happen today, and it could - even so come, Lord Jesus.

PRAYER THOT: Lord, help me as I await Your coming, patiently, to be pure and productive until you do shout for us to join You in the heavenlies.

But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

There are two great truths that we will confront in our reading for today. The first is revealed in II Thessalonians 2:13. Within the words of our key verse, we find the answer to the centuries old debate about election and free will.

I may be introducing to you a discussion that you've never heard of in your Christian experience. Let me suggest that if that is the case, just file this away. It may be that you will need this insight for another  time when you may be confronted with this issue. The Lord has the greatest way of reminding us of these things at just the right time when we need them.

II Thessalonians 2:13 speaks of how both election, (God's plan of bringing people to Himself), and free will, (our experience of accepting what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us to bring us to salvation), work together. Notice how this verse combines the two in the process.

Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that God, from the very beginning, has chosen each of us to be saved. The Lord uses the Holy Spirit to bring us to the point of conviction, revealing to us our need for a Saviour, because we are sinners.

The Bible teaches that we are all sinners, born that way. Have you ever noticed that no one ever sat us down and taught us how to lie? We just knew how to lie because we were born that way.

The Holy Spirit convicts those of us whom God has chosen for salvation, however, the process doesn't stop there. The verse continues to tell us that we then must believe in the "truth". By exercising belief we are exercising our own free will. This is our choice, to receive that which He has chosen to give us, salvation.

I hope this doesn't seem too simple, but God doesn't want it too hard for us to understand. He wants us to see how He is working in our lives. That is what Paul was writing on this issue in his letter to the Thessalonians. Remember that these believers were still fairly "young in the faith" Christians.

The other great principle found in the extended reading for our devotional today is that of the "second chance". Verses 8 to 12 reveal the truth about the possibility that after the Rapture there may be a "second chance" to get saved.

According to the text of this passage there is no "second chance" to be saved after the Rapture. Verse 10 says that those that "received not the love of the truth that they might be saved", then in verse 11 it says, "God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie".

Verse 12 states, "that they all might be damned who believe not the truth". In these three verses, 10,11 and 12, we see the process by which there is no "second chance". One must first "hear" the gospel, "the love of the truth", then "understand" the gospel and finally "reject" the gospel in order for there to be no "second chance".

These three steps, "hear, understand and reject" must be followed before there is no "second chance". It’s not just "hear" but all three before there is no "second chance".

This may be a hard truth for you to believe but let it be a motivation for either you to get saved or to work and pray for your loved ones to be saved before the Rapture. I pray all the time for those love ones so dear to me to be saved. Remember, it’s not the Lord’s will that any be lost, but all would come to salvation, II Peter 3:9.

Verses 14 to 17 reveal such great truth as well, I would suggest that you study these verses for a real blessing. This second chapter of II Thessalonians is so "rich" in truth that is so important for the last days in which we are living and in the context of the Lord's shout for us to join Him in the air.

PRAYER THOT: Thank you, Lord for "choosing" to save me and giving me the "free will" to accept you as my Saviour. Help me to lead others to this truth as we all await the shout to join you in the heavens.

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

Our key verse for this devotional, verse 3, has become somewhat controversial. There are those that believe that the Antichrist will come when the "falling away" of the church, apostasy in the Church, has happened. This then seems to be saying that the church will be here when the Antichrist appears.

This belief comes from a wrong understanding of the Greek word used in the passage and translated, "a falling away". The Greek word is "apostasia", which is used one other time in Scripture in the New Testament book of Acts. Acts 21:21 translates apostasia as "forsake". The context is talking about Jews forsaking Moses, or departing from him.

A close and careful word study of the Greek word apostasia will conclude that the true meaning of the word is found in the phrase, "departing from one place and going to another”, not a falling away from the doctrines of the church.

If the word "apostasia" was communicating that "apostasy" was what it was talking about then the Rapture and the coming of the Antichrist would have happened during the writing of II Thessalonians. Apostasy had infiltrated the early church by the time Paul wrote this passage.

What Paul is saying here is that the Antichrist, the "Son of Perdition", would not come until the Church departs from one place and goes to another. That is what happens at the Rapture. The scenario for the future according to all prophetic passages is that the Rapture takes all Christians into Heaven and then the Antichrist appears on earth.

This "false messiah" will, at the mid-way point of the seven year Tribulation Period, the coming time of judgment, he will enter Jerusalem. This satanically controlled world leader will enter the Temple in Jerusalem showing himself that he is "God", verse 4.

Our reading today sets the stage for how events of the Last Days come together. I will deal with the rest of this passage in another future devotional. The Rapture, the Antichrist, and a Temple in Jerusalem are  the items that we have discussed today.

Let me remind you that all preparations have been made for the temple to be built in Jerusalem. False teachers and deception presently are a part of our society today, which indicates that Antichrist is nearing his appearance on earth.

Remember, before the appearance of Antichrist and the temple is built, the Rapture happens. Actually the Rapture could happen at any moment. Be ready!

PRAYER THOT: Help me to live today as if this will be the day of the Rapture.

We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;

As we now come to this second letter to the Christians in Thessalonica, it seems Paul evidently writes it very soon after his first letter to the church.

There would be much said in this letter about the Second Coming, including the time of the coming of the "Anti-christ", how the church would be spiritually at that time and what would happen to those who had heard the gospel message, understood the gospel message, and then "rejected" the love of the truth that they might be saved, II Thessalonians 2:10-12.

Paul, however, starts his letter with thanksgiving to God for the word coming to him of the spiritual life of the Thessalonians. Paul was so pleased that he had heard of their faith that was growing, as he stated it, "exceedingly", verse 3.

Also in verse three we find out how their love for each other was increasing and in fact, "abundantly". Paul also realizes their "patience" even during times of persecution and trouble for these new Christians and how they were able to "endure".

This is an excellent list of objectives for each of us "older Christians", a growing faith, love for each other, patience and ability to endure persecution.

Paul then encourages the Thessalonians with the fact that the Lord will bring judgment upon all those who were persecuting them, "when He shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels", verse 7.

Verses 5-9 indicate that when Jesus comes back this next time, He will come as the "judge". People don't want to hear of Jesus as the "judge". His righteousness, however, demands that He judge sin.

Peter, in II Peter 3, wrote that people would deny the coming of the Lord because they do not want to face judgment. Jesus came as the "lamb", our sacrifice for sin, but He is also coming as the "Lion of Judah," the coming judge.

Paul then tells the Thessalonians that his prayer for them is that the "name of Jesus Christ would be glorified in them". verse 12.

That must be our goal, our lives glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ.

PRAYER THOT: Lord help me to live a life that is growing in faith, loving others, patient, enduring persecution and glorifying You, dear Jesus.