SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/23/2025 7:51 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
“A Gentle Manner”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
2 Timothy 2:24
Message of the verse: “And the Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged.”
“Doulos (bond-servant)
is a description Paul frequently used of himself. In several epistles he refers to his being a
bond-servant of the Lord—ranking himself with all other believers—before declaring
his divine call as an apostle (see Rom. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Titus 1:1). Here he uses the description the Lord’s
bond-servant to refer to Timothy and to other preachers of divine truth.
“Every bond-servant of the Lord’s is to take care not
[to] be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when
wronged. Similarly, in his first letter
he points out that pastors ‘must be above reproach, able to teach, not addicted
to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, uncontentious, free from the love of money’
(1 Tim. 3:2-3). The apostle gives an
expanded list of qualifications in his letter to Titus: ‘The overseer must be above reproach as God’s
steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not
pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but hospitable, loving what is good,
sensible, just devout, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is
in accordance with the teaching that he may be able both to exhort in sound
doctrine and to refute those who contradict’ (Titus 1:7-9).
“Leaders in the church, are ‘not [to] be quarrelsome, but…kind to all. Those qualities characterized Jesus in His incarnation. He said of Himself, ‘Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart’ (Matt. 11:29). In recording Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Matthew quotes Zechariah: ‘Say to the daughter of Zion ‘Behold your King is coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden’ (Matt. 21:5). In his second letter to them, Paul reminded Corinthian believers of ‘the meekness and gentleness of Christ’ and of his own meekness as an apostle, ‘I who am meek when face to face with you’ (2 Cor. 10:1).’”
Looks like I will make this a very short SD, and Lord
willing will finish this section tomorrow.
My heart is heavy this morning thinking about what is going on with my
wife, continuing to pray for her that the Lord will be merciful in finding the
right way to attack this cancer that is in her body. I ask for prayers for her around the world to
those who are reading my Spiritual diaries around the world,
3/23/2025 8:12 AM
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