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Faithful, Faith Fights, Day 38

by David Joynt on February 12, 2019

Faithful, Faith Fights, Day 38

1 TIMOTHY 6:11, 13-14 | But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Timothy is also encouraged to fight not only for faith and contentment, but also “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.” This other struggle for spiritual and emotional virtue is not a lonely one! In other settings, Paul emphasizes that Christian virtue is as much a gift divinely given and received by us, as it is a personal achievement. (See 1 Corinthians 12-13 and Galatians 5:22-23.) It is good to know what you fight for, and who fights with you, and not simply what you fight against.

Which of the characteristics Paul mentions is hardest for you?

Which is easiest and most natural?

Do you have a sense God fights with you?

 

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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