Dear Student of the Word,
After a two-week break, it's good to be back with you and to present this first study from Paul's first letter to Timothy. I'm on the run today, but wanted to give you this preview of some of the things I wrote in this particular study. If this is your first time receiving these studies, you can check out the past studies on the site where they are posted. This week I wrote:
v. 7 – Jesus knew His purpose and Paul knew his—to take the gospel to the Gentiles. When Paul did that, God helped him and enabled him to succeed. If Jesus knew His purpose and Paul knew his, don’t you think you should know yours?
Paul made tents for a living, but the only way we know he did is because Luke mentioned it in Acts 18. I think it’s fascinating that Paul wrote 13 letters and never once mentioned his occupation. In every letter, however, he mentioned his purpose of taking the gospel to the Gentile world. Paul did not define himself according to what he did to make money; he defined himself according to his God-given purpose, which was clear to him.
Who are you? I didn’t ask what you do, I asked who you are? My purpose is to create order out of chaos. I am 56 years of age as I write this and I have never looked for a job in my life. I never have to looking for chaos; chaos always comes looking for me. Every job I’ve had has been the same: I’m the first person in the position, I structure and order things to release its potential and then I move on to the next assignment. It’s that simple.
I have many resources to help you clarify your purpose on both my website and my blog. I urge you to engage your own PurposeQuest if you haven’t already to discover and clarify what it is that God created you to do and be. It's well worth the effort it often requires to know.
Remember that the Bible study archives of 15 other New Testament studies can be found on my website along with The Faith Files, a study of every verse on faith in the New Testament. You can unsubscribe by clicking on the link below. You can give a gift subscription by going to the site where these studies are posted every week.
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Download this week's study: Download 1_timothy_study_1.doc
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