Pastor Terry A. Smith
Devotional Plan for: Week of July 12 - July 16
Monday - Read I Timothy 1:12-14
I Timothy 1:12-14 NIV: "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus."

Where do we start in our journey with Christ?

In our next series at TLCC, we're focusing on how we can follow a path to live the life God dreams for us. All of us aspire to live meaningful, abundant lives, and we believe the only way to live that life is through living out the dreams God has for us. Though all of us are seeking that end goal, how do we get there?

If we pictured out the arch of our lives on a graph, we would all wish it to be on a diagonal line moving up and to the right. The reality, as all of us too painfully know, is that our lives look more like looping lines, full of periods where it turns downwards and backwards and up and... all over the place. This causes us to ask: what is a path forward to God's dreams for my life? How do I move up and to the right? This is the question we'll be asking throughout this series.

First, we must talk about where we start on our journey, the beginning of the path forward. In our devotional this week, we're looking at Paul as he disciples his mentee Timothy. He starts by talking about his own journey with God, which was infamously tumultuous. Paul, an ardent and zealous follower of the God of Israel, didn't get the whole Jesus thing once he came along. In fact, he was murdering Christians because he thought they were perverting the plan of God. But, eventually, God shows himself to Paul, and he realizes he was wrong: Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah, the climax of the plan of God.

Paul, by his own words, was an absolutely wicked man! Murdering God-followers in the name of God. How abhorrent! We must, as our initial reaction naturally leads us, to condemn Paul and those who do things (even today) like him. Christians are still killed all around the world, more than any religious group. We condemn those actions. God is a God of justice, and his righteous anger agitates at such doings. But (and a big but, at that) while we both condemn the absolute evil perpetuated in the world and commit justice against it, we must also realize... we are also broken, evil people. The wickedness (such a yucky word!) of Paul is also in us. It's in me (your author, Christian Smith). We, too, start our journeys rejecting God, and live much of our journeys still yet rejecting God. This unglamorous and nearly unpalatable reality is the start of our "graph" of our path with God.

But (and, yet, a bigger but than the previous one!) is that God is offering us grace in our ignorance. Every single one of us has experienced ignorance and unbelief in the great God, but he still is reaching out to us and calling us towards him. What undeserved favor! All of us, whether we accept him or not, are receiving a call from God that our ears must become attuned to, so we can follow his path.

No matter where you are, no matter how ignorant or unbelieving or broken you may feel (and, in fact, be), are still being called to the magnificent and loving Creator. We must, however, not forget our humble beginnings, like a person who becomes rich and forgets his old friends. All of us come from a place of brokenness, yet favor lies ahead.

Reflection Question(s):
What moments in your life reflect your ignorance and unbelief? How has God's grace impacted you and brought you forward in living the life God dreamed for you?

- Christian Smith – Director of Pastoral Ministries


Tuesday - Read I Timothy 1:15-17
1 Timothy 1:15-17 NIV: "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus ca

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