The word of the day is “contentment.”  In our reading of 1 Timothy 5:22-6:11, St. Paul continues to instruct the young Bishop Timothy on establishing order in his congregation. Paul especially denounces the troublemakers who think they can earn material benefit from their godliness. Paul says that indeed, “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (vs. 6:5). But it is not the profit that the agitators in Ephesus think it is. The word “gain” in the original Greek comes from the thought of providing for oneself. (Strong’s #4200). Thus, it refers to the means of acquiring or gaining possession of something, such as money. Paul charges that the congregation’s troublemakers believe that they can profit from their godliness, supposed piety, and…
Once again, the word of the day is “glorified.” In our reading of 2 Thessalonians 1:10-2:2, St. Paul writes that he prays constantly for his congregation as they face certain trials that he does not name.  His  concern is not on what the Thessalonians should do to prevail in their troubles. His focus is on God’s work in them. Thus, he prays “that the name of Christ may be glorified in you and you in Him according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (vs. 12). Paul has just promised that when Christ returns in glory, he will be “glorified in his saints” (vs. 10). But now he applies that thought to those all who believe…
The word of the day is “blameless.” In our reading of 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13, St. Paul prays that God would enable his congregation at Thessalonica to grow in their love for one another. He writes, “And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you” (vs. 12). He adds the prayer that the result of this growth would be that God may “establish their hearts, blameless in holiness…” (vs. 13). To be found without fault before God is the goal that our reading suggests as we begin our Nativity Fast. We are setting our sights on the “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all the saints”…
The word of the day is “gain.”  In our reading of Philippians 3:8-19, St. Paul states, “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ…” (3:8). But this lofty statement begins in the middle of the Apostle’s thought. Paul has railed against the Judaizers who are promoting circumcision to bind believers to the Mosaic Law. Like them, he says he once entrusted his salvation to his circumcision and obedience to the Law of Moses. He lists his credentials as a “Hebrew of the Hebrews,” a Pharisee who excelled in the…