Week 33: Our Behavior in God's House

This week's reading plan is as follows:

* Sunday (epistles): I Timothy 1-3
* Monday (the Law): Numbers 1-4
* Tuesday (history): I Chronicles 5-9
* Wednesday (psalms): Psalms 96-98
* Thursday (poetry): Proverbs 17-18
* Friday (prophecy): Daniel 7-12
* Saturday (gospels): John 5-6

You've probably figured out by now that there is a lot of reading going on on Tuesdays (history) and Fridays (prophecy). That is because proportionally, there is more history and prophecy in the Bible than any of the other genres. If you want to spread the reading out more evenly, you can save some history reading for Wednesday, as the Psalms are usually a light read, and you can start early on your prophecy reading on Thursdays, which is also a light read.

This week's SOAP exercise is from I Timothy:

Scripture
14 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Observation
The letters from Paul to Timothy and also Titus are called the 'pastoral letters', because Paul gives many 'pastoral instructions' to his companions Timothy and Titus. He instructs them on the 'appropriate behavior' in God's house, and in the verse above he explains why: "So you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household...". When the church started to expand, many different people joined the church, both Jewish people as well as 'Gentiles', non-Jewish people who were saved by God's grace. That combination of different people provided for an interesting mix in social and cultural behavior, that could sometimes lead to friction within the church.

Paul gives practical instructions about how to use the law (1 Tim.1:8-11), how to pray (1 Tim.2:1-8), how to clothe oneself (1 Tim.2:9-10), instructions for elders (1 Tim.3:1-7), and for deacons (1 Tim.3:8-13), just to name a few. He gives these instructions so that the church is well organized. The reason why he does this becomes clear in the second part of our verse today: the church is not just a gathering place where Christians socialize, but it is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth!

Application
It is good to be reminded that the church is the residence of the living God. He is the one who is present when we come together. How many times have we come to church to either be fed, or to try to feed or please other people when we serve. How many Sundays do we come to the church in full realization that it is the house of the living God. Not just that, it is also the pillar and foundation of the truth. It is the one place where we find the real truth. If we fully realize that, our behavior in God's house will be appropriate and be dictated by the fruits of the Holy Spirit, and God will be honored in his own house.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the mystery of the gospel, for the mystery of bringing together different cultures from all over the world, into one house, your church. Lord, help us to adapt our behavior, so that we conduct ourselves according to your will and your truth, and so that your church becomes a lighthouse in a dark world. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Have a blessed week.

Dick