“For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 3:13).

Seek to be an example, not with pride, but with diligence as the goal of your faith.  All should seek to be a leader.  That is, that maturity which comes in living faith as one lives according to wisdom as an example for others to follow.  This is how mentors come and live out their vocation for and in the church.  Be one who is willing to serve the Lord in whatever capacity He calls you.

Lord, You are growing in me that which You have intended all along.  Help me to be a willing participant so that I would be guided by Your goodness and mercy to mature in faith and become wise and discerning.  Lead me in those ways that You know I need to go to accomplish this.  Help me to not stop nor be lazy, but steadfast in all things until the day comes when You call me to be with You forever.

Come Holy Spirit and minister to me from the inside out.  You know where I play games with myself and others.  You know where there are hidden gifts that need to come out.  You know me better than I know myself.  Lead me, O Lord, so that I may be guided by Your goodness to become all that You intend.  Let me not cease to learn from You, but boldly go into each day seeking Your guidance.  Amen.

“Deacons must be husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households” (1 Timothy 3:12).

Good management is a sign of balance.  Good and not tyrannical.  Good and not perfect.  The Lord says over and over again that we are to be balanced.  We are to be prudent, just and practice fortitude with temperance.  These are the cardinal virtues the Lord grows in us so that we may hold fast in a world that is constantly changing and unable to stand firm.  Seek then to do these things for your own sake and for others.

Lord, You teach all good things to those who are willing to learn.  Through Your Word and with the help of those whom You send, guide me in the right way to do things.  You know all that is needed and only in You is there true help and guidance.  Lead me, Lord, so that I would hold fast to all that is right and true.  In You there is all hope and with You I can do all things.  You know what is missing; please fill in the gaps.

Lord Jesus, we are Your family.  You are raising us up in compassion and with great patience.  Lead me, Lord, this day to seek the balance I need alongside all the good gifts that You give.  Help me to see through the craziness of this world to live with the better and greater portion as my portion.  Guide me to understand things as they come and to be temperate, prudent, diligent, and whatever else You see that I need.  Amen.

“Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things” (1 Timothy 3:11).

Not malicious gossips, but temperate and dignified, is what it says.  This is important not just for women, but for all.  The world and yes, the church, is filled with just the opposite.  Come then and live according to the word and not the world.  Live knowing that God understands what it takes to fulfil His law.  Begin this day living with these admonitions as the direction for you.

This is a difficult place and hard enough to begin with, yet it is where we ought to begin.  Our behavior does matter.  How we conduct ourselves is important.  Come then and live into the life which is yours in Christ, doing what is right in the Father’s sight.  Be led into good conduct and right behavior.  Be dignified, but not aloof.  Be balanced and respectful.  Become like Christ.

Lord Jesus, You know how hard it is in this world to behave properly.  Teach me proper obedience.  Guide me in the way of everlasting life.  Show me how to behave in all situations.  Guard the words of my mouth and the meditations in my mind that I may truly be conformed to Your image.  Through all that comes, help me to hold my head up high and live into the new life You have given me by grace. Amen.

“These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach” (1 Timothy 3:10).

We all need testing.  This is not something negative, but something necessary.  We do this in the world and think nothing of it.  Grace is for our sins, not for our qualification.  What the Lord has given us to be used is for our qualification.  If we are cautious with worldly things, ought we not be more so with eternal things?  See the reasoning the Lord gives so that we may have understanding.

Lord, I apply these principles all the time in my life. Why do I question things when Your word says them?  Help me to be willing to test all things in order that I may know the truth and cling to what is right.  Through all things, be the one that leads me through these things to come to the place where I live according to Your word of truth.  Show me the way Lord and help me to follow You always.

Lord Jesus, You love everyone, but you did test Your disciples each step of the way.  Guide me,  Lord, in the way of truth so that I would always follow Your lead knowing that You know all things.  Lead me, Lord, today and every day.  When I am tested, help me to willingly take the test and apply all of the things which You have taught me.  Show me, Lord Jesus,  the way of truth now and forever.  Amen.

“Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain, but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience” (1 Timothy 3:8-9).

All of those who serve in the church ought to seek to be of the same high standard that is spoken of here.  Are we not all called to seek to conform to the image of Christ?  Is this not what Scripture says will happen for those who live by faith?  What then?  Only this: seek to apply these things to your life also as you expect them of others.  Become what you want your neighbor to be.

Lord, help me to be equitable such that if I have an expectation of another, I will hold the same expectation for myself.  Lead me to know that in You I am more than able to do these things.  Guide me, O Lord, in order that I may always look to You as the ultimate example and follow Your lead,  Through all of these things, continue to conform me to Your perfect image.

Lord Jesus, You taught Your disciples each and every day.  You did not settle for their behavior as it was, but continued to mold and shape them to become what they needed to become.  Do the same with me so that I would be conformed to whatever image You so deem right and fitting.  Guide me in order that I would never settle for anything less.  Through all these things, grow me into a leader who walks with You always.  Amen.

“And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil” (1 Timothy 3:7).

A decent person.  Is that not what we should all strive to be?  Yet, we often fall into the trap of seeing others as like us and do not see them as they are.  If you have someone decent serving you, give thanks.  It really is that simple.  Be guided by an attitude of charity and do not be critical like the world.  The Lord loves everyone and He calls for us to love everyone too.  If your servant has a good reputation, then be thankful.

Lord, help me to live my life in such a way that I would be seen as a decent person.  Let me not be caught up in the insanity of this world’s constant demands for attention, but instead humbly serve You by serving others.  Let me not think of position or status but think in terms of being faithful.  Guide me, Lord, in the way You know I need to go.  Lead me according to Your will always.

Lord Jesus, even those who wanted to kill You respected that You were someone to be reckoned with.  You held Your ground and dealt with all who approached You.  You have given the example of how to act in so many circumstances.  Guide me, Lord, today and every day to do what is right in the Father’s sight.  Lead me to learn how to always be humble, faithful, and gracious.  Amen.

“He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity” (1 Timothy 3:4)

The first thing to always remember is that no one is perfect except Jesus.  The rest of us need a Savior and we have one in Him.  So, this is not a law whereby the leader must be perfect, but an admonition whereby the leader must be one who keeps his household well.  Subjective, yes, but just about every reasonable person knows the line.  The real issue is about balance which was in the previous verse.

Lord, I have no control over anyone, children included.  Good people come from bad stock and bad people come from good stock.  That is not what this is saying.  I believe what You are saying is that we should raise children in the intent of the  verse’s direction, praying our children go with You.  Yet. The way they go is the way they go.  You ask that I allow Your Holy Spirit to work on me in and through all things.

Lord Jesus, I do need help.  By every measure there are so many ways in which I could say I have failed.  Yet in You there is the promise that You will see that it works to good.  Grant me faith to trust always in Your leading and go where You would have me go.  Guide me, Lord, in the way of everlasting life so that I may now and always humbly abide in Your salvation and seek to always do my best.  Amen.

“An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money: (1 Timothy 3:2-3).

Well-seasoned and reasonable: how many ways does it say what type of person an overseer ought to be?  How strange that so many treat their overseer as just another regular person.  If they truly embody these things, think of what it takes to remain temperate and balanced in the face of those who are anything but these things.  This is a trustworthy list and you do well to look through this lens in making determinations.

Lord, I often go with the culture and do not give a second thought to the reality of what needs to happen for a fellowship to be healthy and whole.  Lead me Lord to apply Your word to the reality I live in and see things through Your eyes.  Guide me, Lord, in the way You know I need to live so that I may now and always abide in You and You in me.  Thank You for giving wise advice.

Lord Jesus, You are all of these things and more.  If I am to become like You – as Your Word says I shall – then teach me these things so that they will not just be the qualifications of others, but mine as well. Guide me in the way of everlasting life and teach me to live as You would have me live.  Teach me the cardinal virtues; prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance and how to live by them in private, public, and all the time.  Amen.

“It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do” (1 Timothy 3:1).

There is honor for the one who is called to oversee a fellowship.  It is fine work, but it is difficult work, for the overseer is not the one served, but the servant of all.  Called to be a vicar of Christ in place, look at the mystery. It is true of all things in faith: look at the mystery.  God appoints and then His will is revealed.  Live into the life to which You have been called in faith and honor those whom God chooses for His servants.

Lord, there is much mystery in life and I often just ignore these things and go on as if nothing is different.  Let me not be this way.  Help me to honor who should be honored.  Help me to be guided by Your goodness and grace to see those mysterious things that You are constantly doing.  Teach me how to honor those whom You choose and do my part in this world according to Your will.

Lord Jesus, You have come so that I may have life and have it abundantly.  Guide me to take the place You have for me.  Lead me to honor those whom You have chosen.  In and through all things, teach me to rejoice and honor all those in authority knowing that Your hand is upon all things.  In You and for those who love You, it will all work to good.  Help me to accept that even if I do not fully understand.  Amen.

“But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint” (1 Timothy 2:15).

Are we all not preserved when we are whom the Lord has made us to be?  We live in an age which tries to tell us that we can be what we want to be, but We are only whom we are.  Live the life the Lord has given you and do not seek to do what you cannot.  Live fully, yes, but listen to the Lord and not to the world.  Be guided by the One who made you and not those who pretend that they made themselves.

Lord, help me to see through all of the nonsense of this world.  Guide me in Your goodness to know that in You alone is all hope.  You have come so that we may have life and have it abundantly.  Teach me more about who You have made me to be and help me to live with who I am.  Help me sift through all of the contradictory things that are floating in my mind that confuse and distort.

In You alone Christ Jesus do I find who I truly am.  Guide me in the way of salvation in order that I would now and forever live the life which You have given me.  You know whom You have made me to be and You alone know what I shall be.  Meanwhile, help me to conform my life to You and grow in the grace and mercy that You have given me.  Through You I can and do all things, have life, and the fulness of my being.  Amen.