Jesus – Three Minute Bible

August 25, 2026August 24, 2026

1 Timothy 6:21 – The Rock

… which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.

Summary: Paul’s closing thought is a doozy. Somewhere there is an invisible line which, once crossed, means we have departed from the faith.

Let’s begin with a review of Paul’s closing paragraph:

“Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.” (1 Timothy 6:20-21)

1. Guard what has been entrusted to your care — the truth.

2. Turn your back on false claims of truth.

3. Because some have not and ended up leaving the faith.

This closing thought in Paul’s letter is one that has terrified church leaders for centuries. They are haunted by the question, “How can I make sure my flock never strays from the truth?” In order to answer that question, the church, over the years, has systematized and clarified the Gospel over and over again. We want to make certain that the truth is clear and that people know it.

Our understanding of “truth” has shifted, and nobody noticed.

Paul’s understanding of the Gospel is not about Jesus Christ; it is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the truth (John 14:6).

Here is the scary part:

We can drift away from the truth and not realize it. Like a boat that slips its mooring lines in the middle of the night, we drift into the night fog without noticing the change. It is only when the sun rises, burns off the fog, and shows us the truth that we realize land is no longer in sight.

The same is true for faith.

Over the centuries since Paul’s day, the church has established theologies and rules. We have to believe in words about Jesus to be saved rather than believing in Jesus.

The shift has been subtle—impossible to notice, but it is real. That is why Paul is so concerned about guarding the truth.

How do we know the difference between true knowledge and false knowledge? The answer isn’t intellectual assent. Believing something is true doesn’t make it so. Truth is true because it is real.

You don’t need a book about rocks to recognize a rock when you feel one. It is hard, cold, and heavy. Big or little, wet or dry, polished or rough—a rock is a rock. We know it, not when we see it, but when we make contact with it.

Have you ever seen one of those fake rocks used to hide a key in the yard? Have you seen displays in a museum or a zoo where the rocks look real but sound hollow and feel like fiberglass?

You know what the truth is when you touch it, or it touches you. Jesus is the truth. Turn away from false knowledge.

Application: Know Jesus.

Food for Thought: Where is the line between truth and false knowledge?

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August 14, 2026August 13, 2026

1 Timothy 6:15b-16a – Being God

A bright light shines over the horizon. (Grok)

God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.

Summary: Paul’s words provide a description of God that is both awe-inspiring and humbling.

One of the things about the Bible that is a bit hard for us to comprehend is how things work in the spiritual realm. For example, Jesus says that he and the Father “are one” (John 10:30). What does that mean? How are we to understand this?

Here, in Paul’s letter, he writes that God is the “King of kings and Lord of lords.” That makes sense to me because Paul is pointing to God’s supreme authority. He is God, and we are not. But there is something else here. Paul is not the only one to use this description of God.

In John’s description of Jesus setting out for the final battle against Evil we see him described with a name on his thigh:

“On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords.” (Revelation 19:16)

Both God and Jesus share the same title. Both of them share the same authority. As Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”

Both are immortal.

I thought the use of the word “immortal” was interesting, because when we live with God in heaven, all of us who serve King Jesus will technically be “immortal.” But there is a big difference between our life in Christ and God’s immortality.

God pre-existed everything (Genesis 1:1). He exists outside of time (Psalm 90:4). He is to human immortality what a 100-year-old man is to a newborn baby.

The immortality of God is without beginning or end.

Then we have the quality of Light. Paul says the Lord lives in “unapproachable light.”

I am reminded of the story of Paul’s direct encounter with the Lord:

“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.” (Acts 9:3)

When Paul says that God lives in “unapproachable light,” he knows what he is talking about!

Authority, immortality, and unapproachable light. There is a reason the Bible says that we should “fear the Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:13).

Application: God is Awesome!

Food for Thought: What would you add to Paul’s description of God’s power and position?

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August 13, 2026August 12, 2026

1 Timothy 6:14b-15a – Game Changer

Picture of a chessboard with a football dropping into the middle of the game. (Grok)

… until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time…

Summary: Understanding that Jesus is coming again is a game changer for many of us.

When you read the words in this passage, what do you think of?

For some of you, this is a ‘loaded’ question. Church leaders have argued about what these words mean for centuries. In fact, this topic is one of those that divides many churches, so we are going to approach this carefully and in love (agapē). I want to respect your opinions while at the same time gently challenging your thinking a bit.

Let’s explore some passages about Jesus’ coming:

“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28)

This is a very interesting statement because it is a direct statement of fact. Jesus is not speaking metaphorically or in parables. Taken at face value, his words mean that the coming of Jesus in his kingdom will be witnessed by people who were alive in Jesus’ day.

Obviously, the first question that inquiring minds want to know is this: Are Jesus and Paul talking about the same thing? In other words, is “coming in his kingdom” the same thing as “appearing”?

In the case of Jesus’ statement about the ‘Son of Man coming in his kingdom,’ a few verses later Jesus takes Peter, James and John to the top of a mountain where they see Jesus’ glory revealed (Matthew 17:1-13).

In Daniel’s vision (Daniel 7), he sees “one like a son of man” coming before God and being given “authority, glory and sovereign power” (Daniel 7:14). The vision says that “his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

Do you remember the vision of Stephen as he spoke before the Sanhedrin? He says:

“‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’” (Acts 7:56)

Does this qualify as an “appearance of our Lord Jesus”?

Finally, since this is supposed to be a brief meditation, what about the thief on the cross? Recognizing his guilt, he turns to the man on the cross next to him and sees, not another man, but a king. He simply asks to be remembered when Jesus comes into his kingdom. And Jesus’ response?

“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

There is much more in the Bible on this topic, but one thing we can be sure of— Jesus Christ is King.

Application: When it comes to the Bible, keep your eyes on God.

Food for Thought: How does this passage help Timothy—and us—keep our focus on our good confession?

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August 11, 2026August 10, 2026

1 Timothy 6:13b – Good News!

Cartoon of man shouting "Good News!" (Grok)

… and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession …

Summary: Paul’s reference to the ‘good confession’ points us to the essential core of the Gospel message.

Ah yes… the “Good Confession.” What, exactly, is Paul talking about?

The record of Jesus’ conversations with Pilate is fascinating. John, especially, shares a great deal of detail about what happened.

Pilate is curious. Looking at the impoverished carpenter turned itinerant rabbi, he seems to be almost amused. “Are you the king of the Jews?,” he asks, somewhat incredulously. He has obviously heard the Jews muttering this about Jesus even though they didn’t bring charges against him officially.

Jesus responds with, “My kingdom is not of this world.”

Jesus is not a threat to anybody, especially someone like Pilate. But why are the Jews so stirred up? Jesus has often taught about the ‘kingdom of God’ and because of his royal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, the Jewish leaders have accused him of being a ‘wannabe king.’ Pilate, no doubt, had heard of these mutterings.

All Jesus confessed was the Truth. His kingdom is not of this world.

Timothy made a “good confession,” too.

What was his “good confession”?

Paul doesn’t quote Timothy’s exact words, but he does tell us what it was about:

“Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12)

How do we ‘take hold’ of eternal life?

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he writes:

“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel…” (2 Timothy 2:8)

Jesus, the Christ (the promised Messiah), descended from David (promised by God — a kingdom “established forever”*), and raised from the dead (Acts 2:32). This explains what the gospel (the Good News) is. Jesus explains why it is good news:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

These are not ‘magic words’ one says as an incantation. Far from it! These words — or words like them — are a confession of what we believe to be true. They are words that, if believed when spoken, change the course of a person’s life … forever.

Application: Believe and be saved.

Food for Thought: If the kingdom of God (Jesus) is not of this world, where is it?

*2 Samuel 7:16

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August 4, 2026July 28, 2026

1 Timothy 6:11 (Part 4) – Love

A crystal heart with a Cross in the center (Grok)

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

Summary: Love, the poet says, is a ‘many splendored thing.’ Yet when it comes to describing what those ‘splendors’ are, we sometimes get stuck.

One thing we can be fairly confident of when we focus on Paul’s advice to Timothy is that he wasn’t suggesting Timothy pursue romantic love.

Sometimes, of course, it is the other way around. Romantic love pursues the man! Many a young pastor has discovered that they are more popular with the fair sex than they could have imagined. Sometimes even older ones fall victim to this trap. (Satan isn’t proud when it comes to subverting God’s church. There is nothing he will not stoop to.)

The kind of “love” Paul recommends pursuing is quite different.

When we talk about the love Paul is referring to, it is easy to ‘zone out’ and let our minds wander to some other topic. Godly love can sound ‘churchy’ and maybe even a bit stuffy. After all, we are talking about a God who has been around a long, long time and who in ancient times was responsible for plagues, people dying in battle, and sending Jesus to the cross.

Maybe if we substitute “nice” for the word “love,” God will let us get by with that.

The word Paul actually used is, of course, the Greek word “agapē.” Agapē is often referred to as “godly love” to set it apart from other forms of love. It includes affection but runs very deep in terms of being willing to make sacrifices for the one you love.

One way to think of agapē is as a kind of ‘selfless love.’

This makes sense when we consider the two Great Commandments as Jesus summarized them.* The first is to love God above all else, including yourself. This means that we put God’s will above our own. Interestingly, putting God first guarantees our thoughts and actions will reflect his love because “God is love” (1 John 4:8).

The second Great Commandment does something similar. It simply says we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. Here again we sacrifice putting ourselves first so that we can treat our neighbors as God would have them treated.

Application: Love well.

Food for Thought: What does loving our neighbor look like?

* Matthew 22:37-40

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August 3, 2026July 28, 2026

1 Timothy 6:11 (Part 3) – Faith

But you, man of God, flee from all this, andpursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

Summary: Paul’s emphasis on pursuit evokes images of running after something. In this case, we are running after an attitude of trust.

How are we supposed to “pursue faith?” Is it running away from us? Interestingly, when we look for faith in our own lives, it can seem to be elusive.

What is faith?

Simply put, faith is another word for trust and confidence in someone or something. Hebrews famously defines faith this way:

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)

You can have faith in things you see, touch, and feel, but it is not as challenging as faith in things we do not see.

As a Christian, we put our faith in … what? God? Jesus? The Bible? (Oh, wait. We can “see” the Bible!)

Those who believe in Jesus believe in someone who has gone to prepare a place for us (John 14:2). He is not here in the flesh, but he does promise to come back for us (John 14:3).

And that is what we have faith in. We are trusting that Jesus won’t leave us behind; that he will come and get us at the proper time.

So how do we pursue faith? How do we chase after having trust in Jesus?

The answer is probably different for each of us. After all, we are all in different places in our relationship with Jesus. However, there are some common threads we can all make use of.

One is to keep our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2). The writer of Hebrews compares faith to running a race. If you have ever run a physical long-distance race, you know the challenge of believing you can finish.

Another thread is to keep our minds focused on where Jesus is. This is the place we pray about when we pray the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13): “… your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven….”

A third thread is to remain in Jesus:

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you… apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

It requires effort to stay in Jesus. He was using a vine and its branches as an illustration. If the branches lose their grip, they lose contact with the source of their life.

Application: Make it your goal to stay focused on Jesus all day, every day.

Food for Thought: What other ways of pursuing faith come to mind?

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August 1, 2026July 28, 2026

1 Timothy 6:11 (Part 2) – Godliness

Picture of a cross with light radiating out from it (Grok)

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

Summary: If we are to pursue godliness, we need to understand what that means and what we are to run toward.

But you, man of God … pursue… godliness.

The Greek word Paul used is “eusebeia,” a word that means “reverence, respect, … piety toward God, [and] godliness.”* When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he taught them to begin with, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name… “ (Matthew 6:9).

To “hallow” the Lord’s name is to show the ultimate respect — to honor God’s name as holy. Reverence, respect, and piety are all wrapped up into godliness when we honor God as holy. Godliness, then, is not a one-time ‘tip of the hat’ to God. Godliness is a way of living, a way Paul says we should pursue.

How do we pursue an attitude like godliness? Paul provides a clue in 1 Timothy 3:16 —

“Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:

He appeared in the flesh,
    was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
    was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
    was taken up in glory.”

Paul is telling us that the source of true godliness is found in Jesus Christ. Jesus, in turn, explains the secret to godliness this way:

“Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19)

It is often said that“Imitation is the highest form of flattery.” A Christian version of this saying might be, “Imitation is the highest form of respect.” Another way of saying this is “Imitation is the highest form of godliness.

If we can learn to imitate Jesus’s love for the Father, and imitate the Father’s love for all people, we are pointed in the right direction. If we actively pursue godly love (agapē), we are pursuing godliness.

Application: Strive to love as God loves.

Food for Thought: How is Christian godliness different from following the Old Covenant laws?

*”G2150 – eusebeia – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (NIV).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 24 Jul, 2026. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2150/niv/mgnt/0-1/>.

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July 31, 2026July 28, 2026

1 Timothy 6:11 (Part 1) – Righteousness

A man is chasing a bus called "Righteousness" (Grok)

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

Summary: Looking closely at the word “righteousness” opens the door to new insights about how the word is used.

In our last meditation, we asked the question, “What are we to do instead of being ‘eager for money’?” In this verse, Paul answers the question with typical Pauline conciseness.

‘Pursue better things!,’ he says. Pursue “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.”

Let’s begin with righteousness.

Righteousness, unfortunately, is a word that is often misused and misunderstood. Like many other words such as “judging” or “love,” righteousness has different meanings depending on the way it is used.

The world uses the word “righteous” to mean “morally right,” but unfortunately for the world, without God there is no standard for what is “morally right.” For those who know God personally, God is the definition of all that is “right.” God, therefore, is righteous.

One of the main points of the Bible is that man is not God and is not capable of being “righteous” in a godlike sense. Hopefully we can all agree that this is true. However, the word “righteous” still has meaning for us.

The first meaning is what the theologians call “imputed” righteousness. “Imputed” is a fancy word that means God can decide to call somebody righteous if he wants to (even though we don’t technically qualify as righteous).

For example, God considered Abraham a righteous man. The Bible says:

“Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)

It is hard to beat that kind of righteousness! It is like getting an A+ on a college exam even though you misspelled your own name.

Paul explains how this applies to us when he writes:

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Jesus, who is God, extends his righteousness to those who are his sheep.

But what about the other kind of righteousness? What about righteous living?

When Paul tells Timothy (and us!) to “pursue righteousness,” he has something very specific in mind. He is not saying that we should conform to the Old Testament covenant law. Instead, he wants us to abide by the New Testament covenant law: Love (agapē). As Jesus so succinctly put it:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)

Application: Love God and others as God loves us.

Food for Thought: Why is personal righteousness in our Christian lives important?

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July 24, 2026July 23, 2026

1 Timothy 6:6 – Godly Goodness

Picture of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. (Grok) — Jesus being tempted in the wilderness.

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Summary: Paul’s statement about godliness is challenging because it forces us to think about what godliness means.

What is the most important thing in life?

Be careful! This is a trick question!!

When we use the word “life,” it helps to remember that we live two lives at once. Remember this from Paul’s famous letter to the church at Rome?

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (Romans 7:15)

What Paul is describing is the struggle between the two lives he is living. One life is tied up in the world of the flesh; the other is a resident of the spiritual realm. Our spirit, with the help of the Holy Spirit, wants to do what is right. Our flesh, on the other hand, wants to please itself.

When we ask the question, “What is the most important thing in life?,” the first thing we need to think about is which “life” we are talking about. Are we thinking in terms of the flesh, the body that gets old and dies, or are we thinking in terms of our eternal spirit?

When it comes to our eternal spirit, the most important thing in life is Jesus. Period.

There is nothing we need more and nothing that comes even close in importance. Jesus is everything.

Godliness is all about being Jesus-like. Jesus always puts the will of his Father first.

Remember when he was called out into the wilderness just after he was baptized? (Matthew 4:1-11)

In that story, Jesus is “led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). But it wasn’t like, “Okay, Satan, let’s get this over with.” Instead, it was God’s will that Jesus sit there and wait for forty days and nights without food before he was tempted.

Godliness is not about feeding the flesh, about our comfort, or about pleasing ourselves. Godliness is all about God. And you know what? If we can please God, even just a little bit, there is contentment and great gain in that.

Application: Always keep our eyes on Jesus!

Food for Thought: How does making Jesus our number one priority affect our “other life” in the flesh?

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June 9, 2026June 10, 2026

1 Timothy 5:1b – Little Brother

Jesus hands the man with the spilled apple cart a better apple glowing with life. (Grok)

Treat younger men as brothers…

Summary: Paul’s instruction to Timothy about younger men is part of our Lord’s plan for setting things right in the world.

Life is hard without Jesus.

I remember, when I was very young, hearing someone say, “Too bad life doesn’t come with an instruction manual!” It was a comment that seemed to capture all the confusion of life’s many decisions and turning points.