New Testament Reading Plan: 1 Timothy 1-3
SCRIPTURE READING
Luke 15:4-5 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does
not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds
it? 5And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. (ESV)
In the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus tells the story of a shepherd who has 100 sheep, but
1 goes missing and so the shepherd leaves the 99 to go looking for the 1 that is lost. He
looks and he looks and he looks until he finds that sheep and brings it home safely. Now
that parable is a wonderful picture of how God views each of us as human beings. He’s not
indifferent towards us; He doesn’t shrug His shoulders and say, “I don’t care if so-and-so
gets saved;” He doesn’t shrug His shoulders and say, “I don’t care if so-and-so leaves the
path of righteousness to wander into judgment.” No! He knows exactly who you are and
He knows when you go missing, and He comes looking for you and searching for you – He
pursues you – in order to carry you back into the fold. God really loves you. Right now God
is pursuing you. He is hedging you in, and putting circumstances in your life, and calling
out to you, to get your attention and to hopefully cause you to look up to Him and to jump
into His arms so that He can carry you and hold you and take you with Him into His fold.
We won’t always have victory in every area in our lives but God is pleased when we set our
hearts to war in our areas of weakness. We must call sin what it is, confess and sincerely
try to get out of positions of compromise. We must not give up. Even if we don’t get free
for a long time the fact that we are warring against sin shows our sincerity and we can have
assurance that God enjoys us.
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Thank God for His pursuit of you and that He desires to help you conquer the areas of
sin in your life!
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you are area where you are trying to fight sin on your own
instead of letting God “carry” you? What are the steps to conquer that area of sin with
God’s help instead of on your own?
3. Pray that many who are struggling with sin will run to God and ask for His help instead
of trying to figure it out on their own.
