Paul continues in his letter to Timothy (chapter 2) reminding Timothy and ourselves that he, we and the church need to be praying for everyone, including those who are in government and leadership roles and not just the average person within the community. Currently politics within the US and UK is very polarised with high profile Christians making false allegations, saying demeaning comments against their elected leaders which in my opinion brings the body of Christ into disrepute.

Paul quotes from the Old Testament Deuteronomy 6:18 in that “you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord” [ESV] Paul is reminding his readers that by praying for ‘everyone’ we are obeying God’s law which could be argued is a by-product of the first commandment, plus we are obeying the second commandment by praying for our neighbour. It’s not optional for Christ’s followers to pray for Salvation for those in power but an integral part part of church life. Paul quickly moves from the Old Testament into the New Testament when he writes about Jesus being the ransom for our sins.

I do find it amusing when people and sometimes preachers say “I’m telling the truth now”, which makes think ‘what you’ve been lying up to this point?’ In today’s society preaching / proclaiming what you believe to be true can have significant implications, which can impact ones employment, ability to attend certain events. In today’s society people have been indoctrinated in the thought process that ‘if you don’t believe what I believe you hate me’ and that’s hurtful. These people are unwilling to dialogue with you nor will they agree to disagree yet they will say that they are a tolerant person and you’re not. Throughout the Bible we are called to proclaim the truth, and we are to expect that the world will be against us; John 15:18-19 “¹⁸ “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” [ESV] How many times was Jesus mocked, criticised throughout His ministry? When Paul warns us that the world will be against us, we need to remember that Jesus endured much worse than we ever will.

I believe verse 12 over the years has been misused / misinterpreted, when Paul was writing to Timothy regarding women in leadership. My understanding is that within Ephesus there was a movement of women who had an unhealthy influence within the church, and unlike in today’s society women back then didn’t have the same education as men. In my opinion if the Lord has called a woman into ministry who are we to say no they can’t enter the ministry because their a woman? If the church is to move forward and a revival is to happen post COVD-19 it will require the church to utilise all its talents regardless of gender, age, ethnicity.

This week when you spend time with God remember to hold those who are in government up in prayer, regardless if you don’t agree with their polices.

All Bible verse quotes and links have been taken from http://www.biblegateway.com