Reading your Bible for Today October 8

October 8: 1 Timothy 6:7-12

KJV Key Verse: 1 Timothy 6:12
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Devotion:
When we were born, we did not come fully clothed with a big bank account to match! We come into the world naked and helpless. We cling to whatever is closest and instinctively know who our mother is. Yet as soon as we are able to understand, we cling to things around us such as money. We see the things that money can buy and pretty soon are trapped into the money circle. If we then allow that desire for money to be an unhealthy desire for more money, we fall into many temptations just so we can get more money. It is not the money which is corrupting us, but our excessive desire for more of it...

Why can't we be content with having clothes and food – like we were when we were a baby? We learn very quickly about money and its power from those around us. Unfortunately, many of those around us are not going to be Christians, so we learn their lustful ways. We see the things they get up to in order to earn money and we use them as an example to find ways of getting more money.

If only we were able to have someone like John the Baptist as our example for righteous living. We would then be able to see possessions do mean nothing when compared to the love of God. We would learn that money and the lusts which follow look very dirty when compared to the things mentioned in verse 11 (righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and meekness). If we could gain such information early in our lives we would not strive to be rich with money and powerful in strength, but strive to be rich in God's grace and powerful in His Word.

We need to fight the good fight. Stand up to temptations. Flee from earthly desires. Aim for the one thing which will last forever – eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. When we aim for that and depend on Christ, we will be able to show others the good life like John the Baptist was able to. The only thing we need in our lives is Christ – He alone will supply our needs when we ask...

Points to Ponder:
Do you know of any rich people who are happy with what they have?

Do you know any Christians that are happy?