our daily bread

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Dexu Xia

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Dec 11, 2017, 4:31:20 AM12/11/17

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First Things First

Watch your life and doctrine closely. 1 Timothy 4:16

When you travel by air, before the flight takes off an airline employee presents a safety briefing, which explains what to do if there is a loss of cabin pressure. Passengers are told that oxygen masks will drop from the compartment above and they are to put one on themselves before helping others. Why? Because before you can help anyone else, you need to be physically alert yourself.

When Paul wrote to Timothy, he stressed the importance of maintaining his own spiritual health before helping and serving others. He reminded Timothy of his many responsibilities as a pastor: There were false teachings to contend with (1 Tim. 4:1–5) and wrong doctrines to correct (vv. 6–8). But to discharge his duties well, what was most important was to “watch [his] life and doctrine closely [and] persevere in them” (v. 16). He needed to take care of his own relationship with the Lord first before he could attend to others.

Set an example ... in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

What Paul told Timothy applies to us too. Each day we encounter people who do not know the Lord. When we tank up on our spiritual oxygen first through time in God’s Word, prayer, and the enabling of the Holy Spirit, we keep our relationship right with God. Then we will be spiritually alert to help others.

Lord, open Your Word to me now. Let me breathe in its freshness before I go out to be Your light to the world.

A Christian’s life is the window through which others can see Jesus.

分清主次

你要谨慎自己和自己的教训。-提摩太前书4章16节

在搭乘飞机时，空服员总会在起飞前示范和介绍安全须知。他们告诉乘客当机舱压力不足时，氧气面罩会从座位上方自动掉落，乘客务必要先戴上自己的氧气罩，然后再帮别人戴上。这是为什么呢？因为在我们帮助别人之前，自己首先要保持意识清醒，身体状况良好。

保罗写信给提摩太的时候，特别强调在帮助和服事弟兄姐妹之前，要先保持自身灵命健康的重要性。他提醒提摩太身为牧者的诸多责任：要驳斥错谬的教导（提摩太前书4章1-5节），纠正错误的道理（6-8节）。但若要更好地履行职责，最重要的就是要注意自己的言行和教导，并要持之以恒（16节）。提摩太在服事弟兄姐妹之前，必须先保持自己与上帝之间的良好关系。

保罗对提摩太的教导，对于我们也同样适用。每一天，我们会接触到许多还不认识耶稣的朋友们。要引导这些人认识主，我们自己要先花时间读经祷告，吸足了属灵的氧气，得着圣灵的能力，与上帝保持亲密的关系。然后，我们才能以良好的属灵状态帮助别人。

主啊，求祢让我现在便能明白祢的话语，
使我先吸入祢所赐的属灵气息，
好让我能在世上为祢发光。