Each photo below corresponds to a chapter-a-day post for the book of 1 Timothy published by Tom Vander Well in October 2025. Click on the photo linked to each chapter to read the post.
1 Timothy (Oct 2025)
Monthly Archives: October 2025
“An Appeal to Heaven”
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
1 Timothy 2:1-2 (NIV)
In 1775, the American British Colonies were preparing for open war with Mother England. George Washington commissioned six schooners with the task of harassing British supply ships. They became known as “Washington’s Cruisers.” It was America’s first navy.
Betsy Ross had yet to stitch the stars and stripes as an official flag of the United States, and Washington’s Cruisers wanted a banner to sail under. The sailors turned to English philosopher, John Locke, who argued that when people live under tyranny and no appeal can be made to an earthly judge there is still “an appeal to heaven” that can be made. They stitched the words on a white flag with a pine tree representing the American pines that England tyrannically mandated could only be used for masts on British ships.
In today’s chapter, Paul urges his protégé and all the believers in Ephesus to make an appeal to heaven for “kings and all those in authority.” It must be noted that Paul’s command to pray for “all” in authority included the one man who was the highest human authority in the Roman Empire at the time: Emperor Nero. Paul had already been imprisoned in Rome once waiting for his appeal to Caesar to make its way up the docket. In a few years from the writing of this letter Paul will be imprisoned again. His appeal to Nero will never be realized and Nero will have Paul executed.
Paul, however, remains laser focused on his appeal to heaven. Paul appealed to Caesar back in Acts 25 knowing that, if successful, he would have an opportunity to share his story and Jesus’ message with the most powerful human authority on earth. Paul’s eyes were fixed on Jesus, and bringing God’s Kingdom to earth. His rights as a Roman citizen technically afforded him an opportunity to be ushered into Caesar’s throne room, and since the charges against him were rooted in his faith in Jesus and the riot it caused among his Jewish brethren, Paul would naturally have to testify regarding his faith as part of the trial. Paul is dying for the chance to share Jesus with Nero. In fact, the attempt will ultimately cost him his earthly life.
But that’s still a few years in the future. As he writes Timothy, he urges that everyone pray for all in authority, including the dreaded and debauched Emperor Nero who has murdered some of his own family members and had sex with others. Nero, who will cover Christians in pitch and burn them alive on stakes as entertainment and illumination for the orgy in his garden.
Pray for him.
When there is no other appeal to be made on earth, there is still an appeal to heaven.
In the quiet this morning, I can’t escape the current realities of our political divide, political hatred, political violence, political vengeance, and political retribution. I stand in the tension and have watched it on both sides of the political spectrum as it has progressively escalated in both camps over the past decade.
And so, Paul reminds me this morning along with Timothy. It doesn’t matter how dreaded and debauched, how deceptive and dastardly, I am called to make an appeal to heaven for “all those in authority.” Ultimately, God is the final appeal. So, I might as well make that appeal today.
If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.
The Goal
“The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
1 Timothy 1:5 (NIV)
I spent yesterday on-site with a client. It was an unexpected business trip that got added to my schedule. The primary Customer Support team I work with have been focused on a goal this past year. The goal is to help customers understand that leasing a necessary piece of equipment from the company will make their overall experience with the company’s service better in multiple ways. This is not just a sales pitch. It’s a fact. The team I work with has been doing a good job reaching and meeting the goal. However, it was discovered that colleagues on a different customer facing team in the company was undermining these efforts. They were telling customers that it was cheaper to purchase their own equipment. This left customers thinking that maybe the Customer Support team was just selling them a bill of goods to make the company more money.
Ouch.
To be fair, the associates of this other team have limited exposure to the bigger picture, the data we have regarding the customer experience, and the larger strategy that led to the goal. So, I got to do presentations yesterday to this other customer facing team. I explained the goal, the reason for the goal, and how important it was that they understand and support the initiative rather than undermining it. I’m glad to say it was a successful day.
Today our chapter-a-day journey steps into Paul’s letters to his young protégé, Timothy. Their relationship was very much a mentorship. Paul was a spiritual mentor and a surrogate father to young Timothy. In both my spiritual journey and my professional career I have many coaching and mentoring experiences, so it’s fascinating for me to read Paul’s letter from the perspective of Paul coaching Timothy regarding his leadership among the local gathering of believers in Ephesus. Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to help lead the gathering in his absence when Paul went on an extended business trip to visit the other gatherings he’d planted in other cities.
Ironically, the struggle Paul writes to address with his young charge is not that different than the one I had to address with my client yesterday. There was a team in the local gathering of believers in Ephesus who were undermining the faith. They were voicing a contrarian message that was creating division and wasn’t based on the truth of Jesus’ Message.
Paul addresses this right from the start and gives Timothy the goal. Goals are good. We need goals. In this case Paul tells his young charge that the goal is:
Love…
-from a pure heart
-from a good conscience
-from a sincere faith
The further I get in my spiritual journey, the more I’ve come to embrace the preeminence of love as the goal in all things.
This is not just in my personal life or my church life, but also in my professional life. My client yesterday has a goal of creating the best possible and most cost-effective experience for their customers. There’s a love for their customers in that goal. The team I addressed yesterday did not have all of the facts, and I know that the team members who were telling customers to take the cheaper route thought they were doing right by the customers. I believe they were sincerely motivated, and honestly mistaken. As I made my presentations yesterday, my goal was not to chastise, punish, or demean anyone. My goal was to with patience, kindness, and gentleness explain the facts, the strategy, and goal that creates a win-win for both the customer and the company. In other words, my goal was to deliver my message with love so that my client could better love both their colleagues and customers.
I’m back in the office today working on different things, but the goal remains the same in all things.
Love…
-from a pure heart
-from a good conscience
-from a sincere faith
If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.