The God Shot With Tara-Leigh Cobble

The God Shot: 2 Timothy 3:16-17

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)God uses Scripture to equip us for every good work. It's the tool He uses to make us complete as only He can do. As he speaks to us, He guides us and corrects us by revealing Himself to us. Scripture isn't a list to accomplish, it's a person to know. Have you read the Bible? All of it? Did you know you can read all of it in a year in just 12 minutes a day on average? This is totally doable! If you're a slow reader, there are even apps and websites that will read it to you! Your God wants to be known by you. He has beautiful things to reveal to you about who He is and as we say around here, He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 1 Timothy 2:5-6

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time." (1 Timothy 2:5-6)Have you ever tried to talk to someone who doesn't speak English and whose language you don't speak? The only way to truly communicate with them is through a translator, someone who can speak both languages to bridge the gap. That is sort of what it's like in our relationship with God. We speak the language of fallen humanity. He speaks the language of holiness and deity, but He loves us. So He planned all along to send a mediator, Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, fluent in both languages, so to speak. Jesus bridged the gap so that anyone who wants to be in a relationship with the Father can know Him, speak to him, and be adopted into His eternal family. Thank God for Jesus, our mediator, and our ransom. He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 1 Timothy 2:3-4

"This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:3-4)We all want to please God, right? So we need to know what it is that Paul is calling good and pleasing in God's sight. If we zoom out to look at the verses prior to this, we see Paul urging the church to pray for those in political authority over them while leading a peaceful, quiet, godly, dignified life. The church today could probably benefit from Paul's counsel to Timothy. God is pleased and honored when we live with wisdom and humility. One of the beautiful side effects of that is that we don't obstruct the gospel with our arrogance. The Gospel must go everywhere, even to those we oppose or disagree with. Today, may you spread the peace and truth of Jesus Christ to everyone you encounter. He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 1 Timothy 2:1-2

"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)It's not often that we hear the word Thanksgiving lumped in with the phrase peaceful and quiet life and especially not when you add politics to the mix. It's not always easy to pray for those in high positions. It is hard to live a peaceful, quiet, and dignified life, but that's why Paul had to write these words. This is from his letter to Timothy, the young leader of a relatively new church in a pagan city where there are lots of false teachers. Paul tells him to intercede for those they oppose and to give thanks regardless. This is what it looks like to trust God! It doesn't mean we don't take action against evil, it just means we can trust God and talk to Him in the process. Today, set your heart to talk to God. He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 2 Thessalonians 1:12

"We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 1:12)When you're in a relationship with someone, your actions reflect on them. The closer the relationship, the more true this is. It's why we get embarrassed if our parents or our children say something shocking on social media. The more intimate the relationship, the deeper the connection. In his letter to the Church at Thessalonica, Paul points to the relationship we have with Christ and he prays that Jesus would be glorified in us. To give glory to God is to reveal him rightly to the world around us to show the weight and value of who He is. Today, no matter what you face, may your words and actions show the world how supremely valuable God is. He's worthy of all our attention, affection, gratitude, and trust. He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 2 Thessalonians 1:11

"With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith." (2 Thessalonians 1:11)Do you ever feel like you just can't do it all? So many standards to live up to all the things on your to-do list and you're falling short at every turn? If you ever feel like God has given you more than you can handle, you're right. But He hasn't given you more than He can handle. In Paul's letter to the Church at Thessalonica, He keeps reiterating this. God is the one who calls us, God is the One whose power is at work in us to make us bear fruit. God's character is the source and focus of our faith. He does the doing. So where you fall short today, ask Him for help. Lean In, He stands ready to help you. He loves you, He's with you, and He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it." (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)Have you ever felt disappointed in yourself? Are you still so far from being who you hoped you'd be? Did you know that God isn't disappointed in you? He has no unmet expectations of you. You're exactly where He knew you would be right at this moment. Sin and all that struggle you can't seem to overcome. He's with you in it and He is the one who is actively working in you to conform you to the image of His Son. You're not the one sanctifying yourself. You're not the one keeping yourself blameless. That's Him! He does the doing and He promises to finish what He has started in you. What He initiates, He will sustain and He will fulfill. So take heart! He saved you and He's keeping you forever. He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

"Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22)In this letter to the Church at Thessalonica, Paul gives encouragement about how to live their everyday lives. His advice is practical and simple, but it's certainly not easy. He says not to quench the Spirit. In other words, when God's Spirit is prompting you toward the joy of obedience, lean in! He has joy in store for you! Paul encourages them not to outright reject prophecies, but to test them against God's word and cling to things that prove true. In order to do this, we have to know God's word. Not just secondhand, but personally and intimately. Do you? Paul says to abstain from evil. As God's child, sin doesn't suit you. You've been adopted into His family and called to better things like peace, love, and joy because you're His and He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)Have you ever wondered what God's will for your life might be? There are a few places in Scripture where it's marked out plainly and this is one of them. God's will for you is that you rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances. How is this even possible? It's only possible for those who are in Christ. For Christians, Romans 8:28 says all things good, bad and ugly, are being worked together by the loving hands of our Father for our ultimate joy and blessing. We can thank Him for working in all circumstances, we can take all our trials and desires to Him in prayer, and we can rejoice always that He hears us and loves us and is at work on our behalf. We can rejoice always because He's with us and He is where the joy is!

The God Shot: 1 Thessalonians 5:15

'Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else." (1 Thessalonians 5:15)In his letter to the Church at Thessalonica, Paul's words sound a lot like Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. And as you wish that others would do to you do so to them." When people sin against us, our natural response is to sin in return. Paul and Jesus both say we can live out of a spiritual response instead of our natural response. We can repay evil with good, we can repay cursing with the humble prayer that is a genuine blessing. This is a hard calling, but Jesus did this very thing when He prayed for the men who crucified him. His Spirit can equip you with the kind of patience you need to bless your enemies today. He's where the joy is!