Lesson 11: Faithful in the face of change
1 Timothy 4:1-6 - www.bible.com/bible/59/1ti.4

1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,
3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,
5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.

Change is often a source of fear for us, because it makes us uncomfortable; we feel like we’re no longer in control of our lives. But change is a constant in life, and as we near the end of this chapter of history, change just seems to happen more and more rapidly. We need to hear Jesus say, “Fear not.”


Change also makes us want to adjust how we respond to things or act in different situations. And change in this world is ALWAYS used by Satan to try to make us less faithful to God. We see and hear of people hurting those who boldly say they belong to Jesus, so we might be tempted to modify how we speak about Jesus so we won’t be targeted for such pain. Jesus said (in Mark 8:38, and other places) if we are ashamed of Him He will also be ashamed of us. The point is, if God asks us to speak to someone about Him, He also takes full responsibility for everything which happens to us as a result.

We must never change the truth of God into a lie (Romans 1:25). We must also never use the gifts God has given us for our own purposes (see verse 4 of our Scripture for today). While God’s promise is true – we can do all things through Him who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13) – we must never presume on God to make that promise something to just benefit us. God’s promise is for us to be able to do the things for His kingdom we know are impossible for us to achieve. He will not bless us when we use His promise to do something He has already said is sin.

God wants us to be faithful to His training from His word. We are trained in His ways as we study His word daily, meditate on it (best done by memorizing His word), and talking with Him in every part of our day. We also hold ourselves accountable to other dedicated believers by being honest with them about things in our lives in which we are weak in Christ (James 5:16) and hearing them when they encourage us into better ways to walk with Jesus Christ.
 *What is changing in your life right now, causing you to feel uncomfortable, and even to fear? What is the root cause of this uneasy feeling? You may want to share this with a fellow believer you trust who will help you see the enemy’s attacks and point you to the Lord and His word.