Hello my friend Dr. Brad Miller here with the Daily Bible Refresh.

This is your daily reading of the Bible from a progressive point of view.

In a bit I will read the New Testament lessons selected from the Revised Common Lectionary for this very day.

The reading is understandable.

I use the Message version relatable.

Please listen to the points to ponder and applicable with action steps you can take.

We pray and are done in less than 10 minutes.

It's all brought to you by voiceofgoddaily.com which is the home of your free personal Bible Study Guide, the ABC1, 23 Bible Study Method.

Please join me in my mission of getting the audible word of God into two millionaires a million people by 2028.

You can help by saving and subscribing to the podcast and tagging your friends.

Here's today's reading.

So today we're reading from First Timothy 1, 1820.

Reading from the message.

Here's a word you can take to.

Heart and depend on.

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.

I am proof, public sinner number one of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy.

And now he shows me off evidence of his endless patience to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever.

Deep honor, bright glory to the King of all time, One God, Immortal, invisible ever and always.

Oh yes, I'm passing this work on to you, my son, Timothy.

The prophetic word that was directed to you prepared us for this.

All those prayers are coming together now, so you will do this well, fearless in your struggle, keeping a firm grip on your faith and on yourself.

After all, this is a fight we're in.

There are some, you know who by relaxing their grip and thinking anything goes, have made a thorough mess of their faith.

Hymenaeus and Alexander are two of them.

Let them wander off to Satan to be taught a lesson or two about not blaspheming.

That's the end of the reading.

Let's talk here about finding grace in the struggle.

This is a heart to heart conversation about faith here just to share with you about some things that are on my heart.

Recently my wife and I were walking in the woods in one of our favorite wood parks and we're coming up on our 34th anniversary and we're talking a little bit about how there's ups and downs and there's highs and lows in that, but we choose to go through the struggles and the delights together.

Today's passage from First Timothy speaks to this idea of struggle and grace in A powerful way.

Paul's writing to Timothy about faith and mercy and what it means to stay true to our beliefs even when things get tough.

So let's talk about three points to ponder about this passage.

Number one is grace starts with honesty.

You know, Paul calls himself, quote, public center number one.

And there's something beautiful about that honesty.

It reminds me of some conversations we have in the cancer groups that I'm a part of.

We have to be real about our struggles, about the daunting situation before us.

And that's when healing begins, is when you face up to the reality of what you're dealing with.

Being authentic in our imperfections isn't weakness, it's the foundation of transformation.

The second point to ponder is that mercy isn't a one time thing.

Paul talks about endless patience and that hits home for me.

I've watched my three children grow up and become wonderful adults and they each have taken their own unique path in life.

And God's patience with me and my wife hasn't been a kind of one size fits all deal.

It has to be individual, has to be ongoing and persistent and directed towards that individual person when it has to always be available.

Even when we've messed up or maybe they've messed up, it has to always be available.

Another point to ponder is faith in action, not passive.

This passage here talks about having a firm grip on faith.

This.

This isn't about sitting back and just believing.

It's about engaging with our faith.

I like to watch my favorite teams, the Pacers and the Colts and the Fever.

And being a fan means showing up and being engaged, even when the season gets tough.

And it does.

Here's your action step for today.

Choose one area of life where you've been hard on yourself or others and practice intentional grace.

Maybe it's forgiving yourself for a past mistake or extending understanding to someone who sees things differently.

Write it down and revisit it in a week.

We're going to pray here.

Just a moment.

Just a reminder that we have a resource for you for your Bible study at home.

It's called the ABC 123 Bible Study Method.

You can pick it up at our website, Voice of God daily.

Here's our prayer.

Oh God, you're the divine source of love.

We come to you just as we are perfectly imperfect.

Help us remember that your mercy is bigger than our mistakes, your love deeper than our doubts.

Give us the courage to be honest about our struggles and the wisdom to extend grace to others.

Like children learning to walk.

Help us keep a grip on our faith, even when we stumble.

And thank you for your endless patience with us.

Amen.

My friend, I am delighted you chose to join me for today's reading.

The Daily Bible Refresh is completely listener supported.

Your gift goes a long way to getting the audible word of God from a progressive perspective into 2 million years.

A million years people.

By 2028, I would be so grateful if you would go to voiceofgodddaily.com and share your gift of any amount.

Thanks much.

My name is Dr. Brad Miller and I'll be right here tomorrow with your Daily Bible Refresh.

Please subscribe and tag your friends until tomorrow.

Remember, God's loyal love doesn't run out.

His merciful love Love hasn't dried up, it's created new every morning.