Today we hear the famous and tragic story of Samson and Delilah. Victory, in this case, was not ‘sweet’. Then we hear the start of Micah and the not so nice background to his personal idols and shrine. This is the first time in the book we hear the repeated phrase “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.”
In this psalm (Psalm 86), David models effective prayer. Let’s follow his example!
Paul begins his discussion of what Timothy should teach the congregation with prayer. We pray according to God's will if we pray for the salvation of others. God is always pleased with this prayer because we mirror his own heart. However the words of this chapter should not be twisted to say that every single person will be saved, or that the saving sacrifice that Jesus made will cover non-believers. This chapter also contains important words about the place of women in normal church life. When Paul uses ‘saved’ in this context, he is not talking about eternal salvation. (See the note in the PDF file.)
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