1 Timothy 5:6

Christians are different. They can’t help it. When you’re born again and filled with the Spirit, it changes you. This leads to different values about right and wrong, and a different lifestyle to match it. This series of 5-day plans uses the 10 Commandments (following the classic Augustinian ordering) as a vehicle for an alternative, Christ-like morality and Jesus-way of living.

Acts is the story of the apostles, but it’s also a story of more than the apostles. It’s the story of God at work through every believer in Christ. This 5-day plan continues a journey through the book of Acts—the Bible’s gripping sequel of Jesus at work in the life of his followers as he expands his kingdom to the ends of the earth. It’s a journey on what it means to be a Christian. It’s a story in which you have a role to play.

The first of Paul’s three “pastoral epistles,” 1 Timothy focuses on the church as a “pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). In the letter, Paul commands Timothy to “guard the deposit” (1 Timothy 6:20) by combatting false teachers, protecting the flock of Christ, and structuring the church well. 1 Timothy shows us the incredible privilege of being in God’s church and the high calling of leading it.

This 7-day devotional is for anyone who has struggled with wayward family members. Do you walk a tightrope between living your life faithfully and coping with difficult family members in a way that is pleasing to God? Every family has a struggle or two with hurt and dysfunction. May this plan help to guide you as you strive to relate to misguided family members.