“Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (KJV, 1 Tim. 1:13-15).
“Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious”
Father, You have delivered me from death. I was formerly dead in sin and opposed to Your ways. I used to be on the outside looking in and a child of wrath like the rest of mankind. I despised Your law and sought out selfish gain.
Formerly, I did not desire to live for You, but I was in bondage and enslaved to my sin. I did not know that I needed You to rescue me. I did not realize that I needed Your help. But I thank You for meeting me in that place, pulling me out, and setting my feet on solid ground.
“but I obtained mercy”
You have shown me a tremendous amount of mercy, and for that, I am thankful. You have forgiven me of countless amounts of sin. I could not possibly ask for the forgiveness of all my sins, for I cannot remember them all. However, You know everything, and all of my sins have been placed before You.
Nevertheless, You tell me that You have cast my sin into the sea of forgetfulness. You tell me that You have trod my sin under Your feet. You tell me that You have removed my sin from me as far as the east is from the west.
“because I did it ignorantly in unbelief”
Before I came to Christ, I was ignorant as Paul was. I did not know You, and I did not understand Your ways. I learned some things about You but did not know You personally. I had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You.
I cannot move forward and sin against You now and claim ignorance. You have shown me Your law and expect me to keep Your Word. If I do not humble myself before You and walk as Your faithful child, You will discipline me as a rebellious child.
“And the grace of our Lord”
Nevertheless, Your grace is for me. I am in Christ, and I am under grace. You have given me everything that I need for life and godliness. You have promised that I am forgiven and that the decision is final. You have told me that I have been reconciled to You and that we are at peace with each other.
You have told me that Christ has satisfied Your wrath and that You have adopted me into Your kingdom. I am a child of promise, not a child of wrath. I have been redeemed, and therefore I have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus. You own me, and my life is in good hands.
“was exceeding abundant”
Your grace is truly abundant for me. Your grace knows no bounds and no limits for the redeemed in Christ. I see the ways that You have been patient with me. You have been slow to anger and have abounded in steadfast love toward me. When I stray from the path, You are not quick to correct me with Your rod; instead, You often gently use Your staff and pull me back in.
“with faith”
Father, I pray that You will increase my faith. I must learn to grow in my faith and see You with the eyes of faith. I must remember that You place opportunities in front of me so that I can grow in my faith. I often find that when things get tough, I am tempted to act like an unbeliever.
I see that You will test me much like you did Abraham. You tried his faith, and it came forth as pure gold. Yet when my faith is often tried, I can quickly see the impurities. Please help me. Holy Spirit, would You come and strengthen my faith? Would You work in me to will and work for Your good pleasure and produce in me what I lack?
“and love”
Father, would You increase my love for You? I must learn to love You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. If I learned to love You more, everything else in my walk with Christ would fall into place.
Jesus, You have shown such love toward me, and I am ashamed to say that I do not come close to loving You in the same way. You have lived and died for me, but I often live for myself. You have given me so much, and I often hoard what I have. You have humbled Yourself for my sake, but I am so often prone to being prideful.
Change my heart and cause me to love You as I ought.
“which is in Christ Jesus”
You have shown me that I cannot conjure up faith and love on my own. If left to myself, I will never be who You have called me to be. Likewise, if I do not understand the source of my faith and love, I will never be who You have called me to be.
Only in Christ will I be able to believe as I ought to and love You as I ought to. Christ is the vine, and I am the branch. I will only bear spiritual fruit because I am in Christ.
“This is a faithful saying”
Your Word is true, and Your Words are faithful. You are a faithful God; therefore, I can trust what You say. Thank You for Your Word; illuminate Your Scriptures so I will know and understand Your faithful sayings.
“and worthy of all acceptation”
Your Word is also worthy of being accepted. Your Word has been examined for many years by the worst of skeptics. Nevertheless, Your Word continues to come back as true. Therefore, I believe in Your Word and pray that Your Word will go forth into the land.
“that Christ Jesus came into the world”
Father, You have sent Your Son into this world. I pray that You would help me to remember that Christ came into the world this Christmas. Guard my mind this Christmas, and help me to remember what the season is all about.
What a blessing that Jesus left His heavenly home. What a gift that Jesus loved me enough to come into this world and to die a sinner’s death.
“to save sinners”
Your Word tells me all have sinned against You, and nobody has ever measured up to Your standards. I also read about how I needed to be saved and that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
This startling fact is an encouraging one. Jesus did not simply come to die in the event that some might turn to Him. Instead, Jesus went on a rescue mission. This helps me to know that Jesus desires that I would be saved and will continue to go to great lengths to ensure that I am saved.
I need not fear when I am in Jesus’ plan and in His sights. Jesus has me as a target of His saving grace, and I am forever thankful for that.
“of whom I am chief”
Paul saw in his own life what nobody else could. Paul saw his own heart. While someone may be able to look upon another and see sin, he will never fully know another man’s heart. You have said that the heart is deceitful and wicked.
I see that I am far from who I ought to be. I need You to cleanse my heart this day and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Please, would You come and be my aid? Show me if there is any wicked way in me. Expose my heart that I might repent and turn from my sin. In Jesus’ name, Amen.