3 Things to Give Attendance To

Articles

Buddy German
03/01/25 - Christian Living

“Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.” (1^st Timothy 4:13 KJV)

The apostle Paul instructs Timothy to give attendance to three things. The word attendance here is being used to give heed to. To ensure that you are doing these 3 things, we need to be following this same instruction and advice. They are things that will help us daily if we will take the time to do these things. They will help to strengthen us in our walk with Christ.

Give attendance to reading: God expects us to read His words daily. How are we going to know what God expects of us if we aren’t consulting with Him. The Father gave us the blueprint in which to follow and to guide our steps by. In order to know God and His Son we must read His words. Moses and Joshua read aloud to children of Israel the Law which they were to follow and live by. I can’t know what is required or expected of me without reading or hearing it. I must take the time daily to spend time with the word of God to better understand Him and to ensure that I am living in a manner that would allow my light to shine and draw others to me. There are so many false teachers and wolves in sheep’s clothing that if I am not studying and familiar with the word then I will be susceptible to fall into their snares and traps and follow a false doctrine. Ignorance will not justify the following of false teachings and doctrines. Prayer and reading are opportunities for us to talk with God, why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of that time? To know God is to know His word. To know His word then I must make the time to study and meditate on it daily. I can’t keep His commandments if I don’t know them and the only way to know them is to read His commandments. Let us always give attendance to reading and not neglect this great blessing that we have to be able to read His word.

Give attendance to exhortation: As children of God, we should be exhorting and urging others to become the same or to maintain the course. We also must ensure that exhortation does not come from error or uncleanness, nor was It in deceit. 1^st Thessalonians 2:3. It is easy to exhort those to continue to doing right when they are doing so, but are also doing so when they are in sin or straying from the faith. If I truly love you then I wouldn’t there to be any chance that you would not enter into eternity reconciled with the Father. We need to always exhort each other with love, humility and gratitude. We never know fully what each of us is going through and some are more private than others and the encouragement of a fellow brother and sister can move mountains inside another. The Hebrew writer reminds us to “exhort one another daily; while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Hebrews 3:13. Let us get to exhorting one another daily and have it added to our daily list of items that we need to do.

Give attendance to doctrine: We take time to understanding the teachings the Word of God provides us. What are we teaching? Are teaching the guidance that God laid out for us? If not, then we are failing ourselves and those around us. As stated earlier, there are a lot of false teachers out in the world and the only way to identify their falsehood is to know the doctrine of God. And the only way to know the doctrine of God is to give attendance to it. Paul told Timothy to “teach no other doctrine” in 1^st Timothy 1:3. Paul would go on to say in 2^nd Timothy 3:16-17 that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” In order to live faithfully til death, I have to heed the warning in 2^nd John 9-11; “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.” I must be able to identify false doctrine so that I can ensure that what I am doing and saying aligns with the doctrine of Father. And when those false teachers arises with a different doctrine we must try to show them their error in order to win them to Christ. Let us be those who are abiding in the doctrine of Christ!

What a sad fate it would be to be told depart from Me because we didn’t take the time to read and study His word, to exhort one another or to fail in following His doctrine. It starts with opening your Bible and making the time for the One who gave His life for us.