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January 26

By January 26, 2019365 Devotions

Every Church Needs a Timothy

I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare (Philippians 2:20).

Scripture: Philippians 2:19-30

Song: “Make Me a Servant”

Alexander Cameron was a veterinary surgeon who later became a Presbyterian minister. In his book Poultry in the Pulpit, he applied the lessons he learned as an animal doctor to parish work. One day he received a call from his friend, Charlie Trevelyan, the local zoo keeper. Charlie asked him to come over and look at a lion, named Ham, who was pacing in pain.

When Cameron arrived, he and the keeper entered the lion cage. When Ham pawed his right ear, they knew where to look. Since no knock-out darts were available, they cinched him down in a net. The lion’s brief struggle caused his abscessed ear to burst with puss. With cotton wool, the doctor cleaned out the ear, squeezed in a tube of medicinal ointment, and finished with a shot of penicillin. After the work was done, Charlie said, “Poor Ham must have suffered some with that ear.”

In the book Cameron observed, “That was typical of this man whose first thought was not what money he could make from zoo attractions, but the well-being of his animals.”

Timothy had this same mind-set. There was nothing glamorous about first century ministry. It was a wild age that required uncommon bravery. Harder still, they had to help believers with painful sin problems—never easy nor safe. But as no zoo can exist without its Charlie, so no church will survive without its Timothy.

Dear Lord, help me to love others like those You honor in Your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Jim Eichenberger

Author Jim Eichenberger

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