Read: 2 Timothy 2:8-10 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! (v. 8) Paul has just been urging Timothy to “share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:3). He is to have courage, to concentrate on pleasing his commander, to be disciplined and diligent. Now comes the …
Pleasing Your Commander
Read: 2 Timothy 2:3-7 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. (vv. 3-4) Those in military service can teach the servants of Christ valuable lessons. One is their readiness to accept hardship, suffering, and risk. Paul wants Timothy to face these things courageously, as a “good soldier of Christ Jesus” (v. 3). Although believers do not contend against flesh and blood enemies, their loyalty to Christ pits them against …
Pass It On!
Read: 2 Timothy 2:1-2 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. In these my “retirement” years, I often preach about “leaving a legacy.” That concern is never far from me—what I will leave behind to those who come after me. I almost always feel tears coming when I …
Refreshing People
Read: 2 Timothy 1:15-18 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me . . . and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus. (vv. 16-18) What a heartbreak for Paul! He has just written that “all who are in Asia turned away from me” (v. 15). This means the …
Two-Way Trust
Read: 2 Timothy 1:12-14 I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me . . . By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. (vv. 12, 14) Here again Paul seeks to hearten Timothy with a personal testimony. The apostle says he has put his trust in Jesus. He is confident that …