SUNDAY SERVICE TIMES Sunday School ~ 9:00 AM Worship ~ 10:00 AM
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This Weeks Blog by Debbie Reno
28 NOV 2021
28 NOVEMBER 2021
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, for the promise of life in Christ Jesus: To Timothy, my dearly loved son, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 2 Timothy 1:1-2
At the writing of 2 Timothy, Paul is in prison in Rome, facing execution. His words to Timothy are of most importance as they will be his last. This letter let’s Timothy know how much he means to Paul. As a member of Paul’s spiritual family, he refers to Timothy as his beloved son. He also says that he prays for Timothy night and day. That is a sign of great love! I have always enjoyed reading about the missionary journeys of Paul and Timothy, and have had a great fondness for the strong bond between them. However, a new verse stood out to me today. (Don’t you just love when that happens?) It is v. 14, “Guard, through the Holy Spirit who lives in us, that good thing entrusted to you.” Paul was referring to the gospel of Christ. He was encouraging Timothy to stay faithful to the word of God that had been entrusted to him. Paul knew personally men and women who had walked away from the teachings of Jesus. He wanted Timothy to remain faithful to the word and the work. I found it interesting that Paul said he would need to guard it. That implies much more than keeping the faith. He would have to protect it. Paul knew that Timothy’s faith would be tested and he would have to guard against leaving the faith when things became difficult or when they did not serve his personal interests. It also implies that it was in danger of being taken from him. We all know that it’s much easier to keep something when there is no one trying to take it from us. Paul knew the dangers of keeping the faith when others challenge it and even try to negate it. As it is with anything valuable, keeping the faith and guarding the faith will cost us.
Another important part of this verse is that Paul was not only encouraging Timothy to remain faithful, he was reminding him that he was fully capable of doing so. He had the Holy Spirit living in him. God never calls us to do something that the Holy Spirit will not equip us to carry out. I feel as though Paul is speaking to us today. In talking with some dear friends recently, we all agreed that we have never had our faith tested, and the gospel challenged in our lifetime, more than we have in the past couple of years. So we need to take Paul’s message very personally. We need to “guard, through the Holy Spirit who lives in us, that good thing entrusted to us.” In so doing, we will fulfill our purpose in leading others to Christ, and we will bring glory to God. Paul might say to us, “Guard your heart, guard the integrity of God’s Word, and keep your eyes on the finish line. Jesus will not only meet you there, He will be cheering you on each step of the way.”
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