Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Timothy 1-4.

There is a lot in today’s passage which I want to write about.  I am not sure I will be able to fit it all together.  Paul writes that God has given us a Spirit which does not make us timid.  Rather, it gives us power, love, and self-discipline.  Paul then says something which expands on that.  Because of the Spirit which God has given us we know the God whom we have believed and can be confident that He will guard that which we have entrusted to Him.  And because we know those things we should embrace the self-discipline to which His Spirit leads us.  The self-discipline, power, and love God’s Spirit gives us are intertwined. The love compels us to have self-discipline and the power both allows us to have that self-discipline and is only fully expressed when we exercise that self-discipline.  Paul goes on to write that love and self-discipline should keep us from godless chatter and stupid, foolish arguments.  So, while God’s Spirit does not make us timid, it also does not make us quarrelsome.  Let us be kind to everyone and neither resentful of others, nor stirring up resentment within them.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Timothy 1-4

Paul writes two closely related thoughts early in this letter.  If we, like Paul, know the One in whom we have put our faith, and are sure that He is able to guard that which we have committed to Him, we will be prepared to suffer for the Gospel. There is a hymn based on that idea (chapter 1 verse 12).  That hymn echoes a theme which I see throughout the New Testament.  We may not, and often will not, know why things work out the way they do, but we can be confident that they are happening according to God’s plan.  And we know that God will take care of us and bring us home to Him.

Paul goes on to tell Timothy, and us, the importance of working hard to do God’s will, correctly explaining the word of truth.  We need to pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace, while avoiding that which stimulates youthful lust.  Especially now in the last days.  How do we know it is the last days?  Paul tells us what things will look like in those days,  Look around and tell me his description does not fit.  “For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.  They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.  They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.“

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Timothy 1-4

There is a hymn based on what Paul says in verse 12 of the first chapter: “I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.” The song, “I Know Whom I Have Believed”, is one of my favorite hymns.  There are five verse, each of which begins, “I know not…” with the verse then saying, “But I know whom I have believed…”  The point being, and Paul’s point here, that we don’t have to have all of the answers, or understand how God’s grace works to trust that doing as God directs will work out for the best.  To those who know me, it may seem strange that this statement of faith is so important to me, because I try very hard to know the answer to any question which comes up and to understand why things happen.  Yes, I try to have all of the answers, but I don’t (and I know I never will. At least, not in this life.) And I try to understand why things happen, but I often don’t.  God has gifted me with great knowledge, and I believe with above average understanding (although, others will have to say whether that last is true), but I still often find myself saying, “I don’t know, but I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able…”

Later in the letter Paul writes about the troubles of the last days.  He warns that in those days people will love only themselves and their money.  Paul commands Timothy, and us, to preach the word of God, whether the time is favorable or not, because there will be times when people refuse to listen to sound and wholesome teachings.  Instead they will seek those who will tell them what they want to hear.  Reading what Paul tells about people in the last days sounds a lot like many people today.  Of course, that makes sense since Paul considered himself to be in the last days.  I am convinced that part of the reason that Paul tells us to preach God’s word even when the time seems to be unfavorable is that we cannot know when a person will be open to the Holy Spirit changing their lives.  There will be times when we are convinced that now is not the time to speak to someone about the Gospel that will be the exact moment when God can reach through and transform them.