SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/29/2024 10:12 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-4 “Intro to 2 Timothy 1:6-18”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 2 Timothy 1:6-18
Message of
the verses: “6 For this reason I
remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying
on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power
and love and discipline. 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our
Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel
according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace
which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, 10 but now has been
revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle
and a teacher. 12 For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not
ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to
guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. 13 Retain the standard of
sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in
Christ Jesus. 14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure
which has been entrusted to you. 15 You are aware of the fact that all
who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16
The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and
was not ashamed of my chains; 17 but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched
for me and found me — 18 the Lord grant to him to find mercy from
the Lord on that day — and you know very well what services he
rendered at Ephesus.”
Now before I begin to write more about these verses
I have to say that I am thankful for the good time that my wife and I spent
over at our daughter’s house for Thanksgiving Day. Tradition says you have to watch a little
football, you have to eat a turkey, and you have to have pumpkin pie. Well we hit all of those bases and also the
main thing was to be thankful to the Lord for allowing us to celebrate another
Thanksgiving Day. Our family has much to
be thankful for as there is a total of thirteen of us in the family, six adults
and seven grandchildren from ages 11-18.
Our son’s family spent Thanksgiving Day with his wife’s parents as they
switch off with our daughter’s family each year. God has truly blessed our entire family and
for that I am thankful, most of all because everyone in our family has accepted
Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, which is the best thing to be thankful
for.
I
left off in my last SD by talking about Peter and quoted a part of his sermon
that he preached on the day of Pentecost which is the birthday of the
church. Now peter continued to preach
the gospel in Jerusalem without compromise and without fear. He was brought before the very Council where
Jesus was falsely charged and outside of which he had denied Him. However on this occasion Peter was a very
different man, and the filling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was the reason
that he was so different. When Peter was
commanded to stop preaching, he declared with John “Whether it is right in the
sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we
cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard”(Acts 4:19-20).”
I
can say that it did not take long for Satan to cause the leaders of the Jewish
faith to begin to persecute the true believers in Jesus Christ after the church
began. Early in the fourth chapter the
persecution began and it has been going on ever since that. It still goes on today and I cannot really
know how many millions of believers have been killed for the cause of Christ,
but all of those who have been through that will one day receive a crown in
heaven for that sacrifice and courage that they went through.
Now
as with Peter, “it is only when we move from shame and fear to ardent conviction
and bold commitment that we become useful in the Lord’s service” writes John
MacArthur.
He
goes on “It is possible that Timothy had become somewhat fearful or apathetic
in his ministry. The difficulties and
opposition he encountered at Ephesus, both from within and without the church
there, may have taken a toll on his courage.
His spiritual fire may have cooled.
In this second letter to Timothy, Paul gives only one commendation,
saying, ‘I am mindful of the sincere faith within you’ (1:5). The remainder of the letter is devoted to
exhortation. Although he does not accuse
Timothy of sin, he gives many admonitions (see 1:8; 1:13; 2:1, 15, 22; 4:1-2,
4:5).” I have to say that I was not
aware of that before, and I have to believe that this is one of the reasons
that the Holy Spirit has put on my heart to study this book. Our former “seniors Pastor” had a saying, and
that saying for us seniors was “Finish Strong.”
It is my hope and prayer that the study of this last letter that Paul
wrote right before he was killed for the cause of Christ will aid me greatly in
finishing strong.
In
studying the gospels of Jesus Christ, and I have actually studied them all, but
more intently studied Mark, John, and recently Matthew I find that during the
earthly ministry Jesus made clear the cost of discipleship for those who are
faithful and unashamed. “Everyone
therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My
Father in heaven” (Matt. 10:32). Jesus
then gives the sobering converse of that promise: But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will
also deny him before My Father who is in heaven” (v. 33). Those two verses speak volumes on what
believers are to do. Now as we look at
Mark’s account, Jesus spoke the same truth even more expressively: “For whoever
is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son
of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with
the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).
I think that it is best that I stop here so that I
can think about these statements that Jesus spoke as they are very powerful.
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: Sometimes the truth of Scripture steps on my
feet and those verses from Matthew and Mark have done that today, so it is time
to be praying to the Lord for strength to do what is right.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: I trust the Lord that through His Spirit He
will work in my heart so that I will learn the lessons that Paul is teaching
Timothy found in this last letter he wrote.
11/29/2024 10:53 AM
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