SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/20/2025 8:08 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 “Follow Those Who Are True”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 2 Timothy
3:10-12
Message of the verses: “10 But thou hast
fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering,
charity, patience, 11 Persecutions,
afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what
persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yea,
and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (KJV)
I began looking at these verses in yesterday’s
Spiritual Diary and mentioned that I got a little mixed up when trying to find
out what parts of verse ten that Dr. Wiersbe was looking at. Well I have one more section from verse ten
to look at this morning, and then one section from verses 11-2.
Their Purpose is to glorify God” (v. 10d)
Dr. Wiersbe writes:
“There was never a question about Paul’s ‘purpose’ in ministry: he wanted to do God’s will and finish the
work God gave him to do (Acts 20:24; Phil. 1:21). The Apostle Paul was a man of ‘faith’ who
trusted God to meet his needs. He was a
man of ‘long-suffering’ who bore up under people’s attacks. He was a man of love (charity) who willingly gave himself to serve others.
“The
word patience at the end of 2 Timothy
3:10 means ‘endurance, the ability to stick with it when the going gets tough.
They are willing to suffer (vv. 11-12)
“Paul
did not ask others to suffer for him; he suffered
for others. The fact that he was
persecuted from city to city was proof that he was living a godly life. Some people today have the idea that
godliness means escaping persecution,
when just the opposite is true.
“I
wonder how Paul would match up with today’s concept of a Christian leader. He would probably fail miserably. If he applied for service with a modern
mission board, would he be accepted? He
had a prison record: he had a physical affliction; he stirred up problems in
just about every place he visited. He
was poor, and he did not cater to the rich.
Yet “God used him, and we are being blessed today because Paul was
faithful.”
Just
a note for all who read this Spiritual Diary today that we are celebrating the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave today and I would like to call this
“Resurrection Day” as most people call it Easter. At any rate have a blessed “Resurrection Day.”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I know that times are different than when
Paul wrote to Timothy a short time before he would enter into the presence of
the Lord, but I can learn from the things that happened to Paul in his long
ministry for the cause of Christ.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: I trust the Lord that He will bless our
Sunday school class this morning as I teach it for the glory of Christ.
4/20/2025 8:33 AM
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