Author: David Short

2 Timothy 4:1-4

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

Personal Challenge

For the time will come… I know that throughout history there have been multiple occurrences where these times described here appear to be what this passage was talking about. It seems like that is true again. We are watching unfold before us those who proclaim lies and half-truths as the truth. We see many people believing these lies and even dividing because of them. Many are even active in their churches. We are seeing leaders of our land and our churches abandoning sound doctrine and being corrupt in their actions, pursuing their own desires. Our role in all of this is to be ready to preach the word of God, the real truth and stop embracing the things and practices of this temporal world. We must be ready to convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching, Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Encouraging Words

We have been blessed in our calling to follow Christ by being given the Scriptures to know how to live . These Scriptures are indeed a gift from God and can teach us what we need to know to be obedient to Him and be able to do His good works. This means that we need to read and study these Scriptures in order to see and understand His instruction and guidance. Glory be to God!

2 Timothy 3:12

Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Personal Challenge

Living a godly life cannot exist with living a cushy, fun-filled, glamorous life. If we truly desire to be like our Christ and live a godly life, then we must be prepared to be persecuted. Sometimes that persecution will come from those in our own Christian circle. Persecution is painful at anytime, but when comes from those who proclaim to be followers of Christ, it is much more bitter. We can rejoice in this persecution though because we know who are Lord is and that our suffering is for Him. We can deal with it with joy in our Lord. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

THINGS TO PURSUE AND DO

2 Timothy 2:22-26

Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

Personal Challenge

Those of us who are followers of Christ cannot be that in name only. Our relationship with our Lord must be constantly changing us into His image. As this happens, we begin to turn away from this world and turn to the things of heaven. We should always be pursuing righteousness, faith, love, and peace, avoiding youthful lusts, foolish and ignorant disputes, and the generation of strife with others. Our lives should be changing and growing to a point where we do not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, be patient, and humbly correcting those in error. The life of a follower of Christ is not an easy, happy-go-lucky life. It is a life of change and growth. Glory be to God!

2 Timothy 2:14-17a

Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer.

Personal Challenge

There appears to be trend developing in the church that is very disconcerting. It is not a new thing because Paul is warning Timothy in the first century church against it. We have many people, almost all of them being men, pursuing intellectualism in the church. They are gobbling up every book, or in today’s technology, every podcast that they can about God, about Jesus, about Christianity. These teachings, in and of themselves, are mostly good, but many are profane and idle babblings that will only lead the pursuer into more ungodliness. We are commanded to pursue God, not information about Him. We are commanded to be like Christ, not paint a picture in our head about Him through others’ teachings and stop there. We are called to be a part of the great commission, to be loving our God and our neighbor, and to be God’s hands and feet, not his encyclopedia. Living this way, being and doing a Christian, life, gives us the ability to not be ashamed of Him and to rightly divide His word of truth. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

2 Timothy 2:11-13

This is a faithful saying:
For if we died with Him,
We shall also live with Him.
If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.
If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.

Personal Challenge

We are challenged by this quote from Paul about our relationship with our Lord and the impact that it can have on our lives. Jesus does not call us into a relationship that is just a casual acquaintance. He calls us to be intimately involved with Him and striving to be like Him. If we died with Him and if we endure for Him we will live with Him and reign with Him. If we deny Him or be faithless to Him, He will deny us but still remain faithful to hoping that as a lost sheep is found or the prodigal son wakes up, we will someday return to Him and be faithful. Glory be to God!

2 Timothy 2:3-4

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

Personal Challenge

If we are truly following Christ as one of His disciples, then we are at war. We are at war with the world, which is against Christ and who He is. We are at war within ourselves, struggling with our sinful nature to be like Christ. We are at war with the lies and half-truths around us that make Jesus into something that He is not. This makes us soldiers of Christ, not only under His protection, but subservient to Him. We are to live our lives in such a way that the affairs of this world do not entangle us. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

2 Timothy 1:12-14

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

Personal Challenge

We live in an age and a culture where sound Christian principles are rebuffed and mocked. The same thing happened to Jesus and His apostles. So, what do we do to deal with this? We stay true to Him. We suffer those things that the world throws at us knowing that God is able keep us in His hands until we meet Him face-to-face. We hold fast to His sound teaching and let the Holy Spirit dwell within us and work through us. Glory be to God!

2 Timothy 1:8-9

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, 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 given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

Personal Challenge

It is so easy to get caught up in the mindset that we are doing the work of God that we believe is right. We have defined it in our own mind and heart and try to force God into our box of submission. It is God who has a plan, not only for all that happens in and around us, but for what He has called us to do. He still allows us our free will so that we can either choose to follow that plan or go our own way. Either choice we make will have its associated consequences. How much better it is when we choose to submit to Him. That is when we will not be ashamed to give our testimony of Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!