Titus 1:1

Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness,

Personal Challenge

As modern Americans, steeped in the ideologies of personal freedom and liberties, are we ready to proclaim ourselves as bondservants to God? Are we willing to relinquish that freedom and our liberties in order to serve our heavenly king? This is what we must be willing to do if we truly want tribe followers of Christ, walking in His footsteps, and doing His work. We must choose to let go of the things of this earth in order to grasp the things of God. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner and help me to let go of this world in order to hold on to You!

2 Timothy 4:18

And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!

Encouraging Words

2 Timothy 4:7-8

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Personal Challenge

Paul sets the example for all of us as to what should be our goal in life. It is a goal that has nothing to do with wealth, fame, or even health. Our goal for our entire life should be that we can look back and recognize that we lived our life fighting the good fight of God, that we finished the race that He laid out before us, and that we have kept the faith in Him as our Lord and Savior. Glory be to God!

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!