Daily Bread 2010 - 2 Timothy 1
Encouragement to Be Faithful I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.8So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
In this 2nd letter to Timothy, Paul is more emotional and recalls the tears that Timothy had when they last said goodbye. There is little likelihood that Paul will see Timothy again, as Paul is in prison in Rome, and awaiting an imminent death. Yet, in this last charge to his young protégé, Paul admonishes Timothy to fan into flame the gift that was given to him when he laid hands on him.
Paul uplifts Timothy’s grandmother and mother, who were instrumental in passing on the faith to him. We don’t see mention of Timothy’s dad (perhaps he was out in the field working), and this could explain why Paul felt like he was a “father-figure” to young Timothy. As Paul has suffered greatly for the sake of the Gospel, he warns Timothy that he too will like suffer for the sake of the Gospel.
Paul tells Timothy not to have a “spirit of timidity”, as he faces eventual persecution but to be filled with a “spirit of power, love and self control”. As Timothy suffers as Paul did, the power of the Lord would sustain him mightily. And, in fact, this grace had been given to him before time even began. I.e. God knew what Timothy would need.
As we all face our own trials in this life, it is not likely we will lose our life for our faith (though we never know for sure), but we can be certain as we are bold in our proclamation and testimony that Jesus is Lord that not everyone will welcome our sharing of the Good News. Some of the biggest challenges are when even our own kids reject the Gospel.
But, yet we strive to be like Timothy’s grandmother and mother, who successfully passed on the Good News to Timothy, and be like Paul who was a good mentor to him. We can similarly do this with the young people God has placed in our lives and under our influence. Do you have a mentor? Do you have someone who looks up to you as a mentor? Some of the greatest impact you can have on the world around you is to mentor someone and encourage them to be true to God’s call on their life.
Jesus thanks for people like Paul in our lives that encourage us to be the best we can be for you. As we face trials in our lives help us to turn to your power that will give us a spirit of power, love and self control, not timidity. Give us courage to stand up for you like Paul and Timothy did, Amen.
In this 2nd letter to Timothy, Paul is more emotional and recalls the tears that Timothy had when they last said goodbye. There is little likelihood that Paul will see Timothy again, as Paul is in prison in Rome, and awaiting an imminent death. Yet, in this last charge to his young protégé, Paul admonishes Timothy to fan into flame the gift that was given to him when he laid hands on him.
Paul uplifts Timothy’s grandmother and mother, who were instrumental in passing on the faith to him. We don’t see mention of Timothy’s dad (perhaps he was out in the field working), and this could explain why Paul felt like he was a “father-figure” to young Timothy. As Paul has suffered greatly for the sake of the Gospel, he warns Timothy that he too will like suffer for the sake of the Gospel.
Paul tells Timothy not to have a “spirit of timidity”, as he faces eventual persecution but to be filled with a “spirit of power, love and self control”. As Timothy suffers as Paul did, the power of the Lord would sustain him mightily. And, in fact, this grace had been given to him before time even began. I.e. God knew what Timothy would need.
As we all face our own trials in this life, it is not likely we will lose our life for our faith (though we never know for sure), but we can be certain as we are bold in our proclamation and testimony that Jesus is Lord that not everyone will welcome our sharing of the Good News. Some of the biggest challenges are when even our own kids reject the Gospel.
But, yet we strive to be like Timothy’s grandmother and mother, who successfully passed on the Good News to Timothy, and be like Paul who was a good mentor to him. We can similarly do this with the young people God has placed in our lives and under our influence. Do you have a mentor? Do you have someone who looks up to you as a mentor? Some of the greatest impact you can have on the world around you is to mentor someone and encourage them to be true to God’s call on their life.
Jesus thanks for people like Paul in our lives that encourage us to be the best we can be for you. As we face trials in our lives help us to turn to your power that will give us a spirit of power, love and self control, not timidity. Give us courage to stand up for you like Paul and Timothy did, Amen.
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