TUESDAY: 2 Timothy 1-2
Please read through 2 Timothy 1-2. As you do, keep this principle in mind:
As we endure hardships and remain faithful to the Lord, we can help ourselves and others obtain salvation through Jesus Christ.
In this epistle to Timothy, Paul discusses what it takes and what it means to overcome hardships and troubles when standing for the right. I know many of you have not yet had too many "in-your-face" experiences that directly tugged on your faith, family, or testimony. However, it is promised us that at some point in our lives, we will go through hardships that will test our faith in Jesus Christ, His church, and gospel. With that in mind, please respond to the following question in the comments below.
What can you do now to prepare your faith to withstand and endure hardships in your life? What hardships do you think you could or will face that you can prepare for? How can you prepare?
Chapter 1 verse 7 is such a good verse! “God hath not give us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” But I also fear God like a lot, so maybe that’s not so good but we aren’t suppose to fear presenting our relationship with him to others. Because it is something we should be proud of. It is way awesome that through him we have received power, love, and a sound mind because they sound cool and strong. Here it is evident he literally strengthens us by giving us the spirit of powerful attributes. The chapter also touches on never being ashamed of your beliefs which I like. Because sometimes churches and churchy people tend to get preachy but all you really can do sometimes is just not be ashamed and hold to things you know and that is all the “preaching” God needs from you.
ReplyDeleteChapter 2 verse 4 reminds us to always keep an eternal perspective because at the end of the day the grand plan is what is important. Sometimes I forget that… Verse 12 is also really interesting. It is a pleasant reminder that our suffering in this life has a purpose it isn’t unnecessary hurt it will pay off. And we need to suffer in order to “reign with him”. I am starting to get the whole respect God thing after this verse as well because if we don’t respect him he doesn’t respect us back. Seems kinda petty but you get what you dish out which proves that he is a just God. If we deny him he does the same to us which I definitely do not want. Nobody has ever been able to explain this to me no matter how many different scenarios I read in the bible but I will take another stab at it. Verse 16 says “shun profane and vain babblings” and I get and understand that it increases ungodliness and you become what your surroundings are so we need positive surroundings. I have gotten that talk many times, but I still don’t get how shunning anything is necessary, stepping away from the “worldliness” is such a weird concept to me and I do not understand how that helps the church at all. It puts “faithful” on a high horse when Christ was intermingling with everyone judgeless. But maybe I am being stubborn and need to put this argument away…
At the end in verse 23 it says “But foolish and unlearned questions avoid” which just reminded me of the whole point of this life, which is to learn and gain wisdom as much as possible.
-Isabel
To prepare my faith to withstand and endure hardships in my life, I can be not ashamed of my testimony.
ReplyDeleteI can also study the word of truth to know it better for myself, even more intensely than my public declaration.
If I can also disconnect myself from the stress of the world (of everyday life), I will be much better off facing those trials that are so often worldly.