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2 Timothy 2:1-4:18
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2 Timothy 2, verse 9 has a great verse for us Chronological Bible readers! :) "But the word of God cannot be chained." Amen! Well, I suppose in theory one individual Bible could be chained (as you sadly see below), but not all Bibles. God's living and active Word overall cannot be chained!

2 Tim 2 is a great chapter today... just jam packed with wisdom. Verse 4 stands out: "And as Christ's soldier, do not let yourself become tied up in the affairs of this life, for then you cannot satisfy the one who has enlisted you in his army." How often do we become tied up in affairs of this life.... ? Every day? Every hour? More often than that... ? If we are constantly "distracted" by the affairs of this life, do we lose sight of Jesus? Do we distract ourselves so much so that we can't serve Jesus well?

Verse 21 is a great closing verse today: "If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work." Will you keep yourself pure? Have you ever realized that you are indeed a utensil for God's use? :)

Second Timothy chapter 2 verse 22 is so very true: "Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust. " Notice that first word - Run. Flee. Go the other way. U-turn. Don't hang around. Run. Do you run from things that stimulate lust in your life? Do you really Run? How fast?

Verse 22 continues on with some encouraging words - "Follow anything that makes you want to do right. Pursue faith and love and peace, and enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts." I like that - pursue faith. Pursue love. Pursue peace. And - "enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts." I do pray you have some relationships like this in your life? They can provide you such great rest and rejuvenation. A small group in your church may be a great way to find these types of relationships if you don't have them currently. Community can be messy & tough & scary at times - but it's so worth it! Please pursue community with other believers. And please do continue to have relationships with others who may not be believers in your life too. Be cautious in that sometimes those old relationships can bring us down or pull us back to old habits if we are not careful. That is why we most definitely need to have a community of those who call on the Lord in our lives as well. In community, let us pursue faith! Pursue love! Pursue peace! With pure hearts!

2 Timothy 3:1-5 are 5 powerful verses that deserve to be meditated upon by each of us: "You should also know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control; they will be cruel and have no interest in what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. You must stay away from people like that." How do these teachings of Paul resonate with you? Do you see parallels in today's modern world with these teachings? Are there some people in your life today that you should literally stay away from?

Okay, and then verses 16 and 17 just make One Year Bible bloggers like myself smile.... :) "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do." Do you believe these verses to be true? Do you believe that Scripture is inspired by God? And useful to teach us what is true? And make us realize what is wrong in our lives? Is God's Word fully equipping you for every good thing God wants you to do?

Second Timothy chapter 4 verses 3 & 4 give a good warning for each of us today: "For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to right teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever they want to hear. They will reject the truth and follow strange myths." Do we do this? Do we "look for" or "shop around for" teachers that we really like? Teachers that may only tell us what we want to hear? That may not challenge us with Truth? That may offer strange myths? (okay, so this animated teacher guy below is probably a solid teacher - I came across a scary image about false teachers with a wolf growling as one image option for below... but I just kind of liked this guy better for some reason today. Wow... here I am shopping around for my teacher! This guy below is probably telling me what I want to hear! :) Okay, okay, I'll put up the scary wolf image below too!)


In the close of this 2nd letter to Timothy, we are reading some of Paul's final written words! They are amazing. It's great to see some basic human needs in these closing words in verse 13: "When you come, be sure to bring the coat I left with Carpus at Troas. Also bring my books, and especially my papers." It's also sad to see how Paul's been left pretty much alone and abandoned by many.
Worship God: The wisdom of so many verses in Second Timothy chapter 2 today reminded me yet again of the power of the Gospel to transform our lives. The power of Jesus to transform our lives! And so, I'm reminded of Brandon Heath's popular song "I'm Not Who I Was." I'm not sure if you've seen this video set to this song, but do yourself a favor and watch it all the way through. It is a grace filled song with a grace filled video to go along with it! Are you who you were?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrGfA6y9fNI
Are you who you want to be? Click here to say "I'm Not Who I Was"!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly." 2 Timothy 2:16 (NIV)
Prayer Point: Pray that you will avoid godless chatter in your life. Pray that you will not indulge in gossip. Pray that you won't become ungodly by allowing godless chatter to infect your life in any way, shape or form.
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Chronological Bible readings at this link.
p.p.s. Download a schedule of our Chronological Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.p.p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Chronological Bible Blog ministry today. Thanks!
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