God's Word for Me Today
Thursday, September 20, 2001
Focus: Our Mission With The World
A note about online study
Introduction to God's Word for Me Today
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, I pray this day for the spirit of power, love and self-discipline which you give to every believer, that I may boldly share my faith in you with others I meet today. Equip me with Your Words, and by Your Holy Spirit bring them to my remembrance whenever I need them to be strengthened to live for Your or be Your witness in the world. I ask this through Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Amen.
God's Word for Me Today: 2 Timothy 1:5-12
5I know that you sincerely trust the Lord, for you have the faith of your mother, Eunice, and your grandmother, Lois. 6This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 7For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 8So you must never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for Christ. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the proclamation of the Good News.
9It is God who saved us and chose us to live a holy life. He did this not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan long before the world began—to show his love and kindness to us through Christ Jesus. 10And now he has made all of this plain to us by the coming of Christ Jesus, our Savior, who broke the power of death and showed us the way to everlasting life through the Good News. 11And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News.
12And that is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.
Questions for Reflection
What physical, personality, or character traits do people tell you that you inherited from your ancestors?
What is the greatest gift you ever received at a time when you were expecting to receive anything?
Questions for Exploration
What specific means did God use to impart faith into Timothy’s life? (1:5-7)
For what purpose does Paul tell Timothy that God has given Timothy a spiritual gift? (1:6-8)
What have we done to deserve receiving salvation? (1:9-10) KEY VERSE
Questions for Understanding
What does the faith of Timothy’s mother and grandmother have to do with Timothy being a man of faith?
What role does the Holy Spirit play in Timothy’s faith and ability to share the new life of Jesus with others?
What assurance do we have in times of suffering, that God is with us?
Questions for Application
What are two or three practical things you can do to pass along your faith to your children? If you don’t have biological children, or they are already grown, what can you do in the local church to pass along your faith to the next generation?
From a careful reading of the text, it’s obvious that Timothy was subject to feelings of fear and timidity about sharing the good news. What is the practical application in our daily lives of Paul’s reminder to Timothy to “fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave him,” and to remember that God has given us a spirit of power, love and self-discipline?
What one thing has Jesus done for you that assures you that He keeps his promises? The next time, you have doubts, remember this assurance!
Sharing the New Life with the World!
The Apostle Paul constantly sought young followers of Jesus to mentor in the faith, because he knew that the task of sharing the new life of Jesus with the world was too big for him! Timothy was one of Paul’s “children” in the faith. In today’s text, Paul does everything he can to encourage a discouraged Timothy of his heritage, of God’s presence in his life and of the promise that God is going to be true to do exactly what He has said He will do through Jesus. Paul even pauses to remind Timothy that it is only because of God’s great love for us that we are welcomed and received as His. It isn’t about us, but about God in us!
These words of encouragement remind us of several important truths: First, we ALL need to be encouraged. None of us is so completely reliant on God that we never get discouraged. As much as we want to trust God, and give complete control of our lives to Him, sometimes we need to have a fellow Christian tell us, “I appreciate you.” Or “Remember, God is in your life, and we can see it.” Or “I’m grateful for the spiritual gifts that God has given you and that you use so freely here with us!” Or any of a hundred other encouraging statements. Paul knew that Timothy was afraid, so he reminded Timothy that God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear and timidity. Our spirit is a spirit of power, love and self-discipline. We can’t always (or often) “fix” other folks lives, but we can always be an encourager.
Second, we learn that God loves us—period. God loves us even though we don’t deserve it. Paul tells Timothy that it is because of God’s great love and kindness through Jesus Christ. In fact, God had a plan to love us before the world began! Talk about planning ahead!!!
Finally, Paul reminds Timothy that even though Paul is suffering in prison for his faith in Jesus, he isn’t ashamed. Sometimes we find ourselves a little ashamed of needing God, or of being “weak” as Christians. Sometimes folks may ridicule our commitment. Well, Paul went to prison for his commitment! He says that he’s still not ashamed because he knows that God is able to keep that which he committed to Him (his eternal destiny) until the day of His coming, or the day Paul would see him. What incredible faith and assurance! When we have a tough day, (week, month or year!) it’s great to know that our God is even bigger than that, and will get us through it!
To view the studies for other days, visit the God's Word for Me Today calendar.