Teaching and Training, Day 29 The easy Christian life. Well, while some people may talk about the Christian life as if it is easy, the truth is that it is not. Read 2 Timothy 3:9-13. Paul doesn’t try to paint an overly rosy picture of what life is a Christian is about. Paul wants to teach and train Timothy, not give him false hope. The Christian life is amazing and rewarding and truly phenomenal, but it is not easy. There are difficulties and trials. People will not always like you. In fact, most people will not agree with you most of the time. Still, the Christian life is amazing and…

Teaching and Training, Day 28 What should we be learning? We think about both of these books that Paul has written to Timothy, and the focus has been on helping Timothy understand and learn. But why does that make Timothy any different from anyone else? Read 2 Timothy 3:6-9. Other people in this day were busy learning as well. However, Paul wanted Timothy to focus on truth. When we learn, it’s not just about gaining knowledge. We must be gaining truth. There are a lot of things in this world that we can know. The Internet has definitely widened the field of potential knowledge that we have and can know.…

Teaching and Training, Day 27 Sinful people act like sinful people. When we start to think about the way people act, it’s easy to see that our world is full of sinful people. Read read 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Paul understood the effects of sin. He had seen first hand the way in which sin impacts the lives of people. As people become more focused on their sin, the way they act changes. The way they think changes. Paul gives a laundry list in these 5 verses of all the different characteristics and attributes that make up someone who is living a sinful life. When we look at all the different…

Teaching and Training, Day 26 Fleeting and pursuing. We are to do both. Read 2 Timothy 2:20-26. As Paul continues teaching Timothy, we see that he indicates there are things we should be fleeing away from away from and there are things we should be pursuing. We cannot simply do one or the other. If we simply seek to flee from the evil things, we will not know what we should be doing. If we are only pursuing the good things, the evil that has been in our life will continue to hang around. We must actively choose to do both. We must flee the evil that is around us…

Teaching and Training, Day 25 Have a firm foundation. These next several verses in 2 Timothy really discuss the importance of knowing and staying firm in the word of God. Read 2 Timothy 2:14-19. Holding fast to the word of God is the key to everything in the Christian life. Our obedience and our focus must stay on God’s word. As we can see in these verses, that hasn’t always been the case. Timothy was dealing with some people who had lost sight of the foundational truths that were in God’s word. As a result, chaos and difficulty was running rampant through the church. At the end of the day,…

Teaching and Training, Day 24 In everything that we go through, Christ is over all. As Paul continues to write, we see his incredible emphasis on the lordship of Jesus Christ. Read 2 Timothy 2:8-13. Paul wants to make sure that we understand that Christ is indeed over absolutely everything. There is nothing that we will experience or go through on this Earth that Christ is not master of. As we are looking at our situation, do we understand all that we need to do in order to ensure that we are following Christ in every area? We are to be loyal to him, but God knows that we are…

Teaching and Training, Day 23 Strength = Consistency. As we move into this next chapter, we see Paul giving Timothy a slightly different definition of what it means to be strong in Christ. Read 2 Timothy 2:1-7. For Paul, he understood that we need to be strong in our relationship with Christ. We need to be moving forward constantly. However, strength does not mean one time power. Strength means consistency. Paul lets Timothy know that being able to finish the race and move continuously forward is what is truly going to set people apart in their walk with Christ. What about us? We have all had specific instances in our…

Teaching and Training, Day 22 Abandoned. We have all felt that way in some form or another at various times. Paul felt that way also. Read 2 Timothy 1:15-18. Paul had experienced rejection and abandonment. He had also seen tremendous loyalty. These verses detail both in stark contrast. As I look at my life and situation, I see very clearly times when I have absolutely been abandoned and left out on my own. I have also known the tremendous loyalty that comes from others. Either way, the important piece is understanding how God is loyal to us. We can count on him to never leave us or forsake us. He…

Teaching and Training, Day 21 Christ’s teaching. Paul takes a moment to reiterate his qualifications for being able to lead and teach. Read 2 Timothy 1:11-14. As we seek to understand all that Paul wanted to teach Timothy as he trained him up in the faith, we must understand what gives Paul the right to be the teacher in the first place. Ultimately, Christ is the teacher we should be following. Paul wants to make that very clear and as he speaks to Timothy, he explains all the reasons why he (Paul) is ultimately pointing him to Christ. Paul tells Timothy to follow him because he is following Christ. Would…

Teaching and Training, Day 20 God’s Spirit. What are the characteristics of the Spirit of God? Read 2 Timothy 1:6-10. Paul knows that with all the challenges that Timothy is facing that he is going to be afraid and concerned. Paul wants him to understand that God is with him through all of that and that God provides his Spirit as well. This Spirit is one that provides power and love and discipline, not fear. As we go through our day, God provides His Spirit to be with us as well. God’s Spirit is what provides for us to have the boldness to do all that God asks us to…