Sunday – October 17th – 2 Timothy 2:3-4 -----
2:3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
The Daily Walk Bible inspirational thought for today:
APPLY YOURSELF WHOLLY TO THE SCRIPTURES AND THE SCRIPTURES WHOLLY TO YOURSELF.*
Happy Sunday my friends and fellow blog readers. Today’s inspirational thought is just too powerful not to comment on its reach into our lives as followers of Jesus. The basis for understanding our relationship with God is fully and completely found throughout every page of the Bible. John Wesley was said to be a man of “one book”. This certainly doesn’t mean that he never read another book in his life – in fact he was a prolific reader and read almost without ceasing. What he discovered was that everything necessary for salvation is found in the Bible. We cannot successfully use any other single book in existence to lead us into a relationship with Jesus – the way to eternal life is only found in scripture. Yet today the greatest challenge facing us as a follower of Jesus is the temptation to pick and choose or delete and toss various parts of the scripture we don’t agree with or that challenges our way of thinking, living, or behaving. When we select only the parts of scripture that we like we have failed to wholly immerse ourselves into the wisdom, love, and peace that comes from God. Most of what Paul wrote about is the exact same issue facing Christians in his day. Read it cover to cover and you will discover the richness of God’s holy word for you.
In our pick verses today, Paul continues to utilize familiar illustrations to help Timothy use the Holy Spirit’s strength to endure the trials and daily challenges of being a faith filled follower of Jesus. Every Christian must expect some type of hardship, ill-treatment, suffering, or trail when they commit to follow Jesus. The evil one is busy throwing up distractions and disruptions so we might question or abandon our decision for Jesus. Like a solider, a disciple of Jesus must renounce any obsession with worldly pursuits and give single-minded commitment to Christ. This doesn’t mean we remove ourselves from the world, but that we maintain the proper perspective between Christ and possessions/power/prestige. In fact, our greatest opportunity for witness is found in the places where people need to hear about Jesus. When we are in outside the box places, we are not to be secret undercover agents, but instead those who represent Christ fully though our every word, thought, and action.
Blessings
Pastor Jim
Monday – October 18th – 2 Timothy 2:5-7
*Tyndale. The Daily Walk Bible NLT (Daily Walk: Full Size) (Kindle Location 54707). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
2:3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
The Daily Walk Bible inspirational thought for today:
APPLY YOURSELF WHOLLY TO THE SCRIPTURES AND THE SCRIPTURES WHOLLY TO YOURSELF.*
Happy Sunday my friends and fellow blog readers. Today’s inspirational thought is just too powerful not to comment on its reach into our lives as followers of Jesus. The basis for understanding our relationship with God is fully and completely found throughout every page of the Bible. John Wesley was said to be a man of “one book”. This certainly doesn’t mean that he never read another book in his life – in fact he was a prolific reader and read almost without ceasing. What he discovered was that everything necessary for salvation is found in the Bible. We cannot successfully use any other single book in existence to lead us into a relationship with Jesus – the way to eternal life is only found in scripture. Yet today the greatest challenge facing us as a follower of Jesus is the temptation to pick and choose or delete and toss various parts of the scripture we don’t agree with or that challenges our way of thinking, living, or behaving. When we select only the parts of scripture that we like we have failed to wholly immerse ourselves into the wisdom, love, and peace that comes from God. Most of what Paul wrote about is the exact same issue facing Christians in his day. Read it cover to cover and you will discover the richness of God’s holy word for you.
In our pick verses today, Paul continues to utilize familiar illustrations to help Timothy use the Holy Spirit’s strength to endure the trials and daily challenges of being a faith filled follower of Jesus. Every Christian must expect some type of hardship, ill-treatment, suffering, or trail when they commit to follow Jesus. The evil one is busy throwing up distractions and disruptions so we might question or abandon our decision for Jesus. Like a solider, a disciple of Jesus must renounce any obsession with worldly pursuits and give single-minded commitment to Christ. This doesn’t mean we remove ourselves from the world, but that we maintain the proper perspective between Christ and possessions/power/prestige. In fact, our greatest opportunity for witness is found in the places where people need to hear about Jesus. When we are in outside the box places, we are not to be secret undercover agents, but instead those who represent Christ fully though our every word, thought, and action.
Blessings
Pastor Jim
Monday – October 18th – 2 Timothy 2:5-7
*Tyndale. The Daily Walk Bible NLT (Daily Walk: Full Size) (Kindle Location 54707). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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