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􀁻 Brian Joseph Wangenheim - 2nd Timothy Verses One-Twelve - Testimony - 7 Hours ✠
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life
that is in Christ Jesus,
Paul again, like in the book of Romans makes his identity
very clear. He is an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of
God. This explains his mission, goal, purpose, and how he
was assigned that position. In modern days if someone
declared that they were such a person, most likely they
would not be taken seriously, at least I would not take them
seriously because Jesus tells me to be on the watch in the
last days and that I should recognize anyone by their fruit.
So I am not impressed by what people say or claim, but
rather what they do and how they live. In Paul’s time it must
have been a little different and I am sure there were more
concrete evidences proving who he was, but nowadays
anyone can be anything unfortunately, and people say and
do whatever they want freely. Paul became an apostle or
“ambassador” by the will of God , or simply because God chose him. In the same way God
chose me to serve Him and to serve college students with the message of life found in the bible.
Paul goes even further to explain that he is doing what he is doing because of the
promise of life found in Christ Jesus. Paul was saved through Jesus Word and Has life because
of Jesus Word, so it is only obvious that He would live for this Word as a messenger of it. I like
to say “We live because of the gospel, so we live for the gospel”
Another thing to understand is that life is promised in the bible through Jesus Christ. Life
is not just for some special people or given to a select few, but life is available to all people
through Jesus Christ. In Jesus there is life so it makes sense that because of Him and through
Him and what He says others can have life as well. I have experienced this Zoe life as I have
lived for Jesus, I cannot say my life has been easy, but because of this life I have lived in a way
that I would have never imagined, my life has become an adventure in and of itself, I also have
come to know Jesus Christ more, which the bible also says is what life is about.
I am very thankful for this life God has given me. He has blessed me to know Him and
be in a relationship with Him, when I remain in Him, He helps me, when I am weak and come to
Him, He strengthens me, I can find all that I need in Jesus Christ.
Another thing to consider is that it says “in keeping with the promise of life” This
indicated that Paul had to keep this promise in order to have life. So it is more like a contract
available through Jesus Christ. I too must keep this promise in my life by doing what Jesus
wants me to do, I must remain in Jesus Christ by obeying God’s commands and doing what
pleases Him, avoiding sin and other evils.
2 To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ
Jesus our Lord.
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􀁻 Brian Joseph Wangenheim - 2nd Timothy Verses One-Twelve - Testimony - 7 Hours ✠
Timothy was Paul’s faithful companion and friend and Paul had no one like him. Timothy
seemed like a very genuine, trustworthy and reliable person. Paul introduces him saying, “my
dear son” Timothy was not actually Paul’s literal son, but to Paul, Timothy was not just any son,
but a “dear” son. This shows that they had a good love relationship in Jesus Christ. Paul wished
Timothy grace, mercy, and peace . Grace is forgiveness and
favor, mercy is undeserved forgiveness, and peace is
comfort in life. So Paul only wished good things for his dear
son Timothy. I see that I too should only wish the best
things for all disciples of Jesus Christ. Sometimes disciples
and fellow co-workers can cause strain in my life whether
this way or that way, but nevertheless God called us all to
love, and when we love, we sincerely wish the best for the
other person even though it may go against logic or what is
considered natural. Paul desired all of these things from
God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul knew who
He was serving and he knew that only God could give these
things to Timothy, so Paul prayed to God and desired the
best for Timothy on behalf of God. Paul was also an apostle
of God so he could confidently desire things for others
because he had a keen insight into what God desired for
each person. I learn that when I too am dedicated to God I can also bless people sincerely, love
others, and truly desire their success in Jesus Christ.
3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and
day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you,
so that I may be filled with joy.
At this time Paul was in prison so he could have the inclination to feel alone, but he avoided that
by remembering Timothy, writing important letters, and thinking about God’s grace. Paul starts
off by saying “I thank God” Here we can see that Paul was thankful! It is impressive that Paul
was thankful in a dungeon where the conditions are barely capable of supporting human life.
Paul also had confidence in whom he served, he served Jesus Christ . Yet, not only he but also
his ancestors. Paul’s ancestors were the Jews, so he is referring to those who faithfully kept the
covenant in the Old Testament and put their hope in the Messiah. Paul also served God with a
clear conscience. Having a clear conscience is very important it indicates how a person values
their life and whether they are truth-seekers or not. When I was first taught the bible, I did not
want to abide by its principles and laws, yet I knew they were true, so I was at a crossroads to
just dismiss everything as some mysterious event and betray my conscience or to continue in
the way of truth. I chose to continue in the way of truth and I am happy because of my decision
because my life has been wonderful thus far. If we cannot serve God with a clear conscience it
is an indication that we are not living by the truth and if that is the case we should not expect to
receive anything from God.
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􀁻 Brian Joseph Wangenheim - 2nd Timothy Verses One-Twelve - Testimony - 7 Hours ✠
Night and day Paul constantly remembered Timothy in his prayers. This shows that
remembering people in prayers is a normal encounter. Prayer is a dynamic process it involves
talking, listening and even remembering. Here Paul specifically remembered Timothy’s tears.
This is what comforted Paul during his prison stay, it was Timothy’s tears. Timothy’s tears
represented what kind of person Timothy was to Paul. Timothy was a very warm hearted
person, very sincere person, very genuine person, and was obviously a faithful companion to
Paul. When Paul was in prison he could have felt like everyone left him, but when he
remembered this one faithful person, he was so encouraged. In the same way in my life,
things do not go as I expect and there are difficulties, but when I remember Jesus Christ,
I am always encouraged and find peace and comfort.
5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in
your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
With this we can see that we can hand down
faith to others! Timothy's faith started with his
grandma Lois, then it went to Eunice, and then
TImothy inherited it. Paul also describes it as
“ sincere ” faith. So in having faith we can see there is
a certain quality to it. Timothy had sincere faith,
meaning it was personal and real to him . It was not
something he felt burdened about, but his faith was
just a natural part of him, in that way it was sincere.
In faith there should be quality and quantity . The
quality of faith comes from how much you know and
believe about Jesus Christ. The more you really know about Jesus Christ, the more “quality”
faith you have. Your quantity of faith could come from anywhere though, like you can be really
zealous for God and have a lot of faith that way. I believe that both quantity and quality faith
are very important. When it comes to my faith I see that I need to grow in both of these areas, I
need to know more about Jesus Christ, and I also need to push forward in a wholehearted
struggle of faith…
I also learn that the faith that I develop will be handed down to others. I only want to
hand down the best faith, so I see that I must have and develop such faith. I am encouraged by
others in History who have left behind their trailblaze of faith, so I too must leave such a legacy
of faith for the glory of God, and more than that, so others would walk rightly before God, even
when I am gone.
Also, Paul mentions that faith lives “in” us. Faith has a spiritual weight and power to it.
When you have real faith, maybe you can even feel it sitting in your chest. Because faith has
that real weight, it can give you real confidence. I want more of this faith so that I would see
and recognize all of the great things God is doing around the world.
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􀁻 Brian Joseph Wangenheim - 2nd Timothy Verses One-Twelve - Testimony - 7 Hours ✠
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through
the laying on of my hands.
So because Timothy had sincere faith Paul wanted it to be flared up. Specifically he wanted the
“gift of God” to be fanned into flames. This gift of God, is the Holy Spirit. Timothy apparently
received the Holy Spirit when Paul laid his hands on him. I do not think everyone receives it this
way, but I think this is just one way a person can receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus breathed on His
disciples one time and they received it, and I am sure it can happen anyway that God wants…
The point is not how it is received, but rather how it
is fanned into flames. The Holy Spirit is a
powerful person, so that is why I think He is
compared to fire, He is also very gentle at the
same time, that is why I think He is compared to
a dove. I see that I need to make my relationship
with God fiery hot. I need to make active efforts to
come to God in order that He would be with me. I
should not just expect that the Holy Spirit will come
willy nilly and want to be with me. I find that when I
press myself towards God, there He comes closer
to me. Isn't that a relationship after all? Not just that
one person does all the work, but that both parties
make their fair efforts. I see that if I want a hot
relationship with God, I must seek Him
wholeheartedly and make necessary sacrifices to
do so.
I also learn that if this was the thing that Paul
focused on in Timothy’s life, it must have been very
important. I see that I too should focus on fanning this flame up. I think of being on an island
where it is windy and raining, and what I would do in order to fan into flame the little fire I have
going. I would protect the fire from the wind first of all, then I would prepare a good environment,
adding wood, kindle or whatever. Then I would support it to burn. I see that it may be the same
thing with my relationship with God, I need to be protected, given the right environment, and
given the right things in order that I would become hotter and hotter. The Word Of God is like
the wood, and the Holy Spirit is the fire. When I come to God by faith, there he can set me
ablaze and I can do great things for God. I will trust in God's good plan all the way and I will put
my hope in Him, because He puts His hope in me.
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and
self-discipline.
I am naturally a very timid person by nature, for me to be bold or confident, I usually have to
come to God beforehand to become strong. I see that fear or timidity, I should absolutely
throw off, because it does not come from God, whatever does not come from God, we can
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􀁻 Brian Joseph Wangenheim - 2nd Timothy Verses One-Twelve - Testimony - 7 Hours ✠
say is a sin in nature, so that timid nature, is part of the sinful nature , I see even more so that I
should not have such a character. Many times I think if I am not nice to others they may feel
such and such a way, because of this, often I am very timid of others, but I see at the root of
this, God does not want me to live like this, He must be disappointed in me, when I do not live
as a bold and confident person as I should be before Him . I am going to fight my timid nature
and overcome in Jesus Christ.
God’s Spirit gives us power first of all. Power is necessary in every part of life, even
when we are idle and sitting down, our body requires power to beat the heart and have the
lungs contract and so forth. But what about for our spiritual lives? Surely we need power to
abstain from the pleasures in this life, so that we would live lives pleasing to God. I know that I
need power to face the many challenges and difficulties that I encounter during the day, at work,
home, school, and so forth, power is always required. It is good that God gives this power
because I want power and I think everyone does as well to some degree. God gives power, so
we never have to feel powerless if we just come to Him, and if we are weak He is powerful,
which makes us powerful as we live for Him. I am thankful to God that
He has become my powersource in life, not some sinful pleasures, and
not even coffee is my true powersource (lol), but God alone.
Then God gives us a Spirit of love. Paul describes love best
saying love is patient, love is kind, love does not boast, it keep no
records of wrongs, etc… I think that the love that Jesus Christ has
shown us is universal in the sense that it has the power to reach
everyone. I have known different kinds of love in this life, romantic love,
friendship love, sinful love, etc. But God’s love is pure and only
satisfying. God’s love gives and does better for the person and the
receiver. I am thankful for God’s love in my life, as God has been with
me, blessed me, and kept me under His wings. God’s love is what life
is about. God’s Spirit enables us to love, for this reason, I see that I
should come to Jesus Christ more, that I would be fed in Him, and love others, even love those
who have done wrong against me, and even love my enemies, that they would know the love of
Jesus Christ and the power of the gospel.
God also gives us a Spirit of self-discipline. What this means is that we can control
ourselves whatever the situation is. We have discipline in ourselves to do what is right in other
words. Without God we are undisciplined, but with God, we learn discipline and can obey Jesus
teaching, doing what we ought to do in our day to day lives. We ought to trust in God and
choose the way of self-discipline so that we can all grow up as God’s people. In my life I need
self discipline in all sorts of areas in order for me to be productive and useful, at church, at
home, at work, at school, etc.
8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather,
join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.
Because God gives me all these things available through the Holy Spirit, for that reason I have
no reason of being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus! The gospel of Jesus is not a weak story
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􀁻 Brian Joseph Wangenheim - 2nd Timothy Verses One-Twelve - Testimony - 7 Hours ✠
but it is a powerful truth that I can live by and be fully confident of. I also do not need to be
ashamed of any of God’s servants that may have to suffer because they will receive their
reward in due time. The same for me, there is not need for me to feel discouraged because at
the right time I will be lifted up and blessed to be alongside Jesus Christ, and really I can live
that way now, so as long as I walk in His ways.
Instead Paul encourages me to join with him in suffering for the gospel. At first, this
seems crazy, because no one wants to suffer, but if you think about it, we all suffer in one way
or another, so we might as well willfully suffer for the sake of the gospel, because that is
really worth it in the end.
Also, this suffering is only
possible with power.
{{{{{{{{{{{ Suffering is possible with
power and suffering makes you
powerful. Think about a bodybuilder
in the gym, that person is the
strongest because he suffers the
most in his workouts and in his
workouts he needs power to suffer. It
is the same principle in Christ Jesus.
We are not weak when we suffer, but
it is just an evidence of power.
Understanding this, I have no reason
to feel ashamed or weak while suffering, instead I can carry my suffering around like a badge of
honor, because Jesus gives it to me anyways.
I used to not value suffering, but then after seeing the results of suffering I was delighted
by it. There is the saying “what doesn't kill you makes you stronger” I do not know if this is true
in all cases, but in Jesus Christ this is definitely true, because whatever God brings us is for our
good. I think of the movie The Matrix, there is a part where he first goes into the “matrix” and he
was not used to it, it was uncomfortable, but once he learned about the benefits of the training,
he wanted some more, it is the same thing with suffering in Jesus Christ, as soon as we realize
how good it is we are willing to even suffer more. }}}}}}}}}}}
9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but
because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before
the beginning of time,
Jesus saved us from our sinful life which is really amazing. When I think how God
delivered me out of my old way of life I am really happy, before I lived however I wanted but now
I have some rules in my life to protect me and keep me safe. Now I can learn about God, come
to Him, and He can be my friend even. My life has changed because of faith and now I can
boldly tell others about Jesus Christ. This great salvation is available to all people through Jesus
Christ.
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􀁻 Brian Joseph Wangenheim - 2nd Timothy Verses One-Twelve - Testimony - 7 Hours ✠
This is important to understand because the question sometimes comes, “why did God
choose me?” It is not because we have done anything special but it is by God's own purpose
and grace. God had a good purpose in choosing His people and it was also done with
forgiveness and favor involved as well. I must always remember it was not by my good merits
that God choose me, but by God’s grace and favor.
We are also called to a holy life. This means a different life ought to live. We lived one
way before we knew God, we ought to live in the opposite way now. When we do that we will
happily enjoy our new found lives in Jesus Christ. Before my life was about what I wanted to do,
now in my life I have rules, things I should and should not do, and God comes first, because of
this I have grown up to be more healthy, sound, positive, influential, successful, and smarter. All
of these things were possible through Jesus Christ. Basically, I have been molded and shaped
up into the kind of person that can be used by God. If anyone disagrees, just let him ask God
and see what He says...
Another side note: I have encountered people in my life who have told me I am not
special and it seems that because God choose us not based on anything we have done, we
would not be special, but that is so far from the truth! Indeed we are all even more so special
because God chose us. I am fully confident and blessed to know that I am special because
Jesus Christ choose me! I will celebrate it all day long! If anyone is downcast at such a thought
they must look at themselves instead of putting others down. They must plead at the feet of the
Savior, that the King would show mercy, and choose them as well. As for me I will look towards
God and let the light of His love always shine on me.
This grace was also given to us before the beginning of time! Not just before we were
born but the beginning of time . This verse will have theologians running around in circles (lol).
Because if this verse is true it means that God already knew that the fall of man would occur in
the beginning, or does it mean that? I think it actually means exactly what it says, God knew us
before the beginning of time , so whatever happened, God is going to recover us and save us,
and that is what He did in my life.
10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who
has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
We were given this grace before the beginning of time, but
we did not understand it until the testimony of Jesus Christ
appeared. Jesus fulfilled the will of God and brought us back to the
Father even after we were doomed to be lost because of the fall.
That much God the Father loves us, and that much Jesus Christ
loves us. In doing all of this Jesus Christ destroyed death . He could
have kept death if He wanted because He is Lord, but He overcame
death by the power of the Father, and then made a way for all to be
saved through Him. In this way because and through Jesus Christ
we are saved from death and it has no hold on us.
Also, he brought life and immortality to light through what he has done. Because of
death their can be no true life. Because of the effects of death, soon as there is life, it is gripped
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􀁻 Brian Joseph Wangenheim - 2nd Timothy Verses One-Twelve - Testimony - 7 Hours ✠
with that plague of death, I hate death, because it takes and does not give back. It takes what I
love and has no mercy. But Jesus Christ destroyed death making a way for us to have
eternal life, and with death gone, immortality is now a real thing available through Jesus Christ.
Surely, everyone would want to be immortal knowing that all of the effects of death are gone
with it as well! What great news, that Jesus Christ and through the gospel, death is
destroyed and immortality is now available through Jesus Christ!
11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is
why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have
believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until
that day.
"Of this gospel" meaning based on the gospel Paul previously described which is
basically the gospel of life. The gospel is primarily about eternal life made in and through Jesus
Christ. Of this gospel Paul was assigned to be a herald . A herald is an official messenger
bringing news. So a herald must have to go a lot of places and be able to communicate his
message very well. Paul was like this becoming all things to all people in order that they would
accept and receive the gospel. I too have to learn how to be a herald, but living in America it is
not so difficult, I am able to communicate freely with everyone. So I see a herald is not so much
as a challenge, there are certain niches in life that I have not become aware of, but in due time I
am sure I will become aware of this in order to best represent the gospel. Than an apostle, an
apostle is an ambassador , and ambassador represents his subject, place, person, or all three,
holistically. The job of the ambassador is to become the gospel himself, so that in his life others
would see and understand what the gospel is all about. I too must be fully converted in the
bible's truth in order that I would honor Jesus Christ with my life. Then a teacher , I understand
this one a little better because I am familiar with teaching the bible to some degree, I certainly
do not view myself as a teacher in any way, but rather I see myself as a shepherd. I have a fond
hatred for mere “bible teachers” or “religious folk” because I believe they do more harm than
good. I would hate a soul to be closed off only to learn about some religious subject instead of
coming to know Jesus Christ personally. I actually love being a “bible teacher” in the true
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sense or a shepherd, because I love the truth. I love the truth because it is logical and I
love people to know the truth, because I love Jesus who taught the truth. PLUS, I WAS
SAVED BY THE TRUTH!!!
Because Paul had all of these crosses he was suffering , so the more crosses you have
to carry the more you suffer. But remember, suffering is good . Paul states that there is no
need for shame. If you suffer in any other area in your life, maybe it will be a shameful kind of
thing, but suffering in Christ is not something to be shameful about because, He knew whom He
has believed. Meaning because he believed in Jesus Christ he was suffering. So because of
this person, he was suffering, he just happened to be suffering for the most important person in
the world Jesus Christ, God Himself! So definitely, there is NO need to feel sorry for Paul or for
him to feel shame. I too believe in Jesus Christ, so when I suffer, I do not worry to much,
because I know that at the end of the day I might not look “cool” BUT, I sure will look
cool in heaven when Jesus lets me come to Him. It is all about investment, anyone who is
smart, logical, or has any kind of sense would live for Jesus Christ, simply because it is the
truth. The best thing about the bible is that it is completely logical, so that you do not even need
faith to understand just a right brain. Paul was also convinced that he was able to guard what he
entrusted to Jesus Christ, Paul poured out his whole life like a drink offering at Jesus feet, in this
way, he gave His whole life to Jesus, He was really smart, and knew he would receive back
even more than what he invested. The same with me, there will be a day, where Jesus will
reward me for my sufferings, right now I feel like the “bitcoin” guy of suffering (lol), so I am sure I
will be rewarded graciously by Jesus Christ, so as long as I continue to walk in the way.
One Word: Suffer with Power, Power to Suffer.
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13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ
Jesus.
Here we can see that Paul has full confidence in what he has taught, imploring Timothy
to do as he has told. Keeping “the pattern of sound teaching” This shows that in any
sound teaching there is a certain pattern . The pattern in the teaching is what determines
if it is a good message or not. You can still teach what is right, but if your pattern is
off, even though you teach what is right, it may still be wrong . For example when
people just focus on how God loves the other person but without letting the person
know of the truthful aspects of that relationship with God. That message of love can be
lopsided. I was approached by a student who said “God loves me right?” and I said
“Yes, God sent His One and Only Son into the World to die for our sins, surely God
loves us. If I ended there, the student would only have a lopsided message , but I
continued: but because God has done that we should now live in such and such a way
to please God and respond to that love. So in that way I established a sound pattern of
making God’s love fully known and available, but at the same time pressing forward on
the young man's soul to do what he ought to do before God in a way to please the Lord.
Paul mentions faith and love to compliment the pattern of sound teaching. Faith
is absolute trust in the truth, and love is simply love, we know love because we know
Jesus Christ. So in any teaching there must
be faith in what you are teaching after all,
and then love, love for God, love for the
person, and love for Jesus. I see that in
teaching the bible, having a sound pattern is
important, but even more so teaching with
faith and love.
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14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who
lives in us.
This good deposit was the truth revealed in the bible to Timothy, in other words the
gospel. Paul taught Timothy the bible in a way that he could understand, not just bible
knowledge, but he must have gained very divine knowledge, knowing the truth about
God, life, people, what to do and how to live. So this good deposit was so important that
it should be guarded. Paul advises Timothy to guard it with the help of the Holy
Spirit who lives in us. The Holy Spirit is a person and He is there to help us live before
Jesus Christ and God the Father. The Holy Spirit will help protect the truth we are
taught by giving us power, comfort and counseling. Whenever I am troubled about my
faith or some matter, I simply turn to the
Holy Spirit and He comforts me and
advises me on the best way to live before
God. It is good to know that I have a
deposit in my life, or that I am given
something of true value, this object of true
value is the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
15 You know that everyone in the province of
Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.
This is alarming and unfortunate what Paul says here . Everyone in this certain area
deserted Paul including Phygelus and Hermogenes . Paul mentions them by name, so
they must have had a reputation at that time or been well known. When you really serve
God’s mission and are fully dedicated to it, it is hard. There is no way around it. In my
mission I have objections and rejections of all kinds, but this is just a necessary price to
pay so that people may have a chance to be saved by knowing the truth about life.
Many people do not want to walk on the narrow road that I walk on because they see
me suffer in it, but sadly it is not just my road, but it is the way for anyone to have life, as
I have walked on this narrow road, I know what is really important in life, loving God
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and serving God. He is worthy of my life and everything in between. I have had
many people come and go alongside me as I serve God’s mission, they usually leave
for the world in some way or another, they are deceived and have taken their eyes off of
the prize that is in Christ Jesus.
16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and
was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me
until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You
know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.
Even though Paul was deserted by a lot of people and even some people that were
notable. There was one who remained faithful to Paul: “Onesiphorus” In the same way
there may be a lot of bad things that happen in our lives, but one good thing
changes everything. We can only think about one thing at a time, so even if a lot of
bad things have happened when we
make the choice to think about that
one good thing, everything changes.
When Paul thought about how this
one man had remained faithful to
Him, he must have been
encouraged and found comfort. This
man “Onesiphorus” did a lot of good
things to Paul, he “refreshed” Paul,
how he did that exactly we do not
know, but he was that kind of
person, refreshing, I suppose he had a refreshing spirit. Second, he was not ashamed
of Paul’s chains . When people are in lowly conditions we want to avoid them. I know
that when I was at lowly times in my life even those I thought loved me distanced
themselves from me, even some revealed their true colors against me when I was at my
weakest, but through that experience/experiences I have learned about life and
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humanity. I know that they are not to be blamed, but I understood that this is just a part
of the sinful nature of mankind. So what am I to do? I know what I am to do: love and
forgive as my Master Jesus Christ has told me and shown me. Because this man
Onesiphorus was so good to Paul, Paul blessed him from the bottom of his heart.
Another thing that this man Onesiphorus did was to search for Paul in Rome. Back then,
there were no yellowpages or telephones, so finding Paul, in a dungeon of all places,
must have been very difficult, but he did it nevertheless . I see that when I love, I love
with all aspects of my life, not just in what I say or in a particular style, but with
my whole life I love.
2 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things you have heard
me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to
teach others.
So Paul stops talking about himself and then addresses Timothy, you then, my son, be
strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus . So we are to be strong in the grace. There
is not strength outside of the grace , if it were outside of the grace it would be by our own
efforts, which would have great limits , but in the grace we can be strong in Jesus Christ.
How can we be strong in the grace? We must hold fast to the things Paul and the bible
has taught , he taught it to many other people as well, so it is not just some special
teaching to Timothy, but the truth that is
applicable to all people. This teaching that
Timothy has received should also be
taught to reliable people who will also be
qualified to teach others. The qualification
to teach the bible is just being reliable in
Paul’s eyes. Anyone can be reliable and it
does not require extensive knowledge . So
it seems grace and being reliable are two
very important things. I see that I need to
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cultivate more of God's grace in my life, the thing is God’s grace is so great, it is not that
God does not give, but I do not open up enough or come enough to Him to receive. I
see that I must come to Jesus Christ more and more, there I will be happy and satisfied
in Jesus Christ.
3 Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
This shows that good soldiers of Christ Jesus suffer. If I am not suffering in my
mission life it could be an indication that I am not a good soldier. In my life I do suffer,
because I have to put what I want at the very end of my to do list, and I put what God
wants at the very top. When I do what God wants often there is some suffering involved,
but when I see the results of doing what God wants I am satisfied and happy because I
know His work is eternal and will matter forever. This is the work of saving souls through
shepherding. Paul invites me to suffer in this mission. I accept, ever since a young boy I
always longed for adventure, I think that is a part of every man, and in Jesus Christ we
are given a true mission of value, to be able to serve God
as His ambassadors and represent Him to the whole
world. What an honor and privilege! This semester I will
serve God to teach them the truth all the more,
remembering what God has done in my life and what He
wants to do in the lives of others, give them lives to the
full! Paul also says suffer with me like a “soldier” So we
are to have a “soldiers” style as we are to serve God,
soldiers obey orders, go through suffering, and complete
the mission. When I think about it, that is how I have lived
thus far, and living that way has made my life very
eventful and meaningful! :)
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4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his
commanding officer.
With this I see that as I struggle to serve God I should not get entangled by civilian
affairs. People who do not have God’s mission have their own mission. Other people
can do whatever they want, but as for me, I must do what God wants and not get
entangled in their affairs. I should aim to please my commanding officer, my
commanding officer is my shepherd here on earth who is God’s servant. “his”
commanding officer refers to the person right above you or commands you, Jesus
Christ is above me, but more practically, the people God has placed over my life are
those who are leading the work of God, and their are evidences of that, so I should
follow that out of respect to Jesus Christ and His calling. When we all work in one heart
and mind to serve God’s work, there Jesus Christ must be so happy and relieved about
how things are going down here on earth.
5 Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by
competing according to the rules.
This tells me that we cannot trick or fabricate our service to God. We may be able to
fool outsiders, or even those in the church, but only God knows whether we served
Him or not and lived for Him and His flock. I want the victor's crown when all things
are made new, so I must go through the
suffering in order to receive such a crown.
No cross no crown as the saying goes. The
rules are just what the bible talks about, I
think when we obey Jesus teaching sincerely
and live our lives in light of that we are
competing according to the rules. When we
do not obey, but cheat, we should not expect
to receive a reward from God for that.
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6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7 Reflect on what I am
saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
Paul is talking about how the first will be last and the last will be first. The hardest
worker is always last because it takes time to work the hardest, but this person will be
rewarded first and the greatest upon Jesus coming . In my life it seems that everything
has been delayed or slowed down for me. I basically only have a small portion of my life
to do what I would like to do, while people normally give their whole lives to doing what
they want. As I have put God and His mission first I have become last in this life it
seems, but because of this God will reward me for my losses and sacrifices and I am
put in such a place where God can reveal His glory to the world through me. I see that
the more I pour out into God's mission, the wiser that is because I will be rewarded the
greatest there. It is only fair that the person that works the hardest gets to be rewarded
greater and first.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David.This is my gospel, 9 for
which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not
chained.
Here Paul describes some characteristics of
“his” gospel. First, Jesus Christ , there is
actually a lot of meaning just in that alone,
Jesus means the Lord Saves , so Paul knew
that only the Lord was capable of saving us
from our sins, then Christ, which is another
word for the Messiah, ties back to God’s
promise in Genesis of restoring mankind
through a deliverer. The prophets then
prophesied of the coming of the Messiah, and
even before that God gave His promise to
David, that an everlasting kingdom would
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come from His line, so through Davids line the eternal kingdom of Jesus Christ
would come about. So Paul knew all of this and believed in it even more. Because of
the wonderful and divine nature of the gospel Paul was suffering (Even to the point of
being chained like a criminal) I talk about my sufferings sometimes, but when I hear
Paul being chained like a criminal I am a little ashamed and see that my sufferings
probably do not compare, I am encouraged by Paul’s sufferings, and as I look at myself
I see that my sufferings for the gospel may encourage others also, so that is to my gain
because it is my desire that God’s kingdom would expand asap, because the faster
God’s kingdom expands here on earth, the closer to the time of Jesus coming, and the
restoration of fallen mankind.
Paul says, God’s word is not
chained . Paul must have thought about
all the work he had done prior teaching
the gospel and been encouraged to
know that it would not go without effect,
basically because of the powerful
nature and truth of the gospel it would
just spread like wildfire continually .
Also, because God's Word is the truth it is not “chained” meaning nothing can hold it
back, when something is chained it is held back, but the word of God contains truth
through which God can launch His power into the world. Also, Paul mentions Jesus
Christ, raised from the dead. This is so important! Jesus Christ was raised from the
dead, this validates the whole gospel. The Messiah was supposed to be our savior
and how would he save us, by raising from the dead. This would be direct evidence
that He is God and can save us from death, sin, and whatever for that matter! I
rejoice in the gospel that saves me from a dead life of not knowing the truth, now
that I know the truth, I live as a free man.
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10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation
that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
Therefore, meaning in light of everything Paul has previously said, he endures
everything for the sake of the elect. Paul was really in it for Jesus , and I know this
because He knew that His sufferings would make it easier for Christians in the
generations to come. Normally as humans we are selfish and do not want it to be easier
for others, but Paul had a sacrificial spirit and a good heart . The reason Paul endured
for the sake of the elect was that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ
Jesus, with eternal glory. Paul was really a “pioneer” we can say, he was one of the
first ones who obeyed Jesus word mission command and to preach the gospel
wholeheartedly and he learned so much, that is probably why his letters God
considered worthy enough to be in the bible, this shows that God really loved Paul ,
forgave Paul, and wanted to bless him. In the same way I go through all that I have to
go through so that I would be able to teach others the best way and help them avoid
many troubles in this narrow road. The salvation in Christ Jesus is something we
experience here on earth, the eternal glory we can say is something we will experience
after certain events have happened and the earth is restored to paradise.
11 Here is a trustworthy saying:
In case we could not understand Paul gives us something easy to remember,
trustworthy that we can hold onto.
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
If we died with him, we will also live with him. Dying with him… This means in our lives
we live like Jesus, and if we live like Jesus our old nature passes away, we live different
lives, this is like dying, we lose a lot of the things people naturally love in this life, but
when we live like Jesus and do this, we will end up living with Jesus at the right time . I
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see that I need to live more like Jesus and walk with Him, that I may die with Him, and
then live with Him.
12 if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we endure, this has to do with doing the right thing under constant pressure. If I
endure in this life going through all of its challenges, eventually, I will end up reigning
with Jesus. Endurance requires strength, faith, and wisdom, If I endure in this life by
doing what is right and carrying out my mission, I too will also reign with Jesus. Anything
that I have to go through now here on earth Jesus already went through or understands
fully, He is God and I can trust in Him. Enduring is not easy, but the secret is looking
to Jesus Christ, when you look towards Jesus Christ you can always find
strength to meet the next challenge.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
If we disown Jesus he will disown us, disowning Jesus, means to not own Jesus
anymore, it may not necessarily mean a person says “I do not like Jesus anymore” but
they can simply abandon mission life or not live for God anymore, if that is the case we
can say the person has “disowned” Jesus by not owning Jesus Christ in their lives
anymore. If we ever disown Jesus, He will disown us, He will not take us in an accept
Him if we do not take Him in and accept Him ourselves.
13 if we are faithless,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.
If we are faithless, he remains faithful. This can be applicable to a lot of things in Jesus
Christ. Faith has to do with some absolute truth, because our faith is founded on the
truth of God. If we do not have faith in something in the bible, God is still going to
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fulfill it because He is faithful, and He cannot go against His own nature. God said
“I am who I am” Meaning God is the end all, be all, chief King, that we must listen
to. We must have faith in the truth found in the bible and live it out because God
will fulfill it. There is no use trying to go against God, it is much better to align yourself
with the will of God and then obey it. I see that my whole life it will be worth it to obey
God and His teaching, whatever sufferings or pain I have to endure is worth it in Jesus
Christ. God is so great he cannot disown Himself, only God cannot disown Himself
because He is the truth, the truth is something unbreakable like a law of life. We disown
ourselves all the time by not keeping our words or obligations, but God is not like a
mere man, that is why we can put our trust in God’s Word.
14 Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about
words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.
Paul says “keep reminding God’s people of these things” Paul sure did say a lot, but we
are to understand and do what He says to please the Father and remind other about the
truths in the gospel ALWAYS.
Paul lastly adds warn them before God against quarreling about words. This is
really intense and I see that arguing about words is useless, somehow Paul saw the
bad side effects that come from this and He did not want anything to do with it, or
anyone to do that either. So I will not argue about words with anyone as well. Arguing
about words carries NO value, it may seem that trying to prove your point carries value,
but in Paul's eyes it does not, so I will not do so. People who listen to arguments about
words are only “ruined” Paul says. I can understand this, as we are Christians we are
supposed to be known by our love , but if we argue about words, what good is that, love
is so much more than a matter of words and arguing. From all of this I am going to try
to be a good soldier in Christ Jesus and suffer, and also be a man of love.
One Word: Good Soldiers of Jesus Christ Suffer .
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15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who
does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of
truth.
First “Do your best” Paul is really like a father asking his son to do his
best. When we ask others to do their best we understand their weaknesses
and we eliminate our standard over them , instead it is a call for them, to
simply do their best... Doing our best is all we can do, it is the max of our
human potential. We are to do our best to present ourselves to God as
one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who
correctly handles the word of truth.
So here we see two important characteristics which lead a person to
be approved: 1. Not being ashamed , not being ashamed is important
because having shame in your life is like having a heavy weight or a
burden, shame takes away confidence and without confidence no one will
listen to anything you have to say
or they will pity you, so it is really
bad to carry around shame,
especially as we are to help others
live Godly lives. I see that I need to
live in such a way where I have
nothing to be shameful about at
all , at that time I can be bold,
strong, and confident.
Second, correctly handling the word of truth , this comes from
studying the bible, writing deep testimony, and most of all living out God's
commands in my day to day life. In studying the bible you should have a
scholarly attitude and in the application you should have a warrior like
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attitude, in this way you can grasp the full spectrum of what it means to
live before God.
I want to present myself as one approved so that others may be
blessed to and live before God as one approved. I see that I need to be a
true example of how to live before God in my generation. I NEED TO BE
THE ONE TO PLEASE GOD, SEEK GOD, AND OBEY GOD IN MY DAY TO
DAY LIFE.
Also, at the end of the day I am presenting myself to God. He is the
object of my devotion and love, obviously when I do what is right before
God and show myself approved to Him, how much more so will I be
approved in the eyes of men?
16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become
more and more ungodly.
I also see that avoiding godless
chatter is part of a characteristic of
one who is shown approved by God .
Godless chatter is just chatter where
God is mentioned less or not even at
all. Wherever there is chatter where
God is less and not greater, there you
can find this “Godless Chatter”
Godless chatter is bad because it
does not honor God, nor the servant
of God. As for me, I do not have too much to talk about besides the Lord,
even when I talk about my work or one of my projects God is still my main
focus, whether others know that or not, when God is my main focus I can
keep my feet on the ground, my heart does not have to skip a beat, and I
can still guide my listeners in the right way to the Lord, without enticing
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them to pursue some passion or hobby. Everyone can tell if you really like
something by the way you talk about it, as for me I must make sure that my
joy and glory is in talking about Jesus Christ. Some people start small talk
with me and I see that is okay, I should not ignore them, but if I claim to
know God, I should at least try to steer the conversation in a God honoring
way. If this is not possible, then it is best to abandon the conversation
altogether. Also, it seems that these people indulge in godless chatter, it is
not good to indulge in anything especially godless chatter. I suppose the
solution is to have Godly chatter. When all your words and thoughts are
centered around God, there God is honored. Those who indulge in godless
chatter will become more and more ungodly... So it seems that Godly
chatter will help others be more Godly, while ungodly chatter will lead
others to be more ungodly. F rom this I see that, I have a great
responsibility to say and do the right things, because by what I say and do
others will either be blessed or cursed...
17 Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus
and Philetus,
It seems that this ungodly chatter is more than just “small talk” but it
is characterized as a teaching… This is very strange and something to
cause alarm. Because their is this teaching like quality to their godless
chatter, it will spread like gangrene. Gangrene is a terrible disease that
spreads quickly to the rest of the body. Paul then mentions these two
Hymenaeus and Philetus who have departed from the truth. This means
they no longer live in a way that honors God as the bible describes. They
departed from the truth also meaning, t hey once had the truth , but they
chose to do this godless chatter too much and then departed from the
truth.
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18 who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has
already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.
They say that the resurrection has already taken place and they
destroy the faith of some! So this is what all of that godless chatter led to.
Their godless chatter got so bad that they were saying and believed that
the resurrection has already taken place, it seems they were to theological
in their understanding, and talked about things they should not have,
instead of being good, quiet, and listening christians, learning to do what
God wants in their practical lives and proving their lives through their
actions. They said the resurrection had already taken place, maybe
becoming “super-spiritual” Obviously, the resurrection had not taken
place even in their time, so how they came up with that I do not know… But
it is not too hard to believe because I have heard some “christians” with
similar ideas... T he thing is the more you talk about things you don't know
about, you become familiar with it and can be led to believe and do things
that are not right. They should have just kept the matter in their hearts
instead of talking about it and believing a lie instead. T he fruit of godless
chatter was their death and even the death of others. I see that when I do
not know something in the bible, I should not try to force myself to know it
or understand it by talking and talking. There comes a point where in my
own understanding I have to admit that I do not fully grasp it, throw in the
towel, and wait for God to reveal it in His own proper time.
19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this
inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who
confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
Nevertheless, meaning even though they did this and all of that
happened, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this
inscription… This expression “solid foundation and sealed” is used to
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define absolute certainty. Another expression used similar to this is “this is
the verdict” “The Lord knows who are his” and “Everyone who confesses the
name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness” These are not exact
bible verses found in the OT, but we can say they are true statements that
can be derived from an understanding of who God is . God obviously
knows those who are His because He called His people, the Jews, and He
knew us before we were born, etc. and “everyone who confesses the name
of the Lord must turn away from wickedness” With this Paul is basically
saying, y ou may say what you say, but at the end of the day God’s word is
there and I will not call you to account, but God’s word will. Basically just a
warning, that there is no faking God. In the same way I cannot fake God , I
can possibly fake others, but what does that matter, because real
judgement and punishment will come from God. I certainly do not want to
be found as the rebellious or disobedient, so I must live in a right way
before the Lord. I also see that I must turn away from any sort of
wickedness, when I turn away from wickedness, there I can be healed and
grow up in Jesus Christ.
20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also
of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common
use.
So Paul is talking about people here.
The large house is God’s church and
in the church are articles of gold,
silver, wood and clay. Some are for
special purposes and some for
common use. This is really
groundbreaking because many
christian people nowadays would say we are all the same in Jesus Christ,
but in reality we are not, some are used for more noble purposes than
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others. Some are made of gold , others are made of silver . These are the
people who are used in some special way. Again, this is by no means a
right to brag but it is simply God’s choosing and desire. In the same way in
any house there are common items like forks and spoons, then there are
more advanced things like the microwave, and even greater things like
jewelry or something? I am encouraged to be like an article of gold! And
we all can because it says:
21 Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for
special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any
good work.
The way I can be an article of gold is by cleansing myself from the
“latter” s o there is some kind of purification process involved. I think there
are certain things that are permissible for us to do as christians that we
cannot necessarily say are “sinful” like taking it easy, watching movies, or
going out and doing fun things on the weekend, I would not say all these
are necessarily
bad..., but I believe
if a person
cleanses
themselves from
the mundane
things of this life
they can be used
by God to do
great things. I am
encouraged to
give myself fully to God's mission so that I would honor God with my life
and be useful to the master, prepared to do any good work! I see the way
to live a really glorious life is being prepared like gold for the master.
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When I am like gold, others can be really blessed and have a chance to
grow up in God. I see the goal is gold, now I must cleanse myself from
anything that is optional in the Christian life, so that I would have a lean
life, that is all God focused and God centered.
22 Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and
peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
So Paul gives a goal of how we are to live and what kind of thing we
should have in mind, which is a life of c leansing ourselves from the “latter”
whatever that may be.
Then he also gives some advice saying flee the evil desires of youth.
Youth’s can easily generate evil desires, these kinds of evil desires can be
anything, it could be violence, lying, cheating, stealing, lust, youth do not
have much to lose so they are more prone to take risks and thereby do
“evil” things. But I am to flee all of these kinds of evil desires and pursue
righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the
Lord out of a pure heart. Sometimes I want to be youthful, as I am a youth,
but there is a sinful part of the youthful nature and then there is the Godly
part of the youthful person.
I am to pursue first, righteousness, r ighteousness, is having the right
relationship with God , when I actively pursue the right relationship with
God in my day to day life I will be happy. I momentarily stopped spending
my quiet time with God, because I was give a tremendous task of spending
7 hours a week writing testimony, I was discouraged because I felt like my
fellowship with God was suffering by merely studying the word, studying
the word of God is good for all sorts of reasons, but the intimate fellowship
I had with God in my quiet prayer time, felt like I lost it, and I was very
discouraged, but I mustered up a way to spend time with God again and I
am happy. I see that real life is about having the fellowship with God, and
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it is also my responsibility to know and live by the word of God so that
others may be blessed.
Second, pursue faith. F aith is something invisible, so how do I pursue
it? In my relationship with God, I can discover what the Father's will is, and
with that I can do or pursue
something by faith, so that I
would know about Jesus
Christ, and any good things
that comes from God is by
faith in someway or another
in our Christian lives. Faith is
good for all sorts of things,
so I should definitely pursue it. So instead of doubting I should seek and
want to have faith, come to God in prayer about it, read the word to have
it, and more. God does everything through faith here on earth, so I am so
excited about pursuing faith!
Third, I should pursue love. God is love, so I should pursue this part
of God. This is not talking about love from others, but true love from God.
How can I pursue this true love? I can live a life of love like Jesus did , when
I live like Jesus did, I get to walk in the way of love, and taste what true love
is like. What I can say thus far is that true love is sacrifice , you do not
really love if you do not sacrifice, and sacrifice comes with a cost, you feel
it when you give it up, but that is love. I love to live a life of sacrifice
because I know it is a life of love and at the end of the day all that is
remembered and all that matters is love.
I should also pursue peace, this is one thing that I always want very
dearly in Christ Jesus. Peace. I think we all want peace, t his world can be
chaotic and hectic with so many worries and troubles , but when we have
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peace, we can relax, let our guards down, breathe and enjoy life. So how
can I have this peace? I believe when I do what the Father wants there I
can enjoy this kind of peace. When I am obedient to the Fathers will, carry
my crosses, and act as I should before the Lord, there I can enjoy deep
peace in my heart no matter what the situation is. Life is uncontrollable,
you can try to control everything as much as you can, but there is no
certainty in this life, dangerous things and accidents happen all the time,
not to mention death takes its toll on everyone, so how can there be real
peace? It is by remaining in Jesus Christ, at that time a person can grow
up in the Lord, and get everything from God, peace included.
Lastly I should pursue all these things b ut not alone , but along with
everyone who calls on the name of the Lord w ith a pure heart . It is better
to pursue things together with other people, especially in Christ Jesus. So I
should pursue this with people who call on the name of the Lord, meaning
that these people really love
God sincerely and their whole
lives are built around
pleasing God and doing what
God wants them to do. These
people are worshippers of
God, not those who live for
career, not those who live for
money, not those who like
hobbies, but those who like Jesus Christ and the Lord, who want to know
God more, they can be my friends, but not only that t hey must have pure
hearts , meaning, no faking it , real sincerity, down to earth people, if people
do not have this kind of pure heart and if they do not really seek the Lord,
they should definitely not be my friends, that doesn't mean I cannot
interact with them, I just have to be careful not be influenced in a negative
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way. When you have a friend in Jesus Christ it is a real blessing because
you can let your guard down and share about your life of faith freely, and
how great is that when you love God, and pursue God, and get to share
that life with someone who is like minded as well. What a wonderful life it is
to seek God and all of these things, this is what life is about, not marriage,
not career, not pleasures, but God. I want to be a child of God that walks
this earth, and then returns to my master. I see that a child of God lives
like Jesus lives and does the things Jesus does, like teaching the bible,
shepherding, healing the sick, helping the demon possessed, and being a
friend of sinners, helping them to know the truth and Gods grace.
23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because
you know they produce quarrels.
Paul advises me not to have anything to do with foolish and stupid
arguments because I know that they produce quarrels. The best medicine
for the other person is usually when I lead by example , if I am not doing it
and then tell someone else to do it, it is very burdensome for the others
person, but imagine if I do not even tell the other person to do it, but lead
by example, and they see that, that person will have such a light weight,
be free to make his or her own decision as God desires in Jesus Christ,
and truly grow in God!!! W e cannot force people to grow up in Jesus
Christ, it is like yelling at a baby saying get older, get older, the baby will
not get any older, some things take time, and examples.
24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to
everyone, able to teach, not resentful.
This means that God’s servants should not look to argue, not look to
cause trouble, obviously, but rather be kind to everyone , w hen you are
kind, you are able to teach, not resentful. W hen anyone is resentful and
quarrelsome, their words are burdensome, they may be able to teach, but
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Brian Joseph Wangenheim - Testimony - 2 Timothy 2:15-26
nobody wants to listen. I remember at times I have been like this, when I
have this kind of bad attitude, it is not good for anyone, so instead of
being like that I see that I should focus on having fellowship with God and
letting Him restore me, so that I may be kind, able to teach, and not
resentful. When I am kind and able to teach everyone can be blessed, t his
is so important because I am a shepherd and bible teacher after all, so I
have to be able to teach.
25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant
them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,
There are some that actually oppose servants of God or the gospel,
these people must g ently be instructed, so that God would help them
repent and lead them to a knowledge of the truth . I have had people
oppose me for one reason or another, and if I were to argue with them, it
would just make things worse, so very gently, I instruct them, or ask
questions, w ith that they have a chance to think, and whenever a person is
thinking God has a chance to intervene and help the person come to their
senses. Some people just do not know the truth, so they need help in order
to live according to the truth. W hen people oppose me now, I just see it as
an opportunity
now, whenever
there is
opposition, all I
have to do is
respond in the
right way, and it
is like the magic
touch, which
enables God to
start His full
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Brian Joseph Wangenheim - Testimony - 2 Timothy 2:15-26
work of restoration in that person, I like to see when people are restored
this way.
26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the
devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
This shows that these people who oppose God's servants are
trapped by the devil. I think they are trapped by the devil because they
have been living in darkness, so for them to be enticed to oppose God's
servants would not be hard for the enemy to do… They are just captives
being led along and enticed to do all sorts of evils. I see that I should have
mercy and really consider these people with love, so that they would be
helped and come to know the truth.
One Word: Find Yourself Approved In God’s Eyes
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2ND TIMOTHY CH 3:1-17 - Brian Joseph Wangenheim
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
Pauls expression here shows
how serious it will be in the last days.
There will be terrible times in the last
days like he says. In this passage
Paul describes in detail how the last
days will be so terrible and he gives
some examples for me to follow. I
pray that I would listen to Paul’s
advice and not follow in the bad
example of the last days but instead live a Godly life honoring God. Amen.
2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud,
abusive,disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
1. People will be lovers of themselves: People will love themselves more
than they love God. I hear a lot of teaching nowadays about
“self-respect” and “self-care” this sounds good but if it comes before
God it is just a way to love yourself rather than to pay the cost and
do what is right in God’s eyes. I think as human beings it is in our
sinful nature to love ourselves more than to love God, but this should
not be. I know when I love myself more than God, I am not satisfied or
happy, because I was not made to love myself, but I was designed to
love God. When I love myself I just become more and more warped in
my way of thinking and understanding about life and my
relationships with others fall apart as well. Fundamentally, when we
love ourselves we cannot love God or our neighbours and that is not
right. When we love ourselves we live a selfish life, but when we love
God we live a sacrificial life. I see that I have to fight this “love-of-self”
and make all efforts to love God. When I love God and others I get to
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live a hot and meaningful life, but when I love myself I am really just
dead and cold inside. I pray that I would love God and not fall victim
of this bad characteristic in the end-times.
2. Lovers of money: Many young believers have a hard time discussing
money because they do not know the way God views money. First of
all, all the money on earth belongs to God. Everyone must
understand that the money they own is not really theirs but God has
just entrusted that person with that money for one reason for
another. I do not love money or put my faith in money because I
know it is just a
resource that God
can use to do His will
on earth. This is why
it says “In God We
Trust” on the US
banknotes. It seems
at first in America’s
history that some
people understood
this, but now it seems
it may be different
now. I will still trust in
God with my money,
how much I make and what to do with it because it belongs to Him. I
have to be a good steward with my money but definitely not love my
money. Money is just a means for living, but it is not life itself, thereby
money should not be the object of our love, but God should be the
object of our live. Whenever we need money to buy certain things,
God always provides we can all testify to this, and if we cannot we
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must have faith in God to experience this, because I have
experienced it many times. I am by no means rich and a lot of people
my age make way more money than me, but I am not jealous, or
trying to compete because I am thankful for the portion God has
assigned me. God has given me my fair portion of money after I do
my work and it is my assignment from God so I can remain in the
Father’s will. If I left the Father's will maybe I could make more money,
but what kind of life would that be after all? It surely would be a
miserable life. I trust how much I make and how much I have in God’s
hands, because it is God’s job to bless me when I am faithful to the
tasks I am given, I do not need to worry about doing anything on my
own. It is not by my own skills or talents that I can make money, but
by God’s sovereignty and permission all according to His will. So I will
definitely not love money. Sometimes, I do feel like I am bothered by
my money, whenever I feel like I am spending to much or have some
large expense, I do not like it, but then I have to remind myself that
my identity is not in money, my life is not about how much I have, but
doing what God wants me to do, and living as a child of God.
3. Boastful: People will be boastful in the last days as well. Being
boastful is having the tendency to talk about one's own
achievements as a matter of pride. Like saying “I do this, or I do that”
Whenever I have boasted in my life I feel good at first, but then that
steam wears off and I feel empty, because boasting comes from
pride and pride is a sin, and that is the characteristic of sin, making
you feel good at first, but then leaving you with nothing. I see that I
should have nothing to do with that boastful nature. Whenever there
is boasting their is competition, jealousy and all other sorts of things
going on that will make anybody feel good. It is one thing to be
happy because you succeeded, but done in the right way, should still
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maintain that aspect of humility because you should still
acknowledge and see that God brought about that victory, not you
or I. Sometimes I find myself talking too much about myself, I see that
I need to shift from being focused on myself, to being focused on the
Lord and on others, so that they would be blessed. I also see that I
have to be really careful of boasting because when I hear people
boast I am easily enticed by that, when people boast, I naturally
think they are great and am attracted to that. When people boast
about money, success, achievements and so forth my heart easily
goes towards that, so I have to be really careful to remember that life
is not about those things but about loving God and serving God.
4. Proud: Being proud comes from pride. Whenever there is pride, there
is no love for God and a person cannot receive anything from
anyone spiritually or from God Himself. Many times I can be proud,
but this is not good, because
when I am proud I really
forget who I am, just a sinner
that has been saved by God’s
grace, and when I forget that,
I forget everything, so I see it
is not a good idea at all to be
proud. Instead, I should look to humble myself before God and
before others all the more.
5. Abusive: This is misusing something with bad intent. So God created
all things with a purpose, but these abusive people take what is
good and use it for bad purposes, maybe harming their fellow man
or harming themselves emotionally, spiritually, or physically. I have
to be careful that I would not become abusive with anything in my
live. I used to be addicted to drugs, so I have to be especially careful
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that I do not become abusive with any substance or person in my
life.
6. Disobedient to their parents: This simply means they do not obey
their parents. Children must obey their parents even if they do not
necessarily like them because God made this order in the family. In
the last days the children will not even obey their parents, this is very
terrible.
7. Ungrateful: This means to not show appreciation towards someone
or something. This is very bad, when people are ungrateful towards
me I feel so bad. So I should not be ungrateful towards others.
8. Unholy: To be unholy is just to be normal and not different. When
people are unholy they just do as they please. Instead, I am to live a
different life, doing what God wants me to do, day in and day out.
When I do what God wants me to do day by day, their I can grow up
to be a different kind of person.
3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not
lovers of the good,
9. Without love: This means they have
no love. When you do not love, your
life is so cold. Without love life is just
death. So they have no love. Many
times it is hard for me to love, but
because it is hard for me to love, I see
that I still have love and have not
given up on love. With love in my life I
always have hope. I must make all
efforts to love others especially in the
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last days, because in the last days people's love will grow cold. I also know
that I have love because I wilfully serve Gods mission, this is evidence of my
love, if I had no love I would not give myself up for God’s mission. I am glad
that I have given myself to God’s mission, even though I am not perfect, I
live a life of love.
10. Unforgiving: This means not forgiving each other for. I see that no
matter how bad anyone has treated or no matter how much hurt a person
has brought into my life, I still must forgive them as Jesus Christ forgave
me. I love all of my brothers and sisters in Christ, even though sometimes
they make me so mad, still I forgive them, because I know they are not
perfect and I know that I am not perfect, so on this sinful earth God
requires us to forgive each other and by doing this we can keep God’s
command which is to love each other.
11. Slanderous: To slander someone is to bring their name down, it is to lie
or bring a false accusation in order to destroy someone's identity. This is
very evil. I see that I should never go this far, to become slanderous.
Instead of doing this, I should do the opposite, which is to build others up
in love. When I focus to build others up, they can be blessed and
encouraged to serve God. I must try to strengthen and help others so that
they too would love God and give their lives to Him here on earth.
12. Without self-control: God gave us
a spirit of discipline. The opposite
would be without self-control. When
people do not have self-control they
disturb society and bring harm to it. I
see that I should seek to do the
Fathers will so that I can have
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control in my life and that God would be honored. When I do not have
self-control I just make a fool out of myself and dishonor God.
13. Brutal: Brutal means going beyond the extreme. Anything extreme is
already not good, but going beyond that in whatever it is, that is very bad.
So being brutal is not something that I want to be. I have to be careful
because this life is very cold, and the world does not love, people can
easily go this way, especially me because I am very isolated in serving
God’s mission. Even though my circumstances may be extreme, still I trust
in my heavenly Father to take care of me and supply me with all of the
grace and encouragement I need to meet each challenge and each day. I
know that I do not suffer as much as my brothers and sisters overseas, so
with a prayerful heart I consider them, and do not count my sufferings to
be that much at all.
14. Not lovers of the good: This is just a very plain statement that these
people will no longer love to do good. If they do not love to do good then
they love to do something else. I see that by remembering Jesus grace, I
should make all efforts to do what is good in my life, even if it hurts and
even if I have to sacrifice a lot, still I should love to do good, even if no one
else does good that I can see, still I should do good, in my faith in the
Father God.
4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of
God—
15. Treacherous: This means that friends will betray friends in the last days.
I have already experienced this kind of thing in many different ways and
levels. It is unfortunate that things have to go like this down on earth, but
it is comforting to know that this is just what the bible is talking about. So
far after reviewing all of these terrible things happening on earth. I
certainly have no desire to be here and would much rather be in God’s
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heavenly kingdom. But certain things must happen like the bible talks
about before that era comes, in the meantime, I just consider myself not in
a playground, but on a battlefield for my whole life, it is okay I accept,
because I have no other choice, my prayer is that God would keep me
strong and give me the grace and faith to meet each challenge, pain and
difficulty.
16. Rash: This making dramatic moves way too quickly. This is obviously not
wise, but it seems people will have nothing to lose in the last days and then
do things like this. I see that I need to keep my fellowship with God, just to
survive the last days at this point, and when I think of it, life down here on
earth is really that bad, we are surely living in the last days.
17. Conceited: This is to be excessively proud of oneself. When I think of this
normally I think of looks. People are usually conceited in that area. But it
could be anything, as for me I should not be conceited in anything,
because whatever good things I have in the first place God gave me, so
why be vain and focus on things that are not important. I will not do it.
Also, from meditating on all of these bad character flaws, styles and
attitudes, I see that it really requires a lot of energy to sin and do what is
wrong, all of these things are a very unpleasant way to live, so it is much
more pleasurable and beneficial in the long run to do what is right before
the Lord...
18. Lovers of pleasure rather than lover of God: This means that they love
satisfying their fleshly nature. If I were to go by natural instincts I would
want to go this way as well, but as I live for God he transforms me out of my
old nature so that I am embedded with the new nature which is built
around doing what is right. Loving pleasure is vanity, because there is no
satisfaction or end to the love of pleasure, instead when people live
according to their sinful nature that just gets worse and worse. I see that I
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should not center my life around pleasure, but center it around God. Your
life in centered around what you love, so if you love pleasure you make all
your decisions around that. It is not smart at all to have pleasure as the
basis for all your choices and actions, surely that is a short-lived and
meaningless life. Instead, when God is the center there is life, joy, peace,
and hope.
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do
with such people.
18. Having a form of godliness but denying its power: This means that
these people look good on the outside, maybe very moralistic, or good
looking, but they deny the power of God. At this point I live a very pious life
so people could easily judge me for having a form of godliness, but one
thing I do not do, which is to deny the power of God. I believe in the power
of God, that is one of the reasons why I love God, because He has power.
That power brought me up out of my old life, gave me a new life, gave me a
mission, gave me power to serve that mission, gave me power to overcome
my sin, gave me power through prayer to have my needs met, gave me
power to love and forgive, so I do not deny God’s power and my whole life
proves it. Instead I will continue to trust in God, even as the whole world
rejects me, I in fact reject the world. In this way I do not care what others
think or say about me, so as long as Jesus Christ is my God and that I get
to live for Him, in love and obedience. But, I do have to be careful for these
people who have this form and deny its power because they must be
enticing, but nevertheless, they are just fake, and do not really believe in
God. These can be religious leaders, spiritual leaders, pastors,
missionaries, it could be anyone in Christ’s Kingdom, so I have to be alert.
More than anything, I see that I need to focus to be the best person I can
be in Jesus Christ, it is too hard to discern people nowadays because
everyone says they are a Christian. So I give up on trying to tell who is who,
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all I know is that I will do what I am supposed to do before God, so that at
the end of the day I will receive my reward and be in the place where my
Father is. It requires to much energy for me to try to discern everyone out,
instead I must use my energy to remain in Jesus Christ, and I will deal with
people on a case by case basis in order to see whether the are sincere or
not. God does not want me to have anything to do with such people and I
will not.
6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over
gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds
of evil desires,
19. So this seems to be targeting men, but I am sure nowadays and can go
either way, the woman or the man can be the worm. So in this example
there are two parties, one which is being like a worm, and the other, who is
full of sins and swayed by all kinds of evil desires. It is not good to be
either. Another thing to consider is that in this whole passage Paul is not
secluding the church, but he even seems to be talking directly to the
church, so these are church matters, we can only see how much worse it
will be in the world. As for me I must have nothing to do with any of this, it
is almost so evil, that I want to skip it and not meditate on it. I am
blameless in regards to woman, I know how I have denied myself and the
measures I have taken to even help woman come to know Jesus Christ, so
my hands are clean in this matter. I know that many husbands are worse
than I am in this matter and I am a single young man, so I will not be
bothered one bit, instead I will trust in Jesus Christ and love God alone, I
will let those who do evil continue to do evil, but as for me I will love God.
These people who are wormed in are easy bait because living in sin has
made those people weak, have no standard or integrity, it is disgusting
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and shameful, that is why these people need to be helped and have a
good shepherd who can protect them and keep them safe from predators.
7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.
20. What this means is that they keep on agreeing but never able to see
the big picture of Gods love, God’s mission, or who they are. As for me, I will
agree, listen, and take heed to everything the bible says and continue to
live that way so God would be honored in my day to day life. I am not
ashamed of the truth and I will live by the truth.
8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers
oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds,who, as far as the faith
is concerned, are rejected.
Jannes and Jambres are the so called “wise-men” who opposed
Moses. This makes sense because they agreed with the power of things
Moses was doing and repeated those miracles, but they did not believe in
the God of Moses, in this way they missed the whole point. They did not get
the big picture of what it means to live before God. As for me I will do my
best to understand everything and live it out so that God is honored in my
day to day life. I know that my faith in not rejected because I do not just
give God lip service, but I give Him my whole life. Whether people reject me
or not I do not care because I know the life I have lived before God, which
is a life of sacrifice. If I opposed the truth I would not even get close to
making sacrifices but just remain theoretical all the way, instead, I make
sacrifices daily, and have even given up my whole life to serve Jesus Christ.
I will not be bothered at all by this matter. Instead, I will challenge others to
follow my example as well, to be real before God by making real sacrifices,
and having real actions, real obedience, and real turning away from sin.
Another thing to consider is that these people were not rejected by people
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of God, by they actually rejected themselves, because in faith there is a
standard of life, which comes about through actions.
9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their
folly will be clear to everyone.
Even though the men of depraved minds seems like a serious concern it is
not too much of an issue because their folly will be clear to everyone. It will
be obvious that although they talk the talk, they do not, walk the walk. I am
too busy walking that I got no time for talking myself...
10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose,
faith, patience, love, endurance,
In 20 different ways Paul describes how bad it is in the last day. Now Paul
changes his direction and focuses on the good examples of how to live in
Jesus Christ. He uses himself as an example.
1. Paul’s teaching: Paul’s teaching was nothing out of the ordinary it
was about who Jesus is, what He has done, and how we should live in
light of that. The way I can characterize Paul’s teaching was that it
was God focused and could bring about the kinds of fruits in
people's lives that would please God the Father. Paul’s teaching was
sound.
2. Paul’s way of life: Paul worked hard. Paul always emphasized God’s
grace because he himself had that and knew how important it was.
Paul served the mission like Jesus did, being fully committed to it,
and not keeping anything for himself. Paul was a tentmaker and he
was a preacher, so one way I can define Paul’s life is that he worked
hard based on a life full of God’s grace. I see that the more grace
that we have the harder we ought to work for God’s kingdom.
3. Paul’s purpose: Maybe Paul could talk about a lot of different things
here, what I am reminded about is that Paul really wanted to know
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who Jesus Christ is. He also wanted people to know about Jesus
Christ. So it seems Paul’s whole purpose was making everything
about Jesus Christ known. In the same way I too should follow this
example, to make Jesus Christ know to all peoples.
4. Paul’s faith: We can also talk a lot about Paul’s faith. First of all we
can say he had it. Paul’s faith was sincere. Paul had faith to go back
into a crowd and continue preaching after he was nearly left for
dead. Paul also had faith to bring someone back to life. So Paul is
definitely an example in faith.
5. Paul’s patience: Paul ministered to the Jews and then to the gentiles.
If he was a jew of the jews and then was willing to serve the gentile
peoples the message of life, I know that he has a lot of faith. That
mission must have been so hard for him. I know it takes a lot of
patience for me to serve college students and outwardly speaking I
am not so different. But Paul was very different to the gentiles, so his
patience must have been very honorable.
6. Paul’s love: To do the work that Paul did he must have been full of
God’s love. Many peoples lives were changed as a result of Paul’s
service to God, all history testifies to that and I know that wherever
there is a soul being changed it is being done by love, so I am sure
Paul had a lot of love, based on the kind of fruit his life had and the
impact his work still makes today. Not to mention, his letters are in
the bible, and God is love, so Paul must have been loved by God and
also loved others with God’s love.
7. Paul’s endurance: Paul talks in the bible, how he has been through
so much suffering, even being shipwrecked and I am sure he was not
over exaggerating, so certainly Paul had endurance which I am sure
came from his relationship with God and his keen awareness of
God’s mission in his life. I too must endure in my mission life, this way
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I can honor God with my life, by staying steadfast to serve God’s
mission.
11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in
Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord
rescued me from all of them.
8. Paul’s persecutions: Paul must have been persecuted a lot telling
the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. That was a great challenge there.
Then when Paul’s ministry shifted towards the gentiles, he must have had a
lot of persecutions from people who did not want to give up there
addictions, pleasures, and sexually immoral lives. Paul was left by his own
companions, so he experienced betrayal, and he was almost stoned to
death. So Paul’s persecutions were real things and not imaginary.
9. Paul's sufferings: Also, because Paul served God with such passion,
dedication and love he suffered a lot. He was even put in prison on
multiple occasions. He must have suffered in many different kinds of ways,
physically, spiritually, emotionally, yet he found all that he needed in Jesus
Christ. I too must follow in this example of suffering and not think that it is
something strange to suffer, but just a normal part of my life now that I
serve God, as it has been.
12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be
persecuted,
So Paul thinking more about his persecutions could see that if anyone
followed his pattern of living which was a godly life, there would surely be
persecutions. I can understand this in my life as I am no longer a friend to
the world, so I do not like, do, or say what the world wants, because of that
the world does not like me, the world rejects me, but actually, I broke up
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with the world first. So I can expect persecutions in my life, but I am not
afraid because I know it is just a normal part of my life because of the way
I live. I do not need anyone to protect me or keep me safe because it is just
normal. God does not even need to protect me because it is a normal part
of life. Even as He does protect me.
13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse,deceiving and
being deceived.
21. Paul is basically saying that people will just get worse and worse.
Those who live in the mess of sin, will just keep on making a mess in their
lives and in the lives of others as well. The world will just cheat, lie, and
steal amongst themselves. While all of this goes on, as I am Jesus Christ I
will be protected by God, and if something does happen I can have the
assurance it happened with God’s permission because He has something
great in mind. I see again and again, how good it is not to be a part of this
world. What that means is do not love what the world loves, its pleasures,
hopes, dreams, styles, talk, what is popular, instead live the life of loving
God and serving God, in whatever way shape or form that takes. When a
person lives such a life they will be saved!
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become
convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,
Here Paul gives Timothy the confidence that he can continue to
grow in everything that he has learned in Jesus Christ because he knows
the people from whom he has learned it. This is a very important principle,
people should only obey a teaching if it is from God and we know what it
from God by the fruit of life it brings to the soul. At first some teachings
may be hard, but eventually they should bring forth light and life in a
person's life. Also, the teacher should have such life and light Himself. We
can only make disciples of ourselves, so we ourselves have to be good and
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then we can change the world. I know those that have taught me the bible
to some degree and their lives seem mostly upright and good, my
confidence is not in them, but rather in the Word of God that has changed
me and what I have become convinced of thus far. I am fully convinced of
the truth in the bible and that all people need to know the word of God.
Mankind is not perfect but the Word of God is perfect, therefore we can all
turn to the scriptures for this life's journey.
15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are
able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
So not only did Timothy know and testify to those who taught the bible
and what he has become convinced of but he also knew the scriptures
ever since a child. It seems Paul is really trying to help Timothy to
remember these things so that he would not be deceived or enticed in the
last days. I see if that Paul was doing that with Timothy who was surely
greater than I am, I especially have to be watchful and struggle to do what
is right. Not only is Paul appealing to Timothy but he is telling him some
truths. The scriptures can make you wise for salvation through faith in
Jesus Christ. So first we see that wisdom is directly related to salvation.
Wisdom is needed in the process of salvation because salvation is not just
a one time transaction but a process that starts from the transaction of
what Jesus paid at the cross. Jesus sacrifice and a person being born
again is one thing, but then the life-long journey of walking out that
salvation will determine if a person makes it to heaven or not. We all need
wisdom so that we would choose what is best for our souls in this life. Not
everything is good for us down here on earth as we have learned from the
21 bad examples of types of people and what they do in the last days. So a
few things we learn, there is no just once saved and only saved and that is
it, salvation must be worked out. Then we need wisdom which comes from
studying the bible according to Paul. Then all of this THROUGH FAITH in
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Jesus Christ. Without faith it is impossible to please God, so we all need
this faith.
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness,
First all scripture is God-breathed, what this means is that the word of God
is not dead. This all goes back to the principle in the book of Genesis,
when God spoke things became. When God breathed into Adam he
became a living being, so life is in the breath, if we stop breathing we die.
So everything in the bible God spoke or had an executive order over,
thereby life or God’s will can come about through it. There is no other book
or Word of God like this, only what we know in our bibles today. Every other
book that claims to be God’s word is just a lie, counterfeit, or fake in some
way or another. Because the Word of God is alive, we can do things with it
like:
1. Teaching: We can teach the word of God, we can teach about the
Godly examples to follow in the bible, teach about the ungodly
examples to not be like, teach about the mistakes that have been
made in order to avoid them, teach about the patterns of faith that
have brought about God’s glory. The Word of God is full of life so it
can be extracted from and put together in many different ways to
bring about natural truths so we can live Godly lives. Basically when
we teach the bible, we teach others the truth so they know what life is
about, who they are, what to do, how to live, where to go, and so
forth. All things about true life are found in the bible. I am a bible
teacher or what I prefer a “shepherd” so I need to know everything
about how to LIVE LIFE, not just bible knowledge, and what a great
experience it has been thus far.
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2. Rebuking: Rebuking is like an extreme version of correcting, you do
this, when someone is down right wrong, or if what they are doing is
serious enough for concern. I must rebuke those who need to be
rebuked, because it could save them. Again, the basis for any rebuke
should be out of love and based on the truth found in the bible.
3. Correcting: Correcting is like a rebuke, but does not have to be done
so sharply or with force, it could be something is a little off here or
there.
4. Training in righteousness: I think that this fourth one is most
important. This is what I love to do for others and love for my own
life, that I would be trained in the right way to live before God. That is
what righteousness is all about after all, having the right
relationship with God. So we need to be trained and taught how to
have this right relationship with God, no training is easy, but once it
is complete, the rewards are there for the lifetime.
17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good
work.
So the Word of God is useful for all of the above, but the purpose of
everything that we do as shepherds is so that others may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work. This shows us a glimpse into what God
desires with our lives. God wants to see us doing good works, working for
the good of life. We ought to have lives that do good and show others
what doing good is all about, being real examples and role models in our
day to day lives. I want to be equipped to do every kind of good work my
master Jesus Christ has in store for me so I must remain teachable and
also teach others to do what I do in my day to day life, which is to love God
and serve God with their whole lives.
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One Word: While the World Gets Bad, Let’s Do Some Good!
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In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and
the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this
charge:
1. In the presence of God
and of Christ Jesus: When
you are in the presence of
something you are before
that, so being in the
presence of God and
Christ Jesus is a very big
deal. These two are the
most important people
that ever exist we can say.
I see that for me I should do everything in the presence of God and
of Christ Jesus. When I do everything before God this way, then God
will be happy with my life.
2. Who will judge the living and the dead: Paul could have introduced
Jesus and God in many different ways, after all the bible says God is
Love, God is the Almighty Father, God is the Prince of Peace, but Paul
introduces Jesus as the one who will judge the living and the dead.
Basically there is no escape from God’s judgement if He judges the
living and the dead. I see for me I ought to live the way God wants me
to live because there will be no escaping His judgement. Many
people wonder about the people who have already died and God will
judge them too.
3. And in view of his appearing and his kingdom: So Paul mentions that
Jesus will come back again, or He will appear again to the living and
the dead, and His kingdom will also appear. So both Jesus and His
kingdom are not visible right now, but they will be. So there is
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nothing to worry about or be troubled about in this life. Life can be
troubling but knowing that Jesus is going to come again and make
everything new is such a relieving thought.
So Paul is about to give a charge and he gives it on account of a few items.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and
the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom. So he mentioned
very important and crucial things to Timothy to remind Him of what kind
of mission he was serving, a very important mission, not just any other
mission, not something he should take for granted, but being a part of
God’s divine plan. I see that for me too I am serving a really divine mission,
it is not something that I can take for granted. Outwardly people may see
me as just being active in the church or doing some nice things for society,
or consider what I do volunteer service, but in the spiritual world there is a
war going on and I am apart of it, and God uses me to save souls for His
mission work, and God uses me in whatever way He wants, so serving God
is not just a fun, happy go-lucky, kind of ordeal, but it carries real weight,
the weight cannot be seen yet as we are called to live by faith and faith is
invisible but eventually faith will be sight, and the way I lived will prove that
I was not wrong and was right all along for my lifestyle or giving everything
for Jesus Mission.
2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct,
rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
1. Preach the Word: Preaching is what a pastor does on Sunday for his
congregation, he spends time in the word and comes up with the
message, then he delivers that message to people. A good message
has a structure and a point all in alignment with the Word of God.
Preaching is also a one way street into the audience, the audience
can react a bit to the message but most of the work is done by the
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preacher. Preaching is different from teaching in that teaching is a
different way ot tool to administer the Word of God. When a teacher
is teaching students should be listening, when a preacher is
preaching people
should pay very
close attention in
order to capture
the message of
the preacher. The
preacher labors
behind the
scenes and often
has one or a few
points that he wants his audience to know about. I see that I should
learn how to do both, bot to teach and to preach. Mainly I am called
to teach and am specialized in teaching but there is always a time
when I can preach like when I go fishing for bible study students, I do
not need to memorize anything long in the bible to preach, but even
with just two parts a message is possible, preaching should follow
the, A plus B leads to C structure.
2. Be prepared in season and out of season: So there is “in season” and
“out of season” In Christ Jesus. In season we can say are when things
are going very well. Just like in hunting there is an “in season” time
which means the game are plentiful and legal to kill at that time. Just
as there is also an “out of season” this is when animals are illegal to
kill and hunt, most likely to give them a chance to grow back in
number again. But the “in season” and “out of season” in Christ Jesus
is much different than hunting but it has to do with our souls or the
are ripe for harvest, meaning in Jesus eyes people are always ready
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to be saved and come to know the Lord. So I do not think “in season
has to do with the outward circumstances, because those factors
are to dynamic for any man to interpret to see if it is time or not to
do God’s work, and it does not coincide with how God wants us to live
on a day to day basis. Instead I believe we prepare the season inside
of our hearts. When we are prepared on the inside it becomes
“in-season” for us. When we are not right on the inside it becomes
“out of season” for us. I remember when I was living freely in the
grace of God my senior year of college, I had a part time job at Long
Beach City College, a great Christian boss, and everything was going
well for me, I was able to serve God’s mission with little stress, little
burden, and I had a lot to look forward to in my career and making
disciples. At that time I was really happy and could tangibly see all of
the good things God was doing in my life. That is the time where
Immanuel grew up in my care, actually I do not even remember
teaching Him too much because I was so focused on the Word of
God and being in God’s grace. I remember that a time that I was “in
season” Another time, I had lost my job, started new in my career,
and had to make a living in the world for the first time after I
graduated, it seemed there was no Christian to help me, no positive
influence, just being surrounded with people who loved the world,
and on top of that facing all sorts of pains and persecutions and not
being understood, you can say at that time I was “out of season” My
life was not fresh, not attractive, and I was suffering, but still I did the
work of God, even though I was out of season. I think it goes back to
that saying “if you do not use it, you lose it” God does not want us to
be the dull knife in the cabinet from not going out into the mission
field and sharpening our blades against the sinful lifestyles of the
world, God wants us to be sharp and usable all the time. I see that I
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need to make all efforts in order to keep myself “in-season” and
prepared to do the works God wants me to do. Recently I started up
my morning time prayer with God again and I have loved to break
down the word of God, so that I would really understand it and live
by it, my decision has alarmed a few people, and many people do not
understand why I spend so much time in the word of God, prayer,
and serving Jesus mission, but to me it is just a normal part of life, as
it should be for every Christian, we need to know what is in our
bibles, and we need to live according to God's word every day.
3. Correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful
instruction: So all of this has to do with helping others to live according to
the word of God and to know Jesus Christ. Correcting should be done,
rebuking when necessary, and encouragement. All of this should be done
with great patience and careful instruction. You notice how Paul says
“great” patience this means that is is not easy to do all these things and
you may not get the results you were hoping for right away, that is why you
have to have “great patience” in all of these things. I know for me I have
been serving campus ministry for about 7 years now and it has not been
easy, actually most of the people I have poured out into have gone their
own way, I am not sure, but I have not heard from them, but in all of this I
have had to have great patience or else if I just give up, then there is not a
chance for anyone to be saved. Also, careful instruction meaning the
instructions you give others should be well thought out, considerate, and
based on a real understanding of the Word of God and also knowing
exactly what is going on in that person's life. Instructions are important
without the right instructions you will do whatever it is you need to do
wrong. Just imagine the whole church is going out to play soccer as we
usually do, and we have to set up the goal posts for the soccer game, but
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the goal posts came with the wrong instructions, we would all be confused
and not able to play soccer. So good instructions go a long way. I see for
me that I need to be very careful in how I give instructions, that I would
support that person's life in Jesus CHrist, and not give them a heavy yoke
of slavery. All people must turn away from sin, but I have to be really
careful not to ruin anyone's life in Jesus Christ because of a bad
instruction. That is why instructions have to be given so carefully because
we teach sheep, they will follow any instruction, so we should not take this
for granted, because God will call everyone to account for what they have
taught and how they have treated the little ones. I see that I have to be
very, very, very careful when it comes to college ministry in order to best
help the sheep.
3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.
Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great
number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
Paul declares that people will not
put up with sound doctrine.
Instead, to suite their own
desires, they will gather around
them others to tell them what
they want to hear. Sound
doctrine is both the stuff we want
to hear and also the stuff we
need to hard. For me, I try to find
people who teach sound doctrine and it is very rare, what is even more
rare is someone who teaches sound doctrine and actually lives by it, that
person is a gem. I am a truth seeker and want to know the best way to live
for God in my generation so I look far and wide to find anyone who is really
living according to the truth and it seems that those people are very few
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and very rare, but very precious. Most christians have no sense of mission,
no obligation to society, and have no practical tools or means in order to
serve God on a day to day basis. When people have a way they can
practically serve GOd on a day to day basis than life before God becomes
very real. For me I serve college students on campus, so getting my bible
notes ready is one thing, going to bible study, testimony writing, fishing,
disciple-making, it is actually everything the bible talks about and says we
should do, I am just doing that. I do look for others who teach, but I look
for the best teachers and the best examples, because you are only as
good as the one who teaches you, it is enough for a servant to be like his
master, but no servant is greater than his master, that is why in order to
serve God’s mission effectively I have had to gone and search for other
support and help not necessarily in the church so I would grow up as the
man God wants me to be. What I have found so far is that all churches are
different in some ways or another, all have their own strengths and
weaknesses, the key is learning what their strengths are and being
forgiving of their weaknesses. People in the world learn from others more
skilled than them in order to succeed in their success, how much more so
should Christians be willing to do anything in order to be fruitful in their
mission life and bring honor to God with their good and Godly lifestyles. It
is my goal to be the best person I can be in Jesus Christ in order to for
one, to please God and number two be of use to God for his mission of
saving souls. I still see I have a long way to go, but I am glad that I am
pursuing my relationship with God and how to grow up in Him. Unsound
doctrine may draw people in, but it does them no spiritual good in the
long run. It is like a dad who does not want to break his kids heart so he
keeps on getting him that junk food, he doesn’t know what he is doing to
his son and blind to the greater wrong that is occurring, that is what it is
like with these unsound preachers these days, they may have big loving
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hearts, but they do a disservice to God and bring more confusion and
damage then good in the long run.
4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
So again, Paul emphasizes that they will
no longer live according to sound
doctrine, but they will even turn aside
from the truth. I have known some people
to have some pretty unsound doctrine,
but have seen enough good teaching in
them, that I hope it works out for their
salvation, but here as Paul says it gets
really bad, they turn aside from the truth and listen to myths. Everyone
knows a myth is fantasy, but these people no longer can put up with sound
teaching because they want to live whatever way they want, they become
so depraved in their thinking that they listen to myths. Nowadays a myth
may be something like saying Jesus has already come back or that Angels
of God slept with woman, those kinds of things are strange, unbiblical and
on the classification of myths. I love the truth too much to turn aside to
myths, I would never betray my own conscience just to turn to some myth
while knowing my soul will wither away and I will go to hell, just enjoying
some fleeting pleasures in this life. Instead I will stand up for the truth and
live by the truth, so that God would always be honored in my day to day
life. People like myths after all that is why they turn to them, that is what
superhero movies are after all, just myths, but they do so well at the
box-office. I see that in all of this unsound doctrines and myths, it is the
common trend in society and popular, so whatever is popular most likely I
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should avoid that. Jesus also says very specifically broad is the road that
leads to destruction, but narrow it the road that leads to eternal life.
5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work
of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
1. Keep my head in all situations:
This means no matter how
frustrated I may be, how
confusing the situation may be,
even if my whole life is falling
apart, still God wants me to keep
my head. I must keep my head
because the mission I am serving
is so important, if I lose my head, then I lose everything because the
head is what governs my decisions and actions, so I have to keep my
head in all situations. When I keep my head in all situations others
can be blessed as well, they can hopefully come to have confidence
and strength from the example that I bring. So no matter what the
situation is I must be able to keep my head.
2. Endure hardship: This has to do with two things, endurance and
hardship which is basically hard work. Endure + hardship together
mean do hard work over a long period of time, be willing to go
through it. In my mission life I have to endure hardship which is
basically long days and nights all the time. I go to work and after
work I go right to campus to start my next work, campus evangelism
and I do this every night, I even work Saturdays and Sundays full
time basically working on my testimony and just having a little time
to take care of any chores that I need to take care of. Doing this
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week after week can be very challenging that is why I am told to
endure hardship I suppose. When I think of Jesus, he was the
greatest one to endure hardship. His whole life was hardship, so I
see that I too should endure hardship like Jesus Christ. When I
endure hardship for and because of Jesus Christ, I will eventually be
in the place where Jesus is.
3. Do the work of an evangelist: Basically this is to draw peoples hearts
out towards Jesus Christ, so they would see something about Jesus
Christ in order to be encouraged, saved, challenged, rebuked,
anything, the whole point of evangelizing is becoming more like
Jesus. We can do this by sharing the word of God with others, and
more than that it is a wrestling match of the soul, between the
evangelist and the person who is there. The person who is there is
very blessed if there is really an evangelist because evangelists
should speak the truth and help others to come and know Jesus
Christ. I love doing the work of an evangelist because it is my life
work, to get as many people as possible, by whatever means, to
come and know Jesus Christ, in order to be saved. I also see that in
order for me to be an evangelist I must be sanctified. When I am
sanctified then I help others to become a part of that same quality.
4. Discharge all the duties of your ministry: My ministry is a ministry of
the Word of God, so I am responsible for everything related to the
Word of God. I also have some minor duties like cleaning and refilling
the water at the proper times. When I do these duties faithfully God
can be honored. I see that I have to discharge all the duties of my
ministry and not leave anything left behind...
6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for
my departure is near.
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This reference of being poured out like a drink offering shows Paul’s
complete dedication to the work of God. His whole life was poured out.
Many times people have poured out water in front of me. One time a lady
opened her car door, looked directly at me, and poured all of her drink
out. Many times people have done this as I have gone by, I take it as God’s
sign in my life, but I don’t know what they were thinking or what they had in
mind when they were doing such things. I see that I should follow Paul’s
example and be poured out like a drink offering. When I live that way I will
have no regrets, when I pour out everything and nothing is left I can have
a sense of loss, but I just keep my eye on the prize and avoid any feelings
of loss or despair. Paul knew that his time to depart was near, in other
words, he was going to die, but in other words, he was going to go to
heaven. I like that Paul viewed his life as a departure, many people fear
death, but when I live for Jesus Christ, and do what is right in God’s eyes
eventually we go to heaven. I want to be ready to go back to God at
anytime, so I see that I need to live like a drink offering, it makes sense too,
if you pour out your whole life for Jesus Christ, you have nothing here on
earth to keep for yourself, then why would you want to be here on planet
earth? I sure wouldn’t I would much rather be in heaven. In today, thus far,
as I have served God, I see that the world is not my real home, it is a place I
am at temporarily, but eventually I will go back to God if I conduct myself
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in a way that is worthy on planet earth, it is not all about grace and
rainbows, but real turning away from sin, and living a life of serving God's
mission. I would almost dare to say that anyone who does not have God's
mission may not be saved… When I depart it will be a good day because I
will be back with my Lord.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the
faith.
1. I have fought the good fight - We are all fighting some kind of fight
here on planet earth, some people are fighting for themselves, some
people are fighting their enemies, some people are fighting their
sins, Paul was fighting the good fight. This good fight can be
characterized as the fight of faith. Having faith is not a passive
matter, you have to fight to protect it or you will lose it, you have to
put it into action or else you will forget it as well, faith is everything, it
is our way to have a relationship with God, if we do not have this
faith then there can
be no relationship
with God, and
without God what is
there? I too have
fought this fight of
faith, and my fight
has been on the
mission field
wrestling with
rebellious students and going through all kinds of ordeals in the
years. But I am so glad that I have remained and still I love Jesus, I
could not always say I have loved Jesus, sometimes I have loved
money or lust or sinful pleasures but as I have fought these things
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have left my life and what is left is the knowledge of God, knowledge
of the truth and an understanding about how to live this kind of life.
So faith is a fight, in any fight there is the opposition, so in keeping
our faith we are certain to have opposition of all kinds like from the
world, but we have to fight this in order that we would win and keep
our faith to the end. Paul then mentions I have finished the race. So
Paul looked at this life like running a race, it is not a sprint but it is a
marathon. When the road is longer you gotta be sure you have
everything prepared. FOr example if I am going camping in SOCAL
maybe 2 hours away from Gardena, I would pack some basic things.
But if I were going to Nevada to go camping I would pack my items
more thoroughly and take time to think everything out. How much
more so when our destination is Heaven? So Paul was running this
race and he finished this race! Meaning he ran all the way and he
was going to be back with God soon, I too hope that I will be back
with God soon, although I think that I have a lot more in my race, but
nobody really knows their time, just like I do not know mine.
2. Paul also kept the faith: This means he trusted in what God said all
the way through, he did not give up his faith. I remember when I was
in 6th grade I think I gave up my faithful, I remember I was in the car
with my mom and I said to myself I do not want to believe in God any
longer, I just wanted to be free, I did not want to feel guilty thinking
that there was a God who would hold me accountable of my sins.
That was the worst thing I did in my life, but eventually God brought
me back to Him, but only after a long-time. I see that now that I have
my faith I must keep it and hold onto it and never let it go. My faith is
all I have in this life. So far I can say that I too have kept my faith, I
have made a lot of mistakes and messed up, but one thing I have not
done is give up my faith, even when people gave up on me, I still held
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onto my faith, that is what saves me time and time again, my faith in
Jesus goodness, and that when I obey His commands He will treat
me right. When we all keep our faith we will not be let down, but God
will reward us at the right time, and we will all be happy.
8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me,
but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Because of the way Paul lived and how he worked so hard and
fundamentally did not waste God’s grace, he will be rewarded. Paul says
the “crown of righteousness” this represents that he has earned his right
relationship with God at the end of the day.
Christians nowadays will go crazy over this
and say that we do not earn anything in
JEsus, but actually we do when we live the
way God wants us to live, we will receive that
reward of having that right relationship with
God at the end of the day. I do not think that
this crown is an actual thing, maybe, but the
real point is that it represents that right
relationship with God. Then he talks about the Lord being the righteous
judge, so we will be judged and if God finds that our Christian race has
been good we will be rewarded, he is the judge that makes the right
decisions. Paul is also not just talking about himself here, but everyone is
on the same level and we will be judged by the same judge. Paul also puts
in a quality of those that will most likely receive a reward from God, it is
those who have longed for his appearing. This means you really really
want Jesus to come back. If you really want Jesus to come back what this
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shows me is that you don’t care about the world and if you do not care
about anything in the world, then there is one thing you most likely care
about as a Christian which is the Lord. As I have lived this life, I have come
to see that things in the world are not as great as they seem, but what is
great is loving God and serving God. All those who long for his appearing
obviously know who he is as well, you cannot long for someone unless you
know who they are, that word longing also implies that the heart is being
given to that person. When anyone longs for his appearing it is like they
are waiting for Jesus to come back, so if you are faithful in all your duties,
eventually you do everything you can do and then you have to wait. It
reminds me of the pure brides of Jesus waiting for Jesus in the parable. I
too want to be found as one who is waiting for Jesus, I see that I need to
live the life God talks about in the bible so that my heart would be more
and more given to Jesus Christ. When my heart is given to Jesus Christ I
am the most happy because I know who I am and where I am going.
9 Do your best to come to me quickly, 10 for Demas, because he loved this
world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone
to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.
So here we see a contrast between those who love Jesus Christ and those
who love the world. Those who love the world will go the way of the world,
and eventually just die with the world. I feel really bad for Paul that he was
abandoned because Demas loved the world. But actually it is pretty easy
for anyone to love the world and it is not hard to hide such things. Love of
the world leads to death, I must be sure not to hide anything in my heart,
or to love anything in this world because if I do, and when the going gets
tough, I will end up going that way, The way to fight the love of the world, is
to take a stand for God and to love God, and by giving up sins. When
anyone gives up their sins for God and fights against the world, there, they
will be happy. It seems that the others left him as well, this is very sad. I
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hate when people treat me like this, so I will be sure to do my best to love
God, so I would not abandon anyone like this either.
11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is
helpful to me in my ministry.
So Paul had only one guy with him, his name was Luke. Paul also wanted
Mark to be brought along because he was helpful in the ministry as well. I
see it is also good to have faithful co-workers that are helpful in doing
God’s ministry. This makes the work of God more enjoyable.
12 I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.
So even in this bad kinds of situations Paul was doing the work of God and
administering the work of God by sending people out here and there.
Tychicus went to Ephesus.
13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my
scrolls, especially the parchments.
Paul wanted a couple of things while he was imprisoned, he wanted his
sweater, it was cold in the dungeon, and he wanted to be warm, I would
want the same kind of thing too. This shows that Paul was not an
“iron-man” like people thought, be he wanted some comforts too, like his
cloak. And he wanted the scrolls and the parchments, this was probably
his bible study info, like blank paper, the Torah, maybe some other kinds
of writings he had, maybe it was the kind of papers he used to write the
book of 2nd Timothy.
14 Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will
repay him for what he has done.
So Paul all of the sudden mentions this
guy Alexander, he was a metalworker and
he did Paul a great deal of harm. He was a
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metal worker. We do not know exactly how Alexander did a great deal of
harm, maybe he cursed God, opposed the message, got other prominent
people to rise up against Paul, who knows, but Paul mentions him, so it is
not good. Paul even says the Lord will repay him for what he has done.
Paul was a guy who really knew God's love, so for Paul to say this about
Alexander was not a light matter at all. Alexander must have been really
wicked, Paul was even confident that Alexander was going to have it
coming back to him. If anyone opposes me or does harm to me while I
serve God. I can have the same confidence too.
15 You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly
opposed our message.
Here Paul explains one way in which Alexander was bad. He strongly
opposed the message. It is not good to oppose a message, and especially
if it is the truth of God, but Alexander strongly opposed the message, this
means he was really a rotten apple. It is not good to oppose any kinds of
messages, I see that I must keep God’s commands so that I would never
become like Alexander. I see that it comes down to not loving anything in
the world. That is the most important thing, not to love anything in the
world. When I love God alone their I am happy. Also, this is what testimony
writing is about, it is about having a chance to love God and serve God.
This guy alexander must have been really bad.
16 At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted
me. May it not be held against them.
So here Paul is kind of setting the record straight, no one came to help
him, but everyone deserted him. The deserted Paul, but Paul knew that
serving God was not just fantasy and that even though if Paul forgave
them, Jesus the righteous judge would hold them accountable. Paul did
not want anything bad to be held against them. I see that I too have to be
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careful that I would not fall victim to such bad desires like abandoning
people in Jesus Christ. I see that my faithfulness to God is also equivalent
to my faithfulness to people. I must be faithful to the mission God has
called me to on CSULB. Also, I must be faithful to the ministry that GOd
has called me too. I see it is not good that this happened because it could
be held against them on the day of judgement, I have to be really careful
that I would not get tangled up in these kinds of things because God will
hold me accountable on the day of judgement.
17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through
me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear
it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.
Okay nevertheless Paul went through all of this, and it seems that maybe
he should be pitied, but he still makes his
bold conformation of how God has helped
him in his life. The Lord stood at my side
and gave me strength. What a great
testimony of how God has helped him and
been with him even when he was left all
alone. I too can say the same thing, God
has not left me, but has always been by
my side and given me strength.
Paul was given this strength so that
through him the message might be fully
proclaimed. Paul was left all alone, so
maybe he would have the inclination of
just wanting to teach part of the message.
I know when I am not feeling hot I do not
like to talk about God’s promises if I do not feel like they are being fulfilled,
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but when I have faith in Jesus even though I may not feel my best still I can
teach what I ought to teach. It is important that the full message be
proclaimed because without that full message people will have a skewed
idea of what it means to live before God. Even Paul needed help with this
matter, so I too definitely need God’s strength in this matter.
18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely
to is heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen .
Here Paul again shows his confidence in how God has helped him, the
Lord will rescue Paul from every evil attack and will bring him safely into
his kingdom. So in serving God, sometimes there are evil attacks, I hate to
talk about that, but the enemy is real, and Satan wants to see people fail
in Jesus Christ, so there are evil attacks, but the good news is that the
Lord will rescue Paul from every evil attack, this is the same for all
believers who put their hope in Jesus Christ. I have seen countless times in
the bible where those who put their hope in God are saved. I too will put
my hope in God and then I will be saved. I will try my best to help others
that they would put their hope in Jesus Christ too. Paul mentions that
safety is in God's heavenly kingdom. So here on earth we cannot expect
any safety, I can protect as much as I can, but eventually true safety is in
God's heavenly kingdom. I see that this is the goal in leading the sheep
into God’s heavenly kingdom. Then Paul concludes that to Jesus be glory
forever and ever. So at the end of the day God will recieve all of the glory,
when all is said and done God will be shown and proven right in everything
he has done! When God’s glory is revealed that means Jesus is revealed
and what kind of person He is. From this I see that Paul is really the good
example, second to Jesus maybe Paul has set a good example in the faith,
it is hard to show people what a good example you are through writing but
Paul does a pretty good job at this, I am sure that Paul made Jesus very
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happy with the kind of life he lived and with the example he set for the little
ones.
19 Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus.
After all of that Paul still had the love in him to greet some people in
certain areas. Did you notice he did not complain once? Paul was really a
man all the way though. I think one thing I see about Paul is that he saw
things with God's perspective all the time, that is probably why God
included his writing in the bible.
20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus.
21 Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do
Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers and sisters.
So here Paul makes some practical notices and general announcements. It
was going to be winter soon so there was a timeframe of sorts.
22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all.
Then Paul’s concluding remark was that the Lord be with your spirit. So we
need the Lord with our spirit. I guess when the Lord is with your spirit you
feel good. That is the only way I can explain it. Then he also wished grace
be with them all. About these two I suppose only Paul knows the full extent
of what these mean, but they seem to be good expressions in the faith
meant to build up the body of Christ.
One Word: Be Prepared In Season and Out Of Season.
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