FBC Daily Devotions

LEARNING TO LEAN ON HIM

Read 2 Timothy 4:16-18.

Have you ever felt deserted? No one seems to defend you, everyone – including those close to you – have left you alone. Here in this passage, Paul is most likely speaking of an earlier imprisonment and subsequent appearing before a court. At that time, Paul had to fully depend on God for strength, for the furtherance of the gospel, and for deliverance from death. I think sometimes God puts us in situations when no one is around, and we have to fully rely on God to get through it and/or to accomplish His work through us. Indeed, these are in fact good times because it is here that we learn to trust God. While I believe we are made to be there for others and others for us, ultimately they cannot replace God. And so sometimes God takes those things/people away from us so that we will remember that He is and must always be the source of our strength.

When Paul says in v. 18 that God will deliver him from every evil deed and bring him safely to His heavenly kingdom, he is speaking of his present situation. But it was because of his past situation, that he is able to say that with the fullest faith and belief in what he is saying because he’d seen God work in his earlier situation.

The next time you feel like no one wants to help you, consider that God will never leave or forsake us, and that He may be using this time as a means of helping you move your trust in Him from your head, to your heart, and to your feet.

THE OPPOSITION

Read 2 Timothy 4:14-15.

There are some who reject the gospel. If you’ve shared Christ with people often, you know that it is not uncommon. But there are some who more than reject the gospel. There are some who oppose the gospel, some even vigorously (NAS). In Paul’s day, city riots took place in opposition to the gospel. When Paul was in Ephesus (where Timothy currently was when he received this letter), the metal workers (whom Alexander was no doubt a part of, and not to be confused with the Alexander of Acts 19:23) convinced a large number of people to riot against Paul’s traveling companions. The account says the whole city was in an uproar (see Acts 19:23-41). Why such vigorous opposition? The metalworkers made a business of creating and selling idols of the prominent Greek god Artemis. According to the account in Acts 19:

A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen. He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: “Men, you know we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are not gods at all.” (Acts 19:24-26)

It is one thing to reject the gospel, but quite another to fiercely oppose it. When people actively attack the gospel and its messengers, there is usually a reason. In this case – and I will go out on a limb and say in nearly every case – it is because they are threatened of losing something in some way. For the metalworkers, their jobs depended on it. For others, perhaps their way of life is threatened. For still others, it may drive a wedge in a relationship. The gospel for some is such a threat that they must fight back or else lose what they have.

What is Paul’s advice to Timothy? He says to be on your guard. Protect yourself. Watch out. The command begs the question: What does it look like to protect oneself from the dangers of opposition? What would you do if someone told you to watch out for a particular person who was out to do you harm? How would you react if you saw this person? I think I might run away. Indeed, that is what Paul did when it came to the riot in Ephesus. But that may not be the only way to react. How would you react? Better yet, how will you react when you see opposition coming your way? As proclaimers of the gospel, that situation is inevitable.

NO RETIREMENT FROM LEARNING

Read 2 Timothy 4:13.

Retirement – it has become commonly acceptanced that everyone retires when they reach a certain age. It can imply that we become less useful, less productive in our later years. At the same time, retirement can be seen as good thing that gives us years of leisure for a lifetime of hard work. But retirement is a relatively new idea in our society. It wasn’t always that way. But my objective is not to discuss the biblical or non-biblical perspective of retirement, except to say that there is never to be a retirement from learning and studying His Word and growing closer to Him with each passing day. While Paul was entering his last days, it is encouraging to see him still want his scrolls and parchments (that no doubt contained portions of the Old Testament). He was not finished yet. We never are.

When I look at some of the “retired” people in our Family of God, I am always put to shame by the amount of time they spend reading and studying the Scriptures. Perhaps more time is available to them now that their vocational work is behind them. That said, I had a professor far beyond retirement age who used to come to class and would matter-of-factly say that he just read through one of the New Testament letters – twice – before coming to class. He wasn’t bragging, but merely mentioned it as a passing comment in his conversation. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like as people get older, the more important the Scriptures become to them. But I am reminded that for these people the Scriptures did not simply come alive in their later years. These people spent time in the Scriptures pretty much all their life. Years of committed study in their early years led to their continued commitment to the end.

I don’t know about you, but I want to be the kind of person that appreciates the Scripture to the very end, perhaps even more as I get older. But I realize that I must develop that appreciation now.

To consider: It seems as we study through the letter of 2 Timothy, this theme of disciplined study and reading of Scriptures comes up over and over again. I suppose it was that important to Paul, not just in his commands, but in his own life. Think about your future – when you have reached your twilight years, how important do you want the Scriptures to be in your life? What can/will you do now to help make that a reality later?

IMPERFECT BUT READY

Read 2 Timothy 4:9-12.

Paul’s loneliness is revealed here perhaps more than anywhere else in his letters. Practically everyone that was with him has left him – some on not such good terms (Demas, for example), others because Paul actually sent them away (Tychicus, for example, who probably delivered this letter). While Luke is still with him, there is a strong possibility he was also in prison, and out of contact with Paul (see Heb. 13:23). So he calls on Timothy to visit and to bring Mark along with him. You remember Mark, the one who previously deserted Paul on his first missionary journey – Acts 13:13; 15:36-39. He now proved useful to Paul. Time has a way of growing people.

At the end of his life, I find it noteworthy that Paul calls on young people to visit him. As I recall Paul’s first encounter with Timothy and Mark, they must have been in their late teens maybe early 20’s. They were raw and unproven. No doubt their potential was visible. In the months to follow, Mark was rejected by Paul, and in his place he chose Silas, and shortly thereafter added Timothy to his second missionary journey team (see Acts 15:40-16:3). But Timothy had his issues as well. He appears to have been timid (2 Tim. 1:7-8), perhaps afraid of those older than him (1 Tim. 4:12), maybe tempted by youthful lusts (2 Tim. 2:22). Indeed, there was still room for growth even at the time of the writing of 2 Timothy. Yet these were the men – the young ones from years past – who would carry on the work after Paul left.

Perhaps you are one of the younger ones among our church family. You are growing in Christ, but you feel like you have a long way to go. One day, God will entrust into your hands the work that is presently being carried out by those much older than you. You will not be perfect, but your day will come.

Perhaps you are one of the older, more mature members of our church family. Remember the years of your youth? How far God has taken you since then! While you’re still growing, you have the task of coming alongside the younger ones and raising them up to carry on the faith. There will come a time when the handoff will need to happen, but you will feel, “they aren’t ready yet”. I am reminded that people like Timothy and Mark were far from perfect when Paul passed the torch. It requires a certain amount of faith to entrust one’s lifetime of work into the hands of our younger people. But it must happen – not overnight, but gradually, patiently, faithfully.

To consider: If you are one of the younger ones, can you see your place as a leader of the future? If you are an older one, how were the reigns of leadership handed down to you? Where do you currently see the ministry gradually being released into the hands of younger people? What difficulties have you seen and experienced in the process? What fears might you have as the ministry gradually changes hands? What changes do you see coming down the road that may be uncomfortable, but perhaps necessary? Are you willing to let those changes happen?

What are some truths you learned from Sunday’s message? How can it make a difference this week?