2 Timothy 1:1-18
Paul was thankful for Timothy’s sincere faith. We are saved by Christ’s grace, through His death and for His purpose. We should not be ashamed of Christ and His gospel. He challenges Timothy to continue with sound teaching and to stay in tune with the Holy Spirit who is in us. We receive His Spirit in us when we accept Christ into our lives.
In verse 7, Timothy was young and may have lacked confidence to step forward into action. Discipline is action – doing and allow God to work in us and through us. He does not want us to be timid. God wants us to be bold through power, love and self-discipline.
Our actions to move forward may involve stepping out to contact a friend. I do enjoy talking and encouraging other men. Most women almost naturally make friends. Men need to work at developing friendships. Men do not even like to ask for directions, including me. One time I told Patti we needed to stop and see where we were. She almost went into shock since I usually drive around for a while first. Men must be discipled to take action. Sometimes I sense the Lord directing me to call someone, and I may hesitate. When I do call the person, many times they are in need of prayer for something very recent. God’s timing and prompting is always awesome. Remember to pray for opportunities to encourage others. Who can you encourage this week? For this week is to try one of the following:
- schedule your spouse or a friend for a date, snack or a walk
- reach out to someone via a call
- eliminate some daily distraction
- commit to pray five minutes a day
Inspirational Books - Moving us through Life's Ups and Downs 