Digging In

In my preparing for kamp this summer (and yes, where I come from camp is spelled with a "k") I am studying the book of 2 Timothy as that will be the book that we study at kamp.  I love getting the opportunity to inductively study God's word. There is so much richness in getting into God's word for yourself as opposed to gleaning from someones  teaching.

Looking at chapter 1: I see four main themes that pop out at me.  the Spirit, Suffering, Entrusted, and not being Ashamed of the Gospel.

1. Spirit --> The Spirit of God grands gifts and this included gifts of the spirit, the Spirit how power, is love, He is sound, He is also able to judge. The coolest thing I think I learned about the Spirit from this chapter is that He is able to guard what is entrusted to us by God.  In 1:14 we are told to "guard through the Holy Spirit the things entrusted to us."  These things may be children, a specific season you may be in, a task specifically given to you, or anything the Lord has entrusted to you.

2. Suffering --> We as Christian as supposed to share in our suffering with other believers. I don't know if any of you reading were at the Bible Babes class when we had a guest speaker (shout out!!!:) lol) but let's talk about sharing in suffering with Muslim women! I don't believe I will ever take for granted again my status as a woman or pray the same after hearing how those women are treated!  Paul, when he was writing this to Timothy, was in prison because of the Gospel of Truth. He was writing to encourage Timothy to remain strong in his faith and not to be ashamed of him because he had been put in chains. Anyone who was to associate with what Paul was preaching was in danger but what Paul was teaching and encouraging us to do is to share in suffering.  Was Paul telling Timothy to come join him in prison? I do not believe so but Timothy was going to encounter the same treatment for his belief if Jesus Christ as Lord, and Paul was writing to encourage him.

3. Entrusted --> As believers we are given the privilege to be entrusted with tasks from God.  Being a born again Christian, God trusts us to do His will. He trust us with out families, spouses, children, co-workers, and every task that His will commands be done.

4. Not to be Ashamed --> "Don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord" in verse 8, "Because I know the One I believe in" verse 12, and "Don't be ashamed of others who are suffering for the Gospel" in verse 16.  It all echos what Romans 1:16 says "for I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, first for the Jew then the Gentile

I hope that this encourages you this week as you continue to get into God's word. Don't be afraid to ask questions of the scripture and wait expectantly for the Lord to answer!

Hebrews 11:6 "For without faith it is impossible to please God. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exist and rewards those who seek Him."