2Timothy 1: 1 – 14

November 7, 2022

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,

2 To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;

4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;

5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

11 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

“… for I know whom I have believed …”. This memory popped into my head when I read these words; I used to work collections for a major national retailer. A difficult job, as one might expect. I used to dread Saturday mornings the most; you may or may not be surprised that most people don’t take kindly to being called at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning to be reminded they owe money – people are funny that way (wink!). The first call of one particular Saturday morning went in a direction I never expected. The gentleman answered his phone and I identified myself and the purpose of the call. He laughed and made an embarrassed joke about having missed his payment. As we worked out the details, he was sweet and upbeat and quite a delight (I secretly wished I could keep him on the phone for my whole eight hour shift!). Finally I said, “Mr. ——, are you always this chipper early on a Saturday morning?” His instant reply was, “I know to Whom I belong”. Brings tears to my eyes now as it did then. What faith! It reminds me of Jesus telling so many people that they were healed because of their faith. Mr. —— had the joy and conviction of a true believer. I pray that – and am sure that – Mr. —— is many times blessed.

Advertisement