2 Timothy 3 (HCSB)
Difficult Times Ahead
1 But know this: Difficult times will come in the last days. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people!
6 For among them are those who worm their way into households and capture idle women burdened down with sins, led along by a variety of passions, 7 always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth, men who are corrupt in mind, worthless in regard to the faith. 9 But they will not make further progress, for their lack of understanding will be clear to all, as theirs was also.
Struggles in the Christian Life
10 But you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance, 11 along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from them all. 12 In fact, all those who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, 15 and you know that from childhood you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 4 (HCSB)
Fulfill Your Ministry
1 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new. 4 They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But as for you, be serious about everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 There is reserved for me in the future the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved His appearing.
Final Instructions
9 Make every effort to come to me soon, 10 for Demas has deserted me, because he loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you, for he is useful to me in the ministry. 12 I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak I left in Troas with Carpus, as well as the scrolls, especially the parchments. 14 Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his works. 15 Watch out for him yourself because he strongly opposed our words.
16 At my first defense, no one stood by me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be counted against them. 17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the proclamation might be fully made through me and all the Gentiles might hear. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil work and will bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.
Benediction
19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus has remained at Corinth; I left Trophimus sick at Miletus. 21 Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.
22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 3:2-5): Lord, please forgive me for giving into the flesh far too often. Forgive me for knowing godliness, but not fully trusting in You and embracing You.
PROMISE (verse 3:12): You promise us that all believers, those that want to live a godly life in Jesus, will be persecuted. Help me to lean on You always, but especially in those times of persecution.
ATTITUDE (verses 4:16-17): God, please help me with my attitude towards others. Just like when Paul was persecuted and nobody stood by his side, he leaned on You and asked You to not hold it against them. Jesus did this same thing ("forgive them for they know not what they do") when He was being crucified. It's so much easier to simply default to the fleshly desires of anger, hatred, and revenge, but You show us multiple times that love, grace, and forgiveness of others whether they wrong us or not is Your way!
COMMAND (verses 4:1-2): You command us to always proclaim Your message; to persist in it whether convenient or not; to rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. This sounds so simple, yet due to sin, fleshly desire, and the world's influence it is quite difficult to accomplish when You are not the center of our internal world.
EXAMPLE (verses 3:10-11): Help me to be more like Paul through the difficulties of life. Through all of the persecutions he went through, You were always his mind's focus. He always tried to glorify and praise You even through the persecutions. Help me to follow Paul's example through all the ups and downs of life by keeping my eyes, mind, and heart on You, Lord.
*DAILY NOTE: The flesh and the world are such horrible influences on us and at the same time are so easy to give in to. I must rely on His word and the Spirit to provide me with the proper influences so that I may remain in Your will, Lord!
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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