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Today is Thursday December 10, 2009 and we are studying the book of II Timothy, please read chapters 1-4

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Today's Message: Teach One to Reach One
We as Christian's are commanded by God to teach anyone who does not know Jesus how they can come to know Him. We can not be ashamed of what we know nor be afraid to tell others about Him. Jesus gives us the strength and protection to withstand all persecution as we seek to teach one to reach one.

The book of II Timothy is the 16th book of the New Testament, the 55th book of the Bible, and contains 4 chapters. The author of the book is Paul and it was written to Timothy. The purpose of the letter was to challenge Timothy to assume responsibility for the ministry which the apostle was handing over to him. What we are to learn from the book is that each person who knows Christ is to teach one to reach one with the Gospel.

Paul wrote this book from prison as he knew he would soon be executed for his faith. Paul reminds Timothy that his mother and grandmother had faithfully taught him and that he should not be ashamed to teach what he learned to others as well. “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; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; 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. 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. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 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; ” - II Timothy 1:3-8. God gives all who accept and follow Christ the ability to teach others about the Gospel of Jesus. As a child I may not have known what the meaning of Christmas was, but I knew who Jesus was and that Christmas day was His birthday. Of course, now I know more, but at least as a child I had some sort of remembrance of the faith my mother had in Jesus. We can not live in fear of our beliefs, we will all face persecution, but rest assure that Jesus is with us and gives us the strength and protection to withstand all afflictions, it is only by His power and love that we can declare that Jesus is the truth, life, and way and know that no matter what we face we have the power of God on our side.

Paul knew that his life would soon end when he wrote this letter and he was deeply concerned that Timothy, remain faithful to God. Paul knew that the Scriptures would prepare him to be responsible to carry out the Lord's commands. “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” - II Timothy 2:1-4. Paul knew that for Timothy to remain faithful in the midst of trials and disappointments, he would need to diligently study the Word of God as essential for spiritual wisdom. This is a lesson for us all to learn, we must keep God's Word in us daily, this will also allow us the teach the truth to others and to not be afraid as a soldier would prepare for battle, we too are to prepare for spiritual battle. Every Thursday I go with my church into the local community and we invite people to church (who do not have a church), but more important than inviting people to church is making sure that they know for sure they are going to heaven. We have gone into some pretty rough neighborhoods, but not once were we afraid because we knew that God was with us and would protect us along the way.

Paul also encouraged Timothy to remember that the Holy Scriptures are necessary to make us wise and teach us many things. The power of God is only found in the Scriptures. Those who choose to read through the Bible as God arranged it, see a fuller revelation of every subject. It's of utmost importance to read all of it to obtain a full and true understanding of any doctrine. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” - II Timothy 3:16,17. The Word of God is the true source of reproof. Added to reproof is "rebuke" which means we are also to encourage or bring comfort through discipline. Rebuke without encouragement may defeat the purpose of the rebuke. Long-suffering is a necessity if exhorting is to be profitable. Since the truth can never be out of season, meaning, always available - nothing compares to the necessity of knowing God's Word. There are no options, no substitutes, no alternatives. This is a doctrine of vital importance to the Church in this generation. The King James version of the Bible was the first Bible written in the English language. The Almighty God controls all the affairs of the universe and nothing could have been more vital than His control over the men whom He inspired to translate it into English more than 400 years ago. Never let anyone tell you that this book was not inspired by God, there are countless documents proving that although there were some different words used to translate a meaning into English all translations had the same doctrine. Both New and Old testaments are the Word of God and we must study both in order to understand God's message. The terms "old" and "new" are used to distinguish between God's agreement with man before and after the death of Jesus Christ.

Have a wonderful and blessed day/night and Merry Christmas
God Bless You,
Christina

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