Notes of Faith June 28, 2025
Bible Dads: Paul
You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 2:1
When we meet Timothy in Acts 16:1, he’s a teenager, the “son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek.” The word “but” seems to imply that Timothy didn’t have a believing father. Perhaps he had little fatherly influence in his life. The (spiritual) life-shaping influences for Timothy were his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:14-15).
The apostle Paul informally adopted Timothy and made him part of his traveling team. Imagine the conversations they had as they hiked the Roman roads, camped under the stars, and sailed the blue sea. Soon Paul was sending Timothy on missions of his own. Eventually the young man became overseer of the church in Ephesus. Paul wrote two letters to him in Ephesus—1 and 2 Timothy, the latter being the final known words of the apostle.
You can influence some young person for the Lord. Keep your eyes open. Through your prayers, encouragement, hospitality, and words of wisdom, you can shape the next generation.
The old disciples of Christ owe to the succeeding generations to leave behind them a solemn testimony to the power, pleasure, and advantage of religion, and the truth of God's promises.
Matthew Henry
2 Tim 3:10-17
10 Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! 12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
My dream as an older man of God, is to be one who inspires others to strive to live godly lives, to know God through careful reading and study of His Word, and to become one who walks intimately with the One who made them and loves them! May we who believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, love, trust, and obey Him, in all things, at all times!
Pastor Dale