Bless the Lord..

2 Timothy 1

5I am calling up memories of your sincere and unqualified faith (the [b]leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), [a faith] that first lived permanently in [the heart of] your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am [fully] persuaded, [dwells] in you also.

6That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands [[c]with those of the elders at your ordination].

7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

Good morning, beloved,

I will state most boldly that I am a sinner. I am in need of God’s grace with every breath. In my speech, my actions, my heart..I lift up my flesh to the One who can heal me, forgive me and sanctify me. I need it. I crave Him. I am holding onto thoughts that need to be given up. Freed. And as I opened my Biblegateway today I just gave thanks.

As I look into 2 Timothy, I find it good to remember the context I’m reading. What is going on with Paul as he writes this to his beloved friend and “son”?

David Guzik states:

i. After Paul was released from the Roman imprisonment mentioned at the end of the book of Acts, he enjoyed a few more years of liberty until he was re-arrested, and imprisoned in Rome again.

ii. You can go to Rome today and see the place where they say Paul was imprisoned. It is really just a cold dungeon, a cave in the ground, with bare walls and a little hole in the ceiling where food was dropped down. No windows, just a cold, little cell that would have been especially uncomfortable in winter.

iii. Paul writes this letter from his second Roman imprisonment, and he will be condemned and executed in Rome at the command of Nero shortly. Paul senses this ahead of time; therefore 2 Timothy is not only the last letter we have from Paul, there is a note of urgency and passion we might expect from a man who knows he is on death row!

Which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice: Timothy’s genuine faith was due, in no small measure, to his godly upbringing and the influence of his grandmother and mother.

i. Timothy and his family came from the ancient city of Lystra, where Paul visited on his first missionary journey. When Paul and Barnabas were there, God used Paul to miraculously heal a crippled man – and the people of the city began to praise Paul and Barnabas as Greek gods from Olympus, and started to sacrifice a bull to them! Paul barely restrained them from doing so, and soon enemies of the gospel had turned the crowd against Paul, so they cast Paul out of the city and stoned him. But God miraculously preserved Paul’s life, and he carried on (Acts 14).

ii. On Paul’s second missionary journey, he came again to Lystra – and there met a young man who had come to Jesus, and was devoted to serving the Lord. This young man was Timothy, and he is described as having a mother who believed, but his father was Greek. (Acts 16:1)

iii. So, Timothy’s mother and grandmother were believers, but his father was not (at least not at first). In the Roman world, fathers had absolute authority over the family, and since Timothy’s father was not a Christian, his home situation was less than ideal (though not necessarily terrible). But his mother and grandmother either led him to Jesus or grounded him in the faith! God wants to use parents and grandparents to pass on an eternal legacy to their children and grandchildren!

iv. When Paul left Lystra, he took Timothy with him – and this began a mentor-learner relationship that touched the whole world.

Ok, so that was a lot of information but I find understanding the back story is critical to understanding his words and his point of view. Let’s go to verse 6…

“why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God..”

The word stir up..anazopureo “is used metaphorically in 2Ti 1:6, where “the gift of God” is regarded as a fire capable of dying out through neglect. ” I am in need of a stirring up. I don’t want my life to be embers. I want my life to be a blazing fire. When my words wound, my fire starts to die out. When my mouth just can’t stay shut, the embers are not so bright and bold. God forgive me! I felt so right continuing to speak when in reality I just needed to zip it.

Gift..charisma…

the economy of divine grace, by which the pardon of sin and eternal salvation is appointed to sinners in consideration of the merits of Christ laid hold of by faith

5) grace or gifts denoting extraordinary powers, distinguishing certain Christians and enabling them to serve the church of Christ, the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating on their souls by the Holy Spirit

I imagine gifts like this..

When in reality, the gifts of God are so much more beautiful! Divine grace..try wrapping that up in a box!! Pardon of sin..eternal salvation..um, not going under my tree this year. These will be what I receive as a free gift. Free! I am free…

Verse 7

A spirit of timidity..

“fearfulness” (from deos, “fright”), is rightly rendered “fearfulness” in 2Ti 1:7, RV (for AV, “fear”). That spirit is not given us of God. The word denotes “cowardice and timidity” and is never used in a good sense,

That is NOT the gift I’ve been given, yet how often am I opening that sin filled gift instead of His great promises and hope? Gag.

Power…dunamis used relatively, denotes “inherent ability, capability, ability to perform anything,”

Discipline…sōphronismos from sophron, lit., “saving the mind,” from saos, “contracted to” sos, “safe” (cp. sozo, “to save”), phren, “the mind,” primarily, “an admonishing or calling to soundness of mind, or to self-control,” is used in 2Ti 1:7, AV, “a sound mind;” RV, “discipline.” Cp. sophroneo (“to be of sound mind”), sophronizo (“to admonish”), sophronos (“soberly”), and sophron, “of sound mind.”

A lot to chew on…and yet, may you and may I bless the Lord..