Be Ready To Serve God
In Good Times And Bad
I give you a command
in the sight of God and Christ Jesus. Christ will judge the living and the
dead. Because he and his kingdom are coming, here is the command I give you.
Preach the word. Be ready to serve God in good times and bad. Correct people's
mistakes. Warn them. Cheer them up with words of hope. Be very patient as you
do these things. Teach them carefully.
The time will come
when people won't put up with true teaching. Instead, they will try to satisfy
their own longings. They will gather a large number of teachers around them.
The teachers will say what the people want to hear. The people will turn their
ears away from the truth. They will turn to stories that aren't completely
true.
But I want you to
keep your head no matter what happens. Don't give up when times are hard. Work
to spread the good news. Do everything God has given you to do.
I am already being
poured out like a drink offering. The time has come for me to leave.
I have fought the good
fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now there is a crown
waiting for me. It is given to those who are right with God. The Lord, who
judges fairly, will give it to me on the day he returns. He will not give it
only to me. He will also give it to all those who are longing for him to
return.
2 Timothy 4:1-8
As
Paul spoke of the conclusion of his life, he did not have any nagging thoughts
of unfinished business about his ministry. In his final farewell he used
imagery rich words to talk about finishing his service for Christ. He talked in
terms of a fight, or a race to the finish line. Paul
affirmed that by God’s grace he had finished all that God had given him to do.
As
followers of Jesus, let us strive to be finishers, persevering in our service
for Jesus Christ.
Run the race of life with eternity in view.
Our Daily Bread –