II Timothy 2:3

II Timothy 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. When a young man goes off to the military, he first goes to Boot Camp. And Boot Camp is no picnic! The drill Instructor is brutal. He is harsh because he wants his men to be prepared for the hardships of the battlefield. No sissies there! Even the women are tough! When a soldier is in the middle of a firefight, he doesn’t yell over to the enemy soldier, “Hey, it’s break time. What do you say we sit down and eat a snack and drink a cup of coffee before we resume our fighting?” That would be crazy! Does the soldier punch a time clock and go home after work? No way! War is hard, and a soldier had better be ready for long hours and difficult surroundings. And that’s what the Apostle Paul was telling Timothy. Paul was saying, “Timothy, you’d better be tough if you are going to win in the battle of Life! Satan is going to give it his best, and you’d better be ready to give it your best too!” Let’s endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ!

II Timothy 2:2

II Timothy 2:2 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. This is an interesting verse. It talks about five different people. The Christian life isn’t about what we say; it’s about what we do. The Christian life isn’t what we say; it’s about what other people say about us. And the Christian life isn’t about what we teach; the Christian life is about teaching others to be teachers. And finally, the key to the Christian life is found in a person, not a teaching; Christianity is all about Jesus. What we say about Jesus; what we teach about Jesus; how we live out the teachings of Jesus. After all, that’s why we are called Christians. We are like Christ.

II Timothy 1:12

II Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. Paul loved Jesus Christ and suffered at the hands of angry unbelievers because of his faith. They accused Paul of disrespecting the emperor by pushing his new religion of Jesus of Nazareth. And they were right! Jesus Christ meant everything to Paul! Paul said that Jesus was able to keep him safe until the day that he was called up to glory. So what do you think? Is Jesus able to keep you and to take you safely all the way to heaven? Is Jesus worth all of the misunderstanding that you will face? Are you ashamed of Jesus or are you proud of Jesus? I think I’ll stand with Paul. Jesus is worth it!