CHAPTER 4

GOD'S LOVE LETTER TO YOU STUDY ON GOD'S LOVE LETTER QUOTE WITH GOD'S LOVE LETTER TO YOU MESSAGE
 

          Another thing you may notice in the upcoming letters from other Apostles, is that they all spoke as if the End Times was at hand in their own lifetimes. That’s because Jesus said to be ready (Matthew 24:42-44) and that nobody knows when that time will be (Mark 13:32).

          For some people it may seem silly to live your life preparing for something that you aren’t certain will happen in your lifetime, but if you ask the residents of New Orleans if they wish they had prepared for hurricane Katrina, you’d surely get an emphatic YES to your question, and friends, if you’ve ever read the Olivet Discourse (Matthew, Chapter 24) or The Revelation of Jesus Christ to St. John, the End Times makes hurricane Katrina look like a calm breeze ... Literally!

         Soooooooo, were all the efforts of the Apostle's in vain cuz the End Times did not come at that time? God forbid. In fact if ya think about it ... When each soul dies, what they believed at THAT time is what path they will take after death. Heaven or Hell.

          Now, with that in mind, you may better appreciate Paul’s sense of urgency to tell Timothy to get the Word out! So after Paul gives Timothy a little “picture if you will” scenario about the manner of people who will exist near the end of time (in Chapter 3 of this letter), he further urges Timothy:

          I charge you (I give you the obligation) therefore, before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort (advise) with all patience and doctrine.

          Time out for a little Daily Bread Crumb. What does it mean to be instant in season and out of season? Well, to be instant is to be readily prepared and the meaning of season for this intent and purpose is the time or moment when some thing or circumstance is most useful, valuable or favorable. When you put it all together, Paul is saying, Man, whether it’s the perfect time or not, BE PREPARED to spread the Gospel.

GOD'S LOVE LETTER TO YOU LESSON WITH GOD'S LOVE LETTER TO YOU EXPLANATION

          You don’t have to be at a Church or a Bible study to spread the Word. Jesus didn’t only teach in the Temple. Here’s a comparison. One time He was at a watering well and spoke soul saving words to a Samaritan woman. Paul says be ready, anytime, anywhere to share TRUTH. The most out of season times and places are probably going to be when and where the people are that need to be introduced to Jesus the most.

         Paul writes: A time is coming when people won’t listen to sound doctrine, but they’ll go find themselves teachers who preach only the things that they want to hear (not the TRUTH), having itching ears (eager to hear things that satisfy their own selfish desires), and they’ll turn their ears away from the TRUTH to be pacified with lies.

          Now, you be careful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist (a preacher of the Gospel), making a complete success of your ministry. For I am now ready to be offered (given to the Lord), and the time of my departure (end) is near. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the Faith, so there is a crown of righteousness waiting for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day (Judgment Day), and not only to me, but to all them also that love His appearing.

          Here Paul catches Timothy up on the whereabouts of some of their mutual friends, as well as the disloyalty of some others. Try your best to visit me soon, because Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and he went to Thessalonica. Crescens went to Galatia and Titus went to Dalmatia. Only Luke (Author of the Gospel of Luke) is with me. Bring Mark with you when you visit, because he is useful to me for the ministry, and I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. The coat I left with Carpus in Troas, when you visit, bring it with you, along with the books, but especially the papers. Alexander, the coppersmith did me much evil. May the Lord reward him according to his works, but you beware of him too, because he has greedily fought against our words.

          Nevertheless, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, that through me, the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear, and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver (rescue) me from every evil work, and will preserve me for His heavenly kingdom, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

          Greet Prisca (short for Priscilla) and Aquila (from Acts, Chapter 18), and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus remained in Corinth but I left Trophimus in Miletum sick. Try your best to visit before winter. Eubulus greets you, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren. The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.

GOD'S LOVE LETTER TO YOU INFORMATION WITH GOD'S LOVE LETTER TO YOU MEANING

          Don’t you love to receive letters from people who are dear to you? Do you have a shoebox in your closet that has cherished letters inside that you remember almost every word of? You may have heard this before, but the Bible is God’s love letter to us. Ask yourself this question. If I received a letter or an e-mail from a loved one ... #1, Would I dare think of not reading it? #2, If there was something in it that I didn’t understand, could I rest if I didn’t search to find out what it meant? #3, Would there be certain parts I would skip? And let me ask you this. If your loved one wrote you every day for a year, would you look forward to checking your mailbox each and every day and sitting down with your coffee or tea to enjoy and hold on to every word? Sometimes the angle you use to look at something from, can completely change the way you see it. What if God felt like you put His love letter to you in a shoebox and never read it, or brought it out only from time to time to glance at and then tucked it back up in the closet until the next time (maybe another few years) you get a hankering to dig it out again? Oh, it may be right there on the coffee table and get just as little attention as if it were in the closet. Just something to ponder on.

          When Paul wrote, All scripture is given by inspiration of God, he probably didn’t expect that the words in his letter would actually become scripture one day, but they have. Through Paul’s words to Timothy, the Holy Spirit is talking to us, giving us encouragement, reminding us of our responsibilities, telling us to be good soldiers of Christ in our own fight of Faith. He tells us to persevere, warns us of the adversary and that we face many challenges ahead. Be strong, be meek. The war that a Christian soldier fights is not with physical strength, but rather by adhering to HIS Spirit that you defeat the enemy. The Holy Spirit can sure pack a lot into one letter.

          Just as with any other letter you receive, you’ll probably want to read it through again sometime, and you’re sure to find things you missed when you read it the first time. Hope you enjoyed our study of The Second Epistle of Paul the Apostle to Timothy and congratulations on completing yet another study in the New Testament!