DAY 349 Read 2 Timothy.
Today's reading: This letter has been called Paul's last will and testament. It was written by the great apostle during his second imprisonment and shortly before his execution.
Memory gem: "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:6, 7).
Thought for today:
Your Christian life and mine is not to be a matter of here and there, a little now and then; in the church and out, and back again; up today and down tomorrow. It must be from henceforth, every day, always, until "the roll is called up yonder."
None of us has had any more tests of perseverance and patience than did the apostle Paul. For years he went without a home, without regular pay. He had to make tents to earn his living in some places. In other places he was supported by some of his friends. He was shipwrecked. He was whipped more than once, mobbed, beaten, left for dead, wounded, rejected, imprisoned; and finally received the death sentence as a martyr for Christ (see 2 Corinthians 11:23-28).
In the old days of trouble, when William, Prince of Orange, received a letter from mighty King Phillip of Spain threatening him with the confiscation of all his goods and the loss of his life, he did not surrender his faith or his country. The courage which came from his Christian faith inspired Prince William to fling this challenge in the face of the tyrant: "I am in the hands of God. My worldly goods and my life have long since been dedicated to His service. He will dispose of them as seems best to His glory and my salvation."
These were the words of a man who knew his Lord and believed that He was able to save to the uttermost. It was the speech of a man not only self-reliant but God-reliant, who believed and rested on the promises of God. He could face conflict, he could suffer the wounding of the foe, for his heart was unafraid. Like the apostle, he could say: "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8).
Today's reading: This letter has been called Paul's last will and testament. It was written by the great apostle during his second imprisonment and shortly before his execution.
Memory gem: "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:6, 7).
Thought for today:
Your Christian life and mine is not to be a matter of here and there, a little now and then; in the church and out, and back again; up today and down tomorrow. It must be from henceforth, every day, always, until "the roll is called up yonder."
None of us has had any more tests of perseverance and patience than did the apostle Paul. For years he went without a home, without regular pay. He had to make tents to earn his living in some places. In other places he was supported by some of his friends. He was shipwrecked. He was whipped more than once, mobbed, beaten, left for dead, wounded, rejected, imprisoned; and finally received the death sentence as a martyr for Christ (see 2 Corinthians 11:23-28).
In the old days of trouble, when William, Prince of Orange, received a letter from mighty King Phillip of Spain threatening him with the confiscation of all his goods and the loss of his life, he did not surrender his faith or his country. The courage which came from his Christian faith inspired Prince William to fling this challenge in the face of the tyrant: "I am in the hands of God. My worldly goods and my life have long since been dedicated to His service. He will dispose of them as seems best to His glory and my salvation."
These were the words of a man who knew his Lord and believed that He was able to save to the uttermost. It was the speech of a man not only self-reliant but God-reliant, who believed and rested on the promises of God. He could face conflict, he could suffer the wounding of the foe, for his heart was unafraid. Like the apostle, he could say: "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8).
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