Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

2 Timothy 2:6

Hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labour.

Paul was well aware of what a hard job it was to be a Christian leader. When he wrote to the Corinthians, he told them that he was pressed on every side by troubles. He knew what it was to be perplexed and hunted down and to live in constant danger of death (2 Corinthians 2:4-11). He didn’t want Timothy to have any illusions about the challenges that would face him and so, having compared his ministry to that of a soldier and an athlete, he next points to the example of a hardworking farmer. All farmers are focused on bringing in a good harvest, but they will only achieve it if they put in months of really hard work.

This is a good reminder for us all because there is something in all of us which would like God’s work to be easy and straightforward. We would like everyone to be cooperative and helpful and for the work to float through with ease, but if you have ever been involved in a local church, you will know it is not like that. It is often difficult to find people to do all the work that needs to be done, and people are not necessarily as easy to work with as one would like. In addition, we are living with an ever-increasing layer of legal responsibilities. We need to have safeguarding measures in place to protect children and adults at risk and have clear responsibilities to account for our finances. All of these requirements are entirely appropriate and wise, but they are hard work.

Paul’s message to us is that we shouldn’t ever be surprised that working for God is demanding. That was precisely his experience. At the same time, we shouldn’t be surprised at the incredible blessings for those who put in the hard work. Farmers are the first people to be able to enjoy their own crop and, as Christians, we have the incredible joy of being first on the scene to enjoy the blessing of seeing people’s lives changed and renewed by God.

Question

Do you find it hard work being involved in your church? If so, how do you cope with it?

Prayer

Loving God, thank you for the privilege of working for you. Help me never to be grumpy, surprised or resentful when it is hard doing what you have called me to do. Amen

2 Timothy 2:5

Athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules.

I wonder if you remember that agonising moment in the 2022 Commonwealth Games when England’s 4 x 400 women’s relay team was disqualified. It was all the more painful because they seemed to have won the race. They gave a confident and delighted interview straight after their success, only to learn that Jodie Williams and Victoria Ohuruogu had stepped out of lane on the second leg of the race. Their smiles of rejoicing quickly turned to tears of distress. Hard as it may be, there have to be rules in every sport.

The metaphor of the soldier that we looked at yesterday was drawn from Roman life. However, the metaphor of the athlete was definitely drawn from Greek life. The Greeks had established their games at Olympia in the eighth century BC and conducted them for the next 800 years. They had elaborate rules about every part of the games, including the preparation for them. Olympic athletes had to state on oath that they had completed the necessary ten months of training before the contest.

Paul wanted Timothy to be clear that running the Christian race had rules that needed to be observed. He could only serve the Lord faithfully by living a highly disciplined life. There is something in all of us that recoils at the idea of obeying rules. We like to do things our way. However, we can be sure that the rules that God gives us ensure our liberty and enable us to find true contentment and fulfilment in life.

Questions

What are the key rules that govern your life?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, give me your strength to live by the loving rules that you have laid down. Amen

2 Timothy 2:3-4
Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.
It’s not surprising that the apostle Paul often referred to soldiers in his letters. He had seen plenty of Roman soldiers in his time and had no doubt often reflected on their lives. They provided him with a powerful metaphor for the Christian life. I was interested to see that on their website the British army identifies its six values, all of which could easily be applied to the Christian life. They are COURAGE – doing and saying the right thing not the easy thing – DISCIPLINE – doing things properly and setting the right example – RESPECT FOR OTHERS – treat others as you expect to be treated – INTEGRITY – being honest with yourself and your teammates – LOYALTY – support the army and your teammates – and finally SELFLESS COMMITMENT – mates and mission first, me second. Inspiring stuff!
Paul identified three aspects of a soldier’s life which Timothy needed to reflect upon. Firstly, soldiers need to be ready to suffer. Nobody likes suffering, but in a world that is fundamentally opposed to God, it is inevitable that Christians will suffer. This suffering takes many forms. Sometimes it is physical, but more often it is in the form of verbal abuse, mockery and rejection. This is exactly what Jesus promised. In Matthew 10:22, he said: “All nations will hate you because you are my followers.” As a Christian leader, Timothy needed to prepare people for, and support them through, suffering.
Secondly, Paul warned Timothy not to get distracted from his central role. Just as a soldier mustn’t get tied up in civilian matters, so too Timothy needed to ensure that he kept his mind on the job of leading the Church. Distraction is a challenge we all face. There are so many excellent things we could do, but we need to focus on what God has called us to do.
Thirdly, Paul reminded Timothy that the job of soldiers is to please the one who enlisted them. That is precisely our role too. We have been enlisted by Christ and our daily priority needs to be pleasing him, however challenging and difficult that might be.
Question
In what particular way does this teaching challenge you today?
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for calling me to follow you. Help me to work hard at pleasing you in all that I think, say and do. Amen

2 Timothy 2:2
You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.
Every sensible organisation needs to reflect on its succession planning. Leaders come and go and it’s important to think carefully about how potential new leaders are identified, trained and appointed. This was Paul’s concern in this verse. He had trusted his young friend Timothy to teach the Christian truths, but Timothy, in turn, needed to look out for people to whom he could entrust this responsibility. The truths of the faith needed to be placed in the hands of trustworthy people who could be relied upon to pass them on faithfully to others.
The key word is trustworthy. I have interviewed many people over the years and however brilliant a person’s qualifications, the most crucial question is whether they can be trusted. A person who cannot be trusted is dangerous. They may be incredibly gifted and qualified, but if you never know whether or not they are going to turn up or respond to your emails, you would be much better off without them.
Trustworthiness is so crucial that we need to do everything we can to encourage it. This begins by us taking the step of faith and trusting someone to do a task. Because it’s a step of faith, there is the real possibility that they will fail. It can take some courage to ask someone to do something for the first time, but if we don’t, they will never grow. We must pray that through encouragement and support they will do really well and then be in a position to take more and more responsibility. I thank God for those brave people who trusted me to do jobs when I was a teenager and who then gave me loads of encouragement. That process of trusting and encouraging is absolutely crucial to any church – and Paul knew it!
Question
What are you doing to make sure that the gospel is passed on to trustworthy people?
Prayer
Lord God, help me to be willing to trust other people and to encourage them in the work that they do. Amen

2 Timothy 1:13
“Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me – a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus.”
Living the Christian life doesn’t come naturally to any of us. We all need teaching to help us live for Christ. However, there’s a problem with the word [itals]teaching[end itals] – it tends to make us think about classrooms and exams. We might be tempted to think that there is a textbook somewhere with the answers to every question of the Christian life, but there isn’t. The teaching that we need is intensely practical. You may have a complete understanding of every biblical passage about love, but if you are not loving, you have missed the point. You may be able to offer a very good definition of peace, but if you don’t live at peace with those around you, it will do you no good. Paul believed that there was core Christian teaching that was absolutely crucial, but he also knew that such teaching needed to be shaped by the faith and love that Timothy had experienced since he had met Christ.
The teaching that Paul speaks about here is wholesome. Other versions of the Bible refer to it as sound, and the word has a medical background. It refers to teaching that is healthy and brings life. We all need that kind of teaching to enable us to live faithfully for Christ in a world where many of the issues we face now were totally unknown to Paul and Timothy. Our world of air and space travel, internet connection, nuclear fission and DNA is a far cry from the first century, yet the core sound teaching hasn’t changed. The heart of that teaching is the declaration that Jesus is Lord. However much the world has changed, that stays the same.
Paul tells his young friend Timothy to hold on to this pattern of sound teaching, and we desperately need the same today. It is absolutely fundamental to our spiritual health.
Question
Where do you receive the sound teaching that you need?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me today to live according to the sound teaching that I have received. Amen