September 11 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

2 Timothy 2:1-15:

¹Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
²And 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.
³Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
⁴No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
⁵And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.
⁶The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
⁷Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
⁸Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:
⁹Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.
¹⁰Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
¹¹It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
¹²If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
¹³If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
¹⁴Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.
¹⁵Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Devotional

When a young man enlists in the army of his country, he does not expect an easy life. He knows there will be hardships to endure and dangers to face. So it is when a man is called of God to become a soldier of Jesus Christ. He, too, must be aware of the fact that hardships and persecutions await him. To en­dure these it is necessary to be strong. Paul admonishes Timothy: "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus . . . Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." We must notice that Paul says, Be strong "in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." A soldier of Christ must not rely on his own strength, but must realize with Paul: "By the grace of God I am what I am." But he cannot escape hardship and suffering, as Paul clearly indicates when he writes to Timothy: "Be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God." These afflictions must be endured. It means to war a good warfare. And the fight must be carried on in a lawful manner, in order to obtain the crown of victory. We must remember, our fight is a fight of faith. Do we feel our insuf­ficiency, our weakness? Let us remember that his grace is sufficient, and his mighty power is upon us, "that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us"; that He may

receive all the glory.

Prayer

Almighty God, help us to realize that when we are weak, we are strong. May we never in the least rely on our own strength; but may we remember that we can do all things through him that strengthened us. May we realize that the power is never in us, but in the gospel we preach, and in the truth which we confess. O God, forbid that we should ever be ashamed of Jesus, and deny the truth as it is in him. May we speak with boldness and authority, so that the power of Satan may be broken, and many souls brought into Thy everlasting kingdom. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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Scripture in Devotional: 2 Tim. 2:3; 1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Tim. 1:8; 4:5; 1 Tim. 1:18; 2:5; 2 Cor. 12:9; 4:7.

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