testimony | Daily Encouragement

“You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings — what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. . . But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:10-11,14-15, NIV)

In these, Paul’s final words to his protege Timothy, we have the commendation of a holy life to another person walking the same path.

What will we “senior” disciples commend to those coming behind us? Does our lifestyle, purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, and our personal testimony of the Lord’s deliverance from perils give them courage and hope in their time of testing?

A benefit of our pain and suffering is our testimony of God’s faithfulness through all of it. When those who know us best look at our life, do they see a faithful God and an unyielding hope; or is it something less? – Luther

Tagged faith, hope, modeling, testimony, the book of 2 Timothy

October 6

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“Now, concerning myself, I want you to know, my brothers, that what has happened to me has, in effect, turned out to the advantage of the Gospel. For, first of all, my imprisonment means a personal witness for Christ before the palace guards not to mention others who come and go. Then, it means that most of our brothers, somehow taking fresh heart in the Lord from the very fact that I am a prisoner for Christ’s sake, have shown far more courage in boldly proclaiming the Word of God.” (Philippians 1:12-14, Phillips)

Do you regard the various inconveniences, trials, and difficulties you encounter as beneficial for the advancement of the Gospel we hold dear? Or, do you use each as an occasion for self-pity and complaint?

God never gives us more than we are able to carry with His help; nor does God put us into situations that are beyond His grace. When we embrace the same attitude in each trial that was in our brother Paul, we will become as Paul was: A personal witness for Christ, and an encouragement to others to be likewise.

Most of us like the idea of being God’s voice in the “palace,” preferring our designation to be “the adviser,” not “the prisoner.” Our attraction to such ideas is understandable, reasonable, and so human; but, so unlike God! If, in the Incarnation, God chose to enter human history as a working-class infant in a race of marginalized people, we should not be surprised when God sends us into situations through the back door or through the “service entrance.” – Luther