Coming up next, we will spend 11 days in the book of 2 Timothy. While imprisoned in Rome awaiting his execution, Paul writes this letter to Timothy, his son in the faith. Vastly different from his time in house arrest, Paul is alone in a dark, empty cell and writes, “Everyone deserted me, but the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength” (4:16). These are Paul’s final words that we see in scripture. Thus, his final message shows his passion for the gospel to always be preached and for the people to endure the hardships and persecution they were currently facing or would certainly face in the future.

Paul’s message also focuses on fleeing immoral living, “the evil desires of youth,” and preserving the sound doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ, writing that “the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”

This is a timely message for us today and the focus of much of our prayer time in 2 Timothy! We must be diligent to preserve the sound doctrine of God’s Word and be willing and ready to preach the Word to a lost world, all the while leaving behind the sins that weigh us down and tarnish our testimony for Christ.

May we each have a sincere faith that is lived out boldly for the gospel. And may we at the end of our days be able to say as Paul did, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Join us on a journey through 2 Timothy, and invite someone to pray with you!

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