(2Ti 1:6)  “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. (7)  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”  This is a reference to salvation, which is the Gift of God (Rom 6:23 and many others).  Though housed in bodies of weakness, the Spirit of God is not weak, desires to love through us, and desires to make us think right – that is, in alignment with God’s Word. The only thing keeping Him from working in your life is….you.

(2Ti 1:5) “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”  “Unfeigned”: without hypocrisy. Faith is not a profession; it is action based upon belief. It is not what we say that counts before God. It is what we do based upon our trust in Him. I ask you, “Is this the kind of faith you live?”

(2Ti 1:4) “Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;”  Timothy was sent away from the imprisoned Paul because God’s people had need of guidance. It hurt Timothy to leave him and certainly hurt Paul who must have drawn comfort from this man’s love. In this life, the work of the Lord is to come first before ourselves and at times our own family. Why? The Lord God and the souls of others is why each of the saved are still on this earth.  

(2Ti 1:3) “I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;”  Prayer is not a vain thing, for the Lord commanded us to “pray without ceasing”.  When you think of a particular person, pray for that person. It does not have to be a long prayer. We are not heard for our many words or the beauty of those words. We are heard because we have been made the children of God though Jesus’ blood. Friend, I don’t know about you, but I need help from my Lord with the little things of life as well as the big. Pray.

(2Ti 1:3) “I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience,…”  How is it the Apostle Paul could say, “I have served with pure conscience”? He is not saying, “I have served perfectly”. He is saying, “I have done the best I can, therefore my conscience does not condemn me.” Few can say, “I have served the best I can.” What we can and should say is, “Lord, help me to serve you better”, mean it, and then continue on to the best of our ability.

(2Ti 1:2) “To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” Notice Paul’s embracing of Timothy as his son. Paul has never been married. At the point of your salvation experience, you were adopted into God’s family: (Rom 8:15b) “…. ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” The saved, your local church, is your family. Yet, the average person keeps themselves away enough never to develop the relationship, much less the Bible mentality. This is a great failing.

(2Ti 1:1) “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,” I am so afraid that there are “many” who, though professing to believe they will go to heaven because of Christ’s sacrifice, in reality are trusting in their goodness, their human efforts, their sincerity of heart, to warrant them a place. Friend, our works are defiled. They are tainted by our pride. Throw yourself at the foot of the cross and plead for mercy: “not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to His mercy He saved (s) us.” (Titus 3:5)

(2Ti 1:1) “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,”  Interesting – “…the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus” rather than saying, “…the promise of eternal life which is in Christ Jesus”. No doubt that is what is being referred unto. Although a lost soul is alive, breathing, eating, progressing through the years of physical life; yet they are not alive as God would have them live. He wishes to give them eternal life, spirit life, that they may live as He desires, in fellowship with He Who is Spirit. This is a wholly different kind of life!