TC w/ T

Once a week for the past two years I have had the privilege of meeting at Taco Cabana with my former Bible teacher, Tyler Sultze, for breakfast. There we enjoy not only the delicious breakfast tacos, but we also partake of the delectable truths of the Bible. Over the next month, we will be going through the book of 2 Timothy, so I thought I would share some of the things I’m learning from the study here.

Chapter 4

Chapter 3 of 2 Timothy contrasts the word of God against the world we live in, and Paul really drives this point home in Chapter 4, the last inspired chapter Paul would ever write.

Paul again paints a sad picture of today's world in verses 3-5. He talks about how people will not endure sound doctrine but will instead choose to listen to those who will tickle their ears--tell them what they want to hear. You do not have to go very far to see how true this is today. But in the midst of such a world, Paul's exhortation to Timothy is simple: "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season." Now we may not all be pastors and evangelists like Timothy, but we must all have this same commitment to God's word in the midst of our own evil age. We should be faithful to proclaim to the lost, we should seek to listen to the Word taught in a sound way, and we should hungrily devour God's words as we read the Bible. (Jer. 15:16)

As was his habit, Paul again encourages Timothy with his own example. Paul says that he has "fought the good fight." Paul certainly did preach the word in season and out, no matter what danger faced him. (2 Corinthians 11:22-33) And Paul knew that he was about to die and that he would soon be with the Lord. Let us all run the race as Paul did, looking forward to the prize, anticpating the appearing of the Lord.

In line with the theme of being devoted to God's word, Tyler and I noticed something interesting in verse 13. Paul tells Timothy to bring the books and parchments when he comes. This may be a direct reference to parchments containing Old Testament books or simply letters Paul had written, but no doubt they were full of Scriptural content. Even though the time of his departure is near, Paul wants to read these parchments. The Scripture is worth reading and studying even until the very end. When I'm about to die, I won't be asking anybody to bring me Time Magazine or a Calculus book, but they can bring me the Scriptures.

I'm getting five teeth surgically removed this afternoon (4 of them are wisdom teeth; 1 is just suicidal), so my number of posts for the rest of the week will be directly related to my state of consciousness. Have a great week; devour the Word.