For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day 2 Timothy 1:12 KJV
In this letter, Paul wrote to his dearest friend on earth, Timothy, while He was facing almost certain execution. Paul had been in and out of prisons for years and was growing old and maybe a little worn out. The false teachers trying to manipulate the church for financial gain, as well as the hypocritical religious leaders trying to have him killed finally seemed to have him where they wanted him. Yet Paul was able to say with confidence that no matter what, he was not going to be ashamed. Why? Because He knows Jesus and trusts that Jesus will take care both of him and of the things that Paul had been working to do. Isn’t it interesting how a few years earlier in Paul’s letter to the Philippian church, he said that He wanted to know Christ more. Now it appears that God has granted Paul his desire, and he could say, “I’m not worried any more. Jesus has got this! He will take care of me and He will take care of the church when I am gone. He will bring everything to pass that he has promised and I can rest in Him. I know Him and I also know that the day is coming when He will come and make everything right!”
One day each of us will also face the end of our life. Though right at this moment we may wish we knew Christ better, we can draw courage from today’s verse that if we trust Him completely then on that day He will help us to know Him just as Paul did. Jesus will take over and keep everything we have put in His hands and then He will take our hand and lead us until that day!
We used to sing the hymn with these words and though the melody is old fashioned, the words never go out of style. I pray each of you to know Him fully and to trust Jesus until that day! Have a blessed week.!
Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Luke 15:8-9 ESV
Sometimes we think that God is only interested in big things important events and milestones in our lives. But the wonderful thing about our big God who created the universe, is that He is also interested in even the tiniest detail of His creation. Those of you who have followed this blog may remember that my wife spent almost five months, 3,000 miles away in California caring for her sister Diane. Thankfully Diane is stable for now and is being cared for by home health aides in her own home. Her trip involved the big things of life and death but one of the little wrinkles was that Nancy lost a dental crown. The day it fell out she was busy taking care of medications, cooking and cleaning, and so she simply put it into a Zip lock bag and set it aside. When the day came that she could return home to Florida Nancy just tossed it into one of her suitcases and headed for the airport. But the next day when she unpacked; that crown was nowhere to be found! After the dentist informed her that a replacement would be over a thousand dollars she made the date for the work a month later so she could keep looking. Of course we prayed and asked our small group to pray also. All through the next four weeks, Nancy ransacked the bottom of her purse, went through her jewelry box and searched every nook and cranny of the suitcases – but still no crown! Today the fateful appointment for the dental work came and we resigned ourselves to the fact that God must have not been concerned about that detail of our lives – that is until 15 minutes before it was time to leave! As Nancy checked one more time in a little jar of odds and ends on her nightstand – BINGO! There was her crown! Immediately she called some of the ladies from our small group to tell them and everyone laughed for joy. God brought to Nancy’s mind the verse about the woman with the lost coin. Just like Nancy’s dental crown, most people in that lady’s town didn’t care about her coin. But it mattered to her, so she just kept looking, because it was precious to her. That’s when it hit me that every detail that matters to us matters to God. He cares about little things and He loves little people because in the big picture, we are all small. Isn’t it wonderful that God’s love is big enough to care for every one of us and the tiny details of our lives – even dental crowns?!
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