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2 Timothy 2:1
In 2 Timothy 2:1 (NKJV) the Apostle Paul gives Timothy advice, instruction, and a powerful command to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” The grace that is in Christ Jesus is salvation in and through Him for all who will believe in Him.
Grace is the giving of something that is not deserved but given through the love of the giver for the receiver of the underserved gift. The grace that is in Christ Jesus is the gift that Jesus spoke of in John 3:16 in declaring the love of God for the world. Jesus states, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
This is a command to be strong in the gift God has given us in and through Christ Jesus – the gift of salvation and eternal life.
John the Baptist declared in John 1:29, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” This is the grace of God; not because we have done anything to deserve God’s grace, but because without it we are lost forever in sin. The Bible teaches us in 1 John 4:8 that “God is love”, and in 1 Corinthians 13:8 that “Love never fails.”
God has never failed us; we may have not accepted His plan or path at times and wondered why God did not see things our way and help us as we thought it proper, but God does not reign by our will or permission – God is everlasting and it is our will that must abide in Him. When we put Him first, all things then begin to work out for the best in our lives – in Christ.
Dear LORD,
You spoke through the Prophet Isaiah, “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways’ says the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8–9). Please help us to realize and understand that even when we do not understand what You are doing in our lives that You are in control, and it is by Your grace that we live – in Christ. In Jesus name I pray, amen.