Tuesday, September 7, 2021

NO FEAR

Today’s Reading: 2 Timothy 1

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

 

There are many foundations of shops and homes that can be seen in ancient Ephesus. In this photo you can see a threshold to what was once a shop or home. The symbols that can be seen indicate that a Christian lived here, and the many small round divots that were carved into the threshold had a very practical purpose…so that people would not slip as they entered.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

 

Key Verse: 2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

 

The New King James translation is an excellent study Bible. The edition I use for this blog is called “The Open Bible Expanded Edition.” Here are quotations from the commentary on 2nd Timothy: “It is clear from the sharp imperatives that his letter is really a combat manual for use in spiritual warfare: ‘stir up’ (verse 6) – ‘do not be ashamed’ (verses 8 & 12) – ‘share with me in the sufferings’ (verse 8 ) – ‘hold fast…sound words’ (verse 13) – ‘that good thing…keep’ (verse 14).”

These orders continue on throughout 2nd Timothy. Our key verse contains what may be the most important fact for us to know with absolute assurance. Fear cripples people. There is the fear of the unknown, of people, and of death, to name a few. Fear will cause us to shrink back by demoralizing us (1 Samuel 13:5-8) and by giving us an attitude of defeat (Numbers 13:30 – 14:2). God does not intend His people to live in fear!!!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I confess with my mouth, backed up by my whole heart, these words as I pray, “You have given me power, love, and a sound mind.” I ask for grace to take and use Your gifts to me again today and every day. May I seize the opportunities that surely will come my today. In the Name of the One whose motto could be, “NO FEAR,” Jesus, Himself, Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I can imagine Timothy there in Ephesus, standing under the shadow of that immense Temple of Diana, one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, attempting to speak about Jesus with those who were entering or exiting the gigantic structure to give themselves to the goddess. I know that I would surely be in fervent prayer for boldness!

I take encouragement from Timothy. From his first letter I learned that Timothy may have had stomach problems (1 Timothy 5:23). Illness is a human problem we all face from time to time. To bolster my courage for today, I’ve read again 1 Timothy 6:12-16. I serve the One who is “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honour and everlasting power. Amen!” Almighty God has become One of us in the Person of Jesus! How amazing is that?

Yours for sharing Jesus today and every day with those we meet,

David

A closer view of the threshold described in the photo above.

18 thoughts on “Tuesday, September 7, 2021

  1. Love today’s scripture, photos, encouragement and prayer. We worship You, the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Praying for Joseph and Luisa, Edward and Eleanor, Doreen, HJR, and all fellow saints in need this morning. May His light shine upon you. Amen.

    For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:36 ESV

    I Love You Lord | Lyric Video
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hyBJwTKmQ8

    • I love that prayer song, Beverlee. Thanks. I haven’t received an update yet on how Judy is doing. They were having trouble getting a good heart rate by trying medications. I’m loosing friends frequently these days, mostly because they are moving away to be near family or are going into care facilities – I’m feeling a bit “left behind”. Thankfully the Lord will never leave me. Such a bright, sunny day in S Ontario. Praying for the upcoming election for leaders who support Godly principles. Blessings all.

    • Thank you Beverlee, I am praying for you that soon you will get something done to your back so you won’t be suffering the pain.

  2. Rob’s post in September, 2019. Missing his posts very much these days, so I thought looking back, that a copy of one of his posts would be helpful to us:

    “Lord God, have mercy on us in this land. We have become so proud, thinking we are better than others and in no need of God. Please help us to humble ourselves and turn back to You. Thank You for all your people here, who seek your ways in all they do. Open the doors for your gospel to go out throughout Canada, and draw many to You today. We ask for your leadership & guidance in Canada, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

  3. Thank you all for your prayers for my husband and our family. We truly are thankful and appreciative of all your loving thoughts toward us.
    We had a better night, last night. God is so good to us!
    Please pray for our daughter who longs to be by her dad’s side but has family and job responsibilities that prevent her from being here as much as she’d like to . Also, please pray for our other daughter and son who are constantly by his side (and mine) and are exhausted. May God sustain all of us!

    God bless all of you!

  4. Amen Beverlee and thank you.I have had Luisa and Joe,Eleanor and Edward on my list for a long time and am adding Doreen and HJR also.Judy is also on my list and many others from other sources.Keep praying also for Israel and those trapped in Afghanastan. May God bless everyone

  5. Coming into agreement with all the prayer requests above that the Lord would have his hand in every situation thank you Beverly k for the song
    Yet another powerful read on the subject of fear our key verse is one of my favorite verses and have quoted it many times and I have just read the entire second book of Timothy.
    When you I’ve had it explained to me that when you take the word fear
    Each letter means something
    F E A R
    F is for faults
    E is for evidence
    A is for appearing
    R is for real

    So I just thought that I would share that with anyone who may not have heard that word explained before I know when I heard it for the first time it helped me a lot
    So blessings Saints and I pray God’s blessing on all today amen 🙏✝️

    • That is absolutely true about fear meaning: false evidence appearing real. Yet there’s no need to even dissect the word because it is cast out in the key verse. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Amen to that, Marilyn! What a great God we serve!

  6. Amen to all the prayers above. May God pour out his blessings on each of you in your times of need.
    http://www.thecrymovement.com
    For some reason that will not attach as a link. I watch Faytene.tv and she had Robert Parker on from the National House of Prayer and they were asking everyone to join in the following prayer for our election. I believe you could cut and past the link for more information.

    1 word for every year since Confederation.

    We magnify the name of Jesus over Canada and declare that our trust is in You and You alone O Lord. We humble ourselves before You in repentance for our many grievous sins and plead Your Blood over our land. In this election, we pray You would cause us to elect candidates whose hearts are soft to Your will, who will stand for righteousness & who will have wisdom to govern Canada in these times. We pray that You would remove those who do not have Your heart, or wisdom, to govern Canada. For the sake of our children, and future generations, we ask that You would release great honour for Your Word upon all of Canada, that You would expose corruption in government and that You would convict Canadians from sea to sea to turn to You with all their hearts, souls, mind and strength. We thank You for Your mercy and grace. Amen.

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