Live Together!

8 Remember Jesus Christ, who was raised from the dead and descended from David. This is my good news.

9 This is the reason I’m suffering to the point that I’m in prison like a common criminal. But God’s word cannot be imprisoned.

10 This is why I endure everything for the sake of those who are chosen by God so that they too may experience salvation in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

11 This saying is reliable:

“If we have died together,

we will also live together.

12 If we endure, we will also rule together.

If we deny him, he will also deny us.

13 If we are disloyal, he stays faithful”

because he can’t be anything else

than what he is.

(2 Timothy 2:8–13)

Live Together

Good Day Family,

2 Timothy is not a long letter, but it holds a lot of wisdom within it. It’s Paul’s letter to his mentee, Timothy. The words contain encouragement, challenge, and instruction. Like most of Paul’s writings, it also provides theological insight along the way.

Here, he encourages Timothy at a time when Timothy would have been concerned for Paul, who is imprisoned. So much of Paul’s writings speak of endurance in the face of hardship. His hope always pointed him back to Jesus Christ in the midst of suffering, persecution, and despair. The glory of God was his constant target and the presence of God his constant companion.

That is not to say that Paul did not value human companionship and community. His letters bear witness that he did. He maintained communication as his means of contact with an amazing amount of the church, from Rome to Ephesus, diverse communities spanning hundreds of miles, yet Paul called them all his kin in Christ. Life together in the Body of Christ is better than walking alone.

We celebrate in good times and commiserate through the valleys. I am so encouraged by the launching of our Griefshare ministry. The room was full…of people…of memories…of sadness and smiles mixed together in that combination that only the loss of loved ones can create.

If you have been thinking about it, there’s still room for you to drop in as you would like. If you know someone who is struggling alone, please let them know we have a place for them as we mourn with those who mourn with the hope of the Lord as our encouragement and our safety.

Grateful for our life together,

Pastor Cheryl

Let us encourage one another. Let us love our neighbor. Let us be the church.