Jeremiah 48:1-49:22, 2 Timothy 4:1-22, Psalms 95:1-96:13, Proverbs 26:9-12
Today is the 25th day of October. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. And again, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today and every day. And I’m excited for us to take the next step forward in the Scriptures and see what God might speak to us through his word today. We’re still in the book of Jeremiah, definitely rounding the corner on that. We will also be finishing Paul’s second letter to Timothy today when we get to the New Testament. We’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week. Jeremiah 48:1 - 49:22.
Commentary:
Okay. May the Lord be with your spirit and may his grace be with you all. Those are the final written words of the apostle Paul to Timothy or to anyone. According to church tradition, he was executed soon after. And in the final paragraphs of this final letter, Paul told Timothy to keep a clear mind and always be ready to share the good news of the gospel in spite of the opposition. If suffering and persecution came, which is how things were shaping up, Timothy was to be unafraid. If people abandoned him in search of whatever their itching ears wanted to hear, Timothy was to continue to tell the truth and care for those whom God had entrusted to him as a pastor. And then Paul told Timothy, I am already being poured out as a drink offering and the time for my departure is close. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Ahh…and those are…I mean, that’s a famous passage for certain. But when we understand the melancholy of Paul’s circumstance, how that hits us, and it hits me square in the heart every time I come by it because I want that to be true of me too. And I think we all feel this way. But knowing this is the end, like this is the end of Paul’s story and he’s going to lose his life for Jesus and be executed, we should be halted and be respectful. And this should reset our expectations as followers of Christ. I mean, think about this. We worship Jesus and we certainly respect and revere the apostle Paul, but both of their lives ended similarly in abandonment and injustice. And that’s pretty stark. But because we’re usually gaging how well we’re doing with God based on how blessed we feel, but the reality the New Testament teaches us like redundantly, is that we must learn to endure whatever might come. And not everything that comes is going to be enjoyable. So, I mean, we have been blessed beyond measure because we’ve been given the gift of eternal life, but blessing isn’t the only reason for our existence. We’re here to participate in the rescue of our species, of humanity, as the hands and feet of Jesus. The physical representation of his body on this earth. This was Paul’s message, and this was his mission. And his life revealed just how opposed that mission could become and what it looks like to endure with hope until the end. And so, the apostle Paul spent his final days in a cold dungeon and winter was coming on and nearly everyone had abandoned him, and he begged Timothy to come as soon as he could and then when he did come to bring his coat, it’s like heartbreaking. And he wanted his books and his parchments…ahh, it’s just a sad scene. And then Paul died for his faith in Jesus. And it’s easy enough to go, how is it that we look at this a victory? Because this is how Paul would describe it. I mean, is it because Paul would later become Saint Paul? Or is it a victory because his writings ended up in the Bible? Those were never Paul’s ambitions. He was never looking for that. It had been an honor to serve Jesus. He had fought the good fight and held nothing back. He had finished the race and accomplished everything that God had allowed him to do. And he had kept the faith and remained true until the end. And from Paul’s other writings, we know that he was thoroughly convinced that his own physical death would not be the end of anything at all and that he would indeed be eternally victorious. And that’s a pretty humbling posture from a man condemned to die. And that should shape our lives and affect us and guide us forward. Of course, this isn’t the last we’re gonna hear from the apostle Paul. But these were his parting thoughts. This was his last letter. And to fight the good fight and to align ourselves with his sentiment, that’s gonna take endurance, right? A fighter gets into the ring and even if they win, they still get punched, right? They still get beat up. And to finish the race will require endurance. So, we must not be deceived about this. Keeping the faith will require endurance, maybe more endurance than we’ve ever been forced to exhibit. But we have these examples. Paul endured until the end. And if we can learn nothing more from that, we have to acknowledge that he believed what he taught enough to die for it. And he followed the example of Jesus and endured until the end as Jesus had. And this theme and this example is gonna continue in the New Testament as we’ve talked about before. This becomes a central theme. It’s gonna be everywhere. And so we need to begin to consider the ways that we are enduring and the ways that we’re not. And our convictions will continue to be challenged in this area as we move into the future letters that we’re about to read. So, let’s invite the Holy Spirit to speak into that.
Prayer:
Father, endurance is not something we probably would have signed up for if we had a choice. And we do everything to avoid it and to steer clear. And yet it is such a central theme and message of the Scriptures. It’s pretty hard to avoid. And, so, we invite Your Holy Spirit to begin to reveal to us the ways that we have endured in the past. How we have handled those trying times. That we have to just put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward, trusting in You and You alone. How have we endured well, Holy Spirit? That’s our question. Show us, Jesus, how we have done well. We also invite You to show us ways that we’ve tried to avoid things, side stepped things and ways that we’ve caved and the ways that we have not endured because we must learn this. As much as we don’t want to, we must learn this. So, come Holy Spirit. Show us how to endure and be true and fight the good fight and finish the race and keep the faith. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.
Song:
My Soul Waits – Bethany Barnard
On God alone my soul waits
On God alone my soul waits
I’ll wait until the night breaks
On God alone my soul waits
Cause Your praise is an ocean
And my troubles are a puddle
Oh, I’ll soon forget my affliction
For the joy I know that will follow
On God alone my soul waits
On God alone my soul waits
I’ll wait until I see Your face
On God alone my soul waits
Oh, And Your praise is an ocean
And my troubles are a puddle
And I’ll soon forget my affliction
For the joy I know that will follow
And Your praise is an ocean
And my troubles are a puddle
Oh, I’ll soon forget my affliction
For the joy I know that will follow
And when I call to You
You answer me
Can it be true
That You’re in love with me
On God alone my soul waits
On God alone my soul waits
I’ll wait until the night breaks
On God alone my soul waits