14 day plan

Women of the Bible You Need to Meet

Day 7 of 14

CSB

2 Timothy 1:5

5I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and now, I am convinced, is in you also.

Reflection:  Mother’s Day: Eunice and Lois

For further reading see 2 Timothy 1:1-5

It is easy to skip past this reference to Eunice and Lois to go to the main body of this letter, but let’s pause on it today on Mother’s Day. Timothy had a special pastoral role in the early church. Paul reveals to us that Timothy’s faith was passed on to him by his grandmother and mother. Faith is nurtured in relationship. We can underplay the importance of these relationships. Surrounding a person who is serving God are usually a network of relationships which shape and support them. Often it is wise and loving mothers. But God gives us all “mothers” in the faith. These “mothers” do not have to be female. Rather, it is those people whose unconditional love for us gives us a secure frame for growth. In this, they image the personal God of grace, whose love also has that nurturing quality (see for example Hosea 11:3-4 or Isa 66:13).

Question:  Who has nurtured your faith in this way?

Prayer:  Loving God, we thank you for your nurture of us, and how nurture has also been given to us by others. Show us who we too can nurture in this way. Amen

© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

Days

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2 Timothy 1:1-18

Greeting

1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, for the sake of the promise of life in Christ Jesus:

2To Timothy, my dearly loved son.

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thanksgiving

3I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, when I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day. 4Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. 5I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and now, I am convinced, is in you also.

6Therefore, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

8So don’t be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me his prisoner. Instead, share in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God. 9He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. 10This has now been made evident through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11For this gospel I was appointed a herald, apostle, and teacher, 12and that is why I suffer these things. But I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that day.

Be Loyal to the Faith

13Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who lives in us. 15You know that all those in the province of Asia have deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he diligently searched for me and found me. 18May the Lord grant that he obtain mercy from him on that day. You know very well how much he ministered at Ephesus.

© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers