Give of your best to the Master;
Give of the strength of your youth;
Clad in salvation’s full armor,
Join in the battle for truth.

(Hymn written by Howard Grose)

As I look back over the years of ministry, working alongside some wonderful servants of God, I think of all the traits they exhibited in their lives.  As God led me to mentor many young adults, I watched as God got their attention, invited them into His work in a certain way, and then to their amazement equipped them to do what God asked.  God gave me a front row seat to observed in others what He did in me.  For that, I am eternally grateful to God.  As a leader in my younger years, I know I didn’t do everything right, especially in the eyes of onlookers; but my heart was in the right place, wanting to be and do all that God created me to accomplish for Him.  I have no regrets for all the lessons learned—only thanksgiving for all the opportunities God gave me and still gives me to do while trying to be all He wants me to be in Him.  All for His glory, Amen! 

To mentor young adults where they lived or on mission fields was the delight of my heart.  All leaders must realize that our time as people of influence is brief, so as Paul says, we must make the most of every opportunity.  Our doctrine (who we are) is teaching others to find what we found in Christ—redemption and new life!  Our demeanor (what we do) is to pass on the character traits necessary to hear God and do what He has planned for each one of us.  All are called of God as His instruments of helping others believe and follow Jesus, His Son and be redeemed from sin for eternity!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 Our hope and future is in Jesus!

As God-led leaders who train others to pass on God’s work of salvation, we receive more joy in seeing other committed believers do what we did—better than the way we did it!  We praise God when they continue to be and do what God asks of us with whole-hearted commitment in the Name of Jesus for His glory!  Yes, friends, I “feel” Paul as he speaks of the great joy he has in hearing how Timothy is leading the church in Ephesus, a difficult task.  We feel the love, joy, and peace oozing from every pore of Timothy’s mentor, Paul. We must recall that Paul is sitting in a jail cell awaiting his death as he writes these final words to his beloved Timothy.

2 Timothy 2, The Message

Doing Your Best for God

^1-7 So, my son, throw yourself into this work for Christ. Pass on what you heard from me—the whole congregation saying Amen! —to reliable leaders who are competent to teach others. When the going gets rough, take it on the chin with the rest of us, the way Jesus did. A soldier on duty doesn’t get caught up in making deals at the marketplace. He concentrates on carrying out orders. An athlete who refuses to play by the rules will never get anywhere. It’s the diligent farmer who gets the produce. Think it over. God will make it all plain.

^8-13 Fix this picture firmly in your mind: Jesus, descended from the line of David, raised from the dead. It’s what you’ve heard from me all along. It’s what I’m sitting in jail for right now—but God’s Word isn’t in jail! That’s why I stick it out here—so that everyone God calls will get in on the salvation of Christ in all its glory. This is a sure thing:

If we die with him, we’ll live with him;
If we stick it out with him, we’ll rule with him;
If we turn our backs on him, he’ll turn his back on us;
If we give up on him, he does not give up—
    for there’s no way he can be false to himself.

^14-18 Repeat these basic essentials over and over to God’s people. Warn them before God against pious nitpicking, which chips away at the faith. It just wears everyone out. Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won’t be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple. Stay clear of pious talk that is only talk. Words are not mere words, you know. If they’re not backed by a godly life, they accumulate as poison in the soul. Hymenaeus and Philetus are examples, throwing believers off stride and missing the truth by a mile by saying the resurrection is over and done with.

¹⁹ Meanwhile, God’s firm foundation is as firm as ever, these sentences engraved on the stones:

God knows who belongs to him.
steer clear of evil, all you who name God as God.

^20-21 In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets—some containers used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing.

^22-26 Run away from childish indulgence. Run after mature righteousness—faith, love, peace—joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God’s servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil’s trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“Pass on what you heard from me—the whole congregation saying Amen!—to reliable leaders who are competent to teach others.” –Paul to Timothy (v.2)

Paul urgently and passionately tells Timothy that our doctrine (what we believe) comes from Jesus—

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”     –Jesus, Matthew 28:19-20

AND must match our demeanor (how we live to serve each day)—

“My son, throw yourself into this work for Christ. Pass on what you heard from me—the whole congregation saying Amen! —to reliable leaders who are competent to teach others. When the going gets rough, take it on the chin with the rest of us, the way Jesus did.”

“Run away from childish indulgence. Run after mature righteousness—faith, love, peace—joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God.”

God’s Holy Spirit is still meeting the needs of Paul while working through him to lead others to Christ— “God’s Word isn’t in jail!” Paul circumstances do not dictate what God is still doing in and through Paul, God’s instrument of grace!  Wow, can I get an amen?

Pause prayerfully to reflect…

• How am I allowing God right now to use me for His redemptive work?
• Am I repeating the “basic essentials” to others of God’s redemption through Jesus so they will know Him and follow Him?
• Am I concentrating on doing my best for God? Is Jesus truly my Master?
• Is what I say I believe as the doctrine of my life matching my demeanor as I relate to others?

Lord,

I haven’t arrived at all this, but I know you will help me.  Cleanse my heart, renew my mind, refresh my soul with your new mercies, and restore the joy of your salvation at work in me.  I love you.  I love how you work in me and in others for your glory and for the salvation for lost people without you.

In Jesus Name, Amen