2 Timothy Archives - Paula Wiseman

Tychicus

Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, Colossians 4:7-8

When you read Paul’s letters, he often sends greetings back and forth or mentions people who would have been known to his first-century readers but whose identities are lost to history. However, there are a few people, that with a careful reading a more detailed picture emerges. Tychicus is one of those guys. His first mention with Paul is in Acts 20:4 when Paul was in Ephesus. That leads many to suspect he was from Ephesus or at least the area nearby. Paul had been warned that trouble was waiting for him on his planned journey to Jerusalem. That didn’t deter Paul or any of his party from making the trip.

Now let’s be honest, we fuss if a flight gets canceled or if there are construction delays. We have no idea what an undertaking it was in to agree to accompany someone on a trip in the first century. Tychicus stayed with Paul throughout his arrest, through three trials and through the voyage to Rome which included a shipwreck.

He delivered the letters to Colossae and Ephesus and maybe the one to Philemon. This involved walking across Italy AND Greece AND another hundred miles across Asia Minor (with passage by ship across the Adriatic and Aegean Seas in between, of course). Finally, he was sent back to Ephesus to fill in as pastor for Timothy so Timothy could visit Paul in prison one last time. (2 Timothy 4:12)

All of those qualities made Tychicus the kind of guy worth emulating, but Paul’s own words about him are worth a closer look.

A beloved brother – Not only was he a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, but he was a beloved one. Tychicus had a heart and an attitude that endeared him to the apostle. Do we have that kind of heart and attitude?

A faithful minister – Tychicus was entrusted with difficult, yet critical tasks and he faithfully completed them. He demonstrated his faithfulness not only to the Lord who called him but the one he served with. Are we that loyal and determined?

A fellow servant – Tychicus was first and foremost a servant. He clearly didn’t seek attention or prominence or even recognition. He willingly worked to do whatever was needed. Do we exhibit that same selflessness and humility?

Hardly as well-known as Timothy or even Barnabas or Silas, Tychicus stands as an example of a beloved, faithful servant who served not only his Lord but devoted his life to serving the body of Christ. He’s certainly worth knowing and emulating.

What are some ways you serve or can serve?
Would others use Paul’s words about Tychicus to describe you?

The Call

By Paula

[God] 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. 2 Timothy 1:9

I’m doing some study and prep work for a retreat next month when we’ll be studying the call of God. It’s easy to dismiss that as something only for preachers or missionaries or other A-list Christians, but God has called each of us. In one sense, answering the call is fulfilling the purpose God had in mind for us when He saved us. In another sense, it’s an expression of our obedience. Here are some things I’ve learned so far about the call.

The call is unmistakable. (Judges 6:22)
Everyone in Scripture knew they had heard from God. Admittedly they may have been reluctant to answer. They may have stalled or delayed. But they knew it was God calling.

The call is according to God’s purpose. (2 Timothy 1:9)
God never calls us to busywork. Everything He involves us in is fulfilling His kingdom purposes.

The call leads to being sent out. (Mark 6:7)
I’ve yet to find an example of someone God ordained and equipped who was not immediately put to work. There is no orientation period, no job shadowing, no time to research the pros and cons. Part of the reason for this is that we are sent out in His strength, not ours.

The call often comes in answer to prayer, but usually not our own. (Esther 4)
Israel prayed for deliverance, God calls Moses. The people prayed for rescue from Midian, God raised up Gideon. Jesus prayed all night, then called the right guys to be His disciples.

The call comes when God is ready to act. (Exodus 3:7,10)
We don’t have to wait on God’s timing. By the time He has called, it is His timing, and we need to respond.

What has God called you to? How did you respond?

Continuing

By Paula

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them. 2 Timothy 3:14

I get a lot of spam email. Most of it can be divided into two categories– how to lose weight and how to get rich quick. The thing is, I know how to lose weight. Everyone does. Take in fewer calories than you burn. If you do that, you will lose weight, guaranteed. This plan is sometimes expanded to eat right and exercise, but it’s the same idea. Stay with the plan and in time, weight loss happens.

Oh wait – I left out the key spam word – easy. They promise an easy way to lose weight. Eat what you want. No exercise or effort required and the pounds drop off. Of course, there’s no such thing.

It’s the same way with getting rich. We all know how that happens. Spend less than you take in. Save, invest and wait. It’s not hard or complicated. But it’s not easy. It takes discipline and patience.

That’s the echo in Paul’s words to Timothy. “But you,” you be different. Don’t be like everyone else around you, ready to take the easy way and the quick fix. You be disciplined and patient. You stick to what you know.

The advice is relevant for us today. Don’t fall for slick marketing, systems, and strategies. God grows us, and grows His kingdom slowly, patiently, with discipline. Want more intimacy with God? It takes time to develop. Want a more vibrant prayer life? It takes discipline. Want to do a better job sharing your faith? It takes practice. No shortcuts.

Not Ashamed of the Chains

By Paula

The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain. 2 Timothy 1:16

When Paul was hauled off to Rome for his final imprisonment, many of his associates abandoned him. Perhaps it was out of fear that association with him might mean their imprisonment. Maybe their confidence in him failed. Maybe they decided the relationship would be too difficult, would take too much effort and too much energy to maintain with the complications of imprisonment. Paul suspected they were ashamed of him. Whatever the reason, they dropped him when he needed them.

This time of year marks an intensified season of prayer for our brothers and sisters around the world who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. Paul’s testimony reminds that we have a responsibility to them.

Paul’s words echo Jesus’s statement of the gospel in action, namely to feed the hungry, to care for those in need and to visit those in prison. According to 2013 statistics over 2 million people were serving time in the United States, or roughly 1 in every 110 people. After the first year of incarceration, they are largely forgotten. Paul prays for the mercy of God to be extended to those who would minister to those in prison.

All of us know someone struggling with a different kind of chain. We know unbelievers who live in the chains of their sins. They can be difficult to engage. They don’t think or behave or react the way we do. Maybe we’re afraid of the association. Maybe we determine it would take too much time or effort or energy to reach out. Maybe we’re ashamed of them. We can’t ignore them because we have the only key.

Finally, unbelievers aren’t the only ones struggling. There are people all around us in the pews on Sunday morning wrestling with depression and other mental illnesses, or family breakups, or financial problems or addictions or any number of issues, and we are called to “refresh” them. The body of Christ is designed to be our safety net and the support network. Think of who you would call in a 3:00 a.m. crisis. If that friend, if that circle, is not part of the body of Christ, then the rest of us are failing you. And if we haven’t made ourselves that available to others in crisis we are not fulfilling our calling.

Investing in the lives of others is often hard and messy and thankless, but it moves the gospel from the theory to practice, from Sunday morning to Saturday nights or Tuesday afternoons. Simply put, it is Christlikeness.

Fear or Victory

By Paula

Therefore, tell the people, ‘Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.’” So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight. Judges 7:3 NLT

In Judges 7, we read the story of Gideon. You probably remember the amazing story of the three hundred soldiers who defeated a Midianite army who outnumbered them 400 to 1. Before the battle, Gideon stands with his army of 30,000 men and God says to send home everyone who is afraid. Twenty thousand men–inexperienced soldiers who have done the math and knew they are facing over a hundred thousand professional soldiers–go home.

God doesn’t berate them, or shame them. Gideon doesn’t beg them to stay or offer incentives. Just a simple announcement, “If you are afraid and want out, you are free to go.” And they did.

It seemed like a rational decision. I’ll be honest, if my husband had been in that number I would have more than glad to see him home early and in one piece.

But here’s the thing. Yes, the fearful survived unscathed, but they didn’t get to participate in the victory.

I know I have had plenty of opportunities present themselves, doors that God has unmistakably opened, and I’ve gone home rather than go forward. I’m afraid I won’t measure up. I’m afraid of what it will cost. I’m afraid it will be hard.

And I miss a victory.

Here’s what I know about fear, though. It makes us take our eyes off Him. It distracts us from what He calls us to do. Fear never comes from God. Paul stresses that in 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.”

John reiterates it 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

Perfect love, that’s the kind that God has for each of us. Fear is a sure sign we don’t grasp or trust that love or the God who demonstrates it.

Given

By Paula

John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. John 3:27

My son is in the middle of geometry and you may recall working through proofs. At the beginning, before you begin to line out a strategy for attacking the problem, you have a set of pre-conditions, a set of givens. These are your starting points. The things you know for certain. Then you work step-by-step from those givens, incorporating other things you know for certain, the theorems and so forth, until you arrive at the solution, the proof. (Hopefully I didn’t stir up any bad memories.)

While I’m very thankful that life is NOT a geometry proof, it is essential to understand that we operate with a set of givens. Ours are so much better than a list of theorems and postulates, they are things God has given us. No matter what we come up against, these need to be our starting points, these are things we know for certain.

1. We have eternal life.
And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 1 John 5:11

We have so much more than what we see around us.

2. We have the Holy Spirit.
And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him. Acts 5:32

We are never alone. God Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit lives not just with us, but in us. He sees and He knows exactly what we’re going through.

3. We have an understanding of Christ.
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:20

Maybe not full understanding, but we know enough to grasp that Jesus loved us and wanted us with Him forever, and He was willing to go to the most extreme lengths for us.

4. We have everlasting consolation and good hope.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace. 2 Thessalonians 2:16

Consolation is comfort. And it’s everlasting. I like to think of it not just lasting forever with respect to time, but never running out. Not only that, but good hope, a confidence that there is more to come and it is better.

5. We have a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

We are not helpless, but we are able to accurately assess our situations in light of who we are in Christ and then respond, not out of fear but out of love for others, like the love Christ has shown us.

6. We have all things that pertain to life and godliness.
As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 2 Peter 1:3

We have all the resources we need to live the life God has called us to.

7. We have great and precious promises.
By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:4

Not just the promise of eternal life, but promises that He’ll never leave us, and that He hears us.

Whatever it is, wherever you are, start with these givens. They’ll lead you from your questions and doubts to what you know and finally to the One who knows all.

Tychicus

The Call

Continuing

Not Ashamed of the Chains

Fear or Victory

Given

Encounters Series

Covenant of Trust Series

Foundations Series