I was compelled to read three books today. I started out with 2 Thessalonians and felt like reading on, so I went ahead and read 1 Timothy, after which I just had to read 2 Timothy.
This has left me with an over-abundance of scripture to think about, but I’m anxious to finish reading through so that I can start really digging in. It’s been too long, though, and I really have to read everything through first.
In any case, I have too much swimming in my brain now to concentrate on one particular thing. I did notice a few things during this read-through that are worth mentioning for later scrutiny…
- Paul, for instance, wrote the second letter to the Thessalonians and signed it with his own hand specifically so that they would be able to identify it as genuine (see 2 Thessalonians 3:17 after reading 2:1-2).
- He also made a habit, when writing to Timothy, to share specific names when warning him about false doctrine or people who had fallen away or caused him harm (1 Timothy 1:20, 2 Timothy 1:15, 4:10, and 4:14-15). I think I will be using these letters as a jumping-off point for finding a good, complete, Biblical definition for what constitutes gossip, and I think this is worth noting in that study (as Paul surely wasn’t a gossip).
- I have read 1 Timothy more times than I can count, and I *always* find something new or fresh or see something in a new light — living Word indeed!
- 2 Timothy 1:6-7 reminds me that we all need to be reminded sometimes.
- 2 Timothy 1:12 – I learned this song recently, it’s a good one!
- 2 Timothy 3:1-9 made a specific impression… I am mentioning it now so that I’ll have a record of the passage and can go back to it later for a more in-depth study.
