Time Out! Devotions

2 Timothy 4:9-18 (NIV)

⁹Do your best to come to me quickly, ¹⁰for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. ¹¹Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. ¹²I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. ¹³When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.

¹⁴Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. ¹⁵You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.

¹⁶At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. ¹⁷But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. ¹⁸The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Friendship brings us some of the greatest joys in life—but also can cause immense pain. If you haven’t experienced rejection or betrayal yet, you probably will someday. The apostle Paul learned to forgive others for their failures and reconcile with them when appropriate. Let’s discover how he dealt with betrayal and abandonment by trusted friends.

Friends Sometimes Fail Us

Despite Paul’s faithfulness to the Lord, his friends failed him. They weren’t reliable when he desperately needed them (2 Timothy 1:15; 4:14-16).

What are some reasons why friends might desert you in times of trouble? They . . .

1. Feel inadequate and/or unsure of how to help.
2. Don’t want to be identified with you in a conflict, for fear they could end up on the losing side.
3. Are jealous and hope to see you fail.
4. Selfishly don’t want to sacrifice their time to support you.
5. Judge you and thus excuse themselves from the responsibility to help you.

Forgiveness Must Prevail

Paul responded to betrayal and abandonment with forgiveness: “At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them” (2 Timothy 4:16, emphasis added). Both Jesus and Stephen said something similar in the final moments of their lives (Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60).

Paul practiced what he preached—the importance of forgiving. Don’t be a fair-weather friend, interested only in what you can get from another person. Be willing to help even those who mistreated you in the past. Waiting for a chance to get them back—to let them down as they did to you—indicates that you have an unforgiving spirit.

The Presence of the Lord Sustains Us

Paul was able to forgive because he knew that God would never leave him: “The Lord stood with me” (2 Timothy 4:17). Although Paul’s friends all left, he knew that the Lord Himself was with him. Christ promises all believers, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

The apostle was able to forgive because he trusted God to empower him: “The Lord . . . strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear” (2 Timothy 4:17). Paul could rely on the presence of God to accomplish his calling—taking the gospel to the world (Philippians 2:13). Chances are, people will persecute you, and some of your friends will abandon you in tough times. But God has promised that all adversity will eventually come to an end (1 Peter 5:10).

He was able to forgive because he was confident that God would deliver him: “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:18). The Father may deliver us from hardship or through it (Isaiah 43:1-4). He also rescues us by bringing us home to be with Him. God delivered Paul by allowing Nero to execute him. Four years later, the ruler committed suicide. No one can violate the principles of God and avoid His judgment.

Conclusion: What kind of friend are you? Are you dedicated to those you love? Or do you often disappoint them? Perhaps you are faithful, but your friends consistently fail you when trouble comes. I urge you not to hold it against them. Hurt and rejection are painful but unavoidable parts of life. Healing is always available if you are willing to forgive. And you and I can take comfort in knowing that the most faithful Friend—the Lord Jesus—never leaves our side, even if everyone else deserts us.

(by Dr. Charles Stanley from InTouch.org)

Does what you read in the newspaper depress you? Are you dragged down by the economy and worry?

Some years ago I discovered a way to keep alert and enthusiastic. By memorizing certain statements from the Bible and holding them in my mind, I could in fact restimulate and refresh my spirit.

Listed below are seven negative forces at work and seven healing passages from the Bible to counteract them.

WHEN YOU ARE TIRED:

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. (Isaiah 40:29)

There is a difference between normal tiredness and that condition of deep fatigue where all your physical resources seem spent. First, believe that God is the source of all energy-in the sun, in plants and in people. Then try this renewal technique. Lie down and relax as best you can. As you repeat the above words from Isaiah, conceive of the Lord as sending through your body His strength and power until your spirit is renewed.

WHEN YOU FEEL UNLOVED:

Above all, take the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:16, 17)

Just as men wore armor In the old days to protect themselves from physical attack, you need spiritual armor today to guard yourself from the fiery darts of the hate and evil thoughts all about. The mind can be a battleground. See yourself as defending it with all your spiritual resources of faith and prayer.

WHEN YOU ARE GRIEVING:

I am the resurrection, and the life: be that believeth in Me, though be were dead, yet shall be live. (John 11:25)

The death of a loved one can bring on a crippling sense of defeat and depression. It often causes the mourner to feel that life will never again be filled with happy, buoyant attitudes. But in a sense you are not true to the departed one if you do not face life again with spirit. The above words have a glorious message-Jesus Christ is alive and those who believe in Him live forever.

WHEN YOU ARE HURT BY GOSSIP:

He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. (Hebrews 13:5-6)

If someone gossips about you, do not return evil for evil but pray for him. Do not harden your heart, but forgive him. As a means of building up your own inner defenses to slander, practice turning off your mind to the negative. Instead of thinking of what has been said about you, meditate on the positive way in which you can use conversation to God’s glory.

WHEN YOU ARE ILL:

The prayer of faith shall save the sick. . . . (James 5:15)

With all illness goes a certain amount of despondency which, in turn, can lead to lack of faith. The prayer of faith says, “I believe.” Such a prayer will attune your mind to God and permit His healing forces to operate in you. Many sick people also find it helpful to focus their mind on Jesus when they pray, seeing Him going about Galilee healing every disease, believing that His restoring power is at work today.

WHEN YOU ARE UPSET:

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son. (Revelation 21:7)

Low-spirited people often get that way not from one big trouble but from many small irritations-the pinpricks of life. Lacking a strong grip on God they give in to these daily harassments. The secret of the above passage is to concentrate on the idea that you are a child of God. As God’s child you will receive His strength to handle your weakness. With God’s power, instead of being overcome, you can overcome.

WHEN YOU HAVE NO PEACE:

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)

There is a great hunger for peace today. One answer is to seek peace from God and not from man. When God’s peace enters our hearts, fear and distrust and violence depart.

(by Norman Vincent Peale from OurPrayer.org)

Let’s admit it; we all are tempted to worry at times. It is very easy to become anxious about our children, our finances, our work, our relationships.

A few years ago, I heard about a couple who dealt with worry in a unique way. Whenever they faced a situation that tempted them to worry, they would earnestly pray about it and give it to God. And once they had put it in God’s hands, they would write that worry down on a piece of paper, fold it, and put it in a big brown paper bag that had the word “God” written on. Next they would tape that bag high on the back of their kitchen door… out of reach and out of sight.

“It’s now God’s, not ours!” they would declare.

The couple would agree together that if they ever started to worry about that situation again, they would have to get the stool out, stand on it, and fish that worry note back out of the bag… because God no longer had that worry, they did!

You know, if we’re honest, a lot of us would spend quite a bit of time up on the stool fishing our worries out of that bag. Potentially, we all have a lot of things to worry about, don’t we?

Add to that, the devil wants you to worry! First Peter 5:8 speaks of Satan as an adversary and a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. The context for those statements is worry! Worry is one of his many strategies to defeat you.

The truth is that you and I are in a battle. And our foe is not made of flesh and blood. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:10-12,

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

I want you to take special note of verse 11: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” What are “wiles”? Well, other translations refer to “the devil’s strategy” or “the schemes of the devil.” One translation even says “the evil tricks of Satan.”

So how can we resist the devil’s attacks? What should we do when we’re next tempted to worry? First Peter 5:7 gives us the answer: “…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” That’s what you can do… cast your care on God, who cares for you. Give your worry to Him!

Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you.” Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing….” In other words, don’t worry about anything. That same Scripture continues, “…but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

The fact is that God is big enough to take care of the worries we commit to Him. Worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrows, it just empties today of its strengths. Worry is a waste of our time! We should be doing more productive things with our time than worrying.

So the next time you’re tempted to worry, turn it around. When you understand the methods the devil uses to steal, to kill, and to destroy, you can shut down the devil’s attack. You can defeat him and live victorious over worry!

Let’s close that door of worry on the devil. Put your worries in the open and loving hands of God, who cares for you… and who is more than able to deal with the issues in your life.

Crosswalk.com is thrilled to announce the addition of Bayless Conley’s daily devotional, Answers for Each Day, to our devotional lineup. Click here to check it out, or to sign up for email delivery!

(from – http://www.christianity.com/11576715/)