Welcome to Day 9 of The Challenge! Our verse to memorize today is II Timothy 2:9:
~
“Wherein I suffer trouble,
as an evil doer, even unto bonds;
but the word of God is not bound.”
~
This verse is talking about how when we as believers are preaching the gospel, we will run into sufferings, troubles, and maybe even imprisonment. But the end of the verse gives us the awesome hope—the Gospel (God’s Word) that we preach is unbound and unlimited. Isaiah 55:11 states that God’s spoken word will not return unto us void. This is God’s promise to us as believers. But as always we need to make the first move before God will bless us. We need to step out in faith and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ—not fearing man, but fearing God and knowing that God has said in Romans 8:28 that all things will be worked together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to God’s purpose.
Having said all this, how can we as believers apply this verse to our lives? First we need to be walking for God with our whole heart, and meditation on His Word. Then we have to look for opportunities that God will open to us to share His word with others.
My challenge to you today is to not only memorize this outstanding and motivational verse, but also to search out an opportunity that you can share the message of God—the message of hope—with someone in need around you.
~ Kerzdenn Kowalchuk
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January 9th, 2009 at 5:16 am
When I read this verse, I see that no matter what happens to the messenger, the message will abound. It is easy to see how it would grow as the person is taking it from place to place, but the amazing part is that the Lord will still make known His word even when the messenger is tied up for a while… =)
May the word of the Lord abound forever!!
January 9th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Though other’s may try to stop short our efforts to share the truth, God’s word will not return void! This verse is a great reminder of how powerful God’s word is!
January 9th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Thank you for that word! I’m going to go to the Pacific Garden Mission this Sunday and need all the encouragement I can get. There are so many unpredictable people and you never know what kind of questions you’ll be asked. It’s also one of the only places where our message is not received by everyone. I’ll be thinking about this verse when I go.
January 9th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
The Greek word for “suffer trouble” is the same one for “endure hardness” in vs. 3! So one area in which Paul is saying to endure hardness is in making the Gospel known!
Josef Tson came to my mind while I was meditating on this verse. He realized that the Word of God was not bound and thus was not afraid to become a martyr. When threatened with death, he looked at his captors with a big smile and said, “You see, my sermons are all over Romania. If I die, I will sprinkle each tape’s message with my blood, and people will listen to them with new dedication. I will conquer Romania with my death, and I will also go to glory.” His captors realized the truth of his words and declared, “We will not let you be a martyr!” (from Daily Success email on Love Your Enemies)
If Paul was willing to go to prison for preaching the Gospel, then I don’t need to be afraid of what people will say or think of me when I share the Gospel with them! After all, it’s not my message. It’s God’s! And He has promised that His Word will not return void (good reminder to use Scripture when sharing the Gospel!). It will accomplish what He pleases and prosper where He sends it (Is.55:11).
January 10th, 2009 at 12:10 am
I discovered that about the Greek word, too, Hannah! Good insight about enduring hardness.
“…the word of God is not bound.” That is just awesome to think about! Throughout the years, stories of persecuted Christians have proved that, as hard as they may try, man cannot stop the Word of God from prevailing and reaching the lives of millions.
Acts 28:31 “Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” May the Lord bless each of us to do just that.
January 10th, 2009 at 9:12 am
This week I’ve really been convicted about sharing the gospel-the past couple months I really haven’t made witnessing a priority. I heard a message this past Wednesday night by a missionary & it challenged me to try to live one of the statements he made…he said that instead of just giving one tract to a person while we’re out shopping…we should try to get a little shopping done on our witnessing trip!
Or when we’re out working or wherever we go.
Thanks for the encouragement-I pray we all are more passionate about sharing our great hope!
January 11th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
This reminds me of a verse Mr. Gothard has been studying recently, “we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).