Fighting Off Spiritual Amnesia

Today marks the first day of week three of our #TheLetters study. Some of you precious ones are doing both the video study and the booklet to dive deeper into 1st and 2nd Timothy. Others are joining in as they can on with the video devotionals each week. I LOVE you all! In this particular season of life I adore that Lord has authorized me to join you when and how we can grab a few minutes together. In my mind we are walking through the grocery store together, or maybe piled up on a sofa with warm coffee spilling God's Word, or maybe even racing around in the car picking up our kiddos from all their activities.....regardless where we are meeting each other I am forever grateful for your willingness to study God's Word with me. It is a gift to serve you in Jesus.</em>Today I wanted to share an excerpt from the booklet so that those that don't have one could have a small insight into where we are walking in addition to the video study. This is an important week in our study and I want all of us to have the script. My prayer is that you will print off this post and underline, highlight, fill out and scribble your heart's notes all over it! So here we go!Week Three - Day One"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord." {2 Timothy 1:1-2}The apostle Paul, whose Hebrew name was Saul was born at Tarsus in Cilicia. His parents were Jewish and his father was a Pharisee and a Roman citizen in turn making Paul a Roman citizen by birth. Paul was brought to Jerusalem when he was quite young and was indoctrinated in the Jewish theology by the Pharisee Gamaliel. Initially Paul was known for persecuting Christians, but on his way to Damascus, he was converted to Christ by a miraculous vision. Paul was an undaunted preacher of Christ and the founder of many Christian churches. His longsuffering labors garnered the esteem of his co-laborers for Christianity, but Paul also grasped the deep well of grace. Paul taught with great authenticity from personal experience that salvation was designed by God for all men who put their trust in a living faith in Jesus Christ, and that bondage to the short end of law is like mixing water with oil. Completely incompatible with the spiritual liberty of which Christ is the author.Welcome to week three dear hearts. Can you with holy imagination close your eyes and imagine the elation of Timothy when the letter carrier delivered him this second letter. Sitting in my living room in the dark early morning hours typing out words to you and wondering how you will receive this encouragement and employing message to keep walking by faith with endurance has my holy imagination carried off and wondering how Timothy would have been in such anticipation to hear from Paul. According to Strong's Concordance Timothy's name means "dear to God." Timothy was also dear to Paul. I want you to know just how dear you are to me. In this last letter to Timothy Paul holds nothing back in expressing his affection for his disciple, but also the passion he wanted Timothy to live out. Paul wanted Timothy to explode with passion and endurance for the race marked out for him.He also reassured Timothy's placement and anointing to accomplish the God-ordained assignment.Read 2 Timothy 1:3-6Paul makes a ready note to Timothy that they both have a heritage of faith to uphold sharing in the great power of God to accomplish the tasks at hand.Read 2 Timothy 1:8-14What does Paul say at the end of verse 14?"By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, { } the good deposit entrusted to you." {ESV 2 Timothy 1:14}Go back up to 2 Timothy 1:5-6 - What is Paul reminding Timothy to do?"I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now I am sure dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to { } {2 Timothy 1:5-6}Don't we just get down and out sometimes? Don't we just have times when we feel like nothing we are arduously working towards in regards to our faith life is amounting to a hill of anything? I've walked through seasons of my life where I've slugged around in self-pity like an unwanted mud bath. Can't see the forest for the trees. Can anyone say "Amen?!" Paul tells Timothy to stay "sober-minded" a fair amount of times. Seems to me there must have been some mental and emotional lager keeping Timothy from being strengthened to toss off the "weights and sins" and REMEMBER the hope to which he had been called.Embarrassingly, I confess, it doesn't take much to get me derailed and believing horrid lies about my life and my calling. This is something I have struggled with all my life. It debilitates me. I have to surround myself with those friends and family that don't just encourage me and hold me accountable to follow God's assignment; they know me deeply and nearly make me.Nearly.They KNOW the gift of God in my life and they call that out in me over and over again. But.....I am the only one that can fan it into a flame and actually act on the promises of God for my life. They can't make me believe, or act or obey. They can just implore me to remember, believe and keep going.With each scratch of his pen Paul was eagerly attempting to provoke in Timothy the zealous and sanctified situation of his mind in order to "guard the deposit entrusted to him." The reality for Paul was that he was reaching the final destination. As Paul was bound in chains and scratching these words to his most beloved spiritual child indulge for a moment the urgency in his spirit to gird Timothy in the fullness of the Truth so he would have the endurance to do what Paul and God believed in Timothy to do.There have been times I have so believed in someone that has become incredibly dear to me that I am nearly aching for their calling just like it was my own. Not in an unhealthy way, but in a "God-honoring, wanting to see them succeed in Jesus because I see the grand potential their obedience has for Kingdom purposes" kind of way. This happens quite regularly with what God has us doing in coaching. Our family grows close to Toby's athletes and when we watch them begin to take hold of the promises of God for their lives we cheer from the top of our lungs. Hear Paul cheering for Timothy to step into the anointing of his calling from the top of his lungs.Parallel to Paul's shouts of approval for Timothy the Savior of the world is standing on the edge of Heaven rooting for you to step into the anointing of your calling. He has penned the letters; you've opened them, now you need to live them out. That is how you will change your family, your community, your world....living out loud the Letters you are reading.Go back up to 2 Timothy 1:7 and fill in the blank"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of { } but of { } and love and self-control."Jesus' power capable of banishing fear is at our disposal. May we be so provoked to animate the zeal of that power.List two fears holding you back:1.2.List two {or more!} people that encourage the "boldness of the Spirit" to come out in you1.2.