The Second Letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 4

The Second Letter of 

St. Paul to Timothy

Chapter 4

¹ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: ² proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching.

(The Second letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 4 verses 1 to 2)

Oh God my Father, these are indeed the qualities that identify the true Catholic and Christian from the false one, although as You said it is in Your competence to judge and not mine Amen. 


³ For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrineٰ, but having trouble itching their ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, ⁴ and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.



(The Second letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 4 verses 3 to 4)



Oh God, my beloved Father, sadly enough today we are living in a society that is becoming more scientific throughout each passing day. The rule of the day is based on having evidence based on facts and reasons, to the extent that some are choosing rationality over faith. I pray that You help us to see the real light and not the artificial form of light Amen.



⁵ As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.



(The Second letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 4 verse 5)



Oh God, my blessed Father, I thank You for encouraging me to continue this work of evangelization, that of sharing these prayers with others Amen.



⁶ As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come.


(The Second letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 4 verse 6)



Oh God my beloved Father, every day of my life is an offering to You and an offering of service to others. I pray that You make me patient and humble enough to continue being in such a service to others because at times I also feel as if my point of departure has arrived, however every time I have such thoughts and feelings You encourage me to keep on the same path Amen. 



⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

(The Second letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 4 verse 7)

Oh God my Father, how much I wish that I can say the same, that I have finished the race and that I have kept the faith, for I am still struggling against the negative forces of this world, who never stop trying to make my life difficult. I pray that You preserve me up to my last hour, so that I will not loose that which I have been aiming for Amen. 



⁸ From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.



(The Second letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 4 verse 8) 



Oh God, my just Father hallowed be thy righteous name. I pray that You support me in the situation that I am facing because I feel all alone like You in Gethsemane or when brought before Pontius Pilate. I pray that You be with me for as You know alot depends on the outcome of this day Amen.




⁹   Do your best to come to me soon, ¹⁰ for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.



(The Second letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 4 verses 9 to 10) 




Oh God my blessed Father, what at times is thought of as being a negative may well end up to be a positive. On the one hand in the given scenario Paul complains that others have deserted him to go to other places, however if such people had not done so, Your Gospel would not have been given to these people along with the gift of the Holy Spirit. Therefore when considering that only You can see the entire picture, we are to lift up our praise to You with an attitude of thanksgiving Amen. 



¹¹ Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry.



(The Second letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 4 verse 11) 



Oh God, my beloved Father, when the time comes You show us those who are true and reliable to those who are not. I thank You for such an opportunity and for the courage to disassociate with such people Amen.



¹² I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. ¹³ When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 



(The Second letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 4 verses 12 to 13)



Oh God, my Father, I thank You for assisting the apostle Paul even in practical things that appear to be trivial. I thank You for bringing out the trivial and human side of St. Paul with which I can really and truly identify Amen.


¹⁴ Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will pay him back for his deeds.


(The Second letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 4 verse 14) 



Oh, brothers and sisters, our God is a loving God who will never pay evil with evil, for evil does not dwell in God. Amen. You teach us to love and pray for those who are against us and not to take revenge as in an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth Amen. 



¹⁵ You also must beware of him, for he strongly opposed our message.


(The Second letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 4 verse 15) 



Oh God, my Father, I pray that You protect us from the many Alexanders who do accept Your message and who do us great harm by means of their actions, for such people may be found in both the higher and even the lower strata of our society Amen.


¹⁶ At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them!


(The Second letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 4 verse 16) 



Oh God, my Father, I can imagine how it feels to be deserted especially during critical moments when the support of others is priceless. I also pray for those who abandoned me but I also thank You for those by whom You are giving me support Amen.


¹⁷ But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.


(The Second letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 4 verse 16) 


Oh Holy Spirit and God my Father, I praise and thank You for the many times that You intervened in my life against the forces of evil, I am forever indebted to You Amen. In You I place my trust forever and ever Amen.



¹⁹ Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. ²⁰ Erastus remained in Corinth; Trophimus I left ill in Miletus. ²¹ Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers and sisters. ²² The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.



(The Second letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 4 verses 19 to 22) 



Oh God my beloved Father, what a strong and tremendous blessing as proclaimed by St. Paul to Timothy, may we all bless each other in this manner we all wish that Your Spirit and grace be with us and with many others Amen. May we all have and share such positive greetings Amen.



I would like to end this meditation on the fourth and final chapter of the second letter of St. Paul to Timothy with the following prayer.



Brothers and sisters "May the Spirit and Grace of the Almighty God be with Your Spirit, may He find a perfect and lost lasting dwelling in You. May God find pleasure in us as He did in His Son Amen. May we inject each other with positive messages as based on the messages that You give us in Your Word Amen. God bless all Amen and may the grace of God abound in us all Amen
 


In order to continue with this meditation on the Word of God I invite You to click on the following link which takes you to the Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews


https://letterofpaultothehebrews.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-letter-of-st-paul-to-hebrews.html
 

The Second Letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 3

The Second Letter of 

St. Paul to Timothy

Chapter 3

 

 

¹ You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. ² For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, ⁴ treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure than lovers of God, ⁵ holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them!

(The Second Letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 3 verses 1 to 5)

Oh God, my beloved Father, according to the behavioral traits listed in the introduction of this letter to Timothy we are really and truly living in the last days. If I had to go through the whole list and find statistics to prove each and every one the results would be amazing thus continuing to prove that the messages in the Bible which are the Word of God are true to the day and hour of its planned fulfillment. Amen. 



⁶ For among them are those who find their way into households and captivate silly women, overwhelmed by their sins and swayed by all kinds of desires, ⁷ who are always being instructed and can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth.


(The Second Letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 3 verses 6 to 7)



Oh God, my beloved Father, it could be the case that as in the case of the mentioned women whom I do not describe as being silly, but overwhelmed by their sins, who may consider themselves as being the worst sinners in the world so much that they are not worthy to receive Your forgiveness. However, Your door is always open ajar, and You are always waiting for us to back to You Amen. I pray that we remain aware and sensitive to our spiritual lives, however, on the other hand, we are to realize that we are one of many rowing the same boat and that as much as sin exists, so does God's forgiveness. Amen.


⁸ As Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these people, of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith, also oppose the truth.



(The Second Letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 3 verse 8)



Oh God my Father, there have been many people in the world who thought they were wise enough to oppose You, powerful people such as Adolf Hitler who tried to exterminate Your chosen people, however, You thwarted such people of corrupt mind and brought their ideology to a nullity. I pray that You also challenge any false beliefs about myself, others and Yourself that are in me, so that together we can continue to live in fellowship and harmony Amen.



⁹  But they will not make much progress because as in the case of those two men, their folly will become plain to everyone.


(The Second Letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 3 verse 9)



Oh God my Father, I pray for all those whose work is that of defending the 'Truth' that is found in the 'Good News' and in all the teachings of the 'Roman Catholic Church' that even though we are a body of sinners, we are also chosen to be holy. May You stop the seeds of the evil one from corrupting the souls of many good people Amen.


¹⁰ Now you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, ¹¹ my persecutions, and my suffering the things that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 




(The Second Letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 3 verses 10 to 11)



Oh God, my beloved Father may I imitate both You and St. Paul in sharing such qualities such as perseverance in the face of oppression and persecution. As You rescued Paul I have strong faith that You will also rescue me Amen.


¹² Indeed all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.



(The Second Letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 3 verse 12)



Oh God my beloved Father, You did not promise us a comfortable life but one of persecution if we decide to follow You, and this is true, for Your logic goes against the logic of the world, and offers it a great challenge that it cannot beat or match. Therefore people who wish to follow You have always been viewed with doubt and suspicion, however, these are the same people as in the case of St. Francis of Assisi, who by following Your ways have left their impact in the history of the world Amen. Let us all imitate such holy people and not the projected and created heroes of the world.



¹³ But wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived.


(The Second Letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 3 verse 13)



Oh God my beloved Father, when we live in a world of deception and lies, everything becomes a trap, for we risk getting caught in our own lies, and therefore life becomes more stressful and insecure. I pray that my life will be always governed by the truth as found in the Bible Amen because all truth has its roots in You Amen.



¹⁴ But as for you,  continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you have learned it, ¹⁵ and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.




(The Second Letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 3 verse 14 to 15)


Oh God my Father, throughout the course of life, we are taught many theories assumptions and even beliefs, however not all water is good to drink. Therefore we need the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to be able to discriminate which type of water is the best for us. For myself, I have decided to choose the fountains of water coming from scripture as my guide and point of reference, even though as a human I am still weak and not always able to obey it. Amen.



¹⁶ All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.


(The Second Letter of St. Paul to Timothy Chapter 3 verse 16 to 17)



Oh God, my beloved Father, this is why I like to meditate and pray on the Bible, for it helps me in my life. By means of Scripture, You give me purpose and direction and even correction when it is the case Amen. I thank You for Scripture oh God my Father Amen.



I would like to end this third chapter of the second letter of St.Paul to Timothy with the following prayer:


Oh God my blessed Father, I thank You for scripture, and I pray that You continue to use it to train and guide me in Your ways every day of my life. I pray that I become proficient so that when my time comes I will be ready to appear before You Amen. Thank You, Jesus.