April 13 – Lenten Study Day 39

Lent is the 40-day period before Easter, and it is “a time for reflection, repentance, and renewal when Christians are invited to prepare themselves for the celebration of the Lord’s resurrection.” This Lent, we are doing a 40-day study from the American Bible Society to focus our time in God’s Word and prayer on His renewing power (click HERE for the reading plan). Join our study by reading today’s scripture below and journaling about it using SOAP (click on the “What’s SOAP?” link above to learn more). Below today’s scripture is an example SOAP from our team. Whether it’s your first time reading the Bible or you’ve been doing daily devotions for decades, God will use this One Thing to speak to you. We love hearing from you! Please use the comment section of our website to share your SOAP, thoughts or questions on the reading, or prayer requests. Join us as we build unity and community through God’s Word!

Lord God, by your Word fill me with a spirit of discipleship and commitment… 2 Timothy 3:10-17 A Final Charge to Timothy 10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

SOAP Note

Legacy of Faith | Kathy Page

Scripture

2 Timothy 3:14

Observation

Paul is reminding Timothy of the hostile and sinful world in which he will carry out his ministry. Timothy would have to counter this by living according to the truths he had learned in early childhood from Holy Scripture.

He was going to face opposition, opposition that could make him want to abandon his faith. If he was going to endure, he must continue on in the things he learned as a child. I can almost hear Paul telling Timothy, “My son, you must not waver from the truths taught to you from your childhood in the sacred writings. Remember your true faith, Timothy. That faith that lived with your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice. You learned that these sacred writings are a cleansing agent, condemning sin, inspiring holiness and promoting growth in the things of God. It will never fade away. You learned that these writings revealed power for victory through faith and faith alone in God. Continue to stand in the confidence which has been passed down to you. Stand strong and true to this legacy, my son.” This legacy of faith handed down to Timothy was built upon the Holy Scripture, the inerrant Word of God. The impact of Scripture is that it makes people complete and thoroughly equipped, spiritually efficient, prepared, productive and able to accomplish whatever God desires. This was not an accumulation of knowledge that Timothy received as a child, but a faith that rested in Jesus. A legacy of faith that would encourage him to continue on in faith, no matter what.

Application

When we think of a legacy, we normally think of our property, money, traditions, a special piece of jewelry. But, there is a legacy that we leave that is far more important than all of our worldly treasures combined. It will last when all the others fade away. A legacy of faith built on the Truth of God’s Holy Word. It must be seen in daily walk (how I treat others, what is my attitude as I go through trials, what happens when I make a mistake); it must be acted upon through Bible Study, prayer, attendance in church, worship. It is a spiritual deposit left in the bank of our children’s lives. This legacy of faith sees the invisible, believes the impossible, receives the incredible. Faith moves the immoveable, proves the unprovable for anyone willing to trust. A legacy is not just to be left, but it is to be lived out before it can be left.

Prayer

Father, help me to stay firm in my faith. Help me to be faithful in my own life and be a light of hope for my daughter and granddaughter. Help me to always show Your truth to them. May they clearly see You and feel Your presence in their hearts. Let me use words and actions that lift You up as the One who conquers all by Your Holy Name. Enable me to always show them that only You bring lasting victory. May my daughter and granddaughter cherish the priceless gift of triumph that is theirs through Jesus’ death and resurrection. I pray they treasure all the more the faith You have given them. And, as Timothy, they will have a faith that rests in Jesus. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The Discover One Thing main website follows a reading plan that goes through the entire Bible in one year. Click HERE to check out today’s Discover One Thing post.