August 19, 2020
2 Timothy 2:1-2
You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.
New International Version (NIV)
Have you ever run in a relay race?  The fastest runners don't always win the race.  The ones who run fast and find a way to exchange the baton cleanly usually win.  Races are sometimes lost in a fumbled exchange or a handoff outside the prescribed zone.  But when you see a team do it well, it is a work of art.

Discipleship is like that, too.  Paul received the faith directly from a blinding, unforgettable encounter with Jesus.  Then he spent the rest of his life passing that faith on to faithful fellow servants.  Timothy joined Paul on a journey and received instructions in the faith directly from him.  Paul discipled Timothy and then in this last letter he urges him to entrust what he has heard to faithful people who will entrust it to others.  So we find four generations of disciples in this one verse (2:2).

Just so, the Christian life is not solely about individual performances.  The only race in the Christian Olympics is the relay.  So the point of following Jesus is not  our individual achievements, or what it does for us as individuals.  When we become apprentices of Jesus, we get to, we want to teach others what we have learned.  For two thousand years disciples have made disciples have made disciples.  Who handed you the baton?  To whom will you hand it?  You don't take the baton home to put in your trophy case.  It was meant to be passed to another.  When we do this well, it is a work of art, marvelous to behold.
Pray with me:         
Father, thank you for two thousand years of your people handing the faith one generation to another.  We are grateful for those who have invested time and love in us to teach us about you.  Help us to share it with faithful people who will pass it on to others.  Lord don't let the baton be dropped in our leg of the race.  Let us run together to win and to receive the imperishable prize.  In Jesus' name.  Amen. 
Join us in memorizing the Word.  Scripture for this week:    
Matthew 6:25-26
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Our 2020 Every Day with Jesus readings will follow the Foundations New Testament reading plan.  Copies of the reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download your copy at REPLICATE.ORG 
We would love for you to join us as we read the New Testament through this year, five chapters a week.  In addition I will continue my long-standing practice of reading one Psalm a day through the year.  Use Robby Gallaty’s H. E. A. R. plan to study each chapter (also found at REPLICATE.ORG). Highlight verses which speak to you, explain what they mean in your own words in a journal, apply them to your own life, then respond by doing what God tells you to do.  
Joyfully, 
Duane 
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