Entrusted - 2 Timothy 2:15

I don't have a captivating story to share. I just have a couple of main points from 2 Timothy chapter 2 that jumped off the page as I completed my homework as part of the Summer 2017 #Entrusted Bible study authored and taught by Beth Moore.

The first big ah-ha comes from page 89 in the workbook:

"You may not be able to give it (your calling) a name until your race is nearly over. Until then, your calling is whatever - whatever He put in front of you right now."

The second ah-ha is from page 91 in the workbook:

"Your faithfulness is the key to somebody else's faith." 

Here is why these two concepts are important right now...I thought I had figured out what my calling was, but more often than not, I wonder. 

I keep serving in various capacities, because things need to be done and I have the capability to do them. But I wonder - is this it??? Because it doesn't feel like I'm working in my "sweet spot". I so often feel awkward and misplaced. 

Yes, I've done spiritual assessments and studied spiritual gifts. I know what those are and can tell you what those kinds of things say about me. But as for a way to exercise those skills...let's just say I feel like I'm plaid in a paisley world. 

So I am encouraged by the second quote. I serve because someone else's faith could be on the line. 

And I have to remember from what I wrote last week, that I do what I can do and then the Holy Spirit will provide a supernatural booster shot to my efforts. 

What does this have to do with this week's verse, 2 Timothy 2:15? I do what I'm asked to do, in order to show my self as one approved, as one who is not ashamed and who can be entrusted to correctly handle the word of truth. 

One day, I will understand how all the pieces of my service fit together. Until, then I humbly serve an Almighty God who takes my small offering and turns it into something worthy. 

Entrusted - 2 Timothy 1:14

You know how you can read Scripture a million times for yourself and nothing really jumps out at you? And then you have a great teacher help you pick it apart and you realize what you've been missing? 

That's how I've felt this week as I've gone through Week 2 of #Entrusted Bible Study by @BethMooreLPM. 

First off, I've never stopped to think and ask "What's the 'good deposit'?" As Beth explains, it's the Gospel PLUS our gifting. That's what has been entrusted to us...to me. 

The Gospel is all about Jesus Christ:

• What He came for
• What He fulfilled
• What He has done for us
• What difference it has made for me

This message is what needs to remain as pure today from my lips as it was delivered from the disciples' lips. 

The gifting is what is unique to each and every believer. And here was another "Ah-ha" moment for me, when Beth used the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 to explain our gifting. God has given me, you, all of us, a special skill set that is expected to be used as we minister. Here's the thing, while we can do good things with our skills, it is only with the administration of the Holy Spirit that we can do supernaturally good things with our skills - our gifting is multiplied, exactly like the talents in the parable. 

It is these two things that have been entrusted to us and it is expected that we guard these things will all of our might. 

In this first chapter of 2 Timothy, Paul writes that we should not be ashamed of the good deposit and that we will likely encounter suffering as we guard it.

So how has this changed my thinking? What does this mean for me moving forward? 

• It has renewed my sense of purpose with the Gospel. I see the connection now between the message within it and my skills to deliver that message.
• I'm encouraged to be more diligent in the areas in which I serve. And it gives me hope for when I am wondering about the effectiveness of my service, I can trust that through God's power my efforts will be multiplied. 
• Finally, I am reminded that I need to brace myself for the times when this 'good deposit' may come under attack. 

I recently watched a clip of Ocean's Eleven where the guys are using the EMP to turn out the lights on the Vegas strip annd all the different cons that they run in order to break into the vault at the Bellagio just to get their hands on $160,000,000. 

We need to have our 'good deposit' held close in our hearts like it was in this kind of vault, knowing that evil will try every trick of the trade to distract us so that we are not paying attention, hoping to rob us blind. 

So guard up my friends! 

-bethany.