Daily Devotional For Sunday, August 31, 2025

Good morning and I hope all of you are going to a place of worship to praise the Lord where the Word of God is preached biblically and exegetically. Have you ever been on a mission trip? I have done both national and international mission trips. If you haven’t, I would encourage you to do while you still can. Speaking of mission trips, let’s go back, way back, to the New Testament times. Can you imagine going on a mission trip with each of the Apostles and the writers of the New Testament?

Matthew went to Ethiopia to share the Gospel. Mark went to Egypt to share the Gospel. Luke went to Greece to share the Gospel. John was exiled to the Isle of Patmos where he shared the Gospel. James, the leader of the church in Jerusalem, preached the Gospel there. Bartholomew shared the Gospel in Armenia and Andrew shared the Gospel in Greece. Thomas shared the Gospel in India. Paul shared the Gospel in the Roman Empire. All the writers of the New Testament took seriously Jesus’ command to share the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the world. Wherever they went they were martyred for sharing the Gospel.

Nearly all the New Testament writers were uneducated men, except the Apostle Paul. In 2 Timothy 1:8 Paul says to Timothy and to us today, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God” (NASB). A lot of people say, “Well, the reason I don’t witness is because I am not seminary trained.” The New Testament writers never went to seminary. Some will say, “Well, I am not an articulate and polished speaker.” Well, you can join the support group of the New Testament writers. Some say, “Well, the reason I do not share my faith is because what if they ask me a question I cannot answer, I don’t want to hurt the Gospel.” I get asked questions all the time I cannot answer.

The main reason people do not share the Gospel is they are ashamed of it. That was Paul’s point to Timothy. In Romans 1:16, Paul wrote this: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (NASB). Jesus said this in Luke 9:26, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (NASB). The Gospel is the words of Jesus and when we do not share it with others, we are ashamed of it and more importantly, ashamed of Jesus. Jesus warns all of us of the eternal consequences of this in Matthew 10:33, “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven” (NASB).

We know that Timothy had an uphill challenge. He came from a mixed marriage. His father was Greek and an unbeliever and his mother, Eunice was Jewish, who later became a Christian (Acts 16:1-2). And it seems it all started with Timothy’s grandmother, Lois, who was Jewish and had become a Christian (2 Timothy 1:5). So before coming to Christ, these two women had instructed Timothy in the Old Testament Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15). Later the Apostle Paul would take Timothy as his mentee. Being young and seeing Rome and Jews persecuting Christians, we can understand why Timothy might have been struggling. 

I think the reason Paul wrote what he did to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:8, is that Paul was in prison and persecution was mounting on all fronts. When you are facing martyrdom, it is easy to question and wonder, “Well, maybe the Christian faith is lies. Maybe there are other ways to God besides Jesus.” Even the prophet and forerunner of the Messiah, John the Baptizer at one point had his doubts about Jesus being the Messiah. We see this in Matthew 11:2-6 and in Luke 7:18-23. Fortunately, Timothy held firm in his loyalty to share the Gospel. Eventually he is imprisoned for it (Hebrews 13:23). 

Paul knew that God loves to take our weaknesses, insecurities and inadequacies and add His power to them so that He gets the credit. Look at 2 Corinthians 12:10, “So I’m not defeated by my weakness, but delighted! For when I feel my weakness and endure mistreatment—when I’m surrounded with troubles on every side and face persecution because of my love for Christ—I am made yet stronger. For my weakness becomes a portal to God’s power” (TPT). Below you will find how clear our embarrassment, ashamedness and denying can be compared to testifying about Christ with the Gospel to others (Source: Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary, “1 & 2 Timothy,” p. 164).

ARE YOU EMBARRASSED?

We show that we are ashamed of Christ when we

• •     hope no one will think we are Christians
  •     decide not to speak up for what is right
  •     are silent about our relationship with God
  •     blend into society
  •     accept our culture’s non-Christian values.

By contrast, we testify about Him when we:

• •     live moral, upright, Christ-honoring lives
  •     look for opportunities to share our faith with others
  •     help others in need
  •     take a stand for justice
  •     love others
  •     acknowledge our loyalty to Christ
  •     use our lives and resources to carry out his desires rather than our own.

Assignment: Ask God this week to give you a chance to share your faith with someone. Realize that it is not a coincidence that this person will be in your path, it will be God’s doings. Is it clear to your lost friends that you are a Christian – a disciple of Jesus Christ who is not ashamed to share the Gospel? I did not ask if they know you go to church. The two are not the same. The devil and his demons show up in church worship services all the time to suppress us with thoughts about not sharing the Gospel and that does not make them a Christian.

Scripture To Meditate On: 2 Corinthians 12:9, “But He (Jesus) answered me, ‘My grace is always more than enough for you, and my power finds its full expression through your weakness.’ So I will celebrate my weaknesses, for when I’m weak I sense more deeply the mighty power of Christ living in me” (TPT).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I no longer want to make excuses for not sharing Your Gospel. To not share Your Gospel, is not to share You. Please forgive me for the times I have refused and denied You. I will trust You with my weaknesses, inadequacies and unpolished speaking abilities. I know You will give me the words to share through the power of Your Holy Spirit. I will not let fear, or rejection, or being mocked block me from sharing You and Your Gospel because they are one in the same.I love You Lord and I love the lost You died for on the cross. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly