“For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:5-7 NAS
Greetings!
I cannot believe I already hear the sound of school buses rolling down my street! It seems that summertime flies by and school starts earlier and earlier every year. As teachers prepare their classrooms and lesson plans, I pray that they are also preparing in prayer; covering their classroom, curriculum, and every student in prayer as they step into another year.
I see students and parents out buying schools supplies and clothes, and I pray that they have also spent the summer supplying and strengthening their family’s faith by pouring the Word of God and prayer into their heart, soul, mind, and strength. School supplies are so much more than crayons, calculators, paper, and pens; they also include the security, abilities, and love that God supplies like those listed in 2 Timothy 1:7. Let’s take a closer look at these together.
Christians do not have a spirit of cowardice; faith and fear do not exist together. When fearful thoughts try to invade our minds, we are called to take it captive and bring it into submission and alignment with the Truth of Christ. Christians are confident and courageous because Christ is in us, for us, and interceding on our behalf. Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)
Which leads us to the source of the power Paul professes. Power = strength + ability. Students are bombarded daily with comments that compare them to others, bullying, and negative self-talk. We must speak life to our younger brothers and sisters in Christ just as Paul is in his letters to Timothy. We read Paul praising the abilities and strength that God has given to Timothy and that has been fanned in a flame by Timothy’s faith and his family. We must nurture and not neglect the “fearfully and wonderfully” that exists in every person God has created. God is perfect and He has never made a mistake, yet the world is filled with people who think they are a mess rather than a masterpiece made by the hands and heart of a loving God.
Every person needs to know the power knit into them as well as the love that saturates and surrounds them. Every human must be confident that they are safe and cared for before our “fight or flight” response stands down, and the logical part of our brain turns on. Imagine how impossible it is for a student to learn, to remember, recall and give correct answers if they do not feel safe or loved at home or at school. God is love, His Word confirms His love and commands us to love even our enemies. This teaches us that our love for people is not based on their performance, or what they have done for us or to us. We all make mistakes, we all fail, we all need grace, we are all still learning, and we all need the security of love to make us great students.
Finally, Paul reminds Timothy God has supplied us with discipline. Discipline = sound mind + self-control. Self-control is part of the fruit of the Spirit, the evidence and equipping that comes when we submit all we are, all we have, all we want, and all we will be into the hands of God. When we commit to exercising self-control, we take hard, hurtful, frustrating, or tempting situations and prayerfully release our feelings to the Lord so we can respond fruitfully in word and deed.
Will you please join us prayer?
Lord Jesus, You are The Teacher, our Redeemer, and our Living example of love. Thank You for the many ways You supply Your saints with all we need to live a spiritually successful life. Thank you for parents, grandparents, mentors, coaches, friends, and teachers who are willing to be role models throughout life; not pretending they are perfect, but thankfully as Jesus’ followers, continually being perfected. Help us to remember and share honestly about times when fear tried to invade our thoughts, or we were afraid of failure, embarrassment, or being left out. Help us to walk in courage and compassion knowing You have supplied us with power, love, and discipline.
Serving Him with gladness,
Kathy Branzell
President
