Connected - Sunday February 23, 2014
Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. Acts 16:1 NIV
While reading Acts, I was struck by the impact that a young boy named Timothy has had on the world-yet we know almost nothing about him. We know that Timothy was saved as a direct result of Paul's ministry during his first missionary journey. Then on Paul's second journey, he decided to take this young protégé‚ along with him-and the world has never been the same!
Timothy's impact on the first century church, and on us, is incalculable as evidenced by the fact that his name is mentioned 17 times in ten New Testament books, and that the New Testament includes two letters that Paul wrote to him. In Acts 16 and 2 Timothy 1 we learn that his Jewish mother was a believer whose name is Eunice and his grandmother's name was Lois. We also know that his dad was a non-believing Greek.
Other than that, we know relatively little about him. In fact, Pastor Robert F. Horton wrote this concerning Timothy: "We have no words from his lips, no letters from his pen. Paul loved him; that is all. Timothy comes to us as a teenager and then vanishes, never to be forgotten, never to be known, loved not for his own sake, but because Paul loved him" (Pastoral Epistles).
Wow! God connected Paul and Timothy in relationship, and God used them to change the world! It is critically important for all of us to be connected in relationships within the church.
Submitted by:
Bill Young
The Rock Church
Sandy, Utah
One-Year Reading Plan:
Leviticus 14:1-57
Mark 6:30-56
Psalms 40:1-10
Proverbs 10:11-12
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SCRIPTURE REFERENCB-ES: Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible B) The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the Holy, Bible, New International Version, copyright B) 1973, 1978, 1984 by InternaB-tional Bible Society; (NKJV) are from New King James Version B) 1982 by Thomas Nelson; (NLT) are from the New Living Translation, B) 1996, Tyndale House Publishers; (ESV) are from English Standard VersionB., B) 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers; (TM) are from The Message B) 1993 by NavPress Publishers.