12.30- There are some of us who grew up in loving, healthy family environments.

 12.30-

There are some of us who grew up in loving, healthy family environments.  This a blessing for us.  If we have been born with a temperament and bend toward being peaceable and easy going there is a tendency to need to turn up the assertiveness at times.  Timothy seemed to be that kind of follower of Jesus.

These people need to remember that God will give all the grace, mercy and peace we need to carry us through every day.

Some of us need to stir up the love, power and self discipline needed to do the work of spreading the good news of Jesus.

We need much grace and forgiveness for times we have been ashamed of the words of Jesus on difficult subjects that this world wants to do it their way instead of Jesus' way.

God is full of mercy to give us another chance.  Peter denied Jesus, but later was recruited by Jesus to preach the first gospel sermon after Pentecost.

2 Timothy

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus ^[a]by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus,

² To Timothy, my beloved ^[b]son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³ I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience ^[c]the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my ^[d]prayers night and day, ⁴ longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. ^5 [e]For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelled in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. ⁶ For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of ^[f]timidity, but of power and love and ^[g]discipline.

⁸ 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, ⁹ who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was granted to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, ¹⁰ but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ¹¹ for which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher. ¹² For this reason I also suffer these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to protect what I have entrusted to Him ^[h]until that day. ¹³ Hold on to the example of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Protect, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the ^[i]treasure which has been entrusted to you.

¹⁵ You are aware of the fact that all who are in ^[j]Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶ The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my ^[k]chains; ¹⁷ but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— ¹⁸ the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.