Last Sunday, Pastor Ken Lewis preached Part 1 of “Don’t Fumble the Handoff” from 2 Timothy 2:1-2. We considered the truth that God strengthens us by the grace that is in Christ Jesus to entrust the gospel to faithful men and women who will then entrust the gospel others also.

Read: 2 Timothy 2:1-8

This Sunday, Pastor Ken will continue with Part 2 from 2 Timothy 2:3-8. Because we tend to labor in our own strength, Paul seeks to prepare Timothy with various metaphors to teach him to be strengthened by God’s grace for the work of the gospel. Ultimately, Paul calls Timothy to endure this life for the sake of the gospel by remembering Jesus Christ. As you prepare your heart for our corporate gathering, let this devotional from Milton Vincent move you to heed Paul’s instruction for your own life.

Reflect: “My Daily Protection”

As long as I am inside the gospel, I experience all the protection I need from the powers of evil that rage against me. It is for this reason that the Bible tells me to “take up” (Ephesians 6:13) and “put on” (Ephesians 6:11-12) the whole armor of God; and the pieces of armor it tells me to put on are all merely synonyms for the gospel. Translated literally from the Greek, they are: “. . . the salvation . . . the justification . . . truth . . . the gospel of peace . . . the faith . . . [and the] . . . word of God” (Ephesians 6:14-17) What are all these expressions but various ways of describing the gospel? Therefore, if I wish to stand victorious in Jesus, I must do as the songwriter suggests and “put on the gospel armor, each piece put on with prayer” (“Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus,” by George Duffield, Jr.).

That God would tell me to “take up” and “put on” this gospel armor alerts me to the fact that I do not automatically come into each day protected by the gospel. In fact, these commands imply that I am vulnerable to defeat and injury unless I seize upon the gospel and arm myself with it from head to toe. And what better way is there to do this than to preach the gospel to myself and to make it the obsession of my heart throughout each day?

“My Daily Protection,” in A Gospel Primer for Christians, by Milton Vincent

Sing: Song List for Sunday

1. “A Mighty Fortress,” Arr. Matt Boswell
2. “In Christ Alone,” Arr. Passion
3. “O Church Arise (Arise, Shine),” by Keith & Kristyn Getty