OUR DAILY BREAD : THE NEXT GENERATION

[cimi]

May 22
Thursday


THE NEXT
GENERATION

READ:
2 Timothy 2:1-13
___________________________________

The things that you
have heard from me...,
commit these to faithful
men who wil be able
to teach others also.
__2 Timothy 2:2
__________________________________

A man who played double-brass in the Mexico City Philharmonic
told me that the finest instruments are made of wood that has been allowed to age naturally to remove the moisture. "You must age the wood for 80 years, then play the instrument for 80 years before it reaches its best sound," said Luis Antonio Rojas. "A craftsman must use wood cut and aged by someone else, and he will never see any instrument reach its peak during his own lifetime."

Many important things in life are "next generation" matters--teaching, training, and parenting are among them. The apostle Paul invested himself in people whose spiritual influence would continue long after he was gone. He wrote to Timothy: "The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2). Paul, Timothy, "faithful men," and "others" represent four spiritual generations built on the enduring foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Are we living only for today and the short term, or are we giving ourselves to others who will continue the faith after our race is run? Living for Christ and making disciples are all about the next generation. __David McCasland
_____________________________________________________________

`````````````````Day by day perform your mission,````````````````
````````````````With Christ's help keep at your tasks;``````````````
```````````````````Be encouraged by His presence--``````````````
``````````````````Faithfulness is all He asks. __Bosch``````````````
_____________________________________________________________

We influence future generations
by living for Christ today.

***************Today's Bible Reading __ 2 Timothy 2:1-13**********

1 You therefore, my son,
be strong in the grace that
is in Christ Jesus. 2 and the
things that you have heard
from me among many
witnesses, commit these to
faithful men who will be
able to teach others also.

3 You therefore must endure
hardship as a good soldier
of Jesus Christ. 4 No one
engaged in warfare
entangles himself with the
affairs of this life, that he
may please him who
enlisted him as a soldier.

5 And also if anyone
competes in athletics, he is
not crowned unless he
competes according to the
rules. 6 The hardworking
farmer must be first to
partake of the crops.

7 Consider what I say, and
may the Lord give you
understanding in all things.

8 Remember that Jesus
Christ, of the seed of David,
was riased from the dead
according to my gospel,

9 for which I suffer trouble
as an evildoer, even to the
point of chains; but the
Word of God is not chained.

10 Therefore I endure all
things for the sake of the
elect, that they also may
obtain the salvation which
is in Christ Jesus with
eternal glory. 11 This is a
faithful saying:
For if we died with Him,
we shall also live with Him.

12 If we endure, we shall
also reign with Him.

If we deny Him, He also
will deny us.

13 If we are faithless, He
remains faithful; He cannot
deny Himself.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

As in 1 Corinthians 9:7,24, Paul here uses various metaphors--the
single-mindedness of the soldier (vv.3-4), the discipline of the
athlete (v.5), and the diligence of the farmer (v.6)__to illustrate the
demands and rewards of the Christian life. __Sim Kay Tee

[realtmg]

Amen.