You’ve likely heard the saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Paul warned Timothy that times would get tougher for those who try to live for Jesus (3:1,12). How can we avoid becoming people who are “lovers of self…disobedient to parents…ungrateful, unholy, unloving,” etc.? 

There are two key elements in 2 Timothy 3. First, we must imitate the apostles’ examples. Timothy followed Paul’s “teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance” (2 Tim. 3:10). We must do the same if we are going to live for Jesus. Second, we need to be shaped and changed by the Scriptures. God’s word “is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). Are you allowing yourself to be taught, rebuked, corrected, and trained? It’s not enough to believe the Word; we must submit to its authority in our lives. Come to the Scriptures with a humble and willing spirit, ready to be challenged and changed to live for Jesus.

How can you continue to grow in your willingness to be changed by what you are learning in the Scriptures?