I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 2 Timothy 4:1-2
Happy New Year! Baseball is between seasons. Football is wrapping up with college bowl games, college football playoffs, and the NFL playoffs. Hockey and Basketball are at about mid-season. What do these athletes do in the “off season”? Generally they continue to work out so that they can be at their top performance for the next season.
The Bible says we are to preach the word. When? Both “in season” and “out of season”. That means there really is no “off season” for Christians. Notice also in 2 Timothy 4:2, we are called to be ready. Not only that but we are to do all that to “reprove, rebuke and exhort”. How? With complete patience and teaching. WOW! That’s a lot packed into one verse. Let’s see what some of these words mean. According to Mirriam-Webster:
· Reprove: to scold or correct usually gently or with kindly intent
· Rebuke: to criticize sharply
· Exhort: to incite by argument or advice : urge strongly
· Patience: the capacity, habit, or fact of being patient (bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint)
· Teaching: the act, practice, or profession of a teacher (to cause to know something )
Gospel tracts can help do all of that. By starting in the natural and swinging to the spiritual we can capture someone’s interest. Then leading them into the Ten Commandments we have the opportunity to reprove and rebuke their thoughts and actions. Notice this is done lovingly and patiently not pointing a finger, but by asking them to self examine where they stand with God.
Finally that leads to teaching. Starting with the Gospel we can teach them that 2000 years ago Jesus, the second member of the Godhead, was incarnate and made his dwelling among us. He lived a perfect life, died on the cross, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. All who repent and believe this good news (the Gospel) will be saved!
This month was are including the 21 Day Challenge. Many people make New Year Resolutions. Those who do, rarely keep them even till the end of January. The 21 Day Challenge is to read the Gospel of John one chapter a day for 21 days. Less time than most would try to keep a New Year Resolution. Why John? Because “these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.“ (John 20:31). Perhaps someone you meet will agree to take the challenge and meet you once a week to talk about what they are reading. Maybe you could invite them to join you for coffee. As they learn you might invite them to church or a Bible study! A new friendship might develop. An atheist I had met years ago agreed to the challenge and eventually he was Born Again!
We are excited to share some new tract designs with you in the next few mailings. Be diligent in sharing the Gospel “as you go”. Make it a practice to do so everyday! Not legalistically, but out of obedience to God and love for the lost whom Jesus came to seek and save (Luke 19:10).
If you need more tracts, they are available by donation then click through to our Shopify site to place your order. When requesting specific tracts you can specify the tracts you are requesting in the comment field. We attempt to fill orders with requested tracts, but may substitute if the requested tract is out of stock.
If you are not already a member of the Bezeugen Tract Club you can enroll and receive 30 FREE Gospel tracts per month.
