Growing my purpose for Living

I like the old hymn, 'I know Whom I have Believed'. My problem was that I could not wrap my brain around what the verse (2 Timothy 1.12) quoted in the hymn meant. Peterson's 'The Message' paraphrase really helped, and so did some time put in studying the actual verse and the context. The Apostle's second letter to Timothy presents an urgent message for two reasons. The first, is that Paul senses that he will not be alive much longer. The second, is that Timothy is on the verge of quitting the ministry. Apparently, disappointment and persecution had pushed Timothy to the end of his spiritual rope. Paul, resoundingly, encourages the young pastor beginning in the first chapter.
Paul exhorts Timothy concerning the rewards, resources and repercussions of his faith in Christ. The rewards include the current gifts of God (vss. 6,7) and the unique calling of God (vs 9). The resources include the spiritual heritage he has from his mother and grandmother (vs 5), the companionship of the Apostle Paul (vs 8) and the purpose and grace of God Himself (vs 9). The repercussions are the various sufferings that must be overcome (vs 12 ff). The Apostle encourages Timothy to join him, even in suffering, unashamedly devoted to investing what he has received as a 'treasure'. Paul states in verse 12 that he has no regrets. He knows that his faith is founded solidly in the Almighty God of the universe. He is entirely convinced that God will guard and protect that 'treasure' forever, even as he and Timothy invest it in the world by making disciples of the nations.
2 Timothy 1.12 "Because of the work I have from God, I suffer. But, I have no regrets. For I know the ONE in whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard my treasure until the day Jesus returns."

Five undeniable Truths of Life

Here are 5 undeniable truths of life.

The first 'truth' is that "timing is everything" It is hard to actually deny, but easy to ignore.

Second, "condiments are free". This is the idea that in any project or decision making plan there are freebies that one really should look for and take advantage of.

Third, "fail simple first". This encourages us as we are trying to figure out a right answer in, typically a material project, that we make sure we test an area that is simple first. That way one doesn’t waste time figuring out that a difficult answer is not the right answer. Make sure the answer to a problem is not the easy answer before testing more complex potential answers.

Next, "play every card". This is the idea that sometimes we give up when we havent used every resource, or when there is still time left. Because God seems to do things at the 11th hour humanly speaking, it seems we often need to "play every card" He gives us to play and look for Him to bless.

Finally, "if you cant fix it, feature it". When there is a problem that arises in a project that just will not go away, the best thing to do is not just live with it, but actually feature it. This can come about particularly in spiritual areas where there is a physical, material or financial adversity, and a leader can demonstrate that this appearance of difficulty is all the more reason to press on. The Apostle Paul stated, "A wide door of opportunity has opened for us, and there are many adversaries." He didn't exactly feature the adversaries, but he sure was up front with them.

Obviously, one often has to balance between these 'truths'. For instance, because timing is everything one may want to be careful before playing every card.