The Apostle Paul is training the young pastor Timothy.  It is the final known letter to be written to his young apprentice.  What words of encouragement and comfort does Paul give Timothy - not knowing if he will ever see Timothy again?  he says, "Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the Gospel according to the power of God" (2 Timothy 1:8).  Odd choice of words!  Paul's life was full of suffering for the Gospel.  Instead of urging Timothy to take a less rocky path or to risk offending less people, Paul urges Timothy to travel down the same road of suffering for the sake of the Gospel.  Paul was beaten, whipped, stoned, and put in prison for preaching the Gospel.  He never backed down.

What is our breaking point?  At what point do we begin to retreat?  At what point does suffering for the Gospel become too much for us to bear?  I have been living for Jesus for close to 20 years now.  In nearly two decades, I can say that the worst suffering I have endured is being laughed at, made fun of, called names (even some profane names), and have often felt like an outcast.  I have never been hit or whipped or stoned or found myself in trouble with the law.  I do not seek any of those things, but neither can I say that I have truly suffered for the Gospel.  For many of us, once something rolls their eyes at us, we back off and tone down our message.

The anti-Christian mentality in this country seems to grow with each year.  How bold are we willing to be for the truth of the Word of God when standing for Jesus gets less and less "popular" and accepted?  If our country joins with other countries around the world and lists the Bible as illegal hate literature, will we concede and set ours aside?  Will we join with Martin Luther and say, "Here I stand, I can do no other!"  Will we join Paul, Timothy, and countless others and joyfully suffer for the Gospel?