CaRE

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

2 Timothy 4:1-5

Paul's final charge to Timothy gets to the point. Preach the Word. Be ready all the time. CaRE: correct, rebuke, encourage...

I am thinking about each of these in my ministry. How ready am I to correct? Rebuke? Encourage? It also strikes me that Paul says to do this 'with great patience and careful instruction.' Patience - courageous endurance without quitting. If you're going to Preach the Word, you need a GREAT amount of patience. 'Careful instruction' makes me think of time investment. It's not instant potatoes... you don't just add water.

Lord, help me to keep my head in all situations and, with great patience and careful instruction, preach Your Word. Give me the discernment to know when correction, rebuke or encouragement is needed. Speak through me today.