We’re used to thinking that baptism day is about us or the other people who made their declaration of faith alongside of us, but nothing could be further from the truth. Baptism is a celebration and picture of Christ’s loving work of salvation on the cross. It points us to His grace and power in our lives.

Paul spoke into the trials of Timothy with these words. “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 2:3, CSB) He is saying to Timothy, “You are a soldier in the army of God. Soldiers go to war. In every war, there are casualties. This is war, Timothy, not a picnic. In war, you must be willing to endure suffering.”

Being resilient means springing back, rebounding, and returning to its original form. One way we can be resilient is through growing in grace. Growing in grace comes from trusting Christ, daily, that He will provide what we need for that day.

Paul opens his letter to Timothy by speaking into Timothy, but not by coddling him. He is going to remind Timothy of some key truths to consider in the face of opposition and hardship.

I don’t know what hard things you are facing right now. But I know that Paul’s words to Timothy are meant, not just for Timothy, but for you and I.

We tend to believe that God loves good, successful people, who follow all the rules and are kind and respectful of others. We believe God loves people who demonstrate character and commitment. Then we work really hard to become the sort of people that we believe God could love.

But what if God already loves you? What if instead of being attracted to strength and success and how hard we try, that instead God is drawn to our weakness?

“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” - Romans 8:28

Regardless of your circumstances, if you love God he will work things out for good. If God can bring good out of the cross, He can bring good out of anything.

In Romans 8, Paul is talking about the pain and suffering of creation. He says, “The whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.” Why would Paul use that phrase? Why would he compare this era of creation with labor pains? Because all of the pain and suffering of creation today will one day give way to new life and unrealized glory.

Romans 8:12-18 presents us with a classic good news/bad news scenario. First the good news: As a child of God, you are an heir of God and a co-heir with Christ. That means you'll inherit everything God owns - Romans 8:16–17a. But it comes tethered to some bad news: You and I are going to have to suffer to get it - Romans 8:17.

Your mindset is a choice. Romans 8 tells us that we can have a mindset focused on our flesh, or a mindset focused on the Spirit. “Now the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6).

We live in a world filled with condemnation. But what if the good news of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection from the dead offers a solution to this problem? Maybe there is a principle at work here that looks like this: Condemned people easily condemn people. Likewise, gracious people extend grace to others.