Preach the Word

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Second Timothy 4:2-3 says, “ Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;”

     What do you do when you are hungry?  Most of us start looking for something to eat. When I would travel home from the East back to Indiana while my Mother was alive, she would have a number of things already prepared for our arrival.  One of them was home made noodles cooked with a pot roast and then served over mashed potatoes.  She would also prepare a large dish of macaroni and cheese as well as some fried chicken.  Now, she didn’t eat that much but she knew some of my favorites and I think she prepared them all.  When you know that hungry folks are on the way, you get the food ready.  

     As I look back over my ministry for the past forty or so years, I can think that in every church where we served there was at least one person or more that was hungry for the Word of God.  Well, what do you do when you find someone hungry for the word?  For me, it was like saying “sick em” to a dog.  You think of how you can proclaim the Word of God to those who are interested.  Now, it is also true that not everyone was interested but there were also those who were.  We had home Bible Studies and private times of sharing the Word of God with them.  In the above passage, Paul exhorted young Timothy to preach the Word and to be ready at all times, maybe when it was scheduled or when it was not scheduled.  It  goes on to say that there is a time coming when people will not want to hear the message of the Gospel.  Well, we preach it anyway in hopes of finding that one person who wants to hear it.  I have shared the gospel on a paper napkin at Cracker Barrel or in home Bible studies and even now at a senior living facility where we now reside.  There are at least two people who are interested in hearing the message of the Gospel and so I proclaim everything that I can to those two people.  There are many here that can’t understand due to dementia but I preach it anyway looking for the window of opportunity that sometimes comes upon their face.  Who knows how much they understand or when it becomes clear to them.  I have one lady that  has frowned at me for the last six months and the other day, finally smiled, so there is hope and we keep on proclaiming the Word of God wherever and whenever we can.  The same is true in your lives.  The above exhortation is not just for preachers but for everyone even as Peter proclaimed, Be ready always to give an answer to those who are seeking the truth.  Praise God for the ministries that He has given to all of us.  Proclaim the Word!