QT 17 May 18, 2 Tim 2:24-26, Our response to opponents should be kind and gentle

Week	Passage	Date	Verse	Thought	Prayer
3	2 Tim 2:20-26	5/17	2 Timothy 2:24–26 (ESV) — 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.	This is a beautiful group of verses and properly explains how a true believer (the Lord's servant) is to treat others, especially those that do not believe. We are to patient, even to endure evil. We are to correct our opponents with gentleness. Our desire is for people to repent, come to their senses, and escape the snare of the devil. That is where this world is today. We are ensnared by the Babylonian worldview which believes that we are our own gods and we determine our own fate. In the long run, in the eternal end point, that philosophy is completely wrong.	Father, help me to be kind and gentle toward everyone. Give me courage to answer and respond to the critics, but let me do it in a way that does not hurt the listener, but helps them to see the love of Christ through my life.