We’re excited to give you a look inside Beth Moore’s new study, Entrusted. This is such an important study for believers. God has entrusted us with the great and mighty gift of the gospel, and Beth challenges us to do something with that.
Below is an excerpt from the study. Click here to check out a free sample or purchase a copy.
Staunch servants of Christ have come before us. Some in the first century. Some in the last century. We hear about them and marvel over what they were able to accomplish and endure. Their faithfulness to Jesus seems a hard act to follow, but, the truth is, we have what it takes. We either already possess it or have complete access to it because we have God’s own Holy Spirit and His Word. The red carpet is rolled out in front of us. It is the way of the cross, yes. But is it also the way of “the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God” (1 Tim. 1:17). The One who “always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Cor. 2:14, ESV). Jesus has been setting you up for years to be a mighty servant. You may reply, “You have no idea how disastrous my last years have been.” But even the aspects and experiences in your life you’ve hated are bought back by His redemption and wrung to every last drop by Christ’s scarred hands for your equipping. You have what it takes.
And, this, my friend, is where the rubber meets the road. This is where our study starts moving from our desks to our backpacks and from the page to the pavement. This is where we stop being mesmerized by Christian celebrity culture and have guts enough to fulfill our own callings. Maybe you’ve been so distracted by what others have to offer, you’ve overlooked what you have to give. Bless them, encourage them, gain from them, and enjoy them but get this through your head: You also have what it takes. You also have a wealth to offer. You are your own mix of gifts, skills, and experiences God wants to stir up to serve His Son.
How have you allowed the giftedness and serving lives of others to distract you from what you have to give?
Take a quick evaluation. How has God shaped you to serve?
If we get to the end of this study with a good look over our shoulder at the journeys of Paul and Timothy but no clear gaze ahead at the path we’re called to walk with equal tenacity, we will have missed the mission in 2 Timothy’s message. We—common people with common problems—get to carry on the uncommon legacies of Paul and Timothy. To do so deliberately will be to do so most effectively.