No one enters a race hoping to come in second. Runners run to win. Paul ran to win (2 Timothy 4:7-8). And he wanted the same for Timothy—for him to finish well. But how? Second Timothy 3:14–17 provides the answer.

“Never give up, never give in.” This could have been the motto of Paul’s life. Quit simply wasn’t in the man’s vocabulary. We ought to erase it from ours as well. And we can if we’ll hear and heed Paul’s last words to his friend, Timothy.

Learn from the past and look to the future to build a life marked by God’s grace and fulfilled potential. As 2 Timothy 3:10–14 reveals, there is a powerful link between remembrance of God’s truths and continuance in God’s ways.

The church needs to understand the times in which we live and the culture in which we minister. From the Apostle Paul's pen, we'll glean the straightforward answer to this important question: “What must the church realize?”

Difficult days are ahead; in fact, they are already upon us. What should we do, knowing that the days are evil? Let's answer that question.