2 Tim. 2:8-13
Jesus once said: “whoever wants to be my disciple must deny him/herself, take up their cross, and follow me.” The apostle Paul did just that: they labeled him a criminal, confined him in prison, and yet we find in him a willing spirit to suffer for others to hear the gospel. His body is bound, but his tongue is free, and he continued to experience the liberating power of the gospel, even in adverse circumstances. An early church father (Tertullian) once famously said that “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.” But perhaps the following paraphrase of Paul is even better: the word of God simply cannot be stopped (2 Tim. 2:9).
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