2 Timothy 1:8-10

In this book, Paul is writing to Timothy while he (Paul) is under house arrest for preaching the Gospel. He has to encourage Timothy not to let his (Paul's) sufferings deter him from preaching the Gospel. It is easy to become ashamed of the Gospel and its adherents, and to let that keep us from sharing the Good News, when we know that the Gospel doesn't promise a pretty, rosy life; on the contrary, the Gospel centered life can be ugly and dangerous. The Christian is, in fact, promised persecution. It is the unseen, the afterlife, that we put our hope in-not earthly comfort. We must continually ask God for the faith to share this news, this otherworldly hope, with others.