Fire

 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands,
2 Timothy 1:6 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/2ti.1.6.ESV

We don't necessarily need some holy man to lay hands on us. Paul laid hands on Timothy to commission him as a church leader. We can infer from Paul's letters that Timothy was a naturally timid personality.

Even if we're not commissioned as church leaders, we're all gifted by God. Our very lives are a gift from Him. The faith to believe in Him is also one of His gifts.

God gives His church members many and varied gifts, for the purpose of cultivating the fruit of the Spirit. Paul's illustration of Timothy fanning his gift into a flame makes me imagine that God metaphorically gifted Timothy with a matchbox. It was up to Timothy however to strike a match and start a fire in the metaphorical wood burning stove of the church.

Just as disused matches are a waste, so are gifted people who fail to exercise their gifts. Paul didn't want Timothy to end up as someone who wasted their potential. Instead, he wanted him to realise his God given destiny.

'Our Heavenly Father, help us to exercise our gifts for Your glory and for the blessing of Your church. In Christ's name, amen'

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mercy

  For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them. Deuteronomy 4:31 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.4.31.ESV Jesus Christ is Lord. That's why they crucified Him, for claiming to be God and King: blasphemy to the Jews and treason to the Romans. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. So the same Jesus of yesterday is the Jesus of today. He was merciful yesterday, and He'll be merciful today and forever. He doesn't just turn around and decide to destroy people He's lavished His mercy upon. If we've received God's mercy, or if we receive it now, or before Christ returns, nothing can separate us from the love of God. If we want God's presence in our lives, and we cry out to Him for it, He's not going to abandon us in the wilderness of our sin. If we claim God's Bible promises for ourselves in faith, we are safe in Him. God promises never t
Read more

Power

 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.Exodus 9:16 ESVhttps://bible.com/bible/59/exo.9.16.ESV  Secular historians point to the lack of extra-biblical evidence of Hebrew slavery in Egypt and ensuing exodus. But here in this verse, God describes how this anonymous Pharoah has been immortalised in the annals of the Hebrews, so that God is proclaimed in all the earth. The mighty men of the world might think they can stand against God and win, but resistance is futile!  The more stubborn Pharoah was, the more the Lord was able to display His power. The more insistent Pharoah was of keeping his slaves, the more unreasonable he appeared. It was a battle of wills, and the will of Yahweh prevailed.  In the end, Pharoah will have been broken by the plagues. In the final plague, his own firstborn son was killed, the next in line to the throne of the world superpower. He might have tried to put a brave face on it, but he
Read more

Helper

  Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. Psalm 54:4 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.54.4.ESV Being a helper is a humble role. Humanly speaking, we want to be the main act, not the side show. Yet, even though God is the director of life, He isn't afraid to step on stage to help us out. We might assume that the helper is subordinate to the helped. After all, if someone is deemed worthy of help, they must be important, right? Jesus came not to be served but to serve however. To be helped doesn't require us to do anything. To help is greater than to be helped. Better to actively contribute to someone rather than to simply passively benefit from someone's assistance. How are we even alive? Is it because we eat healthily, exercise well, and observed covid regulations? Ultimately, we live because God upholds our lives. 'God our Helper, thank You for not being too proud to assist us. Please uphold our lives, until You call us home, in the name
Read more