The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 22 November 2019

The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 22 November 2019 – KEEP THE FIRE BURNING

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DATE: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019
TOPIC: KEEP THE FIRE BURNING
READ: II TIMOTHY 1:1-12 (NKJV)

1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
2. To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3. I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day,
4. greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy,
5. when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.
6. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
7. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
8. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,
9. who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,
10. but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
11. to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
12. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

THE MESSAGE:

This second letter of Apostle Paul to Timothy, his beloved son in the Lord, contains personal instructions to Timothy who was still very young in the race. Having talked comprehensively about Church administration in his first letter, Paul was more concerned here about Timothy’s personal relationship with God. After commending Timothy’s strong and uncompromising faith in Christ Jesus, the first instruction he gave was the need to rekindle the gift of God upon his life. He says, Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands (verse 6). Paul knew that Timothy had been endowed with virtue for the work of the Ministry, but he needed to put fire on it. Just as it has been made known both in the Old and New Testaments that anointing is transferable and renewable, so also it is necessary for one to know that sin is contagious. Sin is a dead fly that kills anointing; it chokes God’s endowment and drowns God’s grace upon one’s life.

It is your responsibility to keep aflame the grace of God within you, Paul repeatedly charged Timothy on this (I Timothy 4:14, II Timothy 1:6). This means God has not given His gift for fun: every gift given by God is for assignment. It is to meet needs. When not used, it becomes dormant and is as good as dead. Avoid timidity and fear of the unknown and be compassionate about your God-given grace, no matter how insignificant it seems to you. Try and maximize it for the edification of the body of Christ and expansion of His Kingdom.

PRAYER: God of heaven and earth, Who in Your benevolence gives grace to mankind for the edification of the body of Christ, help me not to waste Your heavenly endowment upon my life, in Jesus Name.

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