Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Caring and Accepting the Elderly

Jessie Samuel
St. Andrews MTC, Yonkers, NY

Verse 7: For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

 This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. Paul consistently prayed for Timothy, his friend, and a strong leader in the Christian church. Although the two men were separated from each other, their prayers were a source of encouragement. We too should pray consistently for others, especially for those who do God’s work. Who’s on our prayer list?
 
    Verse 7 speaks volumes. Timothy was experiencing great opposition to his message and to himself as a leader. His association with Paul and his leadership had come under fire from believers and nonbelievers alike. Yet, Paul urged him to be bold. When we allow people to intimidate us, we neutralize our effectiveness for God. The power of the Holy Spirit can help us overcome our fear of what some might say or do to us, so that we can continue to do God’s work.
 
    In this passage, Paul mentions three characteristics of a Christian leader: power, love and self-discipline. These are available to us because the Holy Spirit lives in us. In this time of persecution, Timothy may have been afraid to continue preaching the Gospel. While Paul told Timothy to expect suffering, he promised him that God would give him strength and that he would be ready when it was his turn to suffer. Even when there is no persecution, sharing our faith in Christ can be difficult. Fortunately, for us, we can rely on the Spirit to give us courage.
 
    When we are facing difficult situations, let us follow Paul’s advice to Timothy and look back at our experience. Who is the foundation of our faith? How can we build on that foundation? What gifts has the Holy Spirit given us ? Are we using the gifts we  have been given?

PRAYER

Father God, thank You for Your gracious hand that is upon our life. We give You glory today for all You have done in our past, all that You are doing today, and all that You will do in our  future. Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
We can praise God so much more in the sunshine if we  have practiced praising Him in the rain.

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