1 Timothy 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
Wow! Can you believe it Friends, January is finished already? I only wish the remaining winter months could go as quickly. But that just means the summer months are liable to go as fast, and in no time we’ll be back to square one; winter again. Hn! Same old khaki pants! (smile) Any way, I want to share a little insight that whether it’s winter or summer, rain or snow, regardless of the external environment, you’ll always have a friend with you. And we’re not talking of a spiritual friend, but a real flesh and blood human companion. And if you think that’s too good to be true, then listen to the words of Maxwell Maltz. ‘If you make friends with yourself, you will never be alone.’ Oh mih people, that rates another Wow! Why? Because it’s the gospel truth. When you like yourself and can enjoy your own company for decent lengths of time, then you’ll always have a true and faithful companion by your side; you. The problem though is that many of us don’t like ourselves. For whatever reason(s) we just can’t bear to be alone in our own company. That’s a negative attitude my people. Remember Jesus said to LOVE your neighbour as yourself. And the way some of us dislike ourselves, I certainly wouldn’t want to be our neighbour. (smile) And we’re not talking about inordinate pride or arrogance, but a simple appreciation of ourselves and our decent qualities, which should be overflowing from the well-spring of our souls if we’re true believers. Thus, if we met ourselves as a stranger on the street, we’d be very inclined to strike up a pleasant conversation from the aura that emanates from us. And liking whom we are is a paramount aspect of our faith, else we can’t do the good natured things it calls for with a right heart. Please note too that liking oneself in a healthy manner and being humble, as our faith decrees, are not opposites. They can co-exist quite nicely as they did in our leader, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That brings us to our Bit, where Bruh Paul is trying to encourage a shy, self-effacing Timothy to get with the programme. ‘Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.’ Timothy was a young preacher in Ephesus, whom the prophet(s) of the day thought was divinely gifted and so informed the church. Thus the church elders laid their hands on him, blessing him, and accepting that God had called him to ministry with a special talent for it. But unfortunately, though Timothy appeared to have all the knowledge to make a good pastor, he couldn’t seem to muster enough chutzpah to exercise a strong authority over the congregation. Consequently, in his second letter, Bruh Paul tries to boost his confidence and exhort him to endurance. ‘When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting (laying) on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of (share with me) the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.’ (2 Tim.1:5-8) Poor Timothy, he must have been even more troubled after receiving that message, knowing that he could never fill Bruh Paul’s shoes. But then Friends, very few of us can ever do that. However it doesn’t mean we can’t perform very useful service on God’s behalf, for all of us are given gifts to be used specifically to further His kingdom. But as Bruh Paul points out: ‘Now there are diversities (various kinds) of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations (ministries), but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations (activities), but it is the same God which worketh all (things) in all.’ (1 Cor.12:4-6) So Friends, the Lord’s endowed each believer with a special talent that we are called on, expected to use in His service. The gifts might be all different, but all serve some purpose in His overall plan. But just like Timothy many of us are not using those gifts anywhere close to their full potential. We’re either unsure, scared, lazy, too busy with worldly things or whatever reason we choose to give. The bottom line though is that we’re not using them satisfactorily. We’re not harnessing ‘the spirit of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.’ Instead we’re being overcome by the ‘spirit of fear,’ and in many cases are ‘ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.’ Remember Friends, if we’re ashamed of Christ, He’ll also be ashamed of us. As Bruh Paul proclaimed re the power of the gospel. ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.’ (Rom.1:16) That’s it there in black and white mih people. If you’re a true believer then you cannot be ashamed of the gospel for it’s the power of God that brings you salvation and eternal life. So please, let’s get our acts together nuh Friends. Let’s seriously begin using those special gifts that God gave all of us to enlarge and further His kingdom. Don’t be like me and wait till late in life to begin exhorting, educating, edifying, encouraging, or whatever you were placed on earth to do. It’s only if we all work together as one, though using our diverse gifts, that we can ever hope to unify Christ’s Church and truly claim it as ONE BODY with different members. Much LOVE!…to each is granted a talent….not to be hidden under a bushel…but exposed to the light…for God’s ultimate glory.
Wow! Can you believe it Friends, January is finished already? I only wish the remaining winter months could go as quickly. But that just means the summer months are liable to go as fast, and in no time we’ll be back to square one; winter again. Hn! Same old khaki pants! (smile) Any way, I want to share a little insight that whether it’s winter or summer, rain or snow, regardless of the external environment, you’ll always have a friend with you. And we’re not talking of a spiritual friend, but a real flesh and blood human companion. And if you think that’s too good to be true, then listen to the words of Maxwell Maltz. ‘If you make friends with yourself, you will never be alone.’ Oh mih people, that rates another Wow! Why? Because it’s the gospel truth. When you like yourself and can enjoy your own company for decent lengths of time, then you’ll always have a true and faithful companion by your side; you. The problem though is that many of us don’t like ourselves. For whatever reason(s) we just can’t bear to be alone in our own company. That’s a negative attitude my people. Remember Jesus said to LOVE your neighbour as yourself. And the way some of us dislike ourselves, I certainly wouldn’t want to be our neighbour. (smile) And we’re not talking about inordinate pride or arrogance, but a simple appreciation of ourselves and our decent qualities, which should be overflowing from the well-spring of our souls if we’re true believers. Thus, if we met ourselves as a stranger on the street, we’d be very inclined to strike up a pleasant conversation from the aura that emanates from us. And liking whom we are is a paramount aspect of our faith, else we can’t do the good natured things it calls for with a right heart. Please note too that liking oneself in a healthy manner and being humble, as our faith decrees, are not opposites. They can co-exist quite nicely as they did in our leader, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That brings us to our Bit, where Bruh Paul is trying to encourage a shy, self-effacing Timothy to get with the programme. ‘Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.’ Timothy was a young preacher in Ephesus, whom the prophet(s) of the day thought was divinely gifted and so informed the church. Thus the church elders laid their hands on him, blessing him, and accepting that God had called him to ministry with a special talent for it. But unfortunately, though Timothy appeared to have all the knowledge to make a good pastor, he couldn’t seem to muster enough chutzpah to exercise a strong authority over the congregation. Consequently, in his second letter, Bruh Paul tries to boost his confidence and exhort him to endurance. ‘When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting (laying) on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of (share with me) the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.’ (2 Tim.1:5-8) Poor Timothy, he must have been even more troubled after receiving that message, knowing that he could never fill Bruh Paul’s shoes. But then Friends, very few of us can ever do that. However it doesn’t mean we can’t perform very useful service on God’s behalf, for all of us are given gifts to be used specifically to further His kingdom. But as Bruh Paul points out: ‘Now there are diversities (various kinds) of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations (ministries), but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations (activities), but it is the same God which worketh all (things) in all.’ (1 Cor.12:4-6) So Friends, the Lord’s endowed each believer with a special talent that we are called on, expected to use in His service. The gifts might be all different, but all serve some purpose in His overall plan. But just like Timothy many of us are not using those gifts anywhere close to their full potential. We’re either unsure, scared, lazy, too busy with worldly things or whatever reason we choose to give. The bottom line though is that we’re not using them satisfactorily. We’re not harnessing ‘the spirit of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.’ Instead we’re being overcome by the ‘spirit of fear,’ and in many cases are ‘ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.’ Remember Friends, if we’re ashamed of Christ, He’ll also be ashamed of us. As Bruh Paul proclaimed re the power of the gospel. ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.’ (Rom.1:16) That’s it there in black and white mih people. If you’re a true believer then you cannot be ashamed of the gospel for it’s the power of God that brings you salvation and eternal life. So please, let’s get our acts together nuh Friends. Let’s seriously begin using those special gifts that God gave all of us to enlarge and further His kingdom. Don’t be like me and wait till late in life to begin exhorting, educating, edifying, encouraging, or whatever you were placed on earth to do. It’s only if we all work together as one, though using our diverse gifts, that we can ever hope to unify Christ’s Church and truly claim it as ONE BODY with different members. Much LOVE!…to each is granted a talent….not to be hidden under a bushel…but exposed to the light…for God’s ultimate glory.
SCRIP-BITS 