Our first devotional thought for the week is about our Bible verse focus for the next two months: 2 Timothy 1:6. The entire verse reads: "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands" (NKJV). One of the first things that we learn about Bible study is to investigate "therefores" in order to discover what a "therefore" is "there for." Get it?
The apostle Paul reminded his young Christian friend Timothy about the foundation for his faith. He was raised to know God by his Grandma Lois and mother Eunice, and Paul was now his spiritual mentor. God often reaches out to young people through the faith tradition of their families. I was personally attending church before I was born because my mom carried me to church every Sunday when she was pregnant. I went to church every week growing up because I was born into a Christian family. Maybe you come from a Christian family. Maybe you can relate to Timothy because your parents and grandparents taught you to pray before eating a meal or took you to church on Sundays and Wednesday nights. Maybe you have received God's gift of salvation, but you are not living a lifestyle that reveals God's gift actively at work in your heart.
King Solomon started his reign of Israel as a young man. He had his whole life ahead of him and the powerful testimony of his father's faith in God behind him. God came to Solomon in a dream and offered to grant any request he could ask. In 2 Chronicles 1:10, young Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge to lead God's people. God was so pleased with Solomon's request that He gave Solomon wisdom as well as power, prestige, and countless possessions. However, over the course of Solomon's life, he drifted from his loyalty to God because of his many wives who worshipped different gods. Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes as his last will and testament confessing, "I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be excercised. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind" (1:13-14 NKJV).
My friends, God wants to do great things through us, but first He must break the pride of our hearts. We want to do what we think is right for our lives. God comes into the middle of that attitude and says, "Life is not about you; instead, life is about what I can do through your life." Let me challenge you this week to "stir up the gift of God that is in you" because anything you try to accomplish on your own apart from God and His love is simply "vanity and grasping for the wind."
If you have any prayer needs, please e-mail wfbcyouth@gmail.com.
James
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