Thoughts for another day

May 30, 2014.

Today's verse:  2 Tim. 1:7, 8a. 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, (KJV)

(Pls. read the above before you read further.  Thanks)

In living the Christian life, we must remember we’re here for a purpose which is to prepare for our eternal life after this earthly sojourn.  Quite honestly that isn’t the way we Christians look at it; fact is, many of us think that our tryst on earth is to live well, lead good lives and then, leave it to God.  Now the leave it to God bit is a little ironical because God wants us to live in a particular way and we know it but still don’t live it, yet we trust Him to understand!

How would God see it when we live contrary to His way?  I’m sure He isn’t pleased but merciful that He is, He would not pull us up all the time for not correcting the situation to His pleasure.  But He points out our fallacy, either in taking us through some trial or speaking to us, through someone or directly.  If our hearts are oriented to Him, we understand His message and change.  But even as we change, we’re confronted with a serious question on how to go about God’s work.  First, we need to mend ourselves, changing our lifestyle to suit that which He wants.  And second we must take the Gospel of our Lord Jesus to the nations; and mind you that isn’t His desire, but His command.  It’s frightening because we don’t know what will be in store for us in our evangelization efforts.

Both the tasks are difficult and many of us quickly get off the track because of our fear that we’ll fail.  We must remember that God, when He wants us to do something, will also provide the means to do it.  And we must know that God hasn’t given us the spirit of fear, but of power as Paul so eloquently says in our Word today.  Holding on to God’s Word, we must endeavor to love the way He loves and steadfastly move about our work, which though dangerous as seen by weak men, is also very possible as seen through the spirit of fearlessness that God gives us. And His Spirit will safeguard us in every journey we take in our effort to please Him and do His work.