Main Verse: 1 Timothy 4:6-16

Good morning!

            There was once a young man whose father gave him access to the family’s greatest treasure passed down from father to son for ten generations. One day when the boy’s dad was not around, the young man took the prized possession and flaunted it around town. In the town there were two men known for being bullies and thieves. When the two bullies saw the young man and his prized possession hanging from the young man’s neck, the men conspired to steal the possession by letting the young man willingly give it to the bullies free of charge. When the young man handed over the possession to the bullies and the bullies had walked away laughing hysterically the young man felt the weight of his actions. When the young man came home, he saw his father standing with the open box in his father’s hands, the father was visibly upset; the incident created a wall between the father and the son. I will come back to finish the story in another writing.

            When we accept Jesus into our hearts, the Lord imparts a special blessing on us through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts (Acts 19:2-4); in the case of Israel, “the gift” was a special name “God’s chosen” (Exodus 19:3-6). To the world God’s commands and “special names” are meaningless because, the world does not believe in the Bible or Torah; the world will use the Word of God against us for “entertainment purposes” sort of like Samson (Judges 16:23-27). When we abuse the gift(s) God has given us either through neglect or, flagrant misuse as the case of Nadab and Abihu points out, God’s plan for our life will end and trouble will ensue (Leviticus 10:1-3); unfortunately, part of our “trouble” comes in the form of a wall between us and the Lord (Amos 3:2-5).

            Our common enemy knows everything about us including the things we do not know about ourselves, so it is impossible to lie to him/her much less match wits. The Lord calls his children to “be Holy as He is holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16) not because the Lord wants a “Holiness poster child” but that we will live a life without fear (2 Peter 1:2-11, 2 Timothy 1:3-7). My encouragement for you today is, never give away the gift(s) God has given you or give up hope in the Lord. Because the enemy of our soul knows the Word of God, he/she also knows how to diminish the importance of a gift (Proverbs 20:14). Remember, every gift from God is useful for His purpose (Romans 12:3-8).

I.H.S

MK