Devotion 7/25, Your Gift!
Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. 1 Timothy 4:14
We know that the gift was given by prophecy along with the “laying on of hands.” This simply means that a prophet in the local church at some point stood up and announced that the Spirit of God had given a gift to Timothy. The prophet himself did not bestow the gift, but announced it. Along with his announcement he placed his hands on Timothy to publicly recognize what the Holy Spirit had already done. Mankind has no authority to give gifts from God, only God can do that. This process is also seen in Acts 13:2.
The most important thing to learn from this verse is to not neglect the spiritual gifts that God has given each believer in Christ. God did not give these gifts to be ignored by us, we are to use them for His glory and for furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ in this world.
Life is often busy, full of distractions and “to-do” lists. Let’s not let our “busyness” keep us from our Father’s “business” (Luke 2:49 NKJV). Let’s find the ways God gifted us to serve him and his people (1 Peter 4:10-11); then, let’s dedicate ourselves to doing our Father’s work with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).
Gracious God, you have blessed me in so many different ways. Thank you for all these touches of your grace. However, dear Father, I need your help to see more clearly how you have gifted me to serve you, and I need to make that service a key priority in my life each day. Thank you for always hearing my prayers. In Jesus’ name, I ask this. Amen.
Take a minute and stop, look around. You will see the gifts God has given you, the blessings He keeps sheading in your life, His everlasting love and those mercies, oh, those mercies. Give thanks to Him and do His work. He’s counting on you and me not to be intimidated by today’s lame culture, but to stand strong for His kingdom.
His word is His Word. Unchanged, everlasting. Stand strong on His Word. You’ve been gifted by God. “Stand strong!”
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