Posted on Sep 1, 2020 in Devotional | Tags: 2 Timothy 2:1-7, army of God, blog, devotion, Jesus, marhing, serve, service, suffering, victory
The Soldier
Marching
The Roman soldier was called a legionary. He was typically armed with a sword called a gladius and a shield called a scutum. All of his equipment together weight approximately 45 pounds. Discipline was the order of the day resulting in hours of arduous drills. A legionary could walk up to 20 miles a day in full equipment. He was molded with others in his cohort to be a well oiled machine totally in step with his unit knowing his place in the operation.
This seemingly simple task of marching was the first step for a roman soldier. Before being trained in combat, you first had to learn to march in step with your unit fully equipped. When Paul is commanding endurance, he uses the soldier as his example, and it becomes abundantly clear why. As the soldier marches in step, we are also to keep in step with the Spirit (
Gal. 5:16-25) as He is our spiritual commander.
This leads us to the next point, we need to focus on the commander’s cadence.
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Posted on Aug 31, 2020 in Devotional | Tags: 2 Timothy 2:1-7, athlete, devotion, faithful, faithfulness, farmer, service, soldier
Day 1: Ever Faithful
Paul begins this chapter encouraging Timothy to be strong. Paul called for strength no less than twenty-five times throughout his letters to Timothy. This call is not just for Timothy, but it is for “All faithful men.” Let us pause and consider what that truly implies: Paul did not say powerful men, he did not say wise men, and he did not say charismatic men. He says FAITHFUL men!
The Greek word “Faithful” is “Pistos” and it describes “one who readily believes.” This word is also a business term for someone who is dedicated to their work and can be trusted to fulfill their duties. God needs men who are consistent. He is not looking for intelligence because God takes the foolish things and confounds the wise (1 Cor. 1:26-31). God is not looking for the strong, for in our weakness He becomes our strength (2 Cor. 12:9). God is not looking for the beautiful, for He sees the measure of a man’s heart, rather than his looks (1 Sam. 16:7). Read more…
Posted on Jan 4, 2017 in Devotional, The Holy Spirit | Tags: administration, devotion, exhortation, gifts of the Spirit, giving, helps, Holy Spirit, mercy, ministry gifts, service
Romans 12:6-8 – Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
1 Corinthians 12:28 – And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
Like the motivational gifts, God has provided the church ministry gifts for the edification of the body of Christ. The scripture references above from Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 list the six ministry gifts. They are service, exhortation, giving, administration, mercy, and helps. Let’s take a brief look at each of these and discover what they mean to the church.
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Posted on Dec 20, 2016 in Devotional, The Holy Spirit | Tags: abilities, gifts, gifts of the Spirit, Holy Spirit, love, manifestation gifts, ministry gifts, motivational gifts, purpose, servant, service, talents, the Holy Spirit
Along with empowering us to accomplish God’s purpose for our lives, the Holy Spirit also equips us supernaturally. He expands the toolbox God gave us when we were born with gifts only He can operate in and He does so through us. But, before we dive into those gifts, we must first look at who God uses, why God chooses to work in this way, and our personal motivation to be used by Him.
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