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Ring of Truth provides 366 daily ‘proofs’ that the Bible is consistent throughout from Genesis to Revelation, and relevant for our lives today!
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2 Timothy 1:7
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a Spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
I shall never forget the time this verse ‘came into its own’.
I was travelling to the U.K. from New Zealand via South America. I stopped off first in Buenos Aires, Argentina, then in Rio, Brazil, and lastly in Madrid, Spain.
My friends and the Travel Agent had told me – never go out in the dark alone in Buenos Aires or Rio – it is very dangerous – particularly for a tourist – which I was. However, in both those cities – whilst I felt very alone (particularly as I can’t speak Portuguese or Spanish, let alone the Latin American versions) – I did not feel frightened; on the contrary, I felt safe (although I did get horribly lost in Rio once).
But I did keep repeating this verse over and over in my mind. (Ironically, it was in Madrid, and in broad daylight that I got accosted – but that is a long story.)
We underestimate the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Most of us are still trying to live the Christian life in our own strength – and that is impossible. That is why we were ‘given’ the Holy Spirit at the moment we were “born again” (see Acts 2:38 –39).
The Holy Spirit is not only our guarantee of Heaven (see Ephesians 1:13-14) but also the only source of Eternal Life. So much of what we do, it seems to me, is not Eternal Life but ‘normal’ life – it is not very different from anybody else. Then we wonder why we fail, why we feel defeated and why we seem overwhelmed by it all. In reality, we are not living in and experiencing Eternal Life.
Eternal life is not just life that is extended – that goes on and on, particularly after death. None of us, I would suggest, would want this life to just carry on forever whilst we got older and older. Nor does Eternal Life begin after we die.
No. Eternal life is not that at all. It is life in a new dimension. It means living a life like Jesus. The Spirit of God that was in Jesus is the very same Spirit of God that is in us. That is why we can expect to perform miracles and see signs and wonders. I suggest that our ‘problem’ is that we don’t ‘let Him loose’. We want to ‘keep Him for ourselves.’ That is why we are so timid as Christians.
Paul reminded Timothy that we have been given “a Spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” The Holy Spirit has all power and authority. He can do all things – thus, if we let Him, we can expect to see people healed and set free emotionally and spiritually. We can expect to live in victory. We can expect to talk about Jesus and find people accept Him as their Saviour. We can expect to conquer the enemy’s attacks. We can expect our level of love to grow, so that we can really love ourselves, others and particularly the unloved and unlovely. We can also expect to have victory over old habits. We can expect to stop sinning in the same ways and expect our conduct to change for the better because He is a Spirit of self-discipline.
I am responsible and I can change and get better but only by the power of the Spirit working in and through me. That happens only as I acknowledge who He is and ‘let Him loose’.
How much do you experience Him in your life?
How about giving Him more authority in your life, so even you can see the difference?
Then you would see miracles happen, too.
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