The Devotional - USA09

The Devotional

Comment: As a young sailor it is required of one to learn how to be a sailor. Now sailors are not alone in this, any military person in the branch of their own choice has a uniform, a boot, and various other clothing to conform each of its members into a soldier, sailor or airman. A marine is a soldier, just as one might find in the Army and a sailor is as much as a Coast Guardsman as one found in the Navy; also a Navy, Marine and Coast Guard Pilot will be characterized in likeness with those in the Air Force. Yet in all of this there is distinction, differences in many ways are obvious, but the mission of all military personnel remain the same and that is to defend and keep safe the Nation.

Challenge: When the apostle Paul understood that he was about to become a martyr, he wrote his final epistle to Timothy, to his son – 2 Timothy 1:2, in this epistle he recounts Timothy’s faith and family upbringing. He also challenges Timothy to the gift that the young man had through the ministry of Paul in the laying on of hands. Paul is calling out Timothy to fulfil the gift that he has. Verse 7 reads – For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Let me add verse 8 – Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our LORD, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the POWER OF GOD.

Paul encourages his son that the BATTLE is the LORD’s and Timothy is to be LOYAL to the FAITH. Now there is a measurable amount of information contained in chapter 1 to fill up the rest of this devotional, but I need to move to chapter 2. But before I do – there are certain distinctions in the mission of ministry that are never changed. The gospel is never to be shamed – Romans 1:16-17. The gospel is the power of God and not the edict of man. That good thing that is committed to every saint, keep it by the HOLY SPIRIT who dwells in us. The battle while there is distinction in service the mission changes NOT, the battle is the LORD’s. 

A few words from 2 Timothy 2:14-17 – but shun profane and vain babblings (empty chatter in the Greek), for these will increase to more ungodliness. The church of Jesus Christ today throughout the United States of America is full of profane and empty chatter. This condition has caused many people to depart from the FAITH, note 2 Timothy 2:14 – we have failed to remind our church leaders, charging them before the LORD to stop striving about WORDS of no profit, these RUIN the faith of those who HEAR.

Messages of this sort are common place in all churches today, like a spreading cancer. Is this curable? I understand that most cancers up to stage 3 are curable, after that the disease takes its toll. Where we are today in our churches can be measured by those who have an ear to hear what the Spirit of God is saying about the churches. In Revelation chapters 2 and 3 the LORD evaluates His Church. There are churches today who have lost the LOVE of God, there are those churches who are still being PERSECUTED, and also there is the COMPROMISING church, the CORRUPT church, the DEAD church, the FAITHFUL church and the LUKEWARM church. 

In each of the seven churches JESUS finds FAULT and challenges each church to take heed, then His challenge is for those who will HEAR what the SPIRIT is saying to the church and STOP listening to the vain babblings of some of the leadership or pulpit thumpers who stand in authority and distort the Living Word of God. Hear therefore what the SPIRIT IS SAYING. Yes we can be different in some things but our mission must REMAIN under the Power of God and the outworking of God the Holy Spirit who guides us into ALL TRUTH – John 16:13. We need to defend and protect the Gospel of Grace.