Daily Devotional

A Ministry of the Kerwin Baptist Church

December 25, 2018

by Pastor Hawtree

I AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE:

TO STIR UP MY GIFT (part 1)

II Timothy 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands 12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day

All these devotions this year were birthed out of verse twelve of II Timothy chapter one. God began to deal in my heart to do year-long devotions about the fact that God is able. As we close this year, let’s end where it all began. Paul challenges us to “stir up the gift of God which is in thee”.

In verse six, this word “gift” is the Greek word “charisma”. This is where we get our word charisma, and charismatic. This simply means that a person is gifted or has been given gifts. Unfortunately, some people can put more emphasis on the gifts than the God who gave them. Our gifts should not get the attention or the priority, the God who gave them should. If we rely on our gifts, we will soon realize that we are not able. We must rely on God‘s ability and not our gifts. That is why God says that the gift is not you, the gift is “in you”. So, Paul here teaches Timothy that when an individual is persuaded or convinced that God is able, that will change our lives.

WHEN WE ARE PERSUADED THAT “WE” ARE ABLE:

  1. WE FAIL
  • John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

God is the one that puts the fruit on your branch, not you. We may have a list of gifts that God has given us but when we try to use them without God’s power, those gifts accomplish nothing.

  1. WE GET DISCOURAGED
    We soon realize that we are fighting a losing battle when we depend on our ability
    and we begin to lose the motivation to keep fighting because we keep losing. We have given it our best shot, but our best shot just hasn’t been good enough. We have tried to make our marriage better, we have tried to make our family stronger, we have tried to get victory over that temptation, we have tried to control that temper, we have tried to keep our mouth shut, and on the list goes. It gets discouraging to wake up every morning just to lose another battle.
    We will continue in the next devotion, but I encourage you today, be persuaded that you are not able.