“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give
you this charge:” 2 Timothy 4:1 (NIV)
The punctuation (the colon) that appears after “this charge” informs us that something is to follow. What follows is verse two: “Preach
the word!” “Charge” means to affirm solemnly, and to do it motivated by strong personal interest. Paul was saying to “thoroughly witness,” or “thoroughly testify” the Word of God. He definitely was not saying, “You can be sloppy with the Word,” or “People are busy, so you can skip that part.” Paul was saying, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
The Lord asks us to be bold when an opportunity arises for us to speak His Word. Yes, there will be scorners and opposition, but His Word says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes; to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). God asks us to be strong and willing, and to believe that He’ll never forsake us! That’s what Paul was saying to Timothy.
When we share and explain even a small portion of the Bible, even a single verse, God will speak volumes through us! Just as He was with Moses and the Prophets, He’ll be with you! You can depend on God’s Holy Spirit to share His truth and wisdom. “God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10).
Just imagine, while we’re testifying the Word of God, the Holy Spirit will reveal a very deep truth from God. But, had we not been willing to speak God’s Word, we would have missed the opportunity!
– Ernie McDougall
Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.
The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website.
Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org