Wednesday, July 07, 2010, 6:23 a.m. – I woke with this song in mind:
I Know Whom I Have Believed / Daniel W. Whittle / James McGranahan
Tune: EL NATHAN, Meter: CM with Refrain
I know not why God's wondrous grace
to me he hath made known,
nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
redeemed me for his own.
I know not how this saving faith
to me he did impart,
nor how believing in his word
wrought peace within my heart.
I know not how the Spirit moves,
convincing us of sin,
revealing Jesus through the word,
creating faith in him.
I know not when my Lord may come,
at night or noonday fair,
nor if I walk the vale with him,
or meet him in the air.
Refrain:
But I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I've committed
unto him against that day.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I had read Jeremiah 50 yesterday, so I began reading Jeremiah 51-52, which was much the same message as chapter 50 was. So, I asked the Lord for something fresh. Then, I remembered that this song was based off a passage of scripture in the New Testament, so I looked it up and it led me to II Timothy 1:
My Understanding: This is what the Lord spoke to my heart this morning: I’m very tired today, so when I read Jeremiah 51 this morning, my initial reaction was that it was more of the same of what was said in chapter 50. I know that the entire book of Jeremiah is repetitious, but for some reason I just could not write one more devotional about judgment. Believe it or not, I get no pleasure in writing about God’s judgment. Sometimes I am weary of the subject and it weighs heavy upon my heart. I really enjoy writing messages of encouragement. So, I asked the Lord for “something fresh.”
Then when I recalled that the song was based off scripture, and that led me to read II Timothy 1, I read these words:
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
Fan means “to cause emotions to become more intense (powerful; penetrating; strong; passionate)” – Encarta. Flame means “burning strongly” – Encarta.
Immediately this encouraged my heart. I may grow weary at times, but God has given me a gift that he wants me to “fan into flame,” and that gift is writing what he teaches me each day through the reading of His Word during my daily quiet time with him and then sharing it with others. He does not want me to become timid or to retreat from this just because it gets difficult sometimes, because the Bible teaches us that the Day is near when God will judge the earth, and many hearts need to turn (or return) to Jesus before our Lord returns.
So, the encouragement to me was to be faithful in exercising – fanning into flame - the gift of God within me, and to not retreat when I grow weary of speaking of coming judgment; to know that each one of us is called to share in the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ; to not be ashamed to testify (give witness) about my Lord and concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ, which includes messages of coming judgment; and to remember God’s calling on my life to be a herald (watchman; messenger; announcer; representative) – to call people to repentance before Jesus returns to judge and to reign.
Paul encouraged Timothy to “guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” The “good deposit” is the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the message of salvation of sins via Jesus’ death on the cross, his resurrection, his ascension into heaven, and his soon return. To guard something means to “protect; defend; watch over; safeguard; or to watch over somebody held captive and prevent him or her from escaping” – Encarta. That last definition fits so perfectly! When we guard what has been entrusted to us, we watch over it and we keep it from escaping out of our lives. We hold on to it and we protect it and we keep it from contamination and we share it with others because we understand and recognize its value. We cannot do this alone. The Holy Spirit helps us to hold fast to what we believe and to not let it escape.
The song begins… “I know not why God’s wondrous grace to me He hath made known…” I don’t know why God chose me and why he gave me this gift and why he has entrusted me with the gospel of Jesus Christ to share with others, but I know he has. I know it is not because of anything in me; it is not because of my worthiness. As Paul said, Jesus “saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace.”
The song ended with… “I know not when my Lord may come…” I don’t know when Jesus is coming back, but I do believe it is soon. For this reason, I am encouraged to “fan into flame” the gift of God within me and to not retreat (be timid about sharing) out of weariness of the message of judgment. God has a purpose in it all, and I believe he will fulfill that purpose in due time.
But I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I've committed
unto him against that day.
I Know Whom I Have Believed / Daniel W. Whittle / James McGranahan
Tune: EL NATHAN, Meter: CM with Refrain
I know not why God's wondrous grace
to me he hath made known,
nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
redeemed me for his own.
I know not how this saving faith
to me he did impart,
nor how believing in his word
wrought peace within my heart.
I know not how the Spirit moves,
convincing us of sin,
revealing Jesus through the word,
creating faith in him.
I know not when my Lord may come,
at night or noonday fair,
nor if I walk the vale with him,
or meet him in the air.
Refrain:
But I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I've committed
unto him against that day.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I had read Jeremiah 50 yesterday, so I began reading Jeremiah 51-52, which was much the same message as chapter 50 was. So, I asked the Lord for something fresh. Then, I remembered that this song was based off a passage of scripture in the New Testament, so I looked it up and it led me to II Timothy 1:
My Understanding: This is what the Lord spoke to my heart this morning: I’m very tired today, so when I read Jeremiah 51 this morning, my initial reaction was that it was more of the same of what was said in chapter 50. I know that the entire book of Jeremiah is repetitious, but for some reason I just could not write one more devotional about judgment. Believe it or not, I get no pleasure in writing about God’s judgment. Sometimes I am weary of the subject and it weighs heavy upon my heart. I really enjoy writing messages of encouragement. So, I asked the Lord for “something fresh.”
Then when I recalled that the song was based off scripture, and that led me to read II Timothy 1, I read these words:
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
Fan means “to cause emotions to become more intense (powerful; penetrating; strong; passionate)” – Encarta. Flame means “burning strongly” – Encarta.
Immediately this encouraged my heart. I may grow weary at times, but God has given me a gift that he wants me to “fan into flame,” and that gift is writing what he teaches me each day through the reading of His Word during my daily quiet time with him and then sharing it with others. He does not want me to become timid or to retreat from this just because it gets difficult sometimes, because the Bible teaches us that the Day is near when God will judge the earth, and many hearts need to turn (or return) to Jesus before our Lord returns.
So, the encouragement to me was to be faithful in exercising – fanning into flame - the gift of God within me, and to not retreat when I grow weary of speaking of coming judgment; to know that each one of us is called to share in the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ; to not be ashamed to testify (give witness) about my Lord and concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ, which includes messages of coming judgment; and to remember God’s calling on my life to be a herald (watchman; messenger; announcer; representative) – to call people to repentance before Jesus returns to judge and to reign.
Paul encouraged Timothy to “guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” The “good deposit” is the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the message of salvation of sins via Jesus’ death on the cross, his resurrection, his ascension into heaven, and his soon return. To guard something means to “protect; defend; watch over; safeguard; or to watch over somebody held captive and prevent him or her from escaping” – Encarta. That last definition fits so perfectly! When we guard what has been entrusted to us, we watch over it and we keep it from escaping out of our lives. We hold on to it and we protect it and we keep it from contamination and we share it with others because we understand and recognize its value. We cannot do this alone. The Holy Spirit helps us to hold fast to what we believe and to not let it escape.
The song begins… “I know not why God’s wondrous grace to me He hath made known…” I don’t know why God chose me and why he gave me this gift and why he has entrusted me with the gospel of Jesus Christ to share with others, but I know he has. I know it is not because of anything in me; it is not because of my worthiness. As Paul said, Jesus “saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace.”
The song ended with… “I know not when my Lord may come…” I don’t know when Jesus is coming back, but I do believe it is soon. For this reason, I am encouraged to “fan into flame” the gift of God within me and to not retreat (be timid about sharing) out of weariness of the message of judgment. God has a purpose in it all, and I believe he will fulfill that purpose in due time.
But I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I've committed
unto him against that day.
