Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

Feast of Nativity- A New Dawn- Grace upon Grace

2 Timothy 2:8-13

Joash Mathew

St. Johns MTC, NY

8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, 9 for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.
                         How many times do we pray in a day? Once? Twice? Maybe some days we forget to pray and at other times we maybe saying to ourselves, “Oh, I’ll just pray tomorrow.” Do we ever wonder what God would say when He hears that excuse?  In the midst of our comforts or busy lives, is remembering our Lord becoming yet another task?

                         We live in a society where everything around us is constantly changing. Technology is always getting upgraded and the latest gadgets and apps are always better than the last. Popular routines, like reading the newspaper, are fading out because access to the news and other medias are conveniently found on our phones. We’ve even gotten to the point where if something of ours is broken, we’re more likely to throw it out and buy something else new rather than fix it. In the midst of the business of our life, let us remember Jesus Christ as Paul did.

    We must stop going with the flow and take a second to just – remember Him. Let’s remember those days in Sunday school when we first were introduced to Jesus. Let’s remember when and why we first dedicated our life to Christ and what Christ did for us on the cross. In this passage, Paul says, “This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.” When we read this verse, we can hear joy in Paul’s voice. He’s not complaining about being in prison. In fact, most of the letters he wrote were while he was in prison because he didn’t want to stop spreading the gospel. Even during a time where Christians were persecuted, he still preached the gospel because he remembered what Christ had done for him. Most of us will never face such persecution. Yet, how many of us take the time to remember how Grace poured out and cleansed each and every one of us from our sin?

    We may think, “I’m not Paul, I can’t spread the gospel.” We may not find ourselves in our own road to Damascus where a great light will blind us and change our life completely. But we can remind ourselves everyday to pray, to remember that we are children of the living God, and do what we can to serve His Kingdom.

PRAYER

Thank You Lord for Your Grace and blessings. Help us to count our blessings this season and spread the gospel by sharing with those less fortunate than us. Lord, make us worthy to enter Your Kingdom. Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

“Send Your light to my darkness, like You did on that first Christmas, so that I can see my place in this season. With my praise and thanksgiving, I will crown You Lord of all.”   – Thomas Nelson