Reading your Bible for today April 15

April 15: 1 Timothy 4:12-16

KJV Key Verse: 1 Timothy 4:14
14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

Devotion:
Just because you may be a ‘young’ Christian does not mean you will not be able to go out and tell people about the gospel! Even if you only remember one verse, take that verse and tell it to others. Jesus may well have known all of the scriptures and may well have been able to converse with the most learned scholars of the time; but what we read about in our Bibles is not a whole repetition of the Old Testament but a small selection of references back to the scriptures.

God has created each one of us different from others. Each of us is able to do things in our own ways. We may not see what we can do as being gifts from God until someone points it out and you then realise just how wonderful it can be. Just because you can do something which is not listed in the Bible does not mean it has not come from God! I can do all sorts of things on computers and I always thought of that skill as being something purely from this world. Then I started to use my skills to do things for God and quickly realised God is more up to date than we are!

It may well take someone else to point out your gift as well; far too often we see the skills we have as things we have learned about. But I know my skills with computers and software comes from something much deeper than what people have taught me. When I look back and see how much I have been able to do to help others spread God’s Word just by creating them the tools they need for their work, I realise why God has given me this ability.

Take time to meditate on what you can do and how you can actually use it to help others spread the gospel. It may not be you who spreads most of the gospel; you too may have the ability to give others the opportunity to teach. But don’t leave God’s Word out of it because it is through His Word you were given the gift of eternal life.

Points to Ponder:
What are your strengths?

Why did God make you the way you are?