The Task

Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Listen to this devotional:
Listen while you read: "The Wise May Bring Their Learning"1 (Lyrics)

2 Timothy 4:2 – Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction. (NIV)

It was one of those games. Three-letter words, one after another. My Scrabble tiles were invariably either all vowels or all consonants. What a task trying to discover words that could link with other words already on the board! I was weary and getting quite fed up with the whole game, but I was determined to persevere and use as many letters and come up with as many words as possible. To my surprise and delight, I eventually used all the letters and even displayed a decent score at the end.

Likewise, Paul calls Timothy to persevere in his task, the preaching of the Word, with great patience and careful instruction. Preaching is not limited only to pastors, however. Each of us, as servants of Christ, carry the word of His forgiveness and love within our very beings. And each of us, like Timothy, is also to be prepared to share that word in season and out of season as we have opportunity. Often however, such sharing is much like my Scrabble game. Our opportunities are short, and it can be difficult to put the right word or words together for the right situation. If, though, we choose to persevere with great patience and careful instruction, it is amazing what God can do in other people's lives through our willingness. For each godly word has the power to build on previous godly words already embedded in that person's heart or mind. With each added word of truth, God's Holy Spirit has that much more opportunity to soften hardened, discouraged, and sorrowful hearts to the transformation power of Christ's love and forgiveness.

Therefore, today, let us choose to preach the Word; to be prepared in season and out of season; to correct, rebuke, and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction, knowing that one day, when our task of life is completed, we may stand before our Maker and hear these wondrous words: "Well done, good and faithful servant!"

Prayer: Father God, enable each of us to make the most of the opportunities to share the love and forgiveness of Christ within us to all those we come into contact with today. In Christ's name, we ask. Amen.

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About the author:

Lynne Phipps <lynnephippsatlin@gmail.com>
Tawatinaw, Alberta, Canada

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1 Comment

  • PresbyCan Feedback says:

    This devotional is awesome.


    Good analogy and challenge.


    Good comparison Lynne,
    Keep on preaching on Isaiah 55:11.


    Wow Lynne – that was a great analogy; quite a clever one too!
    Blessings.


    Dear Lynne,
    Thank you. This word of encouragement to piece by piece impart the love of Jesus in each person we interface with today.


    Very timely for me, Lynne. Sometimes it seems as if nothing happens even though I pray and hope daily that something I do/or say would influence others toward CHRIST. Sometimes I get the feeling that really all I need to do is live my life, but after awhile I realize that doing that makes me feel very unsettled. The only thing that helps is to be daily asking God to use me for bringing people to Him. I guess the trouble is that we can’t always be aware of the impact of our lives on the lives of others. The best we can do is to pray and follow Him as closely as we possibly can. God bless.


    Greetings! Thanks for this. It makes a lot of sense and is very encouraging. We need to keep on trying, even if we don’t see the results we would like.


    Your devotional has underscored the power in our words backed by the Power of the Word.
    It reminded me of the importance of the words I use every day, so often without thinking how it might affect others in a positive or negative way. Thanks.

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