Friday, 19 November 2021
By Chow Ee-Tan 赵一丹
A SPIRIT OF POWER AND LOVE

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” – 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)

Living in a turbulent and uncertain times like today, we can become fearful and sometimes even feel defeated because the circumstances around us are too much for us to bear. At times, we as Christians have forgotten that God is with us as He had given us the Holy Spirit. God has empowered us with His Spirit. While we are weak, He is strong and able.

In his letter to a young Timothy, the apostle Paul did not only charge the ministry duties to his protégé, he also encouraged and empowered Timothy. In calling Timothy to follow his example of his faithfulness in doing the ministry of Christ, he reflected his own journey of the many challenges he had faced and the sufferings he had endured.Among them were abandonment by his peers, assault by his foes and left alone in a Roman prison.

In doing so, Paul unpacked how the Spirit can work in our lives.

Fearlessness, power, love and self-control. If we are captured by fear – which can be translated as timidity or cowardice, we know that this does not come from God. That is because the Spirit would give us courage and fearlessness even in fearful situations. This is not of our human nature but by the Spirit of God empowering us.

We see this in the book of Acts when Peter and John boldly testified the crucified and risen Lord Jesus before a hostile Jewish Council. Instead of fear, the Spirit gave them `power’.The Spirit would also give us power and boldness. This power does not mean supernatural strength. It means God’s supreme power would be shown in our weaknesses. It is the power that enables us to endure suffering as we place our hope solely on Christ in whatever situation we face.

The Spirit also works in us love’ andself-control’. Love as we know is the supreme fruit of the Spirit. It is for love that God sent Jesus, His only son, to die in our place. In this verse, Paul exhorted Timothy to pursue love and embody love for his follow Christians. At the same time, we need to practice self-restraint to control our desires for sinful thoughts and pursuits. Being put next to love, it also means that self-control and self-discipline flow from the work of God’s indwelling Spirit in us. When we submit to Him, the Spirit awakens us to resist sin and to obey God instead.

As followers of Christ, let us remember that God has so graciously given us His Holy Spirit, who would render us fearless in troubled times, works in power when we are weak, stirs in us genuine love for one another, and at the same time gives us self-control to live a life that’s pleasing to God.

Of course, they do not happen overnight. Therefore, even more so, we need to daily surrender our lives to God and let the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwell in us and work in our lives.

Prayer: Father God, forgive us when we live our lives apart from the Holy Spirit. Help us daily to walk closely with You and let Your Spirit dwell in us, so that we can live a victorious life and grow in the fruit of the Spirit. We pray that in all circumstances, we would not be fearful but depend on the power of the Spirit, which would also lead us to live a life that exhibits Your love and self-control. We thank You and praise You in Jesus’ name, Amen.

每日灵粮
星期五，2021年11月19日
标题：刚强和仁爱的心
作者：赵一丹
翻译：巫惠如

提摩太后书1:7 因为神赐给我们不是胆怯的心，乃是刚强、仁爱、谨守的心。

生活在今天这样一个动荡不安的时代，我们会变得恐惧，有时甚至感到被打败，因为我们周围的环境让我们无法承受。有时，作为基督徒，我们忘记了上帝与我们同在，祂已经赐给我们圣灵。圣灵使我们有能力。当我们软弱的时候，祂刚强，有能力。

在写给年轻的提摩太的信中，使徒保罗不仅向他的门徒分派任务，他还鼓励提摩太，使他更加有信心。 在呼唤提摩太跟随他的榜样，忠诚地做基督的事工时，他反映了他自己所面临的许多挑战和所承受的痛苦的历程。

在此过程中，保罗解说圣灵如何在我们的生活中工作。

不胆怯、刚强、仁爱和谨守的心。如果我们的生活被恐惧占据 – – 恐惧这词可以被解读为胆怯或懦弱，我们知道这不是来自上帝。这是因为圣灵使我们刚强壮胆，即使在令人恐惧的情况下。 这不是透过人的本性，而是从圣灵而来的。

我们在使徒行传中看到了这一点。当时彼得和约翰在充满敌意的犹太公会面前大胆地为被钉在十字架上又复活的主耶稣做见证。圣灵不是赐下恐惧，而是给了他们 “力量”。圣灵也会给我们力量和胆量。这种能力并不意味着超自然的力量。它意味着上帝至高无上的能力将在我们的软弱中显示出来。当我们面临任何情况都把希望完全寄托在基督身上，它是使我们能够忍受痛苦的力量。

圣灵还在我们里面工作， 让我们”爱 “和 “自制”。我们知道，爱是圣灵极大的果子。正是因为爱，上帝派他的独生子耶稣替我们而死。在这节经文中，保罗劝告提摩太要追求爱，并为其他跟随基督的人体现出爱。同时，我们需要自我克制，控制我们对罪恶的想法和追求的欲望。被放在爱的旁边也意味着自制和自律是来自住在我们里面的圣灵的工作。当我们顺服祂时，圣灵就会唤醒我们抵制罪恶，转而顺服上帝。

作为跟随基督的人，让我们记住，上帝如此慷慨地将祂的圣灵赐给我们，祂使我们在困难重重的时后无所畏惧，在我们软弱的时候赐我们能力，在我们心中激起对彼此真正的爱，同时给予我们自制力，使我们能过上帝所喜悦的生活。

当然，这些都不是一夜之间发生的。因此，我们更需要每天把自己的生命交给上帝，让圣灵和祂的能力住在我们里面，在我们的生活中工作。

祈祷：父神，原谅我们在生活中没有与圣灵同行。请帮助我们每天与祢紧密同行，让圣灵住在我们里面，这样我们就能过得胜的生活，不断结出圣灵的果子。我们祈求在任何情况下，我们都不惧怕，而是依靠圣灵的力量。这也将引导我们过一种表现祢的爱和自制的生活。我们感谢祢，奉耶稣的名赞美祢，阿门。