Conditions of Service

Rekindle the Gift!
2Timothy 1.1-7
PAUL FOR EVERYONE THE PASTORAL LETTERS


1Paul, an apostle of King Jesus by God’s will, according to the promise of life in King Jesus; 2to Timothy, my dear child. Grace, mercy and peace from God the father and King Jesus our Lord.

3I serve God with a clear conscience, as my forebears did, and I am grateful to him that I remember you all the time, as I pray for you night and day. 4I remember how you cried when I left, and I’m longing to see you and be filled with joy. 5I have in my mind a clear picture of your sincere faith – the faith which first came to live in Lois your grandmother and Eunice your mother, and which, I am confident, lives in you as well.

6That’s why I now want to remind you that God gave you a gift when I laid my hands on you, and that you must bring it back into a blazing fire! 7After all, the spirit given to us by God isn’t a fearful spirit; it’s a spirit of power, love and prudence.


There was snow outside, and the living room was cold when I came downstairs. I don’t know why I’d woken up early, but I now shivered as I huddled on the sofa and waited for one of my parents to follow me downstairs. (I can’t have been more than about seven or eight, I suppose.) Before long my father appeared, and began to work on the fireplace. He twisted some newspaper, laid some fresh sticks, placed coal around the edge, and then, kneeling down, blew very gently at the base of the fire. He didn’t need to use a match. He’d seen that the coal in the very bottom of the fireplace was still glowing, still just alight. As he blew, I watched in amazement at what seemed like magic. The coal glowed brighter and brighter, and then suddenly the newspaper burst into flame. Within a minute the sticks were alight, the fire was going, and the room began to warm up...


Taken from Paul for Everyone The Pastoral Letters by Tom Wright