TUESDAY, APRIL 24
Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:6-9

2 Timothy 1:6-9 says, “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.” There is an equation that emerges here if we work back through the passage from verse 9 back to verse 7. Purpose determines calling, calling determines power and power determines adversity. Through this passage we gain a heightened awareness that when God chose us it was because He had a purpose for us. Further He graced us to fulfill that purpose before the foundation of the earth. That is why we were chosen. In the process of being chosen God’s purpose for us in choosing us determines our calling! This should awaken something in us! The calling determines the power necessary to bring it to pass and the power dictates the magnitude of adversity that comes against us. All the adversity that comes against us is really aimed at the purpose for which we were chosen. The resistance that we encounter is to develop spiritual muscle that will elevate us to our eternal destiny. So for our very first step in building our spiritual, relational house, we must believe that we were chosen for a purpose, and then accept that fact that we were chosen for that purpose. The process of accepting and embracing the call includes spiritual development that possesses the anointing to pursue the goal. God knew what He was doing in initiating this process!