Fw: investing

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2016 7:28 AM
Subject: investing

Investing our money is a pretty big deal.  We look to get a good return and we look to preserve our money and we look to make sure we have money for emergencies.  How would God invest if He were to invest money?  What does God invest in?  We are reading 2 Timothy this week and there is an interesting verse in the first chapter:(Verse 14) ^"By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you."  Paul is writing Timothy, his younger disciple and encouraging him to follow his example in sharing the Gospel and being willing to suffer that God's message of salvation would be spread.  In this verse he reminds Timothy and us that when we responded in faith to His outreach of grace and plan of love by bowing before Christ and allowing Him to wash us of our sin...God entered our life and placed a deposit...a deposit of the Holy Spirit within.  He made an investment in you and now He wants that investment to produce a return.  It does no good to hide money in the ground and it does no good for God's investment to be buried within ourselves.  Paul exhorts Timothy earlier in the chapter to "fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you..." (from verse 6).  We, too, who have received God's deposit need to "fan into flame" the gift God has given and show that His deposit is returning interest...producing dividends...showing a world in darkness that there is truth that can live within and transform lives.

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Ephesians 1:¹³ In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit

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blessings,

Rob Smith