[Darris McNeely] The Apostle Paul gives us three things to think about when it comes to changing our life, taking on the nature of God and becoming more like God in heaven. Its three things he talks about: power, love, and a sound mind. Paul was writing to Timothy, a young pastor in the city of Ephesus, and in 2 Timothy 1 beginning in verse 2 he says in his normal way, "Grace and mercy and peace from God the Father, and Christ Jesus, our Lord." Grace follows mercy and that is what together produces peace. But he then went on to talk to Timothy about this gift that is within us that is the spirit of God, the very essence of God's nature, His character, His life, it's the means by which we take on God's nature. And in verse 6 of 2 Timothy 1, Paul says this. He says, "Therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands." One other translation I read puts it this way, "To fan the flame of the gift." And that gift is the Holy Spirit. And it's something that we all need to in a sense stir up or to blow a little bit of air upon to bring to life the heat, the energy that is there back into the realm of a flame in order to do something. And what it is, he mentions in verse 7, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind." That is what God's spirit provides. He helps to banish fear. 

What are you afraid of? What is it that is in your life right now today that you're dealing with that you don't want to have to face, you put it off? We all have things like that, everyday challenges that we have to have the courage to deal with and to face. God says, "Banish that but do it with the help that is there through the spirit that we keep stirred to a flame-like intensity," because that spirit He says is a power, a literal power that is within us and it produces the love of God that enables us to love God, love our fellow man through the keeping of God's commandments and then the end result is a sound mind. When we have fear removed from our life then we can come down to the point of having a basic sound mind approach to life that is sane, that is confident, that has a measure of courage, and helps us then to banish the fear from our lives. Think about that when it comes to putting aside the basic human nature we have taking on the nature of God and letting it work in our life to produce character and proper attitudes and the proper fruits.

That's BT Daily, join us next time.