RE Verse reading–Psalm 119:9-16; Acts 17:10-12; 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (day six)
“Continue in what you have learned. . . because you know those from whom you learned it.” (2 Timothy 3:14) One reason I believe the Bible is that God has given me godly examples of people who study and obey it. Jesus is first on the list. Reading the New Testament, it is hard not to notice how often Jesus reflects His own confidence in Scripture. Quoting it in temptation, referring to it in conflict, the Lord’s testimony is clear. Scripture is the reliable voice of the Father. Add to the Lord’s example (as if it were necessary) that of my grandmother and the people who led me to Christ and the godly professors I encountered in college and seminary. With one voice they all declared the same truth, “All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable.” (2 Timothy 3:16) The people you respect–what do their lives teach you about the place that God’s word should have in your life?
Category: Cross Training
The Best Gift
Re: Verse reading–Psalm 119:9-16; Acts 17:10-12; 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (day five) This Sunday we will celebrate the accomplishment of 30 High School Seniors. We will encourage, we will cry, we will cheer, we will remember our own youth, and be reminded of our own mortality. Perhaps the BEST thing we will do for these young men and women is give them a Bible from ALL of us at FBCSA. It really signals the best things about this church: our love for the Scripture and our hope (God will continue to grow His Kingdom now in a downtown church, and in future generations). This gift really is from all of us since we have held each Bible and highlighted hundreds of verses that have given us hope, life, strength, peace, and joy from our collective experiences and wisdom. And Sunday, we will pray that by these scriptures they will find the Lord and then the Life He has promised. Psalm 71:18 “O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”
Be Adequate
Re: Verse reading–Psalm 119:9-16; Acts 17:10-12; 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (day four) The Bereans examined the Scriptures. They recognized the value. Timothy had been taught from his childhood that the Scriptures gave wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Notice that the Scriptures themselves did not bring salvation…it was faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that there is great benefit to the man of God who studies and lives by the scriptures, but it is Christ who saves. Jesus said in John 5:39, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.” As a believer, we must invest our lives in the Scriptures…it is because of our relationship with Christ and the salvation He gives that we discipline ourselves for His service. The Scriptures testify of Jesus!
Prone
Re: Verse reading–Psalm 119:9-16; Acts 17:10-12; 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (Day Three)
“Do not let me stray from your commands.” Songs don’t get much darker than this old hymn’s take on the fallen human condition: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.” That song gets it, and the psalmist knew it to be true long before that: The spirit might be willing, but the flesh is weaker than we thought. Sometimes, we’d rather sin than breathe. Our weakened selves need the words of scripture to brace us, to allow us to stand and take faltering steps Christward. Read, read.
Treasure
Re: Verse reading–Psalm 119:9-16; Acts 17:10-12; 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (day two)
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11
I read a lot. Sometimes I find that when I read my mind is cleared up to think and dream and discover. C.S. Lewis said that you don’t really know a book until you’ve read it again, and again. Although I keep buying books, I am drawn back to those that really speak to me. Passages are highlighted, notes are written into the margin, and pages are dog-eared. If you listen closely to my daily conversations those same passages make their way into my speech. My thoughts become transformed by what my mind has consumed. Isn’t that what the Psalmist was saying? Hiding these truths in our hearts will transform our minds. Our love of Scripture is as much protection as it is instruction. The beauty of reading a good book again is that each time I have aged some, grown some and therefore the story impacts me differently. When I read scripture it affects me in a similar fashion. Each time I read the Word, God reveals a new truth to me that I didn’t see before. Keep that treasure stored well!
Honey
Re: Verse reading–Psalm 119:9-16; Acts 17:10-12; 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (day one)
44 summers ago. I was 17 years old. A believer for only a few months, I was on a retreat with the Campus Crusade for Christ group through whom I had first heard the invitation of grace. The retreat center had a book table. “See that Bible?” my friend said. “Buy it and begin reading it every day.” I did, and all these years later I look back with wonder at the life-changing power of that simple turning point. My experience has been like Ezekiel’s. “Son of man. . . eat this scroll. . . I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.” (Ezekiel 3:1,3) Again and again, I have found in Scripture the wisdom, challenge, conviction and hope of an Eternal mind. Today we begin a summer series of studies on spiritual disciplines. My heart rejoices that the first discipline is Bible study. Ancient path. Way of freedom. Searching the Scripture, together. Sweet!