Thursday, October 24

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2019

 

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:14-17)

 

 

In the verses above, Paul emphasizes the authority and usefulness of the Scriptures in life and ministry.  God’s Word takes a prime place in revealing God and His purposes for this world and for us.  As Charles Spurgeon explained, “if you wish to know God, you must know His Word; if you wish to perceive his power, you must see how he work[s] by His Word; if you wish to know His purpose before it is actually brought to pass, you can only discover it by His word.”

 

Given the context, Paul underscores how the Old Testament Scriptures -- those available to Timothy in his youth – “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”  Put another way, Paul emphasizes that the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ echoes through the Scriptures:  the hope of Messiah, fully revealed in the New Testament and in the Person of Jesus.  Because the Scriptures are “God-breathed,” God will use His Word powerfully in the lives of all people at all times, but particularly for bringing them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

 

In another passage, Paul discusses a key part of Christian maturity:  taking every thought “captive.”  To do so, we submit our thoughts under the lens of Scripture, asking:  “How does Scripture speak on this topic?  How could I place these thoughts under God’s authority?  What is God calling me to do?”  Doing so proactively will reduce our tendency to become swept away in our minds -- and away from trusting and remaining rooted in Christ.

 

How do you take in God’s Word?  Do you graze?  Or do you feast?  In our 40-day period of Frontline Prayer, may we seek God faithfully through His Word so that we and others might know Him better.

 

 

Lord God, thank You for the powerful Word that You have given us.  Enlighten our hearts by Your Holy Spirit so that we might understand Your purpose for us and our place in Your story.  Deepen our knowledge of Your Word and help us to hide it in our hearts.  Speak to us today.  In Jesus’s mighty Name, amen.

 

 

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