Inspired By God
Inspired by God
Reading: 2 Timothy 1-4
15 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. (2 Timothy 3:15-17 NLT)
Paul’s admonition to Timothy to trust in and rely on the written word of God rings as true today as it did when he wrote it from his Roman prison. Doctrines, theories, fads, current emphases, and popular spiritual practices will come and go–always have, always will.
But God’s written word, The Bible:
• Is able to show us the way to salvation.
• Is God-breathed, God-preserved, and God-applied.
• Is useful in all kinds of real-life situations.
• Teaches truth, exposes error, corrects mistakes, trains us to live God’s way.
• Shapes us for the tasks God has for us.
Life-lessons for me from these verses: 1) Commit to a lifetime of regular, consistent Bible reading. 2) Read daily, systematically, and with purpose. 3) Meditate and journal as you read so as to make application of the truths quickened by the Holy Spirit. 4) Listen to others’ teaching from God’s word so as to develop a balanced perspective. 5) Talk with other Christians about what you see in God’s Word so you can broaden and enrich your own perspective on God’s truth. 6) Do your best to live it in daily life.
It’s not what you know, it’s what you do with what you know.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your living word, Jesus Christ, and your written word, The Bible. I love the Bible! Thank you for giving it to us by the inspiration (breath) of your Holy Spirit. Thank you for the people who received it and preserved it and passed it down to us. Thank you for those who learn it, live it, and teach it today. Thank you for your Holy Spirit, who breathed it in the writing, and who now breathes it in the application to my life. I love your word! Please help me to love it for what it really is, not for what I want it to be!