Thought for August 30, 2023

  •  1146: Crossbow outlawed in Europe to end all wars
  • 1682: William Penn leaves England
  • 1963: Direct "hotline" installed between Washington and Moscow
  • 1976: Tom Brokaw becomes anchor of "The Today Show"
  • Born: Mary Shelley, Ted Williams, Cameron Diaz
  • Died: Vera Ellen, Charles Bronson, Mikhail Gorbachev
Thought:
Reading a couple of familiar verses today--2 Timothy 3:16-17. Yesterday we looked at the characteristics of people living in the last days. Now Paul tells Timothy that he has been given a guide for godly living in the scriptures. Look at what Paul says about the Bible:
  • ALL. All of us have our favorite passages, our life verses, passages that we memorized, verses underlined in the Bible. In fact, that is the exercise I have been following for months--go back to those scriptures I once underlined, marked or bracketed and explore again what they mean. And all of us have those passages or books of the Bible we never read, never study. Here Paul reminds us that ALL scripture is worthy of reading, studying and applying. 
  • Inspired by God. Scripture was written by men, but inspired by God or as some would say, God breathed. This means I cannot get my physical pen or mental pen and redact scripture to eliminate that with which I disagree, don't understand, have trouble obeying. Thomas Jefferson is famous for redacting his Bible. Even today, some want to ignore the writings of Paul claiming that he has his own religion. 
  • Profitable. Think about that. What do you know about that is always profitable? What investment can you make that always has a positive return? Here we understand that time in the word is never wasted, never fruitless, never returns void. And what kinds of profit does the word yield?
    • Teaching--in it we learn God's ways, understand His heart, grasp His will. And we can teach others its truth. 
    • Reproof--Censure of a fault, pointing out our sins. The Law was designed to show us our sin, tell us where we missed the mark. It reveals God's standard and reveals our many failures to conform to Christ. A reprimand is similar but it is associated with punishment. 
    • Correction---having been shown our error by reproof, the Bible shows us the correct way, the right way, God's way. Some of us experienced this with a teacher who would just mark your answer wrong--reproof. The best teachers then showed us the right answer, the right method.
    • Training in righteousness. Correction teaches us the right way, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are coached/mentored into righteousness. Training involves repetition, growing, maturing, improving. So the word is the tool of the Spirit to guide, remind, teach and train us up in the WAY.
Notice the purpose--To make us adequate and equipped for every good work. We are His workmanship created for good works. The Bible equips us for that work. So without the Word, I will be attempting to do the work in my own wisdom, my own strength, my own way---The bible opens us to God's wisdom, strength and Way so that our works are pleasing to Him. 

Blessings
Larry

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thought for July 19

History: 1553: Lady Jane Gray deposed after 9 days 1692: 5 people hung during Salem Witch Trials 1848: First women's rights convention -Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. Wesleyan Chapel at Seneca Falls NY 1910: Cy Young wins his 500th game 1941: US Army flying school at Tuskegee AL dedicated 1945: USS Cod saves 51 sailors from Dutch sub--only sub-to-sub rescue 1957: Firing of first rocket with nuclear warhead-Nevada 1984: Geraldine Ferraro is first major party female VP candidate 1996: Olympics open in Atlanta 2007: Madmen debuts 2018: Duck Boat sinks in Table Rock Lake killing 17 Born: Samuel Colt, Edgar Degas [painter], Lizzie Borden, Charles Mayo [Mayo Clinic], George McGovern, Al Haig, George Hamilton IV, Vikki Carr, Ilie Nastase, Stuart Scott, Benedict Cumberbatch,  Died: Syngman Rhee [President South Korea], Clyde Beatty [circus animal trainer], Mary Jo Kopechne [passenger with Ted Kennedy], Jack Warden, Frank McCourt [Angela's Ashes], James Garner, Garry Marshall
Read more

Thought for November 23, 2023

Happy Thanksgiving!  1664: Blaise Pascal is converted following a vision. He wrote the date and time of his conversion and said, "Fire. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. Not of philosophers and intellectuals. Certitude, certitude, joy, peace. The God of Jesus Christ." Laid the foundation for the law of probabilities; genius in hydrodynamics and hydrostatics developing Pascal's principle of pressure; taught the experience of God through the heart rather than reason; mathematician and philosopher. 1783: Annapolis Maryland becomes U.S. Capitol until June 1784 1863: Patent for making color photographs granted 1889: First jukebox debuts in Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco 1897: Pencil sharpener patented 1904: Summer Olympics in St. Louis close [1st Olymics in U.S.] 1921: President Harding signs an Act prohibiting doctors from prescribing beer or liquor for medicinal purposes 1923: Cecil B. DeMille's first "The Ten Commandments" premiers
Read more

Thought for April 5, 2024

1722: Easter Island discovered 1792: First Presidential veto 1815: Mt. Tambora erupts. Largest eruption ever witnessed. Created year without summer in 1816--frost and snow in North America in June and July. Largest part of eruption on April 10th. Killed 10,000 in initial blast.  1906: Mt. Vesuvius erupts killing 100 1923: Firestone begins producing inflatable tires 1936: Tupelo almost completely destroyed by a tornado--216 die 1972: Baseball strike costs 86 games 2063: On "Star Trek", earth has its first contact with the Vulcan species Born: Thomas Hobbes, Joseph Lister, Booker T Washington, Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis, Gregory Peck, Arthur Hailey. Gale Storm, Frank Gorshin, Colin Powell, Pharrell Williams Died: Robert Raikes [Sunday School], Douglas MacArthur, Howard Hughes, Abe Fortas, Sam Walton, Allen Ginsberg, Saul Bellow, Charlton Heston, Honor Blackman Thought: Reading Daniel 1:5-7 this morning. Continuing with the thoughts about Nebuchadnezzar's plan. Having brough
Read more