Good morning my precious friends

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

These verses are a wonderful description of God’s Word of what it is and what it does. When we open our Bible, or hear His Word read, we know that these are Holy Spirit breathed inspired words. They are not mere human words that we read, that we study, that we memorize. These are supernaturally given, supernaturally breathed, supernaturally inspired words.

The One who knows what is best for us has given us His Word. It is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness that we may be complete, equipped for every good work.

God wants us to be prepared to do good works and thankfully He gave us the Scriptures. Today we have the Bible translated into many different languages, dialects, and versions. Rather than a threat, this is a great blessing. But we must remember that the goal of Scripture is not to be learned but to be lived. God intended His Word to be practical truth which is a gift that prepares us to do every good work.

Think of all the things we read, whether on our cell phone, internet, books we read, is written by man and inspired by man. Yet when we open the Bible, we are coming to something that is altogether different. We’re coming to a book that is inspired and breathed by God. All scripture is breathed out by God and it is profitable. Of course it’s profitable. It’s from God. We have the words of the One who created us. He knows what is best for our lives. We can all say “All glory be to God”.

We don’t have to read or study the Bible. We must want to read and study the Bible because we want to know what God has said for the good life, for the abundant life, for life that we were created to live.

In the context in which Paul was writing, he was not trying to convince Timothy about the source of Scripture.  Timothy had known all his life that Scripture comes from the Lord.

Paul was applying the implications of Scripture’s inspiration.  On the basis of Scripture’s origination, it was beneficial and trustworthy.

Its benefits and trustworthiness is explained in four areas: “teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness”.

  • Scripture is useful for teaching.  It instructs us regarding how to live as the Lord’s people.
  • Scripture is useful for rebuking.  It exposes our sin and wrongdoing in order to lead us back to the Lord.
  • Scripture is useful for correcting.  It trains us when our “technique” of living the Christian life is not where it should be.
  • Scripture is useful for morality.  It is a system to base our life upon, showing us the way of the Master.

Scripture forms us so we can form others in Him.

Seeing how important God’s word is to the very foundation of our lives, it isn’t surprising that Satan’s first recorded words in Genesis 3 verse 1 were an attempt to deny the trustworthiness of God’s Word, saying to Eve: “Did God really say?”  Things haven’t changed since that first questioning accusation, and those today who deny the trustworthiness of Scripture are simply echoing the original lie of the enemy of God.

Hebrews 4 verse 12 says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

If we feed our souls with the life-changing power of the Scriptures, we are then fully qualified and capable of undertaking whatever mission our Lord has for us.

So many Christians today have an anaemic faith because they are spiritually malnourished.  We don’t know the God of the Bible because we don’t read His Word given to us.

The Lord Jesus made perhaps the clearest statement describing the ultimate importance of Scripture in Matthew 4 verse 4, when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, He quoted Deuteronomy 8:3: “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'”.

What has come from the mouth of God? The Scripture, and because it is from His mouth, we should be living by it. Spending time daily in Scripture is an essential component of every growing believer’s life. If we neglect to meet God in the words He preserved for us, we eventually lose our orientation in life and God seems distant. But God has promised to never leave us. He hasn’t moved. He still speaks to us through the Scripture, if we simply read and ask Him for direction.

The Bible is powerful because it corrects, instructs us and helps us think and believe right. If we get the Bible into our hearts and lives it has the power to change us. The Bible isn’t just concepts or ideas, it’s powerful!

So as the children’s song says, “Read your Bible pray every day and you’ll grow, grow, grow.”

Let us pray:

LORD our God and Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your precious Word which is a lamp onto our feet and a light unto our path. We pray that You would give us an ever increasing hunger and thirst after Your Word, which is the Truth that points us to our Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to get to know Him better as we study and spend time in Your Word.  May the words in Your Holy Bible inspire us to live as You intended and to share these truths of it with others.  Thank You, In Jesus’ Name – Amen.

Much love from Maurice and Margaret