Study from God’s Word… [More readings on the history of the transition between Old and New Testament times] … Passage for Reflection: 2nd Timothy 3: 16 - 17 … NIV 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
My Journal for Today: Though Dr. LaGard Smith, the Author of the devotional book, The Daily Bible Devotional, in his readings from The Daily Bible in Chronological Order does not have his readers today reading from the New Testament quite yet. No, … for today’s devotional, Dr. Smith has drawn out one of the most important verses in all of the New Testament when it comes to our reliance and interpretation of the New Testament as “SCRIPTURE,” with our New Covenant belief that the New Testament, along with the Jewish Old Covenant, as canonized in the three centuries after Christ’s death, has become GOD’S VERY WORD, i.e., His inerrant truth from which we can place our eternal trust and rely upon The Bible for guidance in our lives as Christians. And if you’re reading here; and you cannot believe that The Bible, as it has been constituted and canonized, is absolute truth, then you need not be reading along with me further. In fact it would be a waste of time for you.
Because, … I believe that the Bible, as it has come to be established by God Himself, over time and history, is SCRIPTURE; and it is, in my belief, absolutely inerrant and reliable for all truth that I need to live my life and for all others to live under its authority. Therefore, as Dr. Smith has described what happened historically in the transition during the 400+ years of transition between the Old and New Testaments as well as how, in the times after Christ’s death, the Apocrypha was rejected by those in the reformation times, we now have all of God’s work in establishing His word as HE would wanted it constituted. So, if you do not believe, in reading here, that the Old/New Testaments of our currently established Bible is what Paul said to his protégé, Timothy (and to all Christians as well) in the highlighted passage for today, then you need not, and probably should not, be reading further as I journal what I believe to be absolute truth from God’s Word, … The Bible.
I think of the quote from Mark Twain, who was a funny man; but he had a tragic viewpoint about the veracity of the Bible. He is quoted in his book, Letters From The Earth, espousing the following view of The Bible: It is full of interest. It has noble poetry in it; and some clever fables; and some blood-drenched history; and some good morals; and a wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies. That viewpoint of God’s very word, my reading friend, tragically, at Mark Twain’s death has this humorist confronting a horrible reality when he comes before the very God Who has brought His truth, through history, and into the life of all mankind as we know it in the Bible. And Samuel Clements now will live forever in the hell he rejected as truth. … For sure, … not funny for this “funny” man.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I pray that all who read with me here believe implicitly and explicitly that the Bible is Your word, completely and utterly established by You through mankind for us to know You and live by Your truth. Amen
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