Thoughts for the Day

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

(New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Not all Christians like the Old Testament with its picture of God as a Judge rather than a loving Heavenly Father. But as Paul reminds us in his letter to Timothy, 'All scriipture is inspired by God', or as another translation of the Greek word Theopneustos has it, 'God breathed' (Theo = God and pneustos = breath). We might say the 39 books of our Bible are breathed into by God.

Men and women may have have written and interpreted our scriptures, but their work has been infused with God's Holy Spirit. We should study all the scriptures, the Old and the New Testament and the Apocrypha*: the law, the poetry, the stories, the psalms, the letters, and the proverbs. We can use everything to learn more about God and his relationship with us his people, and about how we should relate to him and how we should live our lives.

Monday 21st September, follow up thoughts

* The Apocrypha is composed of the ancient books thought to have been written some time between 200 BC and 400 AD, and in those Bibles that possess it, can be found between the Old and New Testaments.

Heavenly Father,
teach us to read our scriptures
each day -
to learn more about You
and about Your love for us,
as well as Your instructions
as to how we should live our life.
Amen.