2 Timothy 3:1-16

For Reading and Meditation:     Hosea 6:1-11

A danger that we must acquaint ourselves with as we discuss the need to contemplate God more deeply is that of becoming more interested in godliness than in God Himself. Theologian Jim Packer puts the point effectively when he says that "moving in evangelical circles as I do I am often troubled by what I find. While my...

For Reading and Meditation:     Matthew 10:1-20

We are saying that many Christians are ineffective witnesses because they attempt to water down their testimony to avoid persecution - and end up achieving nothing. Once we accept that those who reject Christ and His teaching will also reject us, we will then be free to throw our whole weight on the side of Christ and...

For Reading and Meditation:     2 Timothy 3:12-17

We continue from where we left off yesterday in saying that persecution is one of the proofs that we are true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many Christians find great difficulty in coming to terms with this issue of persecution, and because they have never understood that those who reject Christ will also...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ecclesiastes 12:12

Solomon seems to have held off counseling his son until now. First, he counsels his son not to put too much trust in words or books that go beyond the Scriptures. I think Moffatt best captures the thought of Solomon in his translation of this verse: "My son, avoid anything beyond the scriptures of wisdom; there is no...

For Reading and Meditation:     Mark 7:8-23

We need to be reminded that there is in life a dark and terrible problem - the problem of evil. Herbert Spencer in Natural Law in the Spiritual World defines physical life as "inward correspondence with outward environment." When we take in food, air and water, we live. When we don't, we die. There must be a response to...

For Reading and Meditation:     2 Timothy 3:10-17

The next aspect of Christian uniqueness we consider is the Holy Scriptures, which we call the Bible. Nearly every brand of religion is based on a book. Whether ancient or modern, mystical or historical, ceremonial or ethical, it is almost certain to follow the teaching of some allegedly sacred volume. The Hindus...

For Reading and Meditation:     1 John 4:7-21

There have been two great attempts to find God throughout the ages," said Dr. E. Stanley Jones, "one, philosophy, the other, moralism." The attempts of philosophy to find God are represented by the three great philosophical nations - Greece, India, and China. These three nations have taken men and women about as far as...

For Reading and Meditation:     Matthew 22:23-33

We spend one more day considering the proposition that apart from a relationship with God and an understanding of the Scriptures, we are unable to see life as a whole. The man or woman who knows and understands the Bible will be acquainted with the facts he or she needs to have in order to come to right and sound...

2 Timothy 3:14 to 2 Timothy 4:5

This letter to Timothy, the last product of Paul's pen - was written from the prison at Rome. In his desire to encourage the young evangelist, he gave him much counsel - counsel which is as valuable for the Christian today as it was for Timothy.

I have come to “set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law… A man’s enemies will be those of his own household.” § Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. § Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the...