GOD'S FORMULA FOR SUCCESS--PART 5
Scripture Reading--2 Timothy 3
Find the apostle Paul's advice to Timothy
about success in the "perilous times"
that characterize the last days.
Hard times are the greatest test of our Christian faith and where many of God's people fail. But faith is like muscle. To become strong, we must exercise it. According to Romans 10:17, God's Word gives us the ability to trust. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." During difficult times, we must depend on the Bible to carry us through. Sometimes God's Word is all we have. During those times, we will discover that God's Word is all we need.
Paul wrote two letters to young Timothy to prepare him for the "perilous times" he would face. In the third chapter of his second epistle, Paul gave him the secret. "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned...And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures" ( 2 Tim. 3:14a, 15a ). Timothy's godly grandmother, Lois, and his godly mother, Eunice, had taught him God's Word. They had laid a solid, biblical foundation in his life. On this foundation everything stood. In verse 16, Paul reminds Timothy that the Bible is divinely inspired and "is profitable for doctrine [ to teach us what's right ], for reproof [ to teach us what's wrong ], for correction [ to teach us how to get right ], for instruction in righteousness [ to teach us how to live right ]."
Paul concludes the chapter by listing three ways God's Word blesses our lives. It enables us to be spiritually mature, spiritually complete, and spiritually productive. In other words, even in the worst of times, God's Word will accomplish God's purpose for His glory. If you have a solid foundation based on God's truth, you can be successful when others are failing. Again, we see that the Bible is God's formula for success.
BRINGING THE TRUTH HOME: As a family, how are you learning and growing through obedience to God's Word? Is the Bible ruling your lives?
--Jack Palmer--
No comments:
Post a Comment