Marie’s daily verse: But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 SAMUEL 16:7

DAILY DEVOTION, November 16, 2022

What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us (2 Timothy 1:13-14).

Paul’s concern in this verse is to promote sound teaching. He realizes he is an inspired apostle, called by the resurrected Jesus to proclaim the Gospel. He instructs Timothy (and us) to make sure he is preaching and believing what Paul taught. The 12 original apostles were taught by Jesus during His earthly ministry. Paul was taught by the risen Lord, but the message was the same. It matters not whether we read the four Gospels or the writings of Paul. In both cases, we are reading the inspired words given to the church by Jesus.

Like Timothy, we have been entrusted with the inspired record contained in the Bible. We need to guard it with care. Those who tamper with the Word of God, embracing some ideas and rejecting others, end up confused. When they are pastors of a church, they end up confusing the parishioners.  Tom and I are committed to preaching and teaching nothing but the Bible. We are not infallible interpreters, but you can be confident that we are trying to be faithful to the deposit entrusted to us. If you want to have a clear understanding of God, salvation, and all the other truths of the Christian faith, READ THE BOOK and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you.

Father, thank You for giving to us the Sacred Scriptures, which are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, Amen.