The LORD Rescued Me
You
must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. For
people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant,
abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable,
slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen
with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the
outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them! For among them are
those who make their way into households and captivate silly women, overwhelmed
by their sins and swayed by all kinds of desires, who are always being
instructed and can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth. As Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses,
so these people, of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith, also oppose the truth.
But they will not make much progress, because, as in the case of those two men,
their folly will become plain to everyone.
Now
you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience,
my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, and my suffering the things that
happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the LORD rescued
me from all of them. Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus
will be persecuted. But wicked people and imposters will go from bad to worse,
deceiving others and being deceived. 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.
2 Timothy 3:1-17
The
Bible, God’s written Word, changes lives. Its message of salvation makes the
most profound change, of course, but Scripture can also change the way we treat
others. It can provide a firm foundation for society with its clear teaching in
institutions such as marriage, family, and the church.
In
the past, when people did not like the Word, they tried to change the Word. But
today, instead of trying to change God’s Word to fit our own ideas, allow the
Word to change us. As we read His Word and obey it, the Holy Spirit will
transform us into the kind of people god wants us to be.
The Bible – eternal truth
and
never-fading beauty.
Our Daily Bread –