Dear Cornerstone brothers and sisters,
The apostle Paul calls us to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess 5:18). What are you thankful for today? What are we as a church thankful for today? Our friends, family, employment, our brothers and sisters in the Lord, our Savior, the daily bread provided by the Lord, freedom to worship, the small blessings we rarely pause to consider … and much more. This day and week, may we be a people filled with thanksgiving – and ultimately, thankfulness that our gracious God would send his son to die for people like us (Rom 5:6-8).
Events in the church:
1. Ladies ‘mugs and muffins’ this Saturday at the Arendale’s home (7818 Green Devon Drive, 77095) from 10-12.
2. Outreach Sunday this Sunday … lunch will be provided after the service.
3. Today’s devotional is a thought of the incredible gift that is the word of God from 2 Timothy 3.
Have a blessed week and we look forward to worshipping together this Lord’s day!
From the Pastor’s Desk
Mid-week Devotional
“The Breathed Out Word”
2 Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
2 Timothy 3 ought to be a chapter that believers read and study over and over again. It gives us one of the clearest and grandest statements in the New Testament on the nature of the Bible. But to see the full weight of Paul’s statement on Scripture, the chapter should be considered in its totality. In vv. 1-13, Paul describes the times in which we live as the “last days” (v. 1; cf. Acts 2:14-17; Heb 1:2). These “last days,” says Paul, will be filled with difficulty. And in vv. 2ff Paul goes on to describe these times with his ‘Pauline list’ – people will be “lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive … having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” Furthermore, these days will be days of persecution for the church (v. 12). What a description Paul gives of the times in which we live – times of idolatry, pride, and unbelief!
With such a dire description in place, the next question to ask is the following: “Is there any hope? Is there any place to turn? Is there any source of truth?” And dear brothers and sisters, the answer Paul gives is a resounding YES! There is hope! There is a place to turn! There is a source of truth! That hope – that place – that source is the word of God, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament. Paul tells us in vv. 14-15 that the Scriptures are able to make one “wise for salvation.” In other words, the word of God is a powerful word – a word that brings lost and dead sinners to life in Christ. The Bible – we might say – is a living, powerful, heart-changing, and life-transforming book (see Heb 4:12; Rom 1:16-17).
The final question to consider in this brief study is the “why” question. Why is the Bible a powerful and life-changing book? Why does the Bible have the power to bring dead sinners to life in Christ? In vv. 16-17 Paul tells us. The Bible is the word of God. The Bible is the “breathed out” word of God (v. 16) – such that what the Bible says, God says! From Genesis 1 to Revelation 22 the great banner of every word is “Thus says the Lord!” And because the Bible is the word of God it is without error. It is truth. In fact, it is the truth (John 17:17). Therefore, we as believers are called to love the word of God, to read it, to study it, to prayer over it, to ground all that we do in it, and to build our life upon it. And in so doing, the Lord changes us and molds us; he makes us “competent, equipped for every good work” (v. 17). Dear reader, what a glorious gift of grace is the word of God! Oh may we not neglect it! Oh may it not gather dust on our bookshelves! But may we say with David that the word of God is more to be desired than gold and sweeter than honey (Psalm 19:10)!
God bless,
Pastor Robert