Thought for Today

2 Kings 2:23  He went up from there to Bethel; and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, "Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!" 24  When he turned around and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.  

2 Timothy 3:16  All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Happy (Merry?) Shrove Tuesday. If your church or congregation participates in a pancake breakfast, eat hearty.

As Greta and I began our day today, she commented to me that sometimes when she reads a devotional, she does not find it helpful. She added that some devotional writers do not resonate with her and are not particularly helpful. I know . . . hope? . . . pray that she was not thinking about or referencing me. Thankfully, we both read multiple devotionals. I have mentioned that I almost always look at 3 in particular. Two are collections of writings from 2 of my favorite theologians. The third is a collection of writings by both lay and clerical writers.

Greta’s point is well taken. Just as we don’t always find every devotional we read helpful, the same is true about every sermon we hear from every preacher to whom we listen. Some words and some writers seem to speak more loudly and more relevantly to us. It may be their style. It may also be a function of current events in our own lives. There are days when I think the temperature and relative humidity may even be influencing my thoughts and my mind. Maybe I am more receptive on warm, dry days than on cold, wet days.

I believe the same is true of scripture. Was Paul correct in his admonition to Timothy? I do believe and accept the canon text of the Bible. I agree that the words therein are inspired by God. I could even be convinced that at some time, for some preachers, texts like that above from 2 Kings could be interpreted as useful for teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness. I am sure that I am not one of those preachers and cannot imagine my ever choosing to preach a sermon from those verses above.

One of our greatest challenges as Christians is to try to understand the Bible as a whole. How do we understand each book of the Bible in context with each of the other books? Our Bible is a very complex collection of history, prose, poetry and hymnody. There are deeply theological books, annuls of kings and kingdoms, lyric poetry and gospels. We have an Old Testament and a New Testament. But, we only have one Bible. We have a single holy scripture. To paraphrase our Pledge of Allegiance, the Bible is ‘one scripture, indivisible, with wisdom and knowledge for all.’

My own path to recognizing my call to ministry led through many years of studying and teaching the Bible. Greta and I were part of a Bible Study at our church for 40+ years. There are numerous ways to study the Bible. Some prefer to read the Bible thematically, searching out the various threads of scripture pertaining to a specific idea or subject. Our Bible Study focused on studying the various books of the Bible individually. While one method may be more beneficial for some than for others, I preferred to study one book at a time.

My Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms defines the Bible as, “The canonical writings accepted as normative for a religious faith. In Christianity, the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) and the New Testament comprise the Bible. Theologically, the Bible is acknowledged in the church as a revelation from God.” That is a good definition, as far as definitions go. But, the longer we actively engage in reading and studying the Bible, we find that the Bible is a timeless, living book. The lessons are as applicable in the 21st century as they were in the 1st and even long before that.

Paul was correct, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” our challenge is to read, study and apply those lessons in our lives. Sometimes the lessons are not what they seem at first glance to be. We just need to ‘dig a little deeper in the well.’

Stay safe, dig deeply in your Bible, trust God,

Pastor Ray