Our devotion is by GLEN CRAIG who is a retired but still very active minister.
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"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." 2Timothy3:14-15
Timothy had a Mom and Granny who taught him Scripture. His Mom was Eunice and his Granny was Lois. (2Tim1:5) Paul urges his protege, Timothy, to continue in his growth in the Spirit that he had inherited from his Granny and his Mom.
Ever since I can remember, I attended Sunday School at Trinity in Grahamstown. I loved Sunday School. I loved the sand trays and the choruses we sang. Quite honestly, I don't really remember much of what I was taught, BUT I well remember that my Sunday School Teachers loved Jesus, and so I learnt to love Him too. My Teachers were Mrs Monica McRobert (the Minister's wife) and my own Mother. I believe that the seeds of faith were sown in my life in those early years.
So Paul writes to Timothy: "continue in what you have learned ... because you KNOW those from whom you learned it." Paul also writes: "I know Him whom I have believed". II Tim 1:12.
There is a big difference between knowing _about_ someone and KNOWing someone. The fundamental importance of Scripture is that Scripture helps us to know God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit: as Father, as Saviour, as Helper.
Even an Atheist can know everything about God from Scripture, but only the Believer - the Christian, will know God. When Paul was writing to Timothy, there was no New Testament. The Scripture he was referring to was the Hebrew Scripture - what we call the Old Testament. It was the only Scripture the early Church had.
I pray that you and I, as we continue to study the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments may continue to grow not only in our knowledge of God, but that through Jesus and the promised help of the Holy Spirit, we may KNOW Him better and grow in our relationship with Him. Thus grow, too, in our relationship with one another and strangely enough, with all His creation.
This means that as Parents, Grandparents, Elders, Ministers, Teachers, Mentors, we can only help those who look to us, if we KNOW Him, in whom we believe.
Someone once said: "I would rather see a sermon than hear one any day." Those, for whom we are responsible, need to see the Lord Jesus Christ in us - not just hear about Him from us. Jesus says: "By their fruits you will know them." James, in his Letter, writes: :"Faith without works is dead."
When we KNOW Him and are blessed by that relationship, we, in turn, become a blessing to our children and grandchildren, that they, too, may KNOW Him.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
