Helpful Hints

2 Timothy 3:14-17

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Strolling down memory lane of a probably 20-year-old family recipe book, I stumbled upon a page with the heading "Helpful Hints", and it goes like this:

The freshness of eggs can be tested by placing them in a large bowl of cold water; if they float, do not use them.

Hot water kills yeast. One way to tell the correct temperature is to pour the water over your forearm. If you cannot feel either hot or cold, the temperature is just right.

To keep hot oil from splattering, sprinkle a little salt or flour in the pan before frying. 

I imagine these tips likely come from a few encounters with spoiled eggs, dead yeast, and first-degree burns from oil splatter. These are either passed on by an expert chef or a young learning wife with no cooking experience. Anyhow, these hints aid in teaching and training someone who could both be starting or struggling in the kitchen. Thankfully, instructions are accessible both for preparing meals and for people journeying through life, like you and me. Believers are blessed to have a complete and comprehensive manual for anything we could find ourselves in under the sun, that is, the word of God.

2 Timothy 3:14 urges us to continue in the things we have learned and become convinced of. At some point, we have heard about Jesus. We learned the most grandeur plan of salvation. Jesus, the Son of God and God in Himself left His heavenly throne, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, preached the Word, was betrayed, crucified, died, buried, and in three days, did something no one else has ever done in the history of humanity, He rose again. The message of the gospel has never changed. No word from the Lord will ever fail - the sacred writings which can give you wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15).

The Bible is our life instruction. When worldly ideologies try to sway us left and right, we have the truth anchored in our hearts. It is sacred and should be handled with careful study and application. By the word of God, we are warned and in keeping them is great reward (Psalm 19:11). How beautiful it is to have a solid ground to stand on - not bound by time or change but authored by the only true God, Father of heavenly light who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17). He does not want us to be ignorant of the past, fooled by the present, and anxious of the future. Even in the unknown, we can trust the truthfulness of His words and promises.

Oh, beloved! God's love is written for you in bold letters.

He offers consolation in affliction, peace amid war, endurance for every temptation, good and eternal gift you cannot find in any other guidebook.

Beloved, I pray that your love for the word will grow, so that you may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17).  May you not be deceived by being mere hearers and not doers of the word (James 1:22). Let the Lord lavish you with encouragement for the works He has yet to accomplish through you. May your heart rest daily in the comfort of His word and treasure every instruction God reveals to you through the Holy Spirit.

Scripture:

2 Timothy 3:14-17| NASB 1995

You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Challenge:

What have you learned?

What are you going to do about it?

In grace & mercy