April 21 – Not Of Human Origin

“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”  -2 Peter 1:20-21  (NIV)

We have a promise from the Apostle Peter in his second letter to all believers about our Bible.  The promise is this, the Scriptures come to us from God. They are trustworthy and true.  Peter is making it clear, Scripture is not of human origin, nor is it the result of human will. The emphasis is that no part of Scripture was ever at any time produced because men wanted it so.  So the Bible is not the product of human effort or origin.  In the OT alone, the human writers refer to their writings as the words of God over 3800 times. The prophets, in fact, sometimes wrote what they could not fully understand (1 Peter 1:10-11 NLT), but were nonetheless faithful to write what God revealed to them as they were carried along and moved by the Holy Spirit. We can therefore trust this promise that Scripture is the Word of God and written down by those who God inspired.  This same Holy Spirit dwells within in all believers to help us discern and understand this Word of God.  Let us seek His guidance to understand what has been given to us.

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May 7 – Taught and Learned

“It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.” John 6:45 (NASB)

These words recorded in the Gospel of John were spoken by Jesus, the Son of God who came into this world from heaven.  While he lived on earth, He went about about teaching many about the wonderful truth of God and Himself.  Jesus knew that God the Father was also engaged in teaching people.  God the Father was preparing people to come to Jesus to hear more. We recognize that God is our great teacher. He teaches us  in so many different ways.  He has been teaching us through our experiences this past week so that today we will come close to Jesus and let Him be our friend. As we read our Bible or hear teachers and preachers read it and teach us from it, let remember that these are the ways for God to teach us what He wants us to know.  

June 4 – He Cares for Us

“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,” Nahum 1:7 (NIV)

The Old Testament prophets were messengers of God. The people did not have the printed Word of God and so God sent prophets to deliver His message. The prophet Nahum was given a very difficult message to give to the people of his day. The greater part of Nahum's prophecy was a series of prediction of punishment on the city of Nineveh – a city full of enemies of God. This message is delivered about 150 years after the time of Jonah who preached to Nineveh and the city repented.  But, as often happens, most of the people had turned away from God. Here in our verse for today we read promises for God's people. There were people that day who were trusting God and the Lord was caring for them. The promise is also for us today. It is for all who trust in God and He cares for us. He cares for you if you have put your trust in Him. We are in a time of increasing trouble these days and being a believer can mean difficult times and challenging circumstances. Let's remember that the Lord is good and He cares for us who believe in Him.