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Today’s Devotional – February 19th

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“Man Shall…Live…By Every Word”

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“All scripture is given by inspiration of God,

and is profitable for doctrine,

for reproof, for correction,

for instruction in righteousness:

That the man of God may be perfect,

thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

2nd Timothy 3:16, 17

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Holy bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons lic.

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There are many today who teach that not all Scripture is to be trusted.

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For instance, those who are seeking after “social justice” or “political correctness” may assert that some portions of the Bible were written only for some local situation back at the time when the Bible was being written.

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And so, all such portions are no longer relevant, according to them.

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Others who have some doctrinal agenda may try to negate portions of the Bible that disagree with their “pet” church doctrine.

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Still others will insist that the Bible can only be rightly interpreted by the leaders of their own particular denomination.

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And still others insist that the Bible is only the thoughts of God, which the Bible writers merely wrote those thoughts in their own human words.

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Atheist sign Wisconsin State – Wikipedia – share-alike license (2)

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BUT WHAT DOES GOD SAY?

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So, just how is the Christian to find his or her way through this thick fog of confusion, which just now looms heavily over Christendom?

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Just how am I to rightly dissect the Word of Truth.

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Well, much of the confusion will quickly dissipate by merely examining a few Bible passages, which concern this subject.

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Our signature Bible passage for today is found in Paul’s second letter to Timothy, in which God exhorts us that…

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“All scripture is given by inspiration of God,

and is profitable for doctrine,

for reproof, for correction,

for instruction in righteousness:

That the man of God may be perfect,

thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

2nd Timothy 3:16, 17

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Paul the Apostle-Artist-Valentin de Boulogne or Nicolas Tournier- circa 1500s – Wikipedia – public domain

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GOD OFTEN SPEAKS

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So here it says that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God”.

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Now this should take care of the false notion that the words of the Bible (penned in the original texts) were not inspired, but that just His main thoughts of the Bible are inspired, they say.

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Nonsense!

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And, as further confirmation, it should be remembered that much of the Bible is God speaking in the “first-person” context.

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For instance, God says…

…”Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts,

the mighty One of Israel,

Ah, I will ease Me of Mine adversaries,

and avenge Me of Mine enemies:

And I will turn My hand upon thee,

and purely purge away thy dross,

and take away all thy tin:”

Isaiah 1:24, 25.

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So obviously this is more than merely the thoughts of God.

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These are the very words of God!

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Holy bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons lic.

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“BUT BY EVERY WORD…”

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Another proof that the Bible is more than just the thoughts of God, are these words spoken by Jesus, when going through His temptations from the Devil…

…”But He (Jesus) answered and said, It is written,

Man shall not live by bread alone,

but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

Matthew 4:4

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Do you see the point here? Jesus is commanding us to live by EVERY WORD that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

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So this must mean that the words of the Bible are the very words of God!

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Or else, how could we live by EVERY WORD?

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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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“EVERY WORD OF GOD IS PURE”

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Now here’s one more confirmation.

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Listen… “Every word of God is pure:

He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.

Add thou not unto His words,

lest He reprove thee,

and thou be found a liar.”

Proverbs 30:5, 6.

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Now here again, the Lord is making it clear, that “EVERY WORD OF GOD IS PURE!”

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So, the Bible has to be more than merely the words of men.

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La Bible, Notre-Dame – cropped image – Wikimedia – share-alike license

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“Heaven and earth shall pass away: but My words shall not pass away”

Mark 13:31 

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Just think about all the human authors who copyright their works and jealously guard them.

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Do we foolishly imagine that our great and infinite Author has not likewise guarded His eternal and infallible Word of Truth just as jealously?

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Listen to the very words of Jesus…

…”For verily I say unto you,

Till heaven and earth pass,

one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law,

till all be fulfilled.”

Matthew 5:18

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ABOVE PICTURE: Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.

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THIS IS A BIG SUBJECT!

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Now this subject is just too big to tackle in one day’s devotional.

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But what has been discussed in today’s devotional lays the groundwork for the other aspects to our signature passage…

…”All scripture is given by inspiration of God,

and is profitable for doctrine,

for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

That the man of God may be perfect,

thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

2nd Timothy 3:16, 17.

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And so, when it says here in our signature passage, that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God”, it really means ALL Scripture! 

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And that is why God calls it “The Word of God”, and not “The Thoughts of God Written In the Words of mortal Men”.

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Bible_paper dave bullock – cropped image – Wikimedia – share-alike license

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Give me a greater trust in Thy Word. Give me a greater knowledge of Thy Word, because Thou hast commanded me to live by every word that proceeds out of Thy mouth…

Prayer – USMC – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read…

“November 22nd (The Greatest Jig-saw Puzzle Ever!)“ 

or you can also read… 

“December 12 (Martha, the “Doer” & Mary, the “Hearer”)“

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

 

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THE END

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TODAY’S HEAVENLY SIGN

 

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THE ARK IN THE HEAVENS

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So, what importance to us is all this information?

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Well, if a person goes out at night, beginning in April (earlier in southern-most latitudes, and later in northern-most), in the pre-dawn hour…

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…they just might locate the constellation commonly referred to as the Sagittarius Constellation.

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It is located in the southern sky. (Each night it appears a little earlier, slowly inching westward, through the summer, until it finally disappears below the western horizon in November.)

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At first, it simply appears as two twin birds flying westward.

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But if you look once again, it just might appear as a long box-like figure, with one star on the right, as you face it, and two stars on the left.

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The box, of course would be the Ark, and the stars on either side would represent angels, which are sometimes referred to as stars in the Bible.

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Star-chart to right is from Wikipedia. Editor has sketched over Sagittarius to show this Ark Constellation.

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Ark of the Covenant Constellation”

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TOMORROW…

February 20th (“Picture of a Very Grave Man, Part 1″)

Pilgrim’s Progress – Man with world behind his back – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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