“All Scripture is breathed out by God and
profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good
work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Recently I had the opportunity to
substitute teach 1st grade Sunday School. For me it was like going back to my roots as
1st grade Sunday School was the very first place I became involved
in when I came to FBC Morristown. Those
were such joyous times as I looked forward to being personally involved in
kids’ lives each Sunday and watching them grow in their knowledge and
understanding of Jesus and His Word. It
is hard to believe that the very first 1st grade group I taught is
now in the ninth grade! I feel extremely
old!
The lesson for the week I subbed was
about Psalm 104. I initially wondered
how on earth the kids were going to be able to relate to a psalm…I mean some psalms
are a bit depressing and others hard for even me to wrap my mind around. While a few of the psalms are very familiar
to me, this one…Psalm 104…was not. As I began
to delve into the psalm, however, my worries about the kids understanding it
were completely gone. The entire psalm
was about Creator God how great He is for creating such a beautiful world. The psalmist describes with such imagery each
facet of the earth…from land to sea to sky…and praises God for His greatness in
creating it. Psalm 104 is written with
such visually appetizing words that you could almost close your eyes and paint
a glorious masterpiece in your imagination. It is most definitely a perfect
psalm to pair with the Creation story from Genesis!
Have you ever found new nuggets of
wisdom in the Scriptures? For me
personally, I am increasingly amazed to discover new and exciting things in the
Bible! This experience with Psalm 104 is
just one that recently happened to me, but there have been other passages or
verses that I have come across that I never knew existed. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 reminds us that “All
Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be
competent, equipped for every good work.”
As Christians, the Bible is our manual for daily living and has
been given to us by God to equip us in our walk with and talk of He and His
Son. It’s not designed for us to just
read and then apply to one aspect of our life and move on – it’s designed for
us to apply to all aspects of living and to learn new truths from throughout our
entire life. No matter the circumstance
or situation, the Scriptures have something for everyone. The psalmist praised God for the Scriptures
so beautifully by saying, “Your Word is a
lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
As the written Word of God, the Bible truly illuminates the way for us
to go.
The key to finding new nuggets of wisdom
in the Bible is to read and study it.
Don’t let it sit on a shelf collecting dust…open it and discover new and
exciting truths and/or passages that apply to you or that you can connect to
other parts of the Bible. One great (and
easy) way to find how Scriptures connect with other Scriptures is to look at
the cross references (those are the little book-name/verse references to the
side of the passage/verse you are reading).
These additional references take you to other parts of the Bible that
relate to the particular passage you are studying. Another way you can connect certain truths to
different parts of Scripture is to look at a concordance which is a book that lists
different Scripture references that connect to one particular truth. However you choose to delve into the Word, as
you do, you will begin to see God’s grand design and how all things (from Old
Testament to New Testament) connect together for His glory and honor.
Grow in your Christian walk by digging
deep into the Bible. D.L. Moody said, “The
Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.” He is so right. Open God’s Word, discover new and exciting
nuggets of wisdom from the Father and watch the transformation of your heart
and mind begin.
