In our redo for godliness, we have a wonderful resource to help us on the Sanctification Road – the Scriptures. This daily devotional looks at how Scriptures not only give us instruction but also patience, hope, and encouragement.
Nuggets
- Scriptures help us transform to His godliness.
To read devotions in the Redo for Godliness series, click the appropriate button below.
Devotions in the Transformed to Perfection series
God knew what He was doing when He gave us the Scriptures. Have you ever thought He has always found a way for His Will to be made known?
Centuries ago — and I am sure in some cultures today — the oral stories of history were very important. It was the way they remembered and taught. It was how their culture was solidified.
Then God ramped it up and made books. Then He ramped it up and made the internet.
God is going to get His Word out to those who need it. We all need it.
Let's Put It into Context
Here is a running list of what we’ve discussed previously.
Using Scripture to Build Hope
“For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures” (Rom. 15: 4 CSB)
Scriptures help us transform to His godliness.
Remember, Paul was talking to believers here. He was talking to people who still needed instruction, still needed words of encouragement, still needed hope and endurance.
I like what Moore said. He wrote, “God will have His name hallowed, for it is holy; but His Word He seems to make holier still — ‘Thou hast magnified Thy Word above all Thy name.’ We are to receive it, not as the word of man, but as it is in truth, the Word of God.
Resource
Moore was quoting Psalm 132: 2: “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name” (KJV).
Yep, David said, but he wasn’t expecting exclusive. We have to worship and praise God, too.
Robertson reminded us that some of the blessings and punishments are made specifically to individuals. Abraham was the only father of the Jewish nation. David was the only one who was promised his line would live forever.
Resource
But we also know the Scriptures are also a one-size-fits-all deal.
- “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3: 23 CSB).
- “No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it” (I Cor. 10: 13 CSB).
- “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5: 8 NIV)
- “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3: 16 ESV).
Scriptures are for all of us.
We all need hope. This passage is talking to disciples — those who already have the hope.
I have to process what Maclaren said. He wrote, “The written word is conceived for the source of patient endurance which acts as well as suffers. This grace Scripture works in us through the encouragement which it ministers in manifold ways, and the result of both is hope. So, you see, our sorrows and difficulties are not connected with, nor do they issue in, bright hopefulness, except by reason of this connecting link.”
Resource
Elaine-speak.
- We aren’t going to get what we need out of the Scriptures in a single read. We will need to revisit the same passages multiple times until we glean all God has to tell us.
- One reason for the rereads is to build patience.
- Another is to build endurance. We don’t want to give up half way through.
- The hope is a product of the grace and encouragement. Think — if grace is the mom and encouragement is the dad, what a kid that would be!
- It really isn’t our sorrows and difficulties that connect to our hopefulness.
Let’s say that again. Our trials do not connect to our hope.
We have the hope regardless. We have God’s glorious hope for an eternal life when we are His disciples. Period.
Maclaren took that a step further. As long as our soul is going to be around, this hope is going to be in it.
Resource
Our soul is our spiritual part that is immortal. Because the soul is eternal, it continues to think and feel. That means it is going to hope until that hope is fulfilled in eternity.
What we are looking for is the perfect holiness. That will come at the end of our sanctification.
Making the Connections
Vernon is right. We are so much more happier when we have patience, comfort, and hope. We find them by reading God’s Word.
Resource
How Do We Apply This?
Macafee gave us some really good ideas on how to do that.
- Don’t let ourselves become distracted when reading.
- Read it as if it was God speaking directly to us.
- Don’t just do a quick read. Dig in. Meditate.
- This doesn’t mean we have to read hours at a time. I would shoot for a chapter or two.
- Macafee said we should read Scriptures “frequently, regularly, and diligently …”
- We have to read them in submission.
- Macafee said read them with “… a love of truth …”
- Decide that we are going to believe what Scriptures say and are going to obey God’s laws and commandments.
We have the Scriptures for one reason: finding God. When we find God, we find eternal life.
Macafee wrote, “The hope of eternal life, [is] founded on true faith as a solid foundation. Knowledge, consolation, and hope constitute the things for which we should look.”
Resource
How do we get knowledge? We do that by seeking God
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
That knowledge will give us comfort and ease the pain cause by our sin as our lives are fixed by God’s healing Hand. We know that hope is a future expectation, called a living hope, based on the confidence that our names will be found in the book of life.
Beeby said that “as the Bible is the best book of private devotions, [we should] use it as such.”
Resource
Who better to learn about God from that God Himself?
Father God. We want to learn of You. We want to know everything You want us to know about You. We know we won’t know everything. Help us to understand what we need to know. Amen.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email daily or weekly providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.