Devotional Guide -- March 19

Tuesday, March 19, 2019
The Holy Bible: 

God Speaks to Man

“First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” II Peter 1:20-21

“First of all.” How often have we who are parents begun some instruction to our children with these words? “First of all, let me tell you this….” They don’t listen, and when they mess up, we add, “Didn’t I tell you that ‘first of all’ you had to…?” Well, we may be all grown up, but we are still like children, and God has to remind us that first of all we must understand something important.

This Book is no ordinary book. Someone did not sit down and begin to put on paper his/her rambling thoughts. No! I love the King James translation of this verse: “…holy men of old wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” Some think that men’s quill pens moved supernaturally, almost like what some call “auto-writing.” A better understanding is probably that the Holy Spirit superintended the writing of Scripture, using men, their minds, their way of speaking in the culture of their time, to convey to us guidelines for life that God wanted us to have.

As we read, we should – first of all – realize that this message is not arbitrary, to be accepted if we like! You and I may disagree about relevance of the word, but we must understand that it is actually with God that we disagree.

Prayer: Father, thank you that you cared enough about us to guide others to write so we may learn from you. Amen.

“I am the resurrection and the life.” John 11:25
Lenten Devotional Guide
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, Spring 2009
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Director