January 5 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

II Timothy 3:

¹This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
²For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
³Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
⁴Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
⁵Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
⁶For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
⁷Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
⁸Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
⁹But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their's also was.
¹⁰But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
¹¹Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
¹²Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
¹³But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
¹⁴But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
¹⁵And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
¹⁶All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
¹⁷That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Devotional

The story is told of a man who bought expensive books for his library, but found that they were too large to fit into his bookcase. His solution was to cut the books down to size, display them neatly and attractively in their reduced form fitted into the bookcase, and seal the bookcase so that no one could discover that the books had been mutilated. The contents of the books could now do no one any good; but, after all, what a handsome display their bindings made! And what an aura of culture distinguished the library!

Too often it is like this with the Bible. Unbelieving, destructive critics reduce and mutilate it to fit it into their mental bookcases. They hardly leave the binding. But even for friends of the Bible, the Word of God has often become virtually a sealed book - displayed in the library but its contents not really studied and known.

This was not so with Timothy. From a child he had known the holy scriptures, which were able to make him wise to salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.

Let us all be done with empty display and let us seek to know the Scriptures. Let us unseal the book! Let us read and study it repeatedly and systematically, beginning right now!

Welcome to "Think on These Things," a twelve-week daily devotional prepared by the late Dr. John H. Skilton, an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and for many years Chairman of the New Testament Department at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia.

We are indebted to P & R Publishing and Skilton House Ministries for permission to use this copyrighted material on the OPC Web site. (P & R held the copyright from 1975 to 2005, at which time they reassigned the copyright to Skilton House.)