The Bible - Friday
Today’s Verse
2 Timothy 3:16-17
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 complete, equipped for every good work. (ESV)
For the better part of a year, I would leave work on Thursday evening and go to a fitness boxing class. My goal was to do something new and wear myself out. I was able to achieve that goal. Eventually, the six punches and basic boxing techniques became second nature. I could even kinda shadow box and, to an untrained eye, look a touch like a boxer. However, I was never a threat to anyone in or out of the boxing ring.
Mike Tyson, who was a walking lethal weapon and famed boxer, has an indelible line I’ve always loved: “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” Most of us know this: we are in a fight every single day. The Bible illustrates this battle by using the imagery of a lion. If you’ve ever seen a lion stalk its prey, you know they are good at it. It’s their full-time job. They sleep, hunt, and eat. They don’t go on vacation, play pickleball, or do crossword puzzles. Lions hunt, and the Bible tells us Satan is like a lion looking to devour us (1 Peter 5:8).
Paul tells Timothy that the God-breathed scripture he was raised to know is more than just words on a page. The Bible is training for life. It’s useful for a myriad of things, culminating in our ability to be equipped for life. Paul knows that lions do their best work when their prey least expects it. Timothy had to be ready at all times to be the spiritual leader God called him to be.
We will likely never stand in the ring with someone as scary as Mike Tyson, but we will all get punched in the face by life. The time to train isn’t after taking Satan’s best shot. We must train early and often every single day of our lives so that when the Lion attacks, we are capable of defending ourselves and those whom God has entrusted to our care.
APPLICATION
I can’t wait to open up God’s Word together this week. Come to church this Sunday and bring someone else with you. Make sure they get a Bible from our stacks if they don’t have one when they get here.
PRAYER
God, thank you for your Word. Give me the will to study it every single day so that when the enemy attacks, I know what to do and how to do it.
