THURSDAY December 14th
Psalm 119:105
‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.’
I guess in our look at the apostle Paul, it would be helpful to understand something of the chronology of his ministry, and in particular the possible dates in which he has written his letters. I mention this, for Paul’s letters have formed a significant section of the New Testament, out of the 27 books he has contributed 13 of them, ranging from Philemon that is just one chapter to Romans and 1 Corinthians that have 16 chapters, he has written to Churches and to individuals.
I am one of those who also leans toward Paul as being the unmentioned author of the Book of Hebrews.
He writes all of his letters for a particular reason, and I take from some important verses in his letter to Timothy, ‘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’, 2 Timothy 3:16–17.
The Holy Spirit has seen to it to ensure that what Paul had written has become a part of this ‘All Scripture’, therefore what Paul has written, and the same must also be said of the other Old and New Testament books have been breathed out by God, inspired by the Holy Spirit to be a means of being profitable or of benefit for teaching, for reproof, for correction and training in righteousness so that we today as has been the case throughout Church history, may be complete and equipped for every good work.
Notice the term for ‘every good work’, we have seen already of the good work of salvation and that we are to do the good works that God has called us to do as his children and to be able to do them, we not only need the help of the Holy Spirit, the fellowship of one another and prayer but we also need the word of God, the Scripture, to enable us to be who we should be in God and to what we need to be doing in the will and the purpose of God. It needs to be our daily bread, it needs to be our daily guide, it needs to be the lamp to our feet and the light to our path.
I will give possible dates in our next devotion.