March - 11
THE BOOK FOR ANY AGE
From infancy you have known the holy Scrip¬tures, which are able to make you wise . . . . 2 Timothy 3:15
Do you remember when you saw the Bible for the first time? If you come from a Christian home, you probably don’t. When I was growing up in the former U.S.S.R., however, the Bible was banned. Only a few peo¬ple had one. I saw my first Bible when I was 16. It belonged to my friend’s grandfather, a devout Baptist.
I still remember how my friend pulled this precious Book from its hiding place—and for a few brief mo¬ments I flipped through its pages. But soon my friend took the Bible from me and hid it again. Two years later I managed to acquire a Bible of my own. Needless to say, I couldn’t stop reading it!
Today’s verses tell us that Timothy learned the Scriptures from a very young age. What a blessing that must have been! Those of us who didn’t grow up in a godly home often feel somewhat disadvantaged. But in a sense, we are blessed much more than Timothy. He had access only to the Old Testament. Today we can study the Bible in its entirety!
Inspired by God, the Bible has many uses. The most important of those is that it makes us “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” By studying the Scrip¬tures, people of every age can acquire godly wisdom for their journey of faith. That’s why this Book is so precious to sincere believers.
PRAYER
Father, thank you for giving us your holy Scrip¬tures! Regardless of our age, help us study your Word daily so we can become wise for salvation through faith in Jesus. Amen.
还记得你是在何时第一次见到圣经这本书吗？如果你在基督教家庭长大，你大概不会记得。当我在昔日的苏联长大时，圣经被列为禁书，只有少数人拥有这本书；我十六岁才第一次见到一本圣经，物主是我一位朋友的祖父，他是一个虔诚的浸信会会友。
我还记得我的朋友怎样把这本珍贵的书，从收藏的地方拿出来 —— 我迅速翻阅一下书页，但他很快便把书取回，然后再藏起它。两年之后，我终于拥有一本圣经了，不用说，我自然爱不释手阅读它！
今天的经文告诉我们，提摩太从小便研读圣经，这是何等大的福气啊！我们这些不是在信主家庭长大的人，总觉得好像欠了什么似的。但从某角度来看，我们其实比提摩太有福得多，因为那时他只有旧约圣经可读，而在今天，我们却可以研读整本圣经呢！
圣经是神所默示的，它有很多用处。最重要的，就是它能使我们「因信基督耶稣有得救的智慧。」借着研读圣经，任何年纪的人都能得到属神的智慧，领他们行走信心之路。真心相信神的人非常珍惜这本书，就是这个原因。
祷告
父啊，你把祢的圣经赐给我们，我们感谢祢！无论我们是什么年纪，求祢帮助我们每日研读祢的话，好叫我们能因信耶稣有得救的智慧。阿们。