This morning I was reading the devotional Hearing God by Dallas Willard and I loved this: Evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and…known (in) the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:13-15.

Reading in James 3 this morning so many verses that help: We all stumble in many ways. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

Able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. I realized this morning that God is the best teacher. He is patient. He allows us to come to understanding through life experiences.

As I was thinking about everything I was reading and contemplating, the first part of evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived…I couldn’t help but picture the scene in Matthew 21:33-40. Lest you think I’m a Bible scholar, I type in a few words in my phone and it gives me the Bible verses because I have a hard time remembering where they are. Jesus was telling a parable about a landowner who went away and sent his servants to collect the fruit from the farmers who were tasked with working the vineyard. It doesn’t end well for each servant until finally the landowner sends his son thinking they will respect him. He, too, was killed. You can read scripture many times and yet there will come a moment when you see it in a different light because it takes on meaning for you personally. Can you picture Jesus sitting there and telling this parable knowing He was talking about Himself and the Father? He didn’t belabor the point. He stated the truth. That did happen throughout ancient Israel’s history with their prophets and it would happen with Jesus. What struck me this morning is how He must have felt looking at the people quietly listening knowing He was including Himself in the fate of the servants and son in the parable. He concluded with: Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.’ (Psalm 118:22,23). “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

Lest we think Jesus was condemning the Jews of His day, He was speaking to all of us. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and…known (in) the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

The holy Scriptures contain a wealth of teaching from God but how will we know if we don’t read them? How will we understand unless we ask the Teacher to help us understand? In reading and studying it’s amazing how God will bring to remembrance passages that take on deeper meaning when we put ourselves right there in the story – time is no longer linear. Time is stitched together and we can be right there listening to Jesus teach us. His teaching makes us wise for salvation. Oh how we need that and never more than now when the world seems to be going from bad to worse. God is such a good teacher and He is patient with us. I remember my favorite nursing teacher who often said to us…people, start pulling this together! She wanted us to begin to connect the things we were learning so we could begin to understand and make use of the knowledge she was imparting. Knowledge that was important. How much more important is the knowledge and wisdom from God which is able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.