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Guard the treasure entrusted to you,

with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

~ 2 Timothy 1:14

 

Happy Thursday dear sister!

I write to you with joy overflowing today! Why? Because God is good, He is faithful and He knows my name! He not only knows my name, He has entrusted me with His treasure! Can I, a mere being of flesh and blood, effectively guard such a precious gift? Of course not! So my loving Father has given me a Helper to guard it! Though I may get weary and slumber, my Helper never sleeps. Though I may be tempted to squander this treasure, my Helper always guides me in how to manage it properly (if I am willing to listen).

In the above passage, the Apostle Paul is admonishing his beloved son in the faith, Timothy, to retain, to remember, to follow the sound words that he has heard from Paul, in the faith and the love which is in Christ Jesus. 

Another time, Paul writes nearly the same thing to Titus, instructing him to hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it. (Titus 1:9)

Imagine, back when Paul penned his letters, now part of our Bible, nearly two centuries ago. They were in single, handwritten letters, sent abroad by foot (many feet probably) or perhaps horse or boat; preserved as God’s treasure down through the ages for the benefit of the generations to come! (that's you & me) 

How could those single letters be preserved other than the recipients guarding them with the help of the Holy Spirit? No wonder they endured hardships and persecutions! I’m sure the enemy of our souls was clawing at them through any means available! Many of them died for the sake of this treasure that we hold in our hands today. What faith! What commitment!

That same enemy is still trying to steal God’s truth from us. In the ease of accessing the Word of God today, I wonder if we are letting our guard down. Instead of memorizing scripture, it somehow has become easier to type in a word or phrase and let our laptop or phone do the search. I’m embarrassed to admit that I have trouble remembering even the order of the books of the New Testament anymore and fumble around like a newbie.

Therefore, I want to get back to my Bible! My Bible pages are highlighted and color coded to remind me of all the familiar verses I love! I can’t color code scripture on my laptop screen.

My Bible never runs out of batteries or needs to be recharged. In fact, it is always ready to recharge me! 

There are no annoying ads popping up in my Bible! Ugh, I hate it when I go to type in a verse and 2 or 3 ads pop up…. even on Scripture sites! It reminds me of the market place the Jews made of the temple and it’s so distracting!

The other day I opened up my laptop to read a commentary and I got an AI generated “explanation” of God’s Holy Word! That’s it! I’m done! The world is out to get us, Satan will rob us of our treasure even if it’s through the appearance of good.

 I am joyful today because my treasure hasn’t been stolen! I am renewing my commitment to study and memorize what I read in my Bible, guarding it in my heart with the help of the Holy Spirit!

I pray for you that through the Holy Spirit, you too will guard the treasure that has been entrusted to you! Don’t let it become dusty with disuse or tarnished by worldly wisdom, it is a precious gift! A gift that multiplies even as you share it with others! Isn’t that just like our good God?

With much love, your sister, Celeste