[Weekly Scripture] Psalm 51:1–2 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

1 Timothy 4:2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices

Are you prepared to share the truth of God’s Word with others?
Do you find it easy to lie to people?

Pray that you will be a doer of the Word.

E-devotion by Don Brown (Elder)

When you go to the dentist or to a doctor about a particular ailment that you have, you expect that doctor to be well qualified.  To be qualified, he or she must have studied long and hard,  graduated from a specialized residency or fellowship program, and passed the appropriate board certification exams.  The final exam, however, is when he encounters the patient.

Our final exam may come in an encounter with an unbeliever today.  In the same way, we need to remember that we must be ready in every moment and in every situation that comes our way to show ourselves approved.  We must be able to defend our faith.  This is called apologetics.  We live in a pluralistic society. That is, many people believe that there are many different paths to God.  We should be able to point those people to the cross!  Jesus is the only way to God.  Can you tell an unbeliever why we believe that?  Could you point them to Scripture?

1 Timothy 4:2 tells us to be prepared in season and out of season.  Are you prepared?  Just as a dentist or a doctor needed years of specialized training, we should all daily train ourselves in Bible doctrine and study so that we may show our self approved when the time comes and adequately defend the gospel.