This Day in History: 0000-01-03

January 3 – Hebrews 4: 12-13 

For the Word of God is alive and powerful.  It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.  It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God.  Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the One to whom we are accountable. 

We’ve spent the last couple days learning about the Bible. We know it is the inspired Word of God, which means the words of Scripture are not the words of the men who wrote them, but the literal words of God Himself which He communicated through the power of the Holy Spirit. We know these words (these promises) are useful and practical and that God uses them to teach us what is true and to show us where we’re wrong. We know He uses them to empower us to live godly lives. These verses from Hebrews, though, teach us what is probably my very favorite truth about Scripture.

 

It is ALIVE!  (Chills – am I right?)

 

That simply means, as some translations put it, that it is active. It is DOING something. God uses it far beyond the words on the page to speak to us individually.   

 

What is your favorite story? I love the Chronicles of Narnia. I’ve read those books dozens of times. But each time I re-read them, they don’t offer new insights that I never noticed before. The same cannot be said of the Bible. We can spend the rest of our lives reading the Bible and each and every time God will show us something new. 

 

Each time we read Scripture there will be something relevant to where we are right then. God will use it to guide us and to teach us. As these verses tell us, He will use it to expose our innermost thoughts and desires.

 

We are so easily deceived, us humans. We often don’t even really know our own hearts let alone our own motives. We believe the best of ourselves. But nothing is hidden from God, and He is the one we answer to. 

 

This means we desperately need the truths of scripture to show us where we’re wrong. We need it to show us where we need Him, and where we need to be cleansed. Our Great God wants to refine us.  He wants to draw us to Himself, and He has given us the tools we need. 

 

We are His, and we need to be divided by His Word.  Let’s commit ourselves today to spending the rest of our lives in pursuit of truth as we submit ourselves to the living, active, and powerful Word of God!