GOD’S WORD, ALIVE AND POWERFUL

“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.”  (Hebrews 4:12 NLT)

Have you ever read a verse [of Scripture] scores of times and yet never had it affect you? Then you casually pass by it again and -- ZAP! -- it hits you squarely between your heart and mind.

There are times when you welcome the Spirit's intrusion. The new insight makes you smile. Out of nowhere you see what God means. A bright new idea opens up.

At other times… no smiles. The new insight only brings a groan or tears. You're convicted of manipulating a friend. You're crushed over snubbing a new coworker. Shamed for gossiping about a neighbor, you've been wounded by the Word of God, and you have no excuse not to obey from then on.

Andrew Murray put it this way: "Jesus has no tenderness toward anything that is ultimately going to ruin a person in service to Him. If God brings to mind a verse which hurts you, you may be sure that there is something He wants to hurt."

That's the way God works. He is so exacting. That's because He doesn't want us to see our disobedience vaguely or in general. Specific verses have a way of convicting us specifically.

-- Joni Eareckson Tada in “Glorious Intruder”


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DON’T KEEP IT FOR OURSELVES

God never gives us anything to keep for ourselves. Whether it is money, insight, or truth, it has to be shared. Jesus said in His great command in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” To those who witnessed His Ascension He declared in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  Jesus very clearly let His disciples know that the truth He taught them during the past three years was not to be kept in a personal reservoir of knowledge. They were to give away everything they had received.

-- Charles Stanley in “How to Listen to God”

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GETTING MORE

“Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.”  (Matthew 13:12a NIV)

One of my professors used to say, “God doesn’t put all the cookies on the bottom shelf.” When studying the Bible, we can’t expect to find all the gems immediately. Sometimes we have to work at it. We have to grow before we can know.

This is an important aspect of the Christian life. As we “have” – that is, as we gain some new insight from God’s Word, make it our own, and use it in life – God gives us more.

For example, when I study a passage and then meditate on it to learn how it applies to my circumstances and my life, insights come rapidly at first, then more slowly, until I reach a point where I feel as though nothing more can be found.

Then it hits me. Suddenly I see something awesomely beautiful that I’ve never seen before. It might be an insight that others have had for years. But it’s new for me. There’s a great thrill in that discovery.

I believe that’s what Jesus was saying. Take what you have. Use it. Apply it. Live it. Then God will add to it and make you abound all the more.

Lord, open my eyes to new insights in Your Word.

– Mark R. Littleton in The Quiet Hour Daily Devotional, Dec. 1990

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