March 1, 2019 LIVING AND ACTIVE
Hebrews 4: 12-13: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are laid open and bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” This is another passage of scripture that when believed, will impact our lives in a powerful way. It’s easy to read these verses in a casual manner and thus miss the astonishing truth presented. As we read this scripture with our “antenna up”, and as we begin to meditate on what is being said, we will be amazed at what we read. Does the word of God, the Bible, actually have the power to do what it says it does in the above verses? If it does-and indeed it does- then every thought, every action and even every intention is “laid open” before God. The word of God is living and active and sharp and it pierces to the deepest part of man. Reading the word of God is unlike reading any other book in that the bible is not just for information, but transformation from the inside out. The Bible is a book of history, but it is much more than history in that it is living and active. Being living and active, it speaks to the current- the need of the moment- and it reveals present thoughts and intentions and motives of the heart. Reading the word of God as more than a history book, we come face to face with the fact that God is all- knowing and nothing is hidden from Him. And as we read the word of God, we come face to face with the truth of who we are and we discover that He not only knows the words we speak, but He even knows the intents of our heart! It is indeed a sobering thought to realize that every aspect of our life is “laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” As our life is “laid bare before Him” we may discover things about ourselves that neither we nor God likes. Even though it may be an unpleasant experience, God lays our life bare before Him for a good purpose and that purpose is all about transforming us to His image. God is not angry with us and He is not out to punish us, but is out to transform us into His image. To achieve His purpose of transforming us, He goes right to the intentions of our heart because the intentions of our heart are the determining factor of who we really are-how we live life. The scriptures teach that we, as Christians, will one day have to give a full account to God of the life we lived on earth. God paid the ultimate price in order for us to be born again, to be transformed, and thus we will be held accountable for how we dealt with His invitation and His provision to be transformed. Not to be transformed by the life of Jesus is really an insult to God (if God could be insulted) and it greaves Him greatly. The good news is that “the day of accounting” can be a glorious day because it is possible to hear Him say to us “well done, thy good and faithful servant.” Whether or not we hear “well done” is dependent on the life we live here on earth. Whether or not we hear “well done”, is up to us because we must choose to respond to His drawing us to Himself and we must choose to work with Him as He works out His plans in us. So, the fact that our life is laid bare before Him is a good thing and it is sure proof of His love for us. It can be that when the intentions of our hearts are revealed, we will find that they are pleasing to the Lord-and that’s the way it should be. God is committed to having us transformed into His likeness, and to do this, He is in the process of exposing the intentions of our hearts and at the same time, giving us a new heart that resembles His heart. He is rooting out the old and putting in the new and it is our part to work with Him as He is about this work.
1 Peter 2:1-3: “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Hebrews 4: 12-13: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are laid open and bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” This is another passage of scripture that when believed, will impact our lives in a powerful way. It’s easy to read these verses in a casual manner and thus miss the astonishing truth presented. As we read this scripture with our “antenna up”, and as we begin to meditate on what is being said, we will be amazed at what we read. Does the word of God, the Bible, actually have the power to do what it says it does in the above verses? If it does-and indeed it does- then every thought, every action and even every intention is “laid open” before God. The word of God is living and active and sharp and it pierces to the deepest part of man. Reading the word of God is unlike reading any other book in that the bible is not just for information, but transformation from the inside out. The Bible is a book of history, but it is much more than history in that it is living and active. Being living and active, it speaks to the current- the need of the moment- and it reveals present thoughts and intentions and motives of the heart. Reading the word of God as more than a history book, we come face to face with the fact that God is all- knowing and nothing is hidden from Him. And as we read the word of God, we come face to face with the truth of who we are and we discover that He not only knows the words we speak, but He even knows the intents of our heart! It is indeed a sobering thought to realize that every aspect of our life is “laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” As our life is “laid bare before Him” we may discover things about ourselves that neither we nor God likes. Even though it may be an unpleasant experience, God lays our life bare before Him for a good purpose and that purpose is all about transforming us to His image. God is not angry with us and He is not out to punish us, but is out to transform us into His image. To achieve His purpose of transforming us, He goes right to the intentions of our heart because the intentions of our heart are the determining factor of who we really are-how we live life. The scriptures teach that we, as Christians, will one day have to give a full account to God of the life we lived on earth. God paid the ultimate price in order for us to be born again, to be transformed, and thus we will be held accountable for how we dealt with His invitation and His provision to be transformed. Not to be transformed by the life of Jesus is really an insult to God (if God could be insulted) and it greaves Him greatly. The good news is that “the day of accounting” can be a glorious day because it is possible to hear Him say to us “well done, thy good and faithful servant.” Whether or not we hear “well done” is dependent on the life we live here on earth. Whether or not we hear “well done”, is up to us because we must choose to respond to His drawing us to Himself and we must choose to work with Him as He works out His plans in us. So, the fact that our life is laid bare before Him is a good thing and it is sure proof of His love for us. It can be that when the intentions of our hearts are revealed, we will find that they are pleasing to the Lord-and that’s the way it should be. God is committed to having us transformed into His likeness, and to do this, He is in the process of exposing the intentions of our hearts and at the same time, giving us a new heart that resembles His heart. He is rooting out the old and putting in the new and it is our part to work with Him as He is about this work.
1 Peter 2:1-3: “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”
Blessings,
Buddy
RSS Feed