Tuesday, January 19, 2010

The Word of God is Alive

Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

As Pastor Paul Hanson spoke Sunday he lifted up his Bible at one point during his sermon and said, "The Book is alive!" I don't remember much else he said regarding that because my mind was focused on what he'd said and what I'd heard so many times before. I had to write it down...the Word of God is alive...not that I didn't know it already or as a reminder.

I am so thankful that this is the truth. And it is the truth. God does not lie. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. God is the author of the Bible. Jesus is the Word, the living Word. We've heard the exclamation on Easter Sunday that "Jesus is Alive." How all this is so intertwined...it just never ceases to amaze me to be able to grasp that concept. Yes, the Word of God is alive. 

We may not always like hearing what it tells us because, apart from the promises, there are commandments that must be remembered. And how this society dislikes being told what they can or cannot do.  

We don't like being told lies, do we? We don't like someone lying to us or having someone falsely accusing us of something. We get all bent out of shape, defensive, resistant. It seems even worse when our own government fails to be as transparent as they promise to be or candidates step up to the campaign podium and tell us what they propose to do to bring change. I remember last week listening to Glenn Beck interviewing Sarah Palin. He asked her "Who can we trust?" "How can I trust you if you decide to run for office?" "How do I know you won't change once you are in the midst of a bunch of corrupt politicians?" No one likes to be lied to.

I know who I can trust (as I'm sure Beck and Palin do also). I trust in the Truth of God's Word. It was preached to me one day and I readily accepted it and since that time I have "tasted and seen that the Lord is good." (Psalm 34:8) The Apostle Paul wrote: For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. (1Thessalonians 2:13)  How else can lives be transformed by simply receiving Jesus, at His Word? He's still doing miracles in peoples' lives just by the receiving of His Word into our hearts and souls. Simply amazing. When He gives and when we receive, we are healed. Amen! That's an alive moment. That's Truth in action.

Jesus preached a tough message. The Word (Jesus) was written to set the foundation in the Old Testament and He was shown to us in the New. The Foundation is Jesus. The Word is Jesus. The Truth is Jesus. And He's alive and growing in the hearts of all who receive Him. Like I said before we don't always like to hear what He has to say, but that's our problem. He will correct when it's necessary. He will remove unbelief when it crops up, if we read His Word and let the words speak to us. It's all about what He can do in our lives. 

When Jesus preached He upset the religious community, the Pharisees, by telling them that all the laws they strived to keep each day, week, month and year were really keeping them from seeing the Truth. Ouch. They had studied scripture but they could not see that the prophecies they'd all read about described Him. All they did was criticize His works and reject Him as a blasphemer! The miracles He performed meant nothing if they were done at what the religious leaders viewed were unprescribed times. You cannot put God in a box!

At Bible study this morning a young home-schooled high school girl leading us mature women (!) in worship prayed between songs and she said, "We need to let go of our thinking about God's limitations. We need to picture Him as even greater than we can imagine." Such wisdom coming from this seemingly bashful and soft-spoken young girl. How good it is to see such wisdom emanating from someone so sweet and young. Did I say she was young? We could all learn from her, I'll tell you. It reminds me that we are to come as little children and take in all that Jesus has said in faith, trusting everything He says (not said) is the Truth and that it is alive within us as we develop a relationship with Him.

Matthew 7:24-25 - Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

1 comment:

  1. Oh, the Word of God is the only thing we can believe ... for sure! Excellently put!

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