Hebrews 4:12 - Power Greater Than Nuclear.
Hebrews 4:12 (ESV) For the word of God is
living and active, sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing to the division of soul and of
spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the
thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) 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.
INTRODUCTION
The Word of God is not simply a collection
of words from God, a vehicle for communicating
ideas; it is living, life-changing, and dynamic as
it works in us. With the incisiveness of a
surgeon's knife, God's Word reveals who we are and
what we are not. It penetrates the core of our
moral and spiritual life. It discerns what is
within us, both good and evil. The demands of God's
Word require decisions. We must not only listen
to the Word; we must also let it shape our
lives. [Life Application SB]
The creative energy that called the worlds
into existence is in the word of God. This word
imparts power; it begets life. Every command is a
promise; accepted by the will, received into the
soul, it brings with it the life of the Infinite
One. It transforms the nature and re-creates the
soul in the image of God. ED126
There are many cases where men who have
defended Christianity against skeptics have afterward
lost their own souls in the mazes of skepticism.
They caught the malaria, and died spiritually.
They had strong arguments for the truth, and much
outside evidence, but they did not have an abiding
faith in Christ. O, there are thousands upon
thousands of professed Christians who never study the
Bible! Study the sacred Word prayerfully, for your
own soul's benefit. 5BC1147
COMMENTARY PEARL
The Bible holds supreme authority by
virtue of its Author, who is the King of creation
and thus Ruler over all the earth. The Bibles
authority is inherent in its every word. Scripture is
Gods revelation in history. Just as there is no
higher authority in an earthly kingdom than a king,
there is no higher authority you and I can appeal
to than the Word of God in Gods kingdom.
The Bibles authority is timeless. For
example, when we read in Exodus 20:3, You shall
have no other gods before Me, this command has
the very same force behind it today that it had
when God first thundered these words to Moses
more than three thousand years ago. Unfortunately
one problem I see as a pastor today is that
people disregard Gods Word because to them,
its just ink on a page.
Our problem is that we werent there
when God first spoke His Word - because if we had
been there, we wouldnt be so casual about it.
To get an idea of the terror that gripped Moses
and all of Israel when God gave His
commandments, read Hebrews 12:18"21. Even Moses said,
Im so scared that I can barely even stand
(loosely translated).
The Bible is not simply words about God,
it is the Word of God. Many people learn about
God from the Bible, which is good - but that is
not where you are to stop. The Word of God is
the voice of God in print. It is active and
alive and sharper than a two-edged sword, able to
reach and instruct the deepest recesses and core
of who you are (Hebrews 4:12).
Do you find yourself convicted by the
thought that you, too, take the Word of God too
casually? Read and meditate on Hebrews 4:12. Spend
some time in prayer thanking God for the
Bible"and spend some time reading it.
Your Word, God, is powerful. Your
authority is all-inclusive. Grant me grace as I study
Your Word to understand and apply it in my life
each day. [Alternative View with Dr. Tony Evans;
https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/alternative-view-with-dr-tony-evans/]
COMMENTARY
God's Word is powerful. It can fashion a
universe and it can create life. It can transform a
life or a nation. It can initiate judgment or it
can bring revival. It can transform sinners into
saints. Yet often God's people do not clearly
understand what Scripture is saying. That is why God
gives His people preachers and teachers. In Ezra's
time God's people had drifted far from God, so
Ezra taught them God's Word. As the people came
to understand it, they fell under conviction
and turned from their sin. The nation
experienced revival because God's Word was taught
clearly and accurately. When God's word is clearly
understood, it is extremely difficult to remain
indifferent to it.
Have you been a careful student of God's
Word? Are you currently in a Bible study? Do you
listen intently to your minister's sermons? What
might happen in you as well as in your life if you
better understood God's Word? [Being Still With God
Every Day by Henry Blackaby re Neh. 8:8]
I have been thinking about the power of
God's Word this morning and all the changes I have
seen in my life and thousands of other lives
because of it. Jesus is the Word made flesh, so when
we read, study, and meditate on the Word of
God, we are fellowshipping with Jesus. As His
Word becomes part of us, we are transformed into
His image (see 2 Corinthians 3:18). His Word has
inherent power in it, and it changes us!
We are instructed in the Bible to
meditate on the Word of God, and that simply means to
think about it, roll it over and over in our
minds, speak it, and know that as we do, it is
renewing our minds and teaching us to think as God
thinks. Our thoughts are extremely important because
they go before our words and all of our actions.
God has a good plan for each of us and we will
see it come to pass as we renew our minds (see
Romans 12:2).
We seem to find it very easy to meditate
on our problems. We call it worry! It is a bad
habit that can easily be eliminated from our lives
by learning to meditate on God's Word instead.
Each time a worry or a fear comes to your mind,
find a Scripture that teaches you that God will
take care of the problem for you and meditate on
it instead of worrying. For example, if you are
having financial difficulty, you can worry all day
and night about it, or you can think about what
God's Word says concerning Him taking care of
you:
Casting the whole of your care [all your
anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once
and for all] on Him, for He cares for you
affectionately and cares about you watchfully (1 Peter
5:7).
God's Word has an answer for every need
we have. I intend to spend a lot of time today
just thinking about the power that is in God's
Word, and I pray that you will join me. God's Word
contains the power we need to be successful in all
areas of our lives.
Father, help me discipline myself to
meditate on Your Word. Let it become a habit in my
life. I ask You to continue teaching me Your Word
and renewing my mind accordingly. [My Time with
God by Joyce Meyer]
Since spiritual discernment is the
ability to see life from God's perspective, it
requires that we know how He thinks and acts. The
Bible is His unchanging, infallible revelation of
Himself. However, the Lord doesn't simply give us a
list of facts about His character and ways. All
throughout the pages of Scripture, He illustrates who
He is and how He operates.
Although the Bible is ancient, it's not a
dead book. It's alive and as fresh as if He were
speaking directly to you. The stories may have taken
place centuries ago, but the principles and
applications are current and relevant. It's our
instruction book about how to live. Guidance for
decisions and discernment about situations are found
from Genesis to Revelation.
God's Word is active and piercing. The
words don't simply sit on the page. They penetrate
our hearts and judge our thoughts and motives.
This convicting quality is why some people don't
like to read the Bible. But self-discernment is
essential if we don't want to keep making the same
mistakes over and over again. Some Christians live on
a surface level, never understanding why they
react to situations the way they do. But if we'll
approach the Word of God with an open spirit, it will
bring to light our hidden motives and reveal
unrecognized sins.
Spiritual discernment involves seeing not
just our circumstances but also ourselves from
God's perspective. Have you learned to embrace the
piercing sword of Scripture, or have you avoided
doing so because it makes you uncomfortable?
Remember, God's Word cuts only so that it can heal.
[In Touch Daily Devotional by Charles Stanley at
www.intouch.org]
Growing Deeper in the Scriptures
First, we can hear Scripture. This is the
simplest, least difficult method of learning the
precepts and principles of the Bible. There are
plenty of trustworthy Bible teachers and preachers
around the world. There are churches and schools,
trustworthy radio and TV programs, audio and video
recordings, and countless online resources that
specialize in scriptural instruction. Except for those
individuals whose physical hearing is impaired, no one
in the world has any excuse for not hearing
Gods Word.
Second, we can read Scripture. Hearing
can too easily be a primarily passive encounter
with the Bible, but reading requires more
personal involvement - a greater investment of energy
- than simply listening to instruction on the
Scriptures. People who start getting serious about their
spiritual maturity will purchase a copy of the Bible
and begin reading. Numerous versions,
paraphrases, and styles can be found on the shelves of
almost any bookstore, and the Internet offers free
access to virtually any translation available in
print. To get the most out of reading, you might
consider a through-the-year Bible: its reading
plan guides an individual through all sixty-six
books of Scripture in 365 days.
Third, we can study Scripture. While I
prefer reading a print Bible, many people have
discovered the power and convenience of electronic
Bible resources. This kind of Bible study makes
sense, considering that almost everything else we
do involves a computer. Some of the better
programs take Bible reading to a completely different
level, integrating the Scripture text with links to
dictionaries, maps, encyclopedias, photographs, diagrams,
and commentaries. A click of a mouse on an
unfamiliar word brings a wealth of information to the
screen, and you can easily lose the better part of
an entire afternoon discovering the background
and meaning of just one verse. Combine that kind
of study with an online course or one of the
many excellent programs offered in churches, and
the average believer can be prepared to meet any
spiritual challenge.
Fourth, we can memorize Scripture. As I
stated yesterday, committing Bible verses to memory
is the best way to displace alien, unholy, and
demoralizing thoughts! In all honesty, I know of no more
effective way to cultivate a biblical mindset and to
accelerate spiritual growth than this discipline.
Fifth, we can meditate on Scripture. As
we hear, read, and study Gods Word, our mind
becomes a reservoir of biblical truth. We can then
think through, ponder, personalize, and apply to
our lives these truths weve hidden in our
hearts. In times of quiet meditation, we allow the
Word to seep into our cells, to speak to us,
reprove us, warn us, comfort us, and transform us.
[Chuck Swindoll www.insight.org.]
CLOSING THOUGHT
I have a row of books that I call the
Books That Changed My Life. It includes the first
book I learned to read (Ann Likes Red), the book
that made me fall in love with reading (A Little
Princess), and the book that inspired me to want to be
a writer (The Diary of Anne Frank). I've set
apart poetry, memoirs, Christian classics, and
novels that ministered to me through grief,
inspired me as a writer, and took me to a deeper
place with Jesus. For a short time, I included a
book that brought back painful memories, until
Jesus healed that wound and I decided it was time
to put it on another shelf.
So, why didn't I have a Bible with the
Books That Changed My Life? I guess it just seemed
strange to shelve God's Word next to Ann Likes Red.
Today, as I considered what a monumental part of my
life it has been, I couldn't not add it. It
contains some of the first stories I heard as a
child, not to mention the message that moved me to
accept Jesus as Savior at age five and get baptized
at thirteen; its words have ministered to me in
ways that no Christian classic could. It's
inspired my writing and continues to draw me closer
to Christ. Some verses have convicted me in
ways that felt like wounding, but in the end,
Jesus used them for my healing, and I learned to
treasure them.
In a world filled with great books, I
pray that I will never overlook the one that
changes me in the most lasting ways. by Jeanette
Hanscome
Faith Step: List five of your favorite
books and why they are special to you. Which
stories from the Bible have changed your life?
Commit to spending more of your free time reading
it. [Mornings With Jesus 2019 Devotional by
Guideposts and Zondervan]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
Hebrews 4:12 - Power Greater Than Nuclear.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2017/20170818-1208.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Steps to Peace by Billy Graham:
https://stepstopeace.org/
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Voice of Prophecy Discover Bible Study
Guides:
https://www.voiceofprophecy.com/study/discover
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible
Panorama of Prophecy with Pastor Doug
Batchelor: https://www.panoramaofprophecy.com/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The
Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE
