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Could God’s Word Be Of No Value To You?
W hen I started reading today’s scripture, I viewed it as negative. I admit it – I’m a wimp and I don’t enjoy pain. Swords…penetrating…judging… It sounded painful to me. I started thinking about the growth that I have missed out on because I didn’t want to feel the pain of God’s Word correcting and convicting me. I started to close my Bible. But, in a moment of weakness, I said yes to writing a devotion (quite a challenge for a numbers person) so I went back to the beginning of Hebrews. I realized “the message I heard was of no value to me because I did not combine it with faith” (Hebrews 4:2). Rather than letting God’s Word penetrate my heart, I focused on keeping rules that I have known since childhood. I changed behaviors instead of allowing God’s Word through the Holy Spirit to change my heart. I heard the Gospel preached by Alan, read it in the Word, but I continued to be self-dependent. This is what I placed in the manger on Sunday – my independence.
Additionally, while reflecting on today’s passage and reading commentaries, I gained encouragement from the words of John Piper. He said “Be of good cheer in your battle to believe. Because the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and it will penetrate deeper than any deception of sin has ever gone and reveal what is truly valuable and what is truly worth trusting.” What a positive perspective on this verse – God’s Word is our only hope! It protects us from believing the lies of sin instead of the promises of God.
My goal this year is to know Him better by studying His Word, surrendering daily to Him, and allowing His Word to penetrate and divide. I invite you to join me. Happy New Year!
Jen… wow. This is real and vulnerable. This will cause much pause and forced “come-to-Jesus” meetings with all who read. Thanks for laying it out there. What you placed in the manger is key to God burning an all-out Revival in a church — in Cumberland. Thanks. As C.S. Lewis wrote: “God is good, but He is not tame,” — and neither is His Word! I hope at the end of 2009, you will re-read your journal entry for today… and see it as a real spiritual marker for your life. Blessings.
Jen: I’m going to join you on your New Year’s invitation…thanks for the invite. Thanks also for your level of transparency…not only because God speaks more clearly through it, but it’s a great model for the rest of us. Happy New Year my friend.
Thanks Jen for the words of encouragement. The word of God is a healthy surgical instrument of healing not a battle bayonet of killing.God is so good. Have a blessed year.
What a great reminder that God is in the heart business, not a rules and regulations franchise! Thank you, too, for your transparency and honesty – your mastery of words belies your profession in numbers
. You should write more often! Thank you!