Thoughts on Hebrews - Day 11

                                           Hebrews 4:12-13

 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.


      There is no book in the world like the Bible. Unlike religious books like the Koran or Book of Mormon which give instructions, the Bible is alive and active. Look at the verbs here - it penetrates, judges, uncovers and lays bare. We don't just study the Bible, it studies us. It doesn't just uncover truth, it uncovers you. That is because the Holy Spirit living in you or working on the Heart of the unbeliever, uses those words as a scalpel to cut at the sin in your life. Usually this sin is covered by a thick covering so we don't notice it. Think of an orange. The orange has a tough coating which keeps the tender fruit from being exposed. In the same way, our sin gets covered by rationalization - everyone is doing it, I'm only human, it's not that bad, it's not hurting anyone, it's culturally acceptable - and that covering gets thicker and thicker so we live with a core of sin in our lives that separates us from a relationship with a sinless, Holy, completely pure God.

      In OB/GYN there is a condition called PCOS where the outer covering of the ovary, the cortex, becomes thickened and doesn't let the eggs bust out. People with this condition struggle with infertility along with a host of other symptoms. Fairly recently, doctors discovered that taking a laser and drilling holes in that outer covering releases eggs and at least temporarily cures the problem. The Word of God is like that. It, like a laser, drills into our hearts which are hardened by sin and exposes the sin. At that point we have the choice to either deal with it or repair the holes.

       So, practically speaking, what do we do with this. First of all, when we evangelize, we need to use scripture. This passage tells us that God's word will penetrate through the hard hearts in a way that our words and our reasoning won't. Pastors who preach without using God's word are missing out on the power that has been availed them. When I share the gospel with people, at times I find myself explaining it rather than proclaiming it form God's word which is the preferred, powerful way. We try to improve on John 3:16 and the Romans Road but in reality, we really can't.

     Secondly, as Christians, we aren't going to conform to the image of Christ unless we are looking at ourselves through the mirror of God's word. One thing I've noticed, and maybe marriage for 36 years and a business partnership with the same guy for over 20 years has taught me this, is that people don't change. Irritating habits, ways of responding and other character traits - you might as well forget trying to change those things in people. However, if those areas in the light of God's word are illuminated, with the help of the Holy Spirit, change is possible. As I study the Israelites and see their grumbling, complaining, wanting to go back to Egypt, and rapid descent back into idolatry, I have to ask, why didn't Moses do the same thing - why was he different? After all, him and Jehovah got off to a rough start when he refused to go and then the near execution due to lack of circumcision (I still don't understand that one) What I come up with is that Moses listened to God's voice, the people fled from God's voice and said, "Have Moses speak to us." Moses ascended the mountain into God's presence. Aaron and the 70 elders, rather than sit at he feet of God for 40 days descended back into the camp. Why do people "get saved" and fall right back into their old lives? They don't ingest the Bible on a daily basis. They are content with hearing what someone else is hearing from God.

     The Bible has supernatural power. Sit in the presence of God as you study it and let it study and change you.