“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. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
Hebrews 4:12-13
Folks who read these devotionals often ask me if I’ve been looking in their window. They wonder at how the particular message seems to be directed right at them. My friend, this is NEVER me looking into anyone’s window; rather, it is the independent power of God’s Word to reveal our thoughts and enlighten us to HIS truth. The Word is “living and powerful,” meaning it has the power to expose our every thought; our unbelief; our fear; our wrong thinking about God; our greatest desires; and even—who we really are. No one else can do that for us. Yet, God’s Word has inherent power and is unerringly accurate. What is further mind-boggling is understanding it is the embodiment of Jesus Christ. (John 1)
When we are dedicated to submitting ourselves to Jesus Christ and living in obedience to His Word, we enter an arena of awesome power and insight!
Reading God’s Word with a heart completely surrendered to Him, transforms reading from a mere intellectual endeavor, into a powerful experience we cannot fully understand. Jesus, “the Word” and the Holy Spirit touch off a spark that creates a work inside us producing wisdom, power, love, strength, and compassion beyond our wildest imagination. These manifestations of God’s presence through His Word are so powerful that we MUST share them. We can’t keep them to ourselves. We must share God’s miracles. We must share His love. We must spread His joy. We must share His wisdom. We must care. We must have compassion. We must share the Gospel and the miracle of our own testimony of salvation.
The Spirit of God and His Word produce the ministry of His Word within us.
Too many Christians [including myself] are not CONSISTENTLY experiencing the pure powerful outpouring of the ministry of God’s Word. Ask yourself some basic questions: Are you afraid to share your testimony of salvation? Do you know how? Do you have miracles to talk about? Does compassion flow from you? Is your joy based only on good circumstances? Do you feel exhausted and barely able to care for your own tribe and have little energy to care for others?
God wants so much more for us!
Going to church, doing good things, and even reading the Bible—without a heart completely surrendered to Christ—does little good. We cannot produce the fruit of God’s Spirit without the Spirit of God having full reign within us. It’s impossible. We will feel bankrupt in every area of our life. For me, it took having my life in shambles—before I began to understand complete surrender to Christ in every area of my life was the key to complete fulfillment. It wasn’t until after I surrendered to Christ that I fell in love with His Word. It became personal.
My friend, when our heart is fully surrendered to Christ, then His Word is the most trustworthy, reliable, comforting and powerful tangible asset we possess. Why do you think that throughout the ages our enemies have persistently tried to destroy and discredit God’s Word? It is precious beyond gold. The benefits of reading, studying, and memorizing it—with a surrendered heart—are exciting beyond our imagination!
Meditating on the benefits of God’s Word will excite you to become more and more surrendered to Him! In tomorrow’s devotional, we are going to list a few of the powerful benefits of God’s Word. When I started listing them—I’m not gonna lie—I was shocked by how the list just kept growing.
God’s Word gives us His most excellent health for our soul!
