For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword,
and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow,
and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
-Hebrews 4:12
It had been a rough morning, the crown to a rugged week. I was feeling pretty down when I arrived at church Sunday morning. I reflected back on the events of the last couple of months. There were times when the effort of living for Christ seemed futile.
I didn’t really believe that. I just felt that way. Tired. Discouraged. Insignificant against the battle that waged around me in a world determined to dig its way to hell.
Spinning my wheels.
Then the music started. I stood with the others as the worship team ushered the church into the presence of God. I halfheartedly joined in. Midway through the first song, the ice in my soul began to melt.
The pastor stepped onto the podium and opened God’s Word. From it flowed a message that has changed my life. It was the exact message I needed for that day and that moment, preached from just three verses in Luke.
Tears welled up in my eyes and threatened to escape down my face. I wished I wasn’t in the presence of so many other people. It didn’t feel right to be sitting at such a moment. I wanted to kneel. Or get on my face. God’s Word pulled me out of my self and into a place of grateful worship.
I have been a Christian for nearly forty years. I have read the Bible through many times and studied it for decades. And yet, on Sunday morning, I heard something new and radically empowering from three simple verses.
That’s what I love about the Bible. It isn’t just a book. It’s even more than a good book. It’s a living organism. Like the Creator from which it sprang, God’s Word is infused with supernatural power that breathes out the golden air of heaven.
It speaks. It speaks at the right moment, to our exact need. In His Word, God comes to us as the Healer, the Comforter, the Teacher, the Absolute Authority.
He wants to speak to you.
This Christmas, make the holidays holy days. Resist the temptation to push aside reading God’s Word and fellowship with others as those shopping days before Christmas get shorter and shorter. Take nothing for granted and set aside time to let God communicate with you. He has something important to say.
And it’s His birthday, after all.
photo courtesy Erik Thorson/2013
