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. Hebrews 4:12
Satan loves it when we don't take the Bible seriously. He knows when people don't live up to the principles found in the Word of God, that they will operate under an attitude grounded in their own opinions and values. The devil knows our own human default is to do whatever is right in our own eyes. He uses this Forgotten War to keep people from the truth of Scripture.
Have you noticed this in your own faith? When you hit a spiritual low or feel far and distant from God, it is usually around a time where you haven't spent time reading and thinking about the Bible. That is because the Bible is alive and powerful. Every time we open the pages of Scripture and read it, the Bible is also reading us. It shows us what God wants for our lives. It reveals the sin that we need to stay away from and guides us toward a life that honors God. It points out where our motives are mixed, and when we are prideful and arrogant. It shows us a better way of living.
The author of Hebrews says that the Bible is sharper than a double-edged sword, able to pierce or penetrate the soul and Spirit. In this time, the Roman Legion soldiers carried a double-edged sword that was different from the long swords most common to those used by knights. It was a smaller sword that they could use for close combat as they struck their shields together in battle, and then popped out to wound their enemy. This sword would have been exceptionally sharp and used to pierce deep into the heart. That is the power of God's Word; it is there to dig deep down inside of us, judging our thoughts and attitudes so we can be changed. Unfortunately, some people only let the word of God knick their outside like a paper cut. They let the word of God in just so far, but they are not willing to allow it to change their heart. If that is you, be reminded today that God doesn't want just your outside. He wants your heart.
How deep have you let the Word of God into your life? We ask that question because some people want enough Jesus to save them, but they don't really want Him to change their behavior or lifestyle. If the Bible is just knicking your outside, there will be no significant change in your life. But if you allow the Bible to pierce you deeply, it will make you more like Jesus. Take some time to write out a plan to get to know the Bible better. You have taken a great step with doing this daily devotion, but don't stop here with the journal. Take time each day to read the Going Deeper section so you can get the most out of God's Word.
God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God.For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said,
“In my anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest,’”
even though this rest has been ready since he made the world. We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: “On the seventh day God rested from all his work.” But in the other passage God said, “They will never enter my place of rest.”
So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted:
“Today when you hear his voice,
don’t harden your hearts.”
Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.
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. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
