Do we really understand? Grasp? The power of God's word?
I'd venture to say most of us do not!? Not even myself!
...Even as followers
of Christ!!
We do not realize how awesome and powerful the word of God really is!!!
We forget that it was by His WORD that everything was created:
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
(Genesis 1:1 NKJV)
"For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before
all things, and in Him all things consist."
(Colossians 1:16-17 NKJV)
All things!
Isn't this an awesome God? Who created all things, including us! But yet we have such a habit of treating His word so,
"trite" and "common". As if they are only "words". Without any power.
And many of us? We go about our daily lives rarely ever reading his word! And if most of us were honest? We would have
to confess this to be true!
And partly? It is for this reason why we doubt His word! No faith! ...Or very little. You see reading God's
word builds our faith in Him!
"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
(Romans 10:17 NKJV)
And not reading His word? Has an equally profound affect on our faith! Think about this! When you read His word.
Do the words not just, "come alive" to you? "Jump off the page"?
His words are life:
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they
are life.
(John 6:63 NKJV)
And when we do not? What happens? We tend to lose that desire to read it! Do we not?
And if we are not "filling oursleves" with His word? Then what are we filling ourselves with? T.V., movies, sports games,
hobbies, etc.?
Now is there anything wrong with any of these? No!
But if we are consuming our time with these things? Not giving the reading of His word any priority in our lives? Then
we are wrong!
...And eventually? ...We will fall:
"There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end
is the way of death."
(Proverbs 14:12 NKJV)
You see we serve an "all powerful" God. He is sovereign over ALL the earth:
"The LORD reigns;
Let the earth rejoice;
Let
the multitude of isles be glad!
Clouds and
darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the
foundation of His throne.
A fire goes before Him,
And
burns up His enemies round about.
His lightnings light the world;
The
earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD,
At
the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
The heavens declare His righteousness,
And
all the peoples see His glory."
(Psalm 97:1-6 NKJV)
"for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the
nations."
(Psalm 22:28 NIV)
But yet we seem to forget this! The things, problems, struggles of the world seem to just, "drag us down". And we forget
who is really in charge! We tend to give more credence to the evil one and his word, than God's! We allow him to lie to us.
And we forget that he is the "father" of lies:
"You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from
the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from
his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."
And he seeks to destroy us by his lies and chemes:
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may
devour."
(1 Peter 5:8 NKJV)
You see we need to remember that His word is POWER:
"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."
(Hebrews
4:12 NKJV)
It is clean, Holy, spotless, pure:
"The words of the LORD are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified
seven times."
(Psalm 12:6 NKJV)
And it gives us direction in how to live our lives:
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness,"
(2 Timothy 3:16 NKJV)
And often times? We wonder why many will not accept His word? Yet we the ones who are suppose to believe in it? We deny
it by the way we live! So why would they be interested? Let alone curious?
And we also forget that His word will offend:
"And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil."
(John 3:19 NKJV)
That is why we can talk about any religion in the world. And rarely is anyone ever offended! But when we talk about Jesus?
People are quickly offended!
Why would they be offended? Because God's word exposes our sin! His light (being Jesus) exposes what we are about:
"For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed."
(John 3:20 NKJV)
And yet as christians we know this! But yet we tend to become complacent. Complacent in our view of the power of
His word! We tend to not respect it. Forgetting that it is by His word? That all things exist because of Him!
And we also tend to forget? That God NEVER says anything that He does not mean:
“ For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And
do not return there,
But water the earth,
And
make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And
bread to the eater,
So shall My word be that goes forth
from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But
it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing
for which I sent it. "
(Isaiah 55:10-11 NKJV)
He means just what He says!
Just as this world itself is held together by His word:
"For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out
of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens
and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition
of ungodly men."
(2 Peter 3:5-7 NKJV)
But we tend to take such a "care free" attitude about His word. Who He is. Especially when we sin:
"These things you have done, and I kept silent;
You
thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will
rebuke you,
And set them in order before your eyes."
(Psalm 50:21 NKJV)
God takes His word so seriously! And we need to also!! And it needs to be a "healthy fear" (of His power
and word). Not an unhleathy one!
What is a healthy fear?
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom
and instruction."
(Proverbs 1:7 NKJV)
It is to realize who God is. Realize how powerful He is. Just as the Israelites did:
"For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the
fire, as we have, and lived? You go near and hear all that the LORD our God may say, and tell us all that the LORD
our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.’
(Deuteronomy 5:26-27 NKJV)
But also? It is to know that He is a loving God:
"He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."
(1 John 4:8 NKJV)
And for us? It is so much better for us! Why? As followers of Jesus we do not have to follow the mosaic law (etc.). We
do not have to offer sacrifices. We have Jesus as our atonement for our sin (Heb. 10:12)!
...And also? We become God's children:
"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore
the world does not know us, because it did not know Him."
(1 John 3:1 NKJV)
So we have a much better covenant, than the Israelites had in the Old Testament!
And what is an "unhealthy" fear of God?
Well, many in this world? They can relate to this one!
This is where God is perceived as, "holding a hammer", just waiting to "hammer out" all who sin against (or
cross) Him. But if this were true? Then there would be allot less sinful people in this world! ..In fact NO ONE!! But God
loves us (Jn 3:16)! And He is gracious (PS 86:15)!!
And He desires ALL to repent and turn to Him:
"who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."
(1 Timothy 2:4
NKJV)
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us,
not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."
(2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)
God is awesome! He is the author and the finisher of ALL things (Heb. 12:2, Rev. 1:8)! It was by His word EVERYTHING
was created, that was created!
Remember this verse from earlier?
"For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things,
and in Him all things consist."
(Colossians 1:16-17 NKJV)
God's word is awesome! it is power!!
So the next time you doubt God's word? Open up your Bible!
...And remember this:
"Indeed before the day was, I am He;
And there
is no one who can deliver out of My hand;
I work, and who will reverse
it?”
(Isaiah 43:13 NKJV)
