A continuation of thought from the last post…

I once had a respected leader tell me that God is always speaking, but are we always listening? I have tucked that away over the years and ponder it often. I spoke last time about the living power of the Word of God but today I want to personalize it a bit.

What Word, what Truth is the Lord speaking personally to you currently? What revelation is He working in you? Jeremiah 1:12 teaches us that the Lord is watching over His word to perform it. And as we read last time in Isaiah 55:11, the Word of the Lord will accomplish what He has purposed it to. This includes the word He speaks personally to you.

What has God told you about you? What has He called you to do? To be? To say? To go? What instruction has He given you? Are you aligning your own words and actions with the Word of the Lord? Are you being careful to speak life and truth about the word the Lord has spoken to you? Have you not been so careful? Have you spoken doubt or negativity about God’s word in you? God’s word through you? God’s word for you?

Let us take heed to these powerful reminders in the Book:

Revelation 12:10-11 “And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of the brethren has been cast down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.”

Let’s not join in the enemy with accusations. Let’s be conquerors and over-comers by the word of our testimony, by the blood of the Lamb!

James 1:22 reminds us to “be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves.” Whatever the Lord has spoken to us personally, we are obligated to act on it. Self-deception is powerful. Let’s not fall prey to it.

Always remember “the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things” (James 3:5). Let’s always keep our tongue under submission to the Holy Spirit and speak Truth.

Last reminder: “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45b & Matthew 12:34b).

Let us be sure that what we are speaking about ourselves aligns with what God is speaking about us.

When you read the scriptures, do you feel the life flowing power course through your body?

Jesus said the words that He spoke were both spirit and life. (John 6:63)

Isaiah 55:10-11 & Luke 8 compare the Word of God to a seed.

Peter explains that the born-again experience is made possible through the life-giving power of the Word of God.  (I Peter 1:23)

James also makes a similar statement that the will of the Father brought us forth by the Word of Truth. (James 1:18).

In John 1 we read that in the beginning was the Word of God and that Word became flesh and dwelt among us and in John 14:6 Jesus said that He is the Truth.

In Psalm 119:160 we read that God’s Word is true from the beginning.

As followers of Jesus, true believers, the Word of God will always be at work in us. I Thessalonians 2:13 states, “and we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the Word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”

God made it quite clear that His Word will always be at work and not be void, empty, or dead. Every word the Lord speaks has purpose. Isaiah 55:11 states, “so shall my word be that goes out of my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish (to do or to make) that which I purpose (incline, desire, to bend, to be pleased), and shall succeed (to push forward, to break out, be good, be profitable) in the thing for which I sent it (to send away).” Words in parentheses are Hebrew word definitions. From the very beginning, God’s Words brought forth life.

Is it still happening in your life today? As a believer, as a follower of Jesus, do you feel the life-flowing power of the Word coursing through your very being? And I don’t mean are you having an emotional response. Hebrews 4:12 explains the depth the Word penetrates in people.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (ESV)

God’s word is alive and working. It is sharper than the sharpest sword and cuts all the way into us. It cuts deep to the place where the soul and the spirit are joined. God’s word cuts to the center of our joints and our bones. It judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts. (ERV)

For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than nay two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (AMP)

For the word (logos) of God is quick (alive), and powerful (active, operative, effectual, powerful), and sharper (to cut by single stroke) than any two-edged sword, piercing (to reach through, penetrate) even to the dividing asunder (separation) of soul (heart, life, mind, soul) and spirit (breath, vitality), and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner (decisive, discriminative) of the thoughts (deliberation) and intents (thoughtfulness, moral understanding, intent) of the heart (thoughts, feelings, mind). (KJV with Greek word definitions.)

There is a difference between our spirit and soul. They are not the same thing. Though we humans in our limited understanding often find it difficult to express or define the difference. According to online dictionaries discriminative means making distinctions and distinctions means a distinguishing factor, attribute, or characteristic. God’s Word penetrates that deep into the core of our being. Truly nothing is hidden from Him.

This thought came to me the other day as I was reading scripture, something I’ve read many times before, maybe even a genealogy passage. I could feel the Word’s life-flowing power course through me. His Word truly is alive, it is powerful, it is still working. Allow it to work in you, for you.

I’ll close with this verse that played on repeat in my spirit as I drifted to sleep last night:

Psalm 119:130 “The entrance of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.”