Authored by Martha Dodd
Read: Hebrews 4:12
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Reflect:
After I finished university, I travelled to Taichung, Taiwan to teach English and Bible for a summer with a group of 20 other teachers. Following a week of preparation, we were divided into smaller teams and stationed in various locations. I flew to Magong City on Penghu Island, and while there were 3 other teachers from my group in the same city, I was essentially on my own each day as I prepared my lessons to teach several classes of students.
One morning as I was reading my Bible, I came across a passage that stopped me in my tracks. Although I can’t remember the exact text of what I was reading that morning, I do remember it was so profoundly meaningful and relevant to my situation that I literally rubbed my fingers over the words on the page to see if the ink was dry. Out of my comfort zone and feeling overwhelmed, with no one physically present on whom I could lean, I found the encouragement and strength I needed in God and God alone, as He spoke to me in that moment, through the written Word.
Over the decades since then, the God of the Word has met me time and time again in the written Word to teach, rebuke, comfort, correct, assure, and spur me on. There have also been occasions, however, when I’ve forfeited all this, mostly because I didn’t take the time.
I’ve heard it said that the Bible is the only book in the world where the Author shows up when we open its pages. The God-breathed, written Word reveals the Living Word – Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.” (John 6:35)
The words of Scripture are living and active and as we come to them to get to know Jesus, they become in us a source of life to feed and satisfy us, and through us, to nourish and refresh the hearts of others.
Prayer:
Lord, thank you that just like the Father in the story of the prodigal son, you are looking far away in the distance, longing to find me, to love me and bring me home. * I ask you to meet me today in your written Word, as you open my eyes and ears to wonderful things there. (Psalm 119:18) And as You do, I want to testify, along with your followers, ‘My heart was burning within me as (You) talked with me and opened the Scriptures to me!’ (Luke 24:32)
*Henri Nouwen – The Return of the Prodigal Son
