more thoughts on the book of hebrews

Some thoughts from Hebrews chapter 4.
 
12 For the word of God is living 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.
Therein lies the way into his rest: by meditating on his word. The writer of Proverbs says that in much study is much pain. The more we study the more we know and the more we know the more we recognize our own failings.

It was only when Job came into contact with that strong, undiluted Word of God, God’s own pronouncements, that he realized that he didn’t have the answers, and in most instances, didn’t even know the questions.

God’s Word, his will, goes beyond the Bible. The Bible is our own measure of the will of God. It is inspired and given to us that we can be complete as his people.

Anything that other people bring up as his will or a word from the Lord or whatever, must be measured by the only true and definitive word we have, his Bible. If what someone says is from God collides with what we know is from God, then that person is not true.

And not only is it a measure, it is also living and active. It is applicable in whatever culture or century we live in. It is always applicable. It was intended as a one-time given measure for all time. And it is sharp.

You don’t have to read long to know that it can be painful knowing what God wants. After all, we do not measure up, and the more we read the more we know that we fail. However, the more we read, the more we also know that God loves us anyway.

The word does more than just point out surface problems, it goes into the heart and soul of a person and tells them what they are thinking. And that probing character of the word is painful.

It was Jeremiah who ate the word the angel gave to him. His comment: it was sweet to his mouth, but bitter to his belly. In other words, reading was nice, but application was hard.

I firmly believe that is why so many like the KJV. They can read it and roll around in its familiar cadences and archaic language, much as Capt. Picard in Star Trek likes to quote Shakespeare; it is when it is in familiar language, however, that it becomes painful.

In modern language, it demands a response. It becomes the real words of a real God who says real stuff, not just poetic sounding prose. It is hard to deal with a God who is modern.

The Bible is what he wants us to do, true, but he also loves us when we fail. He also knew from the beginning that there is no way we can live up to the letter of his word. And he provided the power of the one man who did to give us strength – Jesus.

13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
There is no circumstance, no cultural oddity, no specific instance that is spared from the knowledge of God. He sees all and knows all. Not only that, but his word is applicable to all of those instances.

People who go so strongly into the cultural background at the expense of the modern application of his word do people a disservice. They make it esoteric and useless, a museum piece that is of great interest to old people and archaeologists. Nothing for us now, but, you know, something that was probably pretty good in its day.

But, as the word itself says, today is the Day and now is the time to obey him. And the word’s duty was to point out God, both in its incarnate form as Jesus and in its incarnate form in the Spirit, The word of God is there to show us his way.