Turn - Max Lucado [8]
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.
(Hebrews 4:12)
The Bible cuts to the heart like a scalpel. It pierces. It penetrates where the eye cannot see and touches what the hand cannot feel. Why not see for yourself?
APPLY THE BIBLE TO ANY PART OF YOUR LIFE AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
APPLY IT TO YOUR FINANCES. Manage your money the way the Bible says: tithe, save, provide for your family, give to the poor. Test God’s Word and experience its power.
TEST GOD’S WORD ON YOUR JOB. Follow the Bible’s code of work conduct. Be honest. Be on time. Be efficient. You may get a promotion.
TEST THE BIBLE ON YOUR RELATIONSHIPS. Forgive your enemies. Refuse to gossip. Do all you can to be at peace with all. Be quick to listen and slow to speak.
BUT MOST OF ALL, APPLY THE BIBLE TO YOUR SOUL. “There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15. The Message),
You want to know the real reason the Bible is incredible? Jesus is incredible. And Jesus is the main character of the Bible.
THE BIBLE TRACES THE STORY OF THE GOD WHO COULDN’T LEAVE US ALONE. HE COULDN’T LEAVE US ALONE IN OUR SIN. HE COULDN’T LEAVE US ALONE IN OUR FEAR. HE COULDN’T LEAVE US ALONE WITH OUR DEATH. SO GOD HIMSELF BECAME ONE OF US. HE TOOK ON OUR FORM, OUR FLESH, AND— MOST OF ALL-OUR SIN.
HE TOOK OUR PLACE SO WE COULD GO TO HIS. THIS IS THE STORY OF THE BIBLE. THE STORY THAT WILL CHANGE SOULS CAN CHANGE A NATION AS WELL.
Why would a country resist such a book? You’d think schools would require its study. It is, at minimum, humanity’s most compelling literary work. It is, for millions, God’s holy work. Does such a book not warrant sacred respect? Yet courts ban public school reading of Scripture. Judges threaten to remove the Ten Commandments from courtroom walls.
If nations exist for God’s glory, how long will God bless a nation that defames His Scripture?
ON THE OTHER HAND, IF GOD’S WORD IS INDEED THE ORACLES OF HEAVEN, WHAT POWER AWAITS THE NATION THAT EMBRACES IT?
The two Emmaus-bound pilgrims can tell you. They discovered the power on the first Easter Sunday. They were brokenhearted from the Crucifixion, and “sadness was written across their faces” (Luke 24:17 NLT). Their grief blinded them to the presence of Jesus. He had risen from the dead and—though they didn’t yet perceive it—He had now come to take their sorrow.
How would He do so? How would He encourage them? He owns the miracles of the universe, superintends the arsenals of the ages; the medicine chest of heaven is within His reach. What miracle, weapon, medicine will He choose? Read the answer with me:
Jesus quoted passages from the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining what all the Scriptures said about himself.
(LUKE 24:27, NLT)
Jesus opened their eyes, energized their heavy hearts with Scriptures. He chose the greatest miracle, weapon, and treatment of all: the Bible.
Did it make a difference? To those two men it did. “It felt like a fire burning in us when Jesus talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us” (Luke 24:32).
Did it make a difference? When it came to Alexander Smith on Pitcairn Island it did. “WHEN I CAME TO THE LIFE OF JESUS,” HE SAID, “MY HEART BEGAN TO OPEN LIKE DOORS SWINGIN’ APART.”
Can it make a difference in our lives? According to God it will. “If my people… seek my face…then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
I need to be reminded of what is true. God’s Word gives me