Is Your Life Still Making a Difference?

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” MATTHEW 5:13

 

PONDER THIS

Salt speaks of the saving life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And what does salt do? Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.” He was speaking to fishermen who preserved their fish with salt. For one thing, salt decontaminates. There’s a purifying element to salt. It is the salty ocean that bathes the shores of this world, that keeps this Earth from decaying. If you took the salt out of the ocean, everything would turn to a stench.

We need the decontamination of the salty Gospel in our world today. We can try to point to many different things, but the problem in our world is bigger than one issue. It is salt less saints. That’s where the problem is. The problem is in churches all around—salt that has lost its flavor in a world that is rotting. Jesus said, “You’re to be the salt of the Earth.” How will you respond?

What are some ways you can live as the “salt of the Earth?”

Who has shown you the hope and joy of the Gospel? How are those people like salt in your life?

PRACTICE THIS

Think about one person you can share the joy of being a follower of Christ with today. Share the hope of God’s cleansing Word.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Don't Just Hear the Word, Live It

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

JAMES 1:22

 

PONDER THIS

I heard of a famous actor who was in a crowded theater when a fire broke out in the wings of the theater prior to his performance. The manager came to the actor and asked him to tell the audience to calmly leave the theater in an orderly fashion.

This actor followed the instructions. He came forward and told everyone about the fire and asked everyone to leave calmly. They applauded. They thought it was part of the act. So, he came back a second time and shared the same message. But still, they did not understand. Then, realizing the gravity of the situation, he got down on his knees and with tears he said, please for your safety, leave the theater. The audience was moved by his performance but never understood that the message was for them. This illustrates how many people hear the Word of God from the preacher. But God said consider yourself deceived if you read the Word and hear the Word but don’t heed the Word. Be doers of the Word and not hearers only.

What is the difference between being a hearer and a doer of the Word?

How can you prioritize being a doer of the Word this week?

PRACTICE THIS

Think of someone you know to be a doer of the Word. Tell that person you see God at work in his or her life, and ask for insight on how to apply the Word to everyday circumstances.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Clear Out What's Blocking You From Hearing God

“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” JAMES 1:21

 

PONDER THIS

Do you know what the word filthiness is in the original Greek? It means, “ear wax.” God says if you want to hear, you’ve got to clean your ears. You can’t hear if your ears are stopped. God says sin in your life is like wax in your ear. You need to get rid of it. The reason God’s truth does not come to us is that we’ve got spiritual wax in our ears. As a result, it is absolutely crucial that when you study the Bible, you make a full confession of sin and ask God to search your heart and see if there is some wickedness in you. Get your heart clean; get your heart right with God.

If you’re going to a garden, before you plant the seed, you weed the garden. That’s what it’s all about—get your heart right. After we weed the garden, then the seed will grow. After we get the wax out, then we can hear. Do you understand that? Receive the Word. Welcome the Word with a repentant heart.

What does it look like to lay aside all filthiness?

When has sin stopped up your ears from understanding the Word of God clearly?

PRACTICE THIS

Take time for intentional repentance during your time in the Word today and find a way to add this to your regular Bible reading routine.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Receive God's Word with Open Hands

“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” JAMES 1:21

 

PONDER THIS

I’ve had the joy of preaching overseas in different countries, including China. In my experience, the people there were wonderful and gracious. I learned from my guide that it is an honor for them to have you come under their roof. They know how to welcome you. They will say, you are welcome in our home, and serve you something. At that moment, you should receive what they give you to show that you accept their hospitality. The guide said when they serve you something—tea for example—never reach out and take it with one hand. That implies you’re grasping. Take it with both hands to express that you are receiving.

Likewise, you don’t just reach out and take God’s Word. We lift our hands to Him, and we welcome the Word, we receive the Word, we take the Word by faith. It is by grace we let God’s Word come into our hearts.

Why is it important that we view God’s Word as something we receive from Him and not something we gain on our own?

What is your typical attitude when you come to the Word of God?

PRACTICE THIS

Evaluate your attitude about God’s Word. Write out a prayer that addresses any struggles you face when you come to the Word. Ask God to lead you in this area.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

What's Really Guiding Your Mind Today?

“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

 
PONDER THIS

Not only did we need to be saved in the past, but we also need to be saved in the present from the power of sin, and we will be saved in the future from the possibility of sin. But that day is not here yet. Only the truths found in the Word of God can save our souls. The Greek word for soul is psyche. That’s what the soul is, the psyche—your mind, your emotions, and your will. When your mind, your emotions, and your will are guided by the Word of God, then you’re living in the victory of Christ’s salvation.

The thing that keeps me going is not primarily how I feel. It is what I know from the Word of God. I’ve been on the trail long enough to look back and analyze and consider, “What is it that keeps me? What is it that holds me?” It is the Word of God. His sanctifies us through His Word. His Word is truth.

How has the Word of God changed your life?
What is your rhythm for staying in the Word of God? How might this improve?

PRACTICE THIS

Share with another person today the ways God’s Word has impacted your life.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Make War with Unbelief

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:16–17)

When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, “Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isaiah 46:4).

When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that “none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Romans 14:7–9).

When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of my faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promises, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6); and, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Join me in this battle! Let us make war, not with other people, but with our own unbelief. Unbelief in the promises of God is the root of anxiety, which, in turn, is the root of so many other sins. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God, Paul said in Ephesians 6:17. The shield by which we quench Satan’s fiery deceits is faith (verse 16) — faith in that very word of God. So take up the shield in your left hand and the sword in your right hand, and let us fight the good fight of faith.

Take up the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and fight the good fight — to live by faith in future grace.

John Piper 

Life Hangs on the Word of God

He said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 32:46–47)

The word of God is not a trifle; it is a matter of life and death. If you treat the Scriptures as a trifle or as empty words, you forfeit life.

Even our physical life depends on God’s word, because by his word we were created (Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 11:3), and “he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3).

And our spiritual life begins by the word of God: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth” (James 1:18). “You have been born again . . . through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).

Not only do we begin to live by God’s word, but we go on living by God’s word: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3).

So our physical life is created and upheld by the word of God, and our spiritual life is quickened and sustained by the word of God. How many stories could be gathered to bear witness to the life-giving power of the word of God!

Indeed, the Bible is “no empty word for you” — it is your life! The foundation of all joy is life. Nothing is more fundamental than sheer existence — our creation and our preservation.

All this is owing to the word of God’s power. By that same power, he has spoken in Scripture for the creation and sustenance of our spiritual life. Therefore, the Bible is no empty word, but is your very life — the foundation and kindling of your joy!

John Piper 

Have You Tasted the Truth and Walked Away?

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”

HEBREWS 6:4-6

 

PONDER THIS

How should we understand today’s verse? Think of it this way. You go to the supermarket and back in the dairy section there's a table out with little squares of cheese. Each little square of cheese has a toothpick. You go and pick up that cheese and taste it. If you're a cheese hound you might say, “Hey, that is really terrific cheese. I want two pounds of it.” So, they wrap up two pounds, and you go to the checkout stand, and you’re watching as she drags that cheese over the scanner. Then you see a number come up there, and you say, “Oh wait a minute, what’s that?” She says it’s the cheese. You say, “You’ve got to be kidding. That? You expect me to pay that much money for that cheese?” She says, “Well that’s a rare cheese. That’s imported cheese. That’s very expensive cheese. I thought you wanted it?” So, you say, “Well I thought I did too, but I didn’t know what it cost. Put it back.”

In this scenario, you’re an individual who has tasted the cheese. You’ve sniffed it. You know what it is. You’ve rolled it around on your tongue. You are aware of exactly what you are doing, but you say, “I will not pay that price,” and you walk out. You refuse with your eyes wide open, and that’s your privilege. The Bible is telling us here that those who do the same with the truth of the Gospel are in great danger.

How has your life been changed by “tasting” the Word of God?

What are ways you are tempted to neglect or reject the Word of God?

PRACTICE THIS

Read Psalm 34:8. Work to memorize this verse as a reminder of the worth of following God.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

 

The Book They Could Never Bury

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.”

MATTHEW 24:35

 

PONDER THIS

The Bible is not the book of the month. It is the book of the ages. No book has ever faced as much opposition as the Bible. Men have laughed at it, scorned it, ridiculed it, made laws against it, and burned it. There was a time in Scottish history when it was a crime punishable by death to own a Bible. Many a time a man has preached a funeral for the Bible, declaring it dead. Ironically, the corpse has outlived the pallbearers. People die, but the Bible has survived, and it is applicable. It is always up to date. A man of God, a woman of God, a child of God can open this book and know more today of what’s going on in the world than everyone in the Pentagon and the White House put together. The Word of God is timeless, and it is true.

How have you seen the wisdom of the Bible surpass that of man?

What are some examples of ancient accounts in the Bible that apply to our lives today?

PRACTICE THIS

Journal today about the ways the Bible applies to your life specifically in timeless ways.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Soul’s Final Feast

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)

God is not unresponsive to the contrite longing of the soul. He comes and lifts the load of sin and fills our heart with gladness and gratitude. “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” (Psalm 30:11–12).

But our joy does not just rise from the backward glance in gratitude. It also rises from the forward glance in hope: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Psalm 42:5–6).

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Psalm 130:5).

In the end, the heart longs not for any of God’s good gifts, but for God himself. To see him and know him and be in his presence is the soul’s final feast. Beyond this there is no quest. Words fail. We call it pleasure, joy, delight. But these are weak pointers to the unspeakable experience:

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).

“In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

“Delight yourself in the Lord” (Psalm 37:4).

John Piper 

How Sure Are You That the Bible Is True?

“For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book.” REVELATION 22:18

 

PONDER THIS

There is a war over the Word. There are those who despise it. They simply hate God’s Word. They are against all that it stands for. Then there are those who don't despise it, they just deny it. They say, “I don't believe the Bible is the Word of God.” And then there are those who distort it. The Bible is put in their hands, but they twist it to their own destruction. There are those who dissect it. They come to the Bible with their measuring rod, with their scalpel, with their test tube, and they treat the Bible more like a math book than a love story. They’re ever learning, but they are never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. There are others who disregard it. They say it’s not relevant.

But I suppose the greatest enemy of the Word of God is found in churches. These are they who say they believe the Bible. They give lip service to the fact that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible, authentic Word of God. But they don’t study it. They don’t know it. They don’t live by it. They don’t stand on it. You’ve got to be able to say, “I know that I know that the Bible is the Word of God.” Especially in these days, when everything that is not nailed down is coming loose. The devil is pulling nails as fast as he can. But there’s really nothing he will be able to disturb you on if you can stand on this Book. God has given you the Word.

How confident would you say you are in the Bible as the Word of God?

What things present obstacles to your belief in the Bible?

PRACTICE THIS

Spend time reflecting on, and seeking to memorize, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 as a way of meditating on the truth that the Bible is God’s infallible Word.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Satan’s Strategy and Your Defense

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith. (1 Peter 5:8–9)

The two great enemies of our souls are sin and Satan. And sin is the worst enemy, because the only way that Satan can destroy us is by getting us to sin, and keeping us from repenting. The only thing that damns us is unforgiven sin. Not Satan.

God may give him leash enough to rough us up, the way he did Job, or even to kill us, the way he did the saints in Smyrna (Revelation 2:10); but Satan cannot condemn us or rob us of eternal life. The only way he can do us ultimate harm is by influencing us to sin, and keep us from repentance. Which is exactly what he aims to do.

So, Satan’s main business is to advocate, promote, assist, titillate, and confirm our bent to sinning. And to keep us from faith and repentance.

We see this in Ephesians 2:1–2: “You were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked . . . according to the prince of the power of the air” (NASB). Sinning “accords” with Satan’s power in the world. When he brings about moral evil, it is through sin. When we sin, we move in his sphere. We come into accord with him. When we sin, we give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27).

The only thing that will condemn us at the judgment day is unforgiven sin — not sickness or afflictions or persecutions or intimidations or apparitions or nightmares. Satan knows this. Therefore, his great focus is not primarily on how to scare Christians with weird phenomena (though there’s plenty of that), but on how to corrupt Christians with worthless fads and evil thoughts.

Satan wants to catch us at a time when our faith is not firm, when it is vulnerable. It makes sense that the very thing Satan wants to destroy would also be the means of our resisting his efforts. That’s why Peter says, “Resist him, firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:9). It is also why Paul says that the “shield of faith” can “extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16).

The way to thwart the devil is to strengthen the very thing he is trying most to destroy — your faith.

John Piper 

God Is Right on Schedule

“But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.” JUDE 1:17

 

PONDER THIS

When you see people defying God blatantly, you may just want to throw up your hands and wonder, “Is the Bible the Word of God after all?” Friend, apostasy proves the Bible is the Word of God. You need to understand that. It’s precisely as God said it would be. God is not up in Heaven wringing His hands. And you don’t need to be overwhelmed and bent out of joint like something has suddenly gone awry. Everything is on schedule. The Word of God stands.

That’s what Jude was saying to these people: “Now, beloved, remember the words of the Apostles. It is exactly as they told you it would be.” And it is so important that we remember this, that there are going to be these apostates in the last days.

Where do you typically turn when you feel overwhelmed by the brokenness of the world?

What promises of God can encourage you in these times?

PRACTICE THIS

Make a list of promises of God that might encourage you when life is overwhelming. Keep this somewhere that you can review, and contemplate them frequently.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Contend for What God Has Revealed

“Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.” JUDE 1:8

 

PONDER THIS

In today’s verse, Jude called the apostates dreamers. He was talking about conjecture, imagination, something dreamed up. In the Book of Jude, verse 3, the Bible says we should “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” Jude was talking about God’s Word. There is a battle for the Bible. There is a fight for the faith. We should earnestly contend for the faith. This means we must refute the “dreams” or the imaginations of men because they are not something God has revealed. This is something people have dreamed up—their own subjective religion. They have their own existential ideas rather than the revealed Word of God.

How has today’s devotion reminded you of the importance of knowing and contending for the truth of the Bible?

What are some ways we contend for the truth of the Bible? How does the Bible defend itself?

PRACTICE THIS

Write out as many ways you can think of that the Bible defends itself. How does this give you further confidence in God’s Word?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Power of His Word

“And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.”

REVELATION 19:19

 

PONDER THIS

In Revelation 19, the battle is set. Here is the Antichrist and his armies. They have come to make war on Heaven’s King. But this is laughable. Jesus, followed by the armies of Heaven, is coming this time not for His Church, but this time with His Church after the seven years of the Great Tribulation. Here’s the Antichrist, this braggart, with his followers, speaking blasphemies, ready to make war with Jesus. And the battle ensues, the moment of anticipation has come, but it’s over with two words. Jesus says, “Drop dead.” He destroys them with the sword that goes out of His mouth. (See Revelation 19:21.) His word, the same word that spoke them into existence, will speak them into oblivion.

How often do you reflect on the power of God’s Word?

How does the reminder that Satan is no match for Jesus change the way you view the problems you are facing today?

PRACTICE THIS

Take time today to read Genesis 1 and John 1; reflect on the truth and power of Jesus as God’s Word.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How to Delight in God’s Word

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103)

Never reduce Christianity to a matter of demands and resolutions and willpower. It is a matter of what we love, what we delight in, what tastes good to us.

When Jesus came into the world, humanity was split according to what they loved. “The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light” (John 3:19). The righteous and the wicked are separated by what they delight in — the revelation of God in Jesus, or the way of the world.

So someone may ask: How can I come to delight in the word of God? My answer is twofold:

1) pray for new taste buds on the tongue of your heart;

2) meditate on the staggering promises of God to his people.

The same psalmist who said, “How sweet are your words to my taste” (Psalm 119:103), said earlier, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18). He prayed this, because to have spiritual eyes to see glory, or to have holy taste buds on the tongue of the heart, is a gift of God. No one naturally hungers for, and delights in, God and his wisdom.

But when you have prayed, indeed while you pray, meditate on the benefits God promises to his people and on the joy of having Almighty God as your helper now and forever. Psalm 1:3–4 says that the person who meditates on God’s word “is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.”

Who would not delight to read a book, the reading of which would change one from useless chaff to a mighty cedar of Lebanon, from a Texas dust bowl to a Hawaiian orchard? Nobody deep down wants to be chaff — rootless, weightless, useless. All of us want to draw strength from some deep river of reality and become fruitful, useful people.

That river of reality is the word of God, and all the great saints have been made great by it.

John Piper 

You Practice What You Truly Believe

“‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.’” MALACHI 3:10

 

PONDER THIS

Do you know why you don’t obey the Word of God? You don’t believe it. Consider today’s text. There’s not a person in the Church who doesn’t want Heaven opened and God pouring out such blessings that we can’t even contain them all. All of us want that, but not all of us tithe. Why? Because we don’t believe the promise. If you believed the promise, you would tithe. We always show what we believe by our actions. Doesn’t everyone want Heaven opened and doesn’t everyone want a blessing? We simply don’t believe the Word of God.

Where do you recognize that you don’t believe the Word of God?

What evidence does your life give for your belief or lack thereof?

PRACTICE THIS

Ask God to reveal in areas in which you have not shown belief in and obedience to His Word. Take steps toward obedience today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Believing Everything Except the Truth

“And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’” ACTS 8:18-19

 

PONDER THIS

There are people who claim to be believers in Jesus, but they don’t believe the doctrines of the Bible. They don’t necessarily believe Jesus is the only way to Heaven. They believe in astrology. They believe in reincarnation. These things are emphatically taught against in the Word of God. We have today a generation of people who are “very spiritual” but do not believe the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

But the reality is we better get a bulldog grip on God’s Word and God’s truth. Thousands of churches are filled with moral people who had spiritual experiences but were not born again. Simon the sorcerer said he believed. But Peter said, “You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God” (Acts 8:21).

How can you know your faith is truly faith in Jesus and not in someone or something else?

How does clinging to God’s Word help you make this distinction?

PRACTICE THIS

Make a list of things you believe come from Scripture. As you are able, note specific references that show you these things are real.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Inseparable, Not Identical

“ . . . having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.” 1 PETER 1:23-25

 

PONDER THIS

Though Jesus and the Bible are not identical, they are inseparable. What is the Bible called? The Word of God. What is Jesus called? The Word of God. A man and his word may be different, but Christ and His Word are not different. I’m not saying that Jesus and the Bible are identical, but they are inseparable.

I read the Bible in the morning, and it speaks to my heart. It is food and nourishment to me. I read the news also, but it does very little for me. The Bible points us to our Savior, Jesus, and gives us understanding of who our God is. Century after century, people have tried to burn it or bury it. And the kings of this Earth have set themselves against it.

Jesus and the Bible both have come from God, both live forever, and both are unchanging. We can never have kingdom authority, speak with authority, preach with authority, witness with authority, or live with authority unless we get under the authority of the Word of God and we surrender to Jesus as Lord of our lives. God’s Word, the Bible, and the Living Word, Jesus, are inseparable. We need both!

What are some ways we try to separate the Bible and Jesus? Why is it important to recognize they are inseparable?

What has been harder for you: being under the authority of Jesus or being under the authority of the Word of God? How are they different? How are they the same?

PRACTICE THIS

Pray for the believers around you to be encouraged and nourished by the Word of God and to learn to follow in the way of Jesus.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Piercing Power of the Word

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. (Hebrews 4:12)

The word of God is our only hope. The good news of God’s promises and the warnings of his judgment are sharp enough and living enough and active enough to penetrate to the bottom of my heart and show me that the lies of sin are indeed lies.

Abortion will not create a wonderful future for me. Neither will cheating, or dressing provocatively, or throwing away my sexual purity, or keeping quiet about dishonesty at work, or divorce, or vengeance. And what rescues me from this deception is the word of God. 

The word of God’s promise is like throwing open a great window of bright morning sunlight on the roaches of sin masquerading as satisfying pleasures in our hearts. God has given you his good news, his promises, his word to protect you from the deep deceptions of sin that try to harden your heart and lure it away from God and lead it to destruction. 

Be of good cheer in your battle to believe. Because the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, it will penetrate deeper than any deception of sin has ever gone and reveal what is truly valuable and what is truly worth trusting and loving.

John Piper