Hebrews 4:10-13 Amplified Bible
10 For the one who has once entered His rest has also rested from [the weariness and pain of] his [human] labors, just as God rested from [those labors uniquely] His own. 11 Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest [of God, to know, experience it for ourselves], so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience [as those who died in the wilderness]. 12 For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged [a]sword, penetrating as far as the division of the [b]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. 13 And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
The 19th-century English preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said the Reformation began when Martin Luther found an old discarded Bible in his monastery.
As he postured himself, he began to read it, subtly God’s Word grew like a seed in his heart and his soul, and the result was a world-transforming movement.
But this gentle image of a seed is not the way the incomparable power of God’s Word is described in Hebrews 4:12, one of the key verses in the foundational idea of sola Scriptura, or “Scripture alone.”
Here God’s Word is described as a sharp, powerful, and precise blade, dividing the whole complete truth from all of the rebellious lies we harbor in our hearts.
Only Scripture has this power—not the traditions of any church, nor the acutely accurate insights of any leader.
As Luther said, “A simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it.”
Indeed, in speaking about the Reformation that he initiated, Luther said, “I did nothing. The Word did everything.”
God’s Word, the Bible, has a precision and a power we will find nowhere else.
Will you let it be active in you?
Read it with an open heart?
Let it form the words that come from your mouth?
Let it shape the actions you take?
Adjusting (without our permission and utterly against our wills) our attitudes?
Eventually arriving at the God anointed place where only by knowing and living in and through God’s Word can we please him and serve him in our daily lives?
Is there enough moral courage to let the Word of God take command of our life?
What Does it take to be Courageous?
Isaiah 45:5-7Amplified Bible
5
“I am the Lord, and there is no one else;
There is no God except Me.
I will embrace and arm you, though you have not known Me,
6
That people may know from the rising to the setting of the sun [the world over]
That there is no one except Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other,
7
The One forming light and creating darkness,
Causing peace and creating disaster;
I am the Lord who does all these things.
Courage back-builds as we spend time soaked in the Truth of God’s Word.
Understanding who God is and who we are as His children allows us to realize our need for Him.
When we don’t know what’s going to happen, God is already there.
He is all-knowing, everywhere, all of the time.
There is no other God, …..
Isaiah repeated three times in today’s key verses.
Any time a word or phrase is repeated in Scripture, we can assume it’s of heightened importance.
There is no other God.
He alone is mighty to save.
He gives us what we need to live the lives He’s put us on earth to live, before we even know who He is.
We have a never-ending supply of courage available to us, through Christ Jesus.
His Holy Spirit lives in us, activating a supernatural bravery in each of us who dare to publicly proclaim Him our Lord and our Savior.
The One True God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
There is no other – period!
There can never be another – period!
There will never be another – period!
Our only living hope is in living for Him.
Our only living hope comes from living from Him,
…. as does the courage and bravery we need to wait patiently on Him.
How does the Word of God define Courage?
Joshua 1:5-9Amplified Bible
5 No man will [be able to] stand before you [to oppose you] as long as you live. Just as I was [present] with Moses, so will I be with you; I will not fail you or abandon you. 6 Be strong and confident and courageous, for you will give this people as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers (ancestors) to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do [everything] in accordance with the entire law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper and be successful wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read [and meditate on] it day and night, so that you may be careful to do [everything] in accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will be [a]successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified or dismayed (intimidated), for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Courage is born from confidence in our Creator.
Courage shows up 124 times in the Amplified translation of the Bible.
https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=courage&version=AMP
The dictionary definition of courage is “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.”
We aren’t promised an easy life following Christ Jesus, but we are guaranteed all we need is the courage drawn from living into, out from, the unchangeable moral, ethical truths in, and throughout the length and breadth of the Word of God to move forward boldly to accomplish what the Lord has set us here to do.
Halley’s Bible Handbook Notes explains “God’s superiority over idols is proven by His ability to foretell the future.
Says Isaiah, our God, whom we worship in our Hebrew nation, not only can do what human beings do, He can do some things that they cannot do: He can foretell things to come.”
Psalm 27:14 says,
“Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, with patiently for the LORD.”
Courage can be stillness, seeking the Lord and waiting patiently for His direction and wisdom.
Instead of rushing to the aid of others to download a situation in exchange for opinions, we wait on the Lord.
Instead of allowing our reactions to go unfiltered, we wait on the Lord’s direction.
It sometimes takes more courage to be still and silent.
Jesus often retreated to pray to the Lord, and returned strengthened.
Isaiah wrote:
“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
God is doing all of the work!
He is with us, and He is God!
He strengthens us and helps us. He holds us up in His victorious right hand. Christ Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, victorious over death.
He willingly sacrificed His life for us on the cross, rose three days later, and then ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of His Father.
It’s His sacrifice and His victory we draw strength from!
Moses told God’s people, and Joshua, before they entered the promised land:
“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD you God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).
God is doing all of the work!
He is with us, and He is God!
He strengthens us and helps us. He holds us up in His victorious right hand.
Christ Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, victorious over death.
He willingly sacrificed His life for us on the cross, rose three days later, and then ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of His Father.
It’s His sacrifice and His victory we draw strength from!
Moses told God’s people, and Joshua, before they entered the promised land:
“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD you God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).
Quickest Way From Timidity to Courage to Attitude Adjustment
Hebrews 4:12Amplified Bible
12 For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged [a]sword, penetrating as far as the division of the [b]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.
Have you ever found yourself in need of an attitude adjustment?
If so, be encouraged, as you’ve reached the most critical step in receiving one by acknowledging and recognizing, confessing and believing you are in need of it.
Realizing and recognizing there are wrong attitudes in your heart and mind is the breakthrough moment to a new attitude.
So many of us walk around, living day-to-day with no idea we might need some adjustments.
For sure, God is quick to recognize wrong attitudes in us, even if we think we’re covering them up with our words.
“These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me” (Matthew 15:8).
Although wrong attitudes are often easy for us to see in others, for some reason, they are usually very difficult to see in ourselves.
Because it is sometimes almost impossible to see wrong attitudes within us, what is the quickest way to an attitude adjustment?
As Hebrews 4:12 explains, when we commit to reading God’s Word, it has the power to cut through our soul and spirit and to judge our heart’s attitudes.
Nothing else in the world has the ability to do so like the living Word of God.
God’s Word Actively Exposes and Corrects Wrong Attitudes
God’s Word is so vital to our daily lives and the quickest way to recognize and reveal hidden mindsets, especially helpful in addressing and adjusting wrong and sinful attitudes.
Because it is alive and active, it doesn’t ever grow outdated or irrelevant to correct current incorrect thoughts and ways of thinking.
Before wrong attitudes can enter our hearts, God’s Word has the power to stop them before we accept them into our thinking.
As 2 Timothy 3:16 explains, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”
Three Ways God’s Word Adjusts Attitudes
As well, Proverbs 6:21,22 describes three ways it has the ability to help us live daily with the right attitude when we take the time to make it the top priority in our lives by reading, studying, and applying it to our lives.
”Bind them always on your heart; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.”
1. God’s Word guides our attitudes.
His Living Word will not ask our permission to take the lead in our lives to help us guide our thoughts, Words, and actions each and every day to be aligned with His ways over worldly wisdom and philosophies.
As 2 Corinthians 10:5 explains, with God’s Living and Active Word,
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
2. God’s Word protects our attitudes as we sleep.
Have you ever woken up in a bad mood, feeling disgruntled, upset, negative, and on edge, not knowing why?
Well, that isn’t just by accident.
The enemy of our souls works through the night to influence our thoughts and attitudes.
But as Christians, we don’t have to wake up with wrong thinking and mindsets because God says His words will protect and watch over us when we’re sleeping, guarding our hearts and minds against the onslaught of the enemy’s attacks.
His Word works as a shield against the enemy’s midnight assaults.
As Proverbs 30:5 assures, “Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”
3. God’s Word speaks to our attitudes during the day.
When we’re awake, God will personally speak to us through His Word.
Because it is alive and active, when we take the time to read it, study it and too, know it, God will speak to us through it at times when we need to hear His voice.
Although some think and believe God’s Word only speaks to us in a general way, truth and Holy Spirit reality reveals He speaks through it to our hearts, to our souls and minds in very personal deep, life-changing, transformational ways.
Intersecting Faith and Life:
How is your attitude today?
How is your attitude right exactly in this exacting moment?
Did you wake up in a bad mood?
Wake up on the Wrong side of the bed or the leftover grounds Coffee Pot?
Too many twists and turns and not enough “straight roads ahead?”
Everybody and their grandmother honking their horns behind a stalled car?
Most of us often don’t recognize wrong attitudes within ourselves, or even worse, until somebody else notices us, repeatedly, annoyingly starts tapping on our shoulder, or nudges their elbows in our ribcage and we justify having them.
If you and I are not sure how you and I are doing today, Pray to God to expose any wrong attitudes in your heart and correct wrong thinking with His Word.
adjusting, fixing or changing, or creating a new ,better way of thinking.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Lord, today, in this moment I must confess that sometimes I choose to focus on the contraries and negatives, instead of focusing on what you’ve called me to focus on. Help me take the words of Philippians 4:8 to heart. Help me to find those Words of Scripture which in every moment of every day, will help me to narrow my focus onto whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable, so that my attitude may adjusted, fine tuned to reflect and honor you. As I practice shifting my perspective, keep my heart from growing cold or bitter. Teach me to remember that I am not a slave to my negative emotions. Because of your Holy Spirit, I can tell those emotions to be removed and turn my eyes to the things of you, instead. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 