Verse of the Day 11/4

Through the Bible - Jeremiah 42-43, Hebrews 4   Good morning, If you are following along with the New Testament reading in Hebrews what you may come to find by the end of this chapter is that the aim of life is to enter God's rest.  To enter that rest we must have faith, we must trust in God. The way that leads to heaven is to believe in God and trust in Him,  To believe and to trust in Him we must hear and respond to His Word, His call, His promises (see verse 2),   Finally we must be diligent to hold to what we believe lest we drift or turn away in unbelief.   Heb 4:12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.  NLT   How does it strike you to know that nothing is hidden from His eyes?  He knows all about us, he knows the depths of our hearts.  His Word has a way of cutting to the heart of the matter.   We can go back to John 21 again. Jesus asked Peter 3 times "do you love me".  Why did Jesus ask three times?  A lot of theologians have spent much time on this.  It could have had to do with Peter denying Jesus three times.  Or was it the teacher asking the question until the student answered correctly, that he got the point.  Peter got the point:   John 21:17  And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." NKJV Jesus questions, God's Word will cut sometimes, but it helps us, causes us to grow.  As we considered recently, Peter was never the same.   John Piper in a sermon on this passage tells us, " I see Hebrews 4:12 as a tremendous encouragement coming after verse 11. Be diligent to enter God's rest by fighting off the disobedience of unbelief. Why? Because (verse 12) God has given you his good news (verse 2), his promises, his Word to protect you from the deep deceptions of sin that try to harden the 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 and it will penetrate deeper than any deception of sin has ever gone and reveal what is truly valuable and what is truly worth trusting. "   The Christian life is not easy, sometimes if feels that we are embroiled in a "battle to believe".  It's often at those times that His Word comes alive for us.   We may a verse right in front of our eyes on a mirror or on a wall, then something happens and all of a sudden it comes alive in our hearts and minds.  Sometimes to cut and to prune, but ultimately that we may grow. May His Word "come alive" for you today and may you grow from it.  Grow to teach, to tend, and to follow.   In Christ, Mike Heb 4:11-5:1 The Word Discovers Our Condition 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 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. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Our Compassionate High Priest 14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. NKJV