TO CHEW ON: "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." Hebrews 4:12
You have just fallen off your skate board. But even after you cleaned up your scraped arm it keeps hurting. Then it begins to swell. What do you do?
- Take a pain pill to make the pain go away?
- Wrap it in a sling and keep it very still?
- Go to the doctor for an examination and an x-ray?
You may do the first two. But chances are if the pain doesn’t go away, you’ll do the last one too. Though a pill and keeping your arm still may help make the pain less for a little while, those things don’t tell you the reason for the pain so you can fix the cause.
An x-ray picture, on the other hand, will show the doctor what happened inside your arm. If it shows your arm is broken, the doctor can move the bone pieces back together (set it), and put your arm in a cast to protect it and help it heal straight.
The Bible is a lot like an x-ray machine for our hearts. As we read it, we discover what God is like and what pleases Him. And we also see what we are like and where our thoughts and attitudes are twisted, broken and displeasing to God. Then we can ask Him to help us change so that we will be healthy on the inside.
PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your word which shows me what I’m like. Please help me to change my thoughts, attitudes and actions to please You. Amen
MORE: X-plain X-ray
- What are x-rays?
- How do they work?
- Have you ever had an x-ray? Why? Did it hurt?
- Are x-rays used for other things besides looking inside our bodies?
Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
1 comment:
I really like this idea of the bible acting like an x-ray. The bible helps so many people get back on track with their life, it’s a wonder I haven’t come across this comparison before now. If you can’t figure out where you are going wrong, you can’t fix it. You also can’t fix it if you don’t know how. The bible helps you find the answers to both these problems.
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