Authentic Bible Study From James MacDonaldSample

Size It Up Part 1

The last few days we’ve looked at what the Bible is, so we appreciate what we read after we actually pick it up. Now we need to size it up. Jeremiah 5:14 says, “Behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them.” This is a statement that God’s Word is fire. It’s the idea that God’s Word is hot! It is aggressive! It is purifying. It consumes all obstacles in its path. It burns away the dross and what is useless. I can’t tell you how often I have gotten into God’s Word with my mind in a muddle of straw and cobwebs and dust. God’s Word vaporizes the nonsense in my thinking and gets me on subject. And that’s the idea of God’s Word like a fire.

God’s Word is a sword. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow.” God’s Word gets right to the heart of the matter. We go on tangents when we are in small group or out in the marketplace, but bring the Word of God into the discussion and you get right to it. That’s a wonderful gift God has given to us.

God’s Word is also a hammer. Turn to Jeremiah 23:29. “Is not my word like fire, (we’ve been over that), declares the LORD, and a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” It’s a hammer. Many people have experienced God’s Word as a hammer. Maybe you need the hammer. Your heart has become so hard and resistant. Open God’s Word. It is the hammer that will break the rock in pieces. Are you ready to let God’s Word do its work in your life?

Prayer – Father, help me to size up the value of Your Word. Create a thirst in me for You so I can drink deeply of Your Word every day. And help me submit to its burning, cutting, and breaking work in my life because the results will be good. In Jesus’ name, Amen.