it is living
Open Your Bible
Psalm 119:81-104, Hebrews 4:12-13, Ephesians 6:10-17, Proverbs 30:5
BY Diana Stone
Text: Psalm 119:81-104, Hebrews 4:12-13, Ephesians 6:10-17, Proverbs 30:5
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Ephesians 6:11-12 NIV
Why do we bother to memorize Scripture? If Jesus came and conquered death, is there anything else to worry about? We believe; we live as Christians; we go to heaven.
It’s not quite that simple, is it?
Our Christian lives are a constant struggle. The battle is ongoing and it won’t end until the day Jesus returns to complete the defeat of Satan. As the Reformation Study Bible notes, “The forces of darkness are defeated, but not yet harmless.”
In Ephesians, Paul instructs us on how to put on the “full armor of God,” covering ourselves with the things of God, from feet to head. In the end, we are told to “take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). The Bible does not need us to defend it. We need the Bible to help us stand firm in Christ.
Putting on the full armor of God is more than belief. It includes studying God’s Word, letting the Holy Spirit guide our hearts and minds as we read it, and being in prayer about having our hearts and lives changed through it. The Bible is meant to actively change us, actively change our world, and prepare us for the resistance we will meet in this Christian life.
We will fight, but we will not fight alone.
His Word is living and active, and it fights for us.
But that’s not all.
The writer of Hebrews also uses the imagery of the sword, describing God’s Word as “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). This living, sacred text not only guards our hearts, it penetrates and knows them, too. Reading Scripture and meditating on it, storing it up in our hearts and minds, is not mere Christian duty. It is our privilege.
164 thoughts on "it is living"
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This was great scripture. I love how it talks about the bible being out protection about evil forces. It’s our comfort, our protection, and our connection to God!
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I love that this just straight up told me that the Bible doesn’t need me to defend it, but I need the Bible to defend me. No sugarcoating, but got the message across in a perfect way. Also, Proverbs 30:5 really spoke to me today. God’s word is FLAWLESS, everything it says is true and right.
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I love that perspective change. I don’t need to defend the Bible. I need the Bible to protect and defend me.
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This has been my favorite day! It really spoke to me, I needed this in my life right now.
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i completely agree! it was a perfect reminder for me. because we are so fortunate and have such easy access to the Bible we need to take full advantage of it a read from the book of life as regularly as possible!
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This has been my favorite day out of them all!
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I like the comment that the Bible doesn’t need us to defend it, we need it to help us…id never thought about it that way before
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Loved that part as well-it feels like people spend a lot of time and energy defending it when we should be reading, memorizing and commuting to living it out everyday!
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Psalm 119:103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
And so my days begin and end in the sweetness oh being His child. -
Really enjoyed this very powerful
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