Living Word

“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

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

I think for the first time in my life I am finally realizing the power of the Word and how You speak through it, O Lord. Lord, the Bible is overwhelming to me because every time I open it, there is a new deep, amazing truth to be read and discovered. Everything I need is in there, all answers, hope, and truth. For so long I have neglected seeking out the truth in the Word. I just read it on the surface in an attempt for it to fit what I was thinking about that day. How I should be seeking You out every single time I open it, allowing You to reveal what it is You wish! It is not I who determines what I am to learn, but the Holy Spirit, the giver of all wisdom!

It was said to me that I bring people back to the word when talking to them. I point them to the Bible and what You are saying. I remember a couple of times in that, O Lord, but I don’t really think I do, at least not in the way I should be. Everything I say needs to come back to the Word and needs to come from it. For so long I have relied on my own philosophies and ideas, and this summer, You showed me some of those which are completely wrong. You have created me with an intellectual and philosophical mind, but that is to be used to seek out You and Your truths, not to try to fit You within my own ideas. How much I put You in a box when I do that! And how I did that this summer in talking with Chase and then Paul, in which one of the things I have long held onto completely ignored the fact that You are sovereign and are all powerful!

I can be quite hasty with my words. I need to heed what Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 5:1-7: “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words. When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, ‘My vow was a mistake.’ Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore, stand in awe of God.” Now that is convicting, O Lord, for I feel it was written just for me. It’s so easy for me to let my mouth take off without being purposeful and spoken by You. It needs to be the Holy Spirit leading me in what to say. I also need to remember that rather than saying things just to say them, it is better not to say anything at all. I don’t want to lead people or myself astray by my mouth, and must be careful in doing so. It’s one of those things in which the greater potential for good, the greater potential for evil.

I praise You for this summer in which You taught me that my words are inadequate, and how You took away my writing for quite some time so I could stand in awe of You and let my words be few. It was difficult, O Lord, because writing is very much an outlet and way for me to connect with You, but it was so good to learn to connect with You in spirit.

I can’t even begin to express how Your word filled me this summer and continues to. It fulfills everything I need. Yet Lord, I don’t feel I know the Word. I feel like I am lacking so much when it comes to knowledge of it all. I want to learn what Proverbs 1 means when it states that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom.” I don’t think I truly understand that.

Lord, I pray that You will continue to reveal Your truths to me. I pray that in everything I say that it will be rooted in the word and come from it. Let me not neglect it any longer, but continue to seek it out with the hunger that You bestowed in me this summer!

Some Passages from this Summer

“Hear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long. Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my cry for mercy. In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me. Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours. All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name. For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O LORD , and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.” Psalm 86:1-13

This was on the first day of project in which I was wondering what the heck I had gotten myself into by deciding to come on project. I had such a divided heart between wanting to be there and wanting to be at home and have an easy summer. It was my prayer to You for You to recognize I was poor and needy in every way, and I asked you to guard my life and give me joy.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

This was the first night Mike spoke and I found You comforting me so much through this passage, because I saw that You were a giver of comfort in our present sufferings. You used this throughout the summer for me to turn to You and receive comfort, peace as the world does not give (John 14:27). In addition, Paul Carbajal used this passage to encourage me to comfort others, reach out to women, because You have comforted me.

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life - he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26-27

I used to always have a problem with this passage. I didn’t understand why in loving You, we would have to hate everyone else, even our own family and those closest to us. Yet DJ explained it so well. He said that our love for You should be so strong and distinct that our love for everyone else looks like hate. That is how much we are called and should love You, O Lord.

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline... Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry." 2 Timothy 1:6-7, 4:2-5

This, along with all of 2 Timothy, came during Pick Up Your rock week, in which we were evangelizing like crazy. I had 27 spiritual conversations that week, about 10 of which I was able to share the gospel. Lord, how You used the words of Paul to light my fire, knowing that I do not have the spirit of fear but one of power. And Lord, what prophecy I also saw in these words of the current state of Santa Monica. You spoke to me that I must always be prepared to preach the Gospel and to fulfill my ministry. Through this You laid a foundation not just for the summer, but for the rest of my life…and that is incredible!

“Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us.” 2 Corinthians 1:9-10

Oh how this rang true for me this summer, for me to quit relying on myself and solely on You! How beautiful it was to see this fulfilled in my life to know that You deliver me from anything I face! I praise You for showing me that You are more than sufficient and I no longer have to rely on myself!

"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” 2 Corinthians 1:20-22

This was an anchor of this summer, in me holding onto this passage and what You speak through it. I needed to remember Your promises and know that You will fulfill them, and that You make me stand firm. Amen to Your words and works!

“But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” 1 Timothy 1:16

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

It’s as simple as this. I am sin, You are righteousness alone. All I am is You and You living through me.

“Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19

Oh how You used John in speaking this verse to me. Lord, this was at the…2/3 mark of project and how I was beginning to try to do too much too soon and run the risk of burning out. But with this You also spoke to me through candles before me, in showing me that the flame needs to burn steadily on its source before the wax melts and sends out its rippling effects. I don’t need to rush anything. I need to be diligent in seeking You out and responding to the moving of the Holy Spirit. Things should never be of me but fully of You. This verse became a huge theme for project for me.

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. "Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down. As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand-- then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. "So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 24

This was officially the passage that freaked me out the most this summer. See, I had never fully come to grips with the fact that You could very well come in my lifetime. It was disturbing in a sense to read of the realities that could be fulfilled. I had been meditating on verse 14 for some time, about preaching the gospel to all the nations, in how You used that to lead me to missions, but I, for some time, ignored the last part, and then the end will come. Oh Lord, how You used this and are using this to teach me to always desire the eternal above the temporal, and to look forward to seeing Your Kingdom here on earth. There’s so much with this, O Lord, but this is also a key example of true power through Your word.

“I am fully convinced, dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well that you are able to teach others all about them. Even so, I have been bold enough to emphasize some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder from me. For I am, by God's grace, a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News and offer you up as a fragrant sacrifice to God so that you might be pure and pleasing to him by the Holy Spirit. So it is right for me to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God. I dare not boast of anything else. I have brought the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I lived before them. I have won them over by the miracles done through me as signs from God—all by the power of God's Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ all the way from Jerusalem clear over into Illyricum. My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else.” Romans 15:14-21

“Wake up, wake up, O Zion! Clothe yourselves with strength. Put on your beautiful clothes, O holy city of Jerusalem, for unclean and godless people will no longer enter your gates. The LORD will demonstrate his holy power before the eyes of all the nations. The ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. Go now, leave your bonds and slavery. Put Babylon behind you, with everything it represents, for it is unclean to you. You are the LORD's holy people. Purify yourselves, you who carry home the vessels of the LORD. You will not leave in a hurry, running for your lives. For the LORD will go ahead of you, and the God of Israel will protect you from behind.” Isaiah 52:1, 10-12

“I, even I, am the one who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear? Yet you have forgotten the LORD, your Creator, the one who put the stars in the sky and established the earth. Will you remain in constant dread of human oppression? Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies from morning till night? Soon all you captives will be released! Imprisonment, starvation, and death will not be your fate! For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea, causing its waves to roar. My name is the LORD Almighty. And I have put my words in your mouth and hidden you safely within my hand. I set all the stars in space and established the earth. I am the one who says to Israel, 'You are mine!” Isaiah 51:12-16

Lord how You used all three of these passages in ways I am still unable to articulate. This was in my quiet time before my last trip to Venice. How You showed me how living and active Your word is and how it fights battles. How You spoke so clearly about my calling into missions and the path You have laid before me. I thank You so much for these passages.

“Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his miracles. Exult in his holy name; O worshipers of the LORD, rejoice! Search for the LORD and for his strength, and keep on searching. Think of the wonderful works he has done, the miracles and the judgments he handed down, O children of Abraham, God's servant, O descendants of Jacob, God's chosen one. He is the LORD our God. His rule is seen throughout the land.” Psalm 105:1-7

This is so beautiful in me reflecting over this summer O Lord, in realizing all of the things You have done and taught me. Yet there is a key verse in this passage, telling me to search for You and Your strength and to keep on searching. Though at this time I am reflecting and remembering all You have done, I am to always keep searching for You.
And so I will, O Lord. My life-long adventure into the Word is just beginning. O Lord I pray You will continue to make it living and active to me, bringing life to my heart and bones, realizing that You are God! Thank You for the precious gift You have given in Your Word!