Raising Your Standard

[box] 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 [/box]

When I think of God-breathed, I picture God, up-close and personal, igniting life in Adam’s nostrils, awakening unlimited possibility-seeds in mankind.

Just as God worked with dirt and breathed life, He used imperfect men as human pens.  Breathing life on their truth-stories, His Spirit-seeds continue to produce every kind of good fruit in keeping with repentance.

God describes his Word as a sword, just as our tongues are swords.  We touch His Word-sword to our tongues, and rest our flesh beneath its power.  His Word is a life-speaking gift in our mouths.  Health from the inside out, it spreads truth throughout the body.  Lord, may I speak your life-giving truth today.

The Good Fight

I’m thankful for good weapons in “the good fight”.  When our body offends us with sin, we “cut off” bad behaviors, and expose sin’s darkness under the gleam of God’s sword-light.  We circumcise our hearts.

The world doesn’t “get it” until they get Him.  The Prince of peace reaches for them, but they reach for peace in the wrong places.  Still, his Word calls out, again and again, and all who embrace it, find themselves embracing Him.

We’re never more “self-actualized” than when we actually realize who are in Christ.  His Word chisels away everything we aren’t, and reveals everything we’re meant to be.

Our Real Enemy

God gave us this spiritual weapon because our good fight is spiritual.  The manual tells us to handle our armor with care.  As good soldiers, we remember that people aren’t our real enemies.  Satan is.

Jesus withstood temptation to teach us how to fight.  He showed us Satan’s half-truth lies are no match for the picture-perfect purity of the Word!

Impacting Others

We’re thankful God gave us a standard of morality (of safety), and the power of the Spirit to uphold it.  Like an oxygen mask on a plane going down, we first cover ourselves; we then cover others.

We’re not afraid to use the Word to help others because we’re motivated out of love, not pride.  We want to spare people from death just as much as we want to encourage them toward life.

When it comes to teaching, rebuking, correcting and training, we don’t move ahead of our Commanding officer.  We follow his lead, administering his grace in its various forms: with wisdom, gentleness, humility, and selfless love.

[box] We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. 2 Corinthians 6:7 NLT[/box]

Your Turn:

What are your goals  for using God’s Word?