The Word of God, the writer of the book of Hebrews reminds us, is living and powerful. It is chock-full of spiritual power to change hearts, lives, and more. Today’s reading from The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart is found on pages 20 and 21:
“The final fruit of hearing the Word of God is a counter-cultural thrust and movement that strives irrepressibly to take every thought captive and make it obedient to the cause of Jesus Christ, and turns the world of unbelief and sin rightside-up for our Savior and King.
“Repentant hearts lead to renewed lives and rejoicing lips. And these, in turn, nurture a rededicated mind, one devoted to the task of individual revival, renewed churches, and a culture and society gloriously awakened to the Gospel of the Kingdom.
“The first Christians realized this, as we see in the book of Acts, and over the course of the next three centuries of Church history. In ages past, Christians have been instrumental in overturning wickedness and introducing new and more beneficial institutions and inventions to bless the peoples of the world. Societal and cultural renewal and awakening have been hallmarks of Christian experience wherever, in the past, the Word of God has been truly preached and heard, and redeemed believers have set their minds to the task of joining with the Savior in making all things new.
“But where do we stand today? Mark Noll has written that today, ‘there is not much of an evangelical mind’ available or interested in such Kingdom projects (The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind). We have neither the will to engage our unbelieving age with the truth of the Gospel, nor the insight and vision to offer anything different in the way of a comprehensive worldview.”
For reflection or discussion
1. Do we really believe that the Word of God, truly heard and obeyed, can lead to great changes? Have you experienced this?
2. How do you expect to see the power of God’s Word at work in and through you today?
If we truly hear what the Word of God is saying we will walk in obedient faith and work to make all things new in our lives. That is, the Holy Spirit, working with the Word, will make us daily more like Jesus so that we bring the character and power of Jesus into all we do. And that’s a formula for newness. Share today’s podcast with some friends. Encourage them to join you in subscribing to Read Moore and make a point, from time to time, of asking how they respond to the podcast. Your copy of The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart awaits you in The Ailbe Bookstore.
T. M. Moore
