Advent-ure Day 21: His Word

Jesus came as the Word who became flesh, and He brings life to the words of God as we absorb them
into our hearts and minds. Hebrews 4 tells us:
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The Bible is not intended to be a set of words on page.  Now, there is something to be said for the Bible as literature, and I would dare say there are those who read God's Word but do not allow it to change them.  But, as Jesus taught in the parable of the sower, He desires for that living Word to produce fruit for His glory.  As we study and carefully consider what He has to say to us through the Scriptures, we can see how to apply what He has said to how we think and what we do.

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This week, as we continue to close in on Christmas Day, we are marching through this year's Advent guide, 25: A Christmas Advent-ure.  This week, we've been checking out what Jesus has done for us and worshiping Him for those things - salvation, hope, and...today, we talk about His Word.  Three Scripture verses for us today...

John 1:14: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

Hebrews 4:12: "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

2nd Peter 1:4: "...by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

Although sometimes the relationship of faith and politics can be a problematic one, the folks at Bible Gateway came up with something fun and creative through which they displayed the favorite Bible verses in each state.  According to a Faithwire story:

In all 50 states, the most popular verses were, in some order: John 3:16, Philippians 4:13 and Jeremiah 29:11.

After ranking the top verse in each state, staff at the popular website figured out which Bible verse would have won the “electoral votes” in each state, thus exploring the electoral map to see which won out as the most popular “presidential” scripture in the nation.

John 3:16 is the most popular verse in all states, except Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina.  Don't ask me why!  So, it was removed and the two finalists or "candidates" were Jeremiah 29:11 and Philippians 4:13.  The story says:

For reference, Jeremiah 29:11 reads, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future,” and Philippians 4:13 reads, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

In the end, Bible Gateway found that Jeremiah 29:11 was the most popular verse outside of John 3:16 in 32 states, concluding that it would have walked away with 302 electoral votes.

By the way, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, those states covered by the on-air signal from Faith Radio, are all Jeremiah 29:11 states.

There is a great Scripture for the Christmas season, and it is from the first chapter of John, where we read about the Word becoming flesh - earlier in the chapter we read that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God and with God.  Jesus is the Word who has become human; an embodiment of the promises of God the Father; we become rich in the Word, rich in truth, as we fellowship with Him.  He lived out God's principles, and those principles - found in the Scriptures, are alive for us today, according to Hebrews 4.

There are three themes in these three most popular Scriptures: salvation, according to John 3:16, supremacy, based in Jeremiah 29:11, and strength, in accordance with Philippians 4:13.  These are three powerful components to the Christian life: once we are saved, we enter into a life of obedience, following the "plans God has" for us, allowing Him to be the Lord of our life; we also rely on Him for the strength we need to live in a manner that is pleasing to Him - we can overcome sin and walk in His power.

And, a further note on Jeremiah 29:  we recognize that God's plans are revealed in His Word.  So if we want to know and follow the will of God, we can expose ourselves to the principles of Scripture and allow His Spirit to teach us how to apply them in our lives specifically.  If we want to know the heart of God, it is expressed in the Bible. We have to make sure that we are applying the Word to our lives and allowing His truth to shape our plans.  We can know that He gives us the strength we need in order to fulfill His will.