Daily Devotional

A Ministry of the Kerwin Baptist Church

March 20, 2018

by Pastor Hawtree

I AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE:

TO DISCERN THE THOUGHTS AND INTENTS OF MY HEART

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The Word of God is certainly alive. That is what the word “quick” means. It means that the Word of God is living. It is the Living Word. It is not just a book, or list, or collection of essays. It does not just have an impact on your mind, it has an impact on your mind, body, and soul. When you activate the Word, the Word activates you. It is “quick”.

The Word of God is certainly “powerful”. It is more powerful than you or me. We will never outlast, outthink, or overcome His Word. The Word of God has parted waters, shaken mountains, and raised the dead. Last time I checked, we could not do those things, or even one of them. So far, God is alive and powerful.

The Word of God is “sharp”. It is so sharp, in fact, that it cuts through bones and ligaments without even cutting the skin. It is so sharp that it can get to places and accomplish things that nobody and nothing else can do. We cannot find where soul and spirit divide, but God’s word can. God’s Word cuts through everything that doesn’t matter, and gets right to the things that do matter. It gets to the point. It gets to the heart of the matter.

The Word of God is a “discerner”. If you read the Word of God, the Word of God can read you. You and I can fool people but we cannot fool God. We can fool our boss, our mate, our children, and even our pastor. But the Word of God can see right through you and me. In fact, the Word of God can see things about us that we cannot see about ourselves. The Bible teaches that we cannot put confidence in our own flesh. We can literally fool ourselves, but we cannot fool God. Many times we do not even really know what our heart is thinking, and we do not know what our heart is intending. Our heart can have desires and faults that we do not see. We can have intentions that we do not admit to. God can see it even if we can’t. That is why the Bible says that man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart. He is the only one that can read it. We cannot read the hearts of others, and we cannot even read our own heart. that is why you and I need to be faithfully in God’s Word. God will point out things to us from His word, that we could never see on our own. It is the only book that reads you. God’s Word is ALIVE, ALMIGHTY, ACCURATE, and AWARE. If you did not notice, that is a good outline of this verse.

God is able to discern both the thoughts and intentions of my heart.