I pulled this from the archives because another coffee maker is headed for the graveyard but the Word remains sharp as ever.

It’s burial day for another coffee maker at my house. I used it nearly every day but now it needs to be replaced–I wore it out. It seems that everything we use–clothes, shoes, ink pens, lawnmowers, coffee makers–everything dies a little more with every use. Except for one thing: the Bible. 

The more you use the Bible the more it comes to life and the more you come to life as well. “See, the Word of God is alive! It is at work and is sharper than any double-edged sword.” (Hebrews 4:12) Does that image baffle you or can you picture clearly how a Bible can transform into a weapon? “It cuts right through where soul meets spirit and joints meet marrow.” (Hebrews 4:12) The first place the sword severs is the soul of its reader. It lays everything wide open and begins to dissect, to methodically cut up in order to study its internal parts. 

Are you anxious to let Him study your heart or afraid He’ll find something you would like to keep hidden? “It is quick to judge the inner reflections and attitudes of the heart. Before God, nothing created is hidden, but all things are naked and open,” (Hebrews 4:12) and we will stand before the judgment seat. But if we are standing on the Word of God, we’re safe from condemnation through Jesus. 

Once you’ve allowed God entrance into your inner parts, the Word becomes a weapon from your mouth. As you learn Scripture it begins to grow within you until it overflows and begins to run out of your mouth. Then you become God’s messenger, and He said His Word “will not return to me unfulfilled; but it will accomplish what I intend, and cause to succeed what I sent it to do.” (Isaiah 55:11)

While everything else you use gets ragged, torn, dirty, no longer useful–the Bible comes alive and thrives through those who choose to open its covers. When was the last time you ventured inside? Get into the Word: “You will go out with joy, you will be led forth in peace.” (Isaiah 55:12)