His Word Is My Weapon

We've had another amazing week at OBS...and it isn't even over yet!
As I read Chapter 4, a couple of things really stuck out to my heart. Reading how Jesus was tempted by the devil, but refuted those temptations with scripture...this is a powerful tool. Check out these awesome words:
"Then the devil came to Him and said,"If you are God's Son, order these stones to turn into bread."
But Jesus answered, "The scripture says, 'Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every Word that God speaks." Matt. 4:3-4

Jesus is saying that we need God's Word to live...we need it to sustain our otherwise empty hearts. And He wasn't just talking about then nice, encouraging Word. He said we need EVERY Word that God speaks...this includes the not so nice. But we take it all into our hearts knowing that God says all of it because He loves us more than we can fathom. His Word proves that He loves us when we're up and when we're down...when we're at our best and when we're at our worst. His love...His Word is always beautiful and always right. No one can refute it. Even the devil knows that.

Another scripture that I really enjoyed reading and studying is actually found in the Bible Study questions...I'll include a few different translations to show some different perspectives.

"The righteous eat to their hearts' content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry." NIV

"The righteous have enough to eat, but the wicked are always hungry." GNT

"An appetite for good brings much satisfaction, but the belly of the wicked always wants more."MSG

Lots of Word for thought here.  I'm going to do a little verse mapping to break the Word down a bit:

"The righteous"/"An appetite for good": those who not only believe in God, but carry Him in their hearts; know that His love is above all else.

"eat to their hearts' content/have enough to eat/brings much satisfaction":  Being a true believer in Christ means that we will never go spiritually hungry; we will never be alone; we will always know love; our hearts and souls are filled to the brim with God's love.

I'll sum up the last chunk of scripture:
The wicked are never satisfied; they always want more; they are always hungry; if they aren't hungry right now, they will go hungry--their time will run out.  Hearts of the wicked are not filled with joy-true joy.  Their hearts aren't filled with the unfailing love of Christ either.  And how much they are missing!  Their hearts are empty caves unable to be filled with God's love because they refuse it. 

I fell asleep praying last night, which is something I love doing.  Talk about preparing your mind for a peaceful rest.  But as I was praying, I was releasing a few matters to God.  Matters that had been consuming my mind and my heart throughout the day, and I just wanted to be done.  So up to God they went!  I know now that it's not an "if" God will take care of these particular burdens or future burdens...it's "when" He will take care of them. When I say "yes" to God and lift my burdens up to Him, they are off of my heart and into His hands...the way He likes it.  Have a great weekend everyone!