Luke 2:35, New Living Translation

“As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

Thank you, Jesus, that the ministry received a donation of a dozen boxes of Christian books at the end of last year. For me, I am a minimal person, especially since the day the Lord taught me that good memories are better kept in the heart than by holding on to stuff. Because of this, when I finish reading a book, I don’t keep it, however I give it away. Therefore, when we received these books, we hosted a Book Giveaway Day. I was also blessed as I found some of the books I was interested in as well. One of the books is “Thus Saint The Lord” written by John Bevere. The content is based on what Jesus said to His disciples, “See to it that no one deceives you.” (Matthew 24:4, BSB)

I take the words of my Lord Jesus with the utmost sincerity. I seek not to be deceived, nor to deceive anyone. I open the Bible with the desire to have tools and to mature. I use it as a flashlight that will help me to search if I have any hidden thoughts, an unyielding heart, and to see if I have violated God’s Word in my daily life. In the same way, when I open a Christian book or listen to a sermon, I am always seeking to learn more about the Word and to challenge myself to grow deeper in the heart of God.

Hebrews 4:12-13 (NIV) says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

What the Apostle Paul wrote in Hebrews 4:12-13 says the same thing, “As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.” (Luke 2:35, NLT)

If I do not want to be deceived, or to deceive anyone, the best and only way is for the Word to do His work on me. To penetrate the voices and the desires that are from my flesh, and to expose the lies that ring well with my itchy ears. I desire to take captive every thought through His holiness and righteousness and make it obedient to Christ. Furthermore, if there is any masked motive in my heart, I pray in accordance with the Word that says “’Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6, NASB)

A statement that John Bevere, the author of the book “Thus Saith The Lord”, writes is this, “Thoughts of the heart are not revealed to embarrass us but to deliver us from the hindrances that weaken our obedience to God.” What a wonderful statement.

As a Christ follower, we ask for the Lord to give us the gift of discernment. We do this so that we can know if we are being deceived. Yet, how do we truly know we have the discernment that is from the Lord? There is only one way, know the Lord (the Word), and use it as the foundation to test the spirits. We may find that we say the same thing as the two disciples mentioned in Luke when they said, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32, NLT)