October

The word of God is living 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. (Hebrews 4:12)

The soul, converted or not, often encounter the Word in a very specific way. It speaks to the heart in the moment, in the situation. The pinprick is felt about right and wrong, about moral duty. Here a little there a little we think that is the entire role of Scripture—to keep correct or encourage us in the daily choices we face.

However, those pinpricks are not random needles being jabbed into us for random reasons. They are the sharp teeth of a saw cutting into the connections between good and evil. There is an eternal purpose connecting all those tiny cuts we feel. We are being cut free from our sins, from the sins of others, and from the consequences of evil that have been multiplying through the centuries.

For the LORD will not cast off for ever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he does not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. (Lamentations 3:31-33)