Key Bible Verse: The word of God is living and active. … It penetrates even to dividing the soul and spirit … it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12, NIV). Bonus Reading: 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Like any father of three, I'm experienced at dispensing medicine. If he has a fever, give him Tylenol, or maybe Advil. If she has an ear infection, administer an antibiotic. If you're going on a long plane ride, and really want them to sleep, give them Benadryl.

Medicine labels list active and inactive ingredients. Active ingredients address the problem at hand; inactive ingredients are extras, like flavorings and colorings. (We have a big red stain on the carpet upstairs from an inactive ingredient!) Ever heard of the active ingredient Guaifenesin? If you're not a pharmacist and you knew it was an expectorant, chances are you've spent bleary-eyed nights reviewing pharmaceutical names on the cold-medicine row at your local drug store.

We fill the rest of our lives with active and inactive ingredients. What better cure for life's problems than the most active ingredient of all, the Bible? It has a unique supernatural ability to address any problem you might have. But just like a medicine, it can't work if it's left on the shelf. Medicines must be taken to start working on the cells and tissues of the body. The Bible must be taken—not just read, but consumed—if it is to go to work in the way God intends.

—Mark Geil in Georgia

My Response: I know God's Word is at work in my life because …

Thought to Apply: Apply yourself totally to the text; apply the text totally to yourself.—JOHANN BENGEL

Prayer for the Week

Lord, give me a fresh grasp of Your truth as I open myself to Your Word.

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