Neglecting the Double-Edge Sword

So I'll just be honest and admit to you that I've neglected God's word for some time. I sometimes get in the rut that thinking prayer, contemplation, and philisophical musings are enough to keep me connected to God. And perhaps in a lot of ways they are. Not everyone after all has the ability to read or even has the ability to own a bible. So surely, as Romans hints at, there are plenty of other ways to get at God's truth. But, as I was reading tonight I remembered why I stopped reading. It's stinking painful sometimes! Ironically, as I was looking the verse up in which I wanted to talk about, I read the previous verse which says this:

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb. 4:12, NKJV).

And boy did the writer of Hebrews hit that nail on the head. The next verse pierced right through my soul and spirit which reads, "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account."

A couple of things tonight. First, its important to stay involved in God's word. I'm the biggest hypocrite at this because I know enough of scripture to be slightly dangerous. So I can get away looking like I know the Bible fairly well, but I so often miss what God is trying to tell me TODAY. Merely sitting around pontificating about "the church" or talking about your struggles with faith and God is not enough. You've got to get in there and read, wrestle, and fight with the word of God.

Second, God sometimes really scares me. And I think He should! When I was a kid I used to lie in bed at night going through my day, wondering if God was really going to read off all the things I had thought and done that day that were bad when it was my turn on Judgement Day. Then, as I got older, I learned about grace and sort of forgot about that fear. But still, Hebrews 4:13 should strike a bit of fear in our hearts. I don't think that grace gives us the right to wrecklessly sin. Not even the "small sins." We need to actively pursue a righteous life and not test the limits of Gods grace.

Finally, don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of grace. I just think its good for me to dwell on the fact that God sees everything I do, and knows everything I think. I'm not a very good person when my thoughts and life are revealed, and while I may have everyone else fooled, I cannot fool God.

So break out the double-edged sword and be prepared to be pierced to the very marrow of your soul!