"Sharper Than!"

 "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." (John 12:48 KJV)

  "So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable." (Hebrews 4:11-13 NLT)

 Here is the thing that we must know about a two-edged sword, that it cuts both ways! There is quite a lot of stuff to absorb out of this, most importantly, in the Word! As you should know, John opens his sharing of this Gospel, by showing how important God's Word is, and why it must be carefully received, as if we are actually in the presence of God. 

 Whenever I share a message, the first thing I do, is read the Text that I will be sharing on. I feel that is the utter-most important thing to do, because God's word has precedence over anything else that I might have to say. After reading the Scriptures that I will be sharing on, I pray; making sure that I prepare myself, as well as those listening, to the things that I believe God is going to say. 

 I have tried once or twice to teach or share a message without having notes; big mistake on my part, because then I go into a message thinking that I have it all covered and know exactly what God is going to say. It is always best to prepare a message but be prepared to share whatever God wants to say!  

 The last message I shared was on the Book of Ruth for Mother's Day. I had prepared a message that I thought was going to be about mothers and daughter relationships, as well as introducing David's grandparents. Wow was I ever surprised! I ended up sharing how God takes our mistakes and makes them into opportunities for His glory!  

 No sooner than one month later, I went to Pastor Jon's church, for a Father's Day message; and I heard a very similar message about Abraham's mistake, listening to Sarah's suggestion to have his son through Haga, her handmaiden. It was the descendants of Ishmael that came along and bought Josheph, taking him to Egypt to be sold as a slave. God used Abraham's mistake, as a means to provide for the children of Israel, in so many ways. 

 This might be both hard and easy to understand, depending upon your interpretation; but God allows us to mess-up, that He can do the extraordinary. I hope you can see that God already knows your fall, before you ever think about doing whatever it is that makes you fall. He has not just chosen you for ordinary living, but that your life can be a testimony of His grace and mercy... 

"And this is God's plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God's children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. By God's grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News. Though I am the least deserving of all God's people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. God's purpose in all of this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus out Lord." (Ephesians 3:6-11 NLT)