Using the right tools can make all the diffence!

The message:
God's messages to us are living and effective; and sharper than any two-edged sword...They set the standards of the ideas and thoughts of our hearts.
Derived from Hebrews 4:12

I thought this was so cool! It's just what I’ve said a million times..."if more people would just 'live right', 'love others', 'dismiss judgments', 'respect the earth', etc." What I mean by saying that is that those principles should be everyone's standard for living. The world would be so much better then!

And under the surface of thousands of scriptures are precious messages like those...so why am I just now starting to see them all?? I think I've finally been out of the “church” long enough to have rid myself of the preconceived notions I've had for so long of God's Holy Word. It once seemed so formal; so unfriendly; so intimidating and stiff--so judgmental. But when I changed my perception to think of the Bible as a "helpful book of wonderful messages for living a better life the way Goodness intended" and then it began to seem so much more real for me.

So the words "living" and "effective" really caught my soul in this verse. It's so true! So many times I've been so moved by God--directed, "called", "led", whatever you want to call it. And when I listen and follow....amazing things happen that are always SO effective! If only all of my energy could be surrendered to such missions...maybe then I'd be less exhausted. Which makes me think...

Maybe ALL of these messages bring that level of effectiveness when truly lived. Maybe I can do a better job of LIVING the messages to be more EFFECTIVE all the time---with or without some huge wave of spiritual directive. If I believe IN God then I believe GOD; and if God's message says that His messages are this way, then I must believe they are.

So this message lives in me now, and it will be another effective tool I will use to live better, love better, respect better, forgive better. It will be a good measuring device for me...my "checks and balances", if you will. (And the verse's reference to the sword implies to me that it's an incredibly powerful tool; "sharper than any", actually.) Lord knows I need it! I find it a daily chore to reference my tool kit in ALL of my actions; but then I guess everyone finds it a challenge. We're certainly not perfect; but we can all do better to let these divine messages set the standards for our hearts and minds.