Spiritual Edge (part 2)

In my last several posts, I have refered to this Scripture found in Hebrews 4:12 that says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

I talked about the two sides of that two-edged sword, and I am sure that the Lord will reveal even more to me as I continue to meditate on this verse with Him.

My last post was about training up our children to have a spiritual edge. (If you missed it, click HERE!) I talked about parents are to be like whet stones, sharpening their children's spiritual edge. I ended that post reminding us all that we, as parents, must have a spiritual edge if we want to teach our children to have one. And what gives us a spiritual edge?

It is the Word of God that sharpens us. Yet many have put it down, believing it doesn’t work for them, believing that it is better to fend for themselves than to trust God and His Word. And we may never say this with our mouths, but our lives can sure say it loud and clear!

Make no mistake about it: If you ignore the word of God, you will become dull in your ability to cut through deception and error. If you ignore God's presence and become consumed with your flesh and the world around you, you can quickly become spiritually dull.

Instead of fasting from the world and feasting on the Word, many are fasting from the Word and feasting on the world! But God shows another thing that can make us spiritually dull.

In Matthew 15 and Mark 7, Jesus has several dialogues with various people groups. He debates with the Pharisees who prioritize religious acts over relationships. In Mark 7:6-9 Jesus said, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules. You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!”

If you want to know something that is more sneaky in making you spiritually dull, it's when you start prioritizing "the way we have always done it" over the Bible. Valuing tradition over God’s Word is making you spiritually dull. When you do this, you are allowing tradition and religion to render you ineffective at cutting through the world’s systems and deception.

Just because it “has always been done this way” doesn’t mean it is God’s way.

After Jesus spoke this, He turns to the people to talk about the heart being His primary concern. He offers a parable speaking to the eating of food: particularly if your hands are clean or not when eating the food. Jesus said something so profound and so opposite of their tradition: “Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”

Then, the disciples ask Jesus to explain  what He meant by that and He says, “Are you still so dull?” There's our word. DULL. This word “dull” means “no understanding” in other words, “Are you still so spiritually insensitive? Are you still unable to cut through this parable to get to the meaning? Has tradition cluttered the deeper understanding of My Word?”

Then Jesus explains to them what He meant: “He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

Jesus was reminding the disciples that He looks upon the heart. Food enters your body and is then eliminated. But what enters your heart is what emanates from your life.

What enters your heart is what emanates from your life.

What did 1 Samuel 16:7 say, but “Man looks on the outward appearance but God looks at the heart.” That's why in an earlier post I talked about one of your boundaries is to "guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life." (Proverbs 4:23)

So here's what the Spirit revealed to me: If God's Word is sharp, and He doesn't want you to be spiritually dull, then God wants your heart as spiritually sharp as His Word is.

God wants your heart as spiritually sharp as His Word is.

His Word is not only sharper than a two-edged sword, but it will also act like a whet stone. It will give you a spiritual edge that cuts through this world’s systems and deception, helping you to both see and walk in Truth. You will be protected from the lies and schemes of the enemy because His Word is ever before you and embedded within you.

So stay in the Word of God. Approach it not for intellect but intimacy. Get to know the Father's heart. Approach it not for information but for transformation by the Holy Spirit at work inside of you. You will begin to see the Word of God come alive like never before, and His Word will develop a spiritual edge on you.

You are loved,

Jena