Philemon and Hebrews 1-4

Hebrews 4:12c-13

(The Word of God) judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.

I remember memorizing these verses at an early age. One thing that kept me from making a lot of bad choices or doing a lot of things back then was knowing that no matter how good I was at hiding stuff from my parents (and I was pretty good at that), God was always watching. And not only that, but someday I must give an account to Him for my actions. As a result, God spared me from developing bad habits or going down a lifestyle path of rebellion. But the passage doesn't say we'll give an account only for our actions.

For me the seeds of rebellion didn't result in many external actions. It sprouted in the fertile soil of my thoughts and attitudes. Ugly attitudes and thoughts that, instead of confessing and trying to change and clean up, I'd throw them in a closet within my heart. (We do love to compartmentalize, don't we?) When the closet got full I used the spare room, then the attic, finally the basement. And the more I'd try to keep those areas "off-limits" and locked up, the more space I take up trying to "hide" them, the less comfortable it was having Jesus around. Almost to the point of just locking Him out and deciding it's too hard of a mess to clean up now.

Hebrews 4:15-16

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

I don't know how many dumpsters Jesus and I have already filled. We even ran across a twenty year old storage shed key the the other day that He's helping me with.