Skip to main content

Read Before Signing


Man this week was hard to get what I needed for this post. School is ramping back up (as you can tell from my last post) so all the meetings and planning conflicted with our Bible studies. I missed a lot this week, it feels like, so all I have for you in Sunday's musings.

In Joshua 9, the Gibeonites trick Israel into giving them a place in their group. The Gibeonites heard of God's power through Israel and decided they wanted to join the team instead of fight the team. Unfortunately, Joshua did not consult with the Lord and made a covenant to help support the Gibeonites by allowing them a small part in their daily duties. (Joshua 9:14)
Israel made this treaty out of deception and it affected them for generations. All the way into 2 Samuel 21:1, Saul wants to wipe them out for their deception and his desire to do this brought famine on the land. God took Israel's treaty with the Gibeonites seriously and honored it for a very long time until his people came to him and asked him how they could sever ties with them.

What is God saying today? Be careful with who and what you tie yourself to. Walk with the Holy Spirit and let him guide you in your decisions and promises. Jesus can break treaties we make with the wrong side (liars, voices in our heads not from God, etc - God is not a liar so any lies you believe or agree with are not from him) and we can be set free from the ties that bind us. You have to come before God (pray), ask him to identify the lie, renounce the lie (say, "I renounce..."), and declare God's truth over yourself as a sign of your new oath.

For example, let's say I'm beating myself up over how stupid I am. I keep saying it over and over to myself and am so mad because of something stupid I did (it could be nothing - like forgetting my phone at home). I go on and on until I'm in this terrible mood and now I believe that not only am I stupid, I'm not a good wife. I keep a terrible house. Nobody likes me. Nobody cares. It goes down into the death spiral until I'm so miserable with myself that I don't know how to get out. That's the thing right there - MYSELF. Me me me. The answer is Jesus. I need HIM to get me out! I've attached myself to this lie that's a catalyst to all these other lies and I need him to undo it. So I pray. I ask God to reveal the ROOT OF THE LIE, whatever comes to mind first I grab hold of in my mind. I take that piece of information and I say, "Jesus, I renounce the lie that I'm stupid. I forgive myself for forgetting my phone and I trust you that it was for a good reason. I ask that you show me my worth and remind me to get my phone tomorrow. Thank you for a day away from my phone and letting me have some peace and quiet...." You get the point...you can go on to find more lies or keep thanking him for his goodness or whatever. Just break the ties and declare a new oath to the one true God.

If you come into agreement with a lie, you are compromising your inheritance of promises given to you. Israel lost part of the Promised Land by allowing the Gibeonites to live (Joshua 9:24) and weren't able to get it back in their lifetime. So we don't have a promised land, you say. Our promise is eternal life. Our promise is Jesus. God gave his ONLY son for YOU. He gave his son so that you could be free. Don't give that up easily. Guard it.

Jesus has come to set us free and expand his boundaries (John 10:10). Accept him. Believe him. Consult him before coming into agreement with anything.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reforming Undesirable Behavior

You know that thing you do that you don't wanna do but you keep doing it because you can't stop doing it? These behaviors might include: lying, cheating, raging, gossiping, pornography, drinking, drugs, eating, throwing up, etc. Reforming these behaviors on your own can prove to be a little tricky. I'd say reforming undesirable behavior might even be impossible on your own. But there is still hope for us. With the love of God, the power of the Holy Spirit and a renewed mind, you can reform your behavior. Youth conference with lots of God encounters! An encounter with God is the easiest way to reform undesirable behavior because the encounter will fill you with the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord renews our minds in a way that informs our bodies of what's beneficial to our spiritual health in the eyes of God. So, your mouth doesn't want to lie anymore; your tongue won't allow you to eat certain things; your eyes will be opened to the evil of pornogra...
Post a Comment
Read more

Don't Pick Up Hitch Hikers...

My husband's passion for hearing God and sharing his words is inspiring. The knowledge God gives him to articulate to his people is astounding. It amazes me that my husband holds these spiritual words within him and nearly bursts with excitement on Sunday trying to get it all out to a physical world. Which brings up Joshua 23. This chapter is Joshua's final charge to the leaders and future generations. What is a charge? It's kind of like issuing a challenge and a warning all at the same time. At weddings, the minister charges the couple with the responsibility associated with marriage...in Joshua, he is charging the leaders to beware of the physical world around them. They've driven out the big tribes from the Promised Land but a few stragglers still remain and Joshua warns the leaders to avoid any entanglements with them. Temptation is sure to be present among these stragglers and they would be wise to remember all God has done for them. He said: 6 “Be very strong;...
2 comments
Read more

Moving Forward

Wouldn't it be fun to go back and live life knowing what you know now? To experience life a second time, knowing the end and that everything turned out just fine? Well, we can't go back. So let's go FORWARD knowing we will be victorious through God! Let's move forward knowing that we come out better, stronger, healthier people! Live your life with joy in the Lord and enthusiasm in who he's made you to be. Get excited about the daily grind and consider it a blessing. Each day is a day you won't get back and get to relive, so live like it matters. Get excited about God's purpose and timing because it is perfect!
2 comments
Read more