The blog phrase came to me immediately after an anointed pastor said “do not be so close to the world that the anointing can’t flow through.” Every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17) We should use our gifts to glorify God not ourselves. Sin can cause God not to flow through our lives. It is just like filth to God. We do not like to go into a dirty place, neither does God. Some of us are comfortable in our filth like a hog is in dirt. The demons and the devil has made a home in our soul and spirit. My mom would say the devil is picking his teeth and laughing at us. Believers it is time to repent. My Aunt Mary would say “confess and get up out that mess!” You are not too far gone that God can’t pull you up and restore you better than before. What we confess God will cover. Jesus said go and sin no more so an evil thing will not come upon you. Submit to God. Resist the devil. He will flee!
Hebrews 3:7-14 Easy Read: 7 So it is just as the Holy Spirit says:“If you hear God’s voice today,
8 don’t be stubborn as you were in the past,when you turned against God. That was the day you tested God in the desert.9 For 40 years in the desert, your people saw what I did. But they tested me and my patience.
10 So I was angry with them. I said, ‘Their thoughts are always wrong. They have never understood my ways.’
11 So I was angry and made a promise:‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”12 So, brothers and sisters, be careful that none of you has the evil thoughts that cause so much doubt that you stop following the living God. 13 But encourage each other every day, while you still have something called “today.[a]” Help each other so that none of you will be fooled by sin and become too hard to change. 14 We have the honor of sharing in all that Christ has if we continue until the end to have the sure faith we had in the beginning.
God is a loving and merciful God, but there are consequences for disobedience.
In 1 Samuel 2:12-36 Eli’s sons Hophni and Phinehas did a wicked thing in the sight of God, They were stealing offering from God and sleeping with the women in the temple. Because Eli didn’t deal with his two sons God cursed them with a short life. Eli’s two sons died in battle in 1 Samuel 4. Eli found out about his two sons death and that the ark of God was captured by the Philistines, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate, broke his neck and he died.
In 1 Samuel 15 The Amalekites attacked the Israelites God’s people. God instructed King Saul to attack the Amalekites and destroy everyone and everything in the city. Saul only did part of what God told him, Saul saved king Agag when he was to destroy everyone and took the best of the goods . The Lord told Samuel “Saul stopped obeying me and I am sorry I made him king.” Samuel wept and interceded for Saul. Samuel confronted Saul and said ‘obedience is better than sacrifice.” 1 Samuel 16 Tormenting spirits came to Saul because of his disobedience .
God restores us no matter how low of sin we have committed when we repent and allow God to be in control of our lives. Thank God we are under the new covenant of grace, God gives us the grace to live right not to sin. We do not want to play around with sin. The longer we stay in sin the harder it is to come out. Some people do not recover from it.
Luke 15 : Jesus gives a story/parable of a father and his two sons. The youngest son asked for his inheritance. The father gave it to him and the eldest brother. The youngest son left, spent all he had on living a wild life without God. There was a famine in the land and he was in need. He became a citizen and worked feeding the pigs. He was so hungry that he wanted to eat what the pigs were eating. The prodigal son came to his senses and said: ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death. The prodigal son said he will tell his father “I have sinned against heaven and against you and I am no longer worthy to be called your son ; to make him a hired servant. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. He told his father he sinned against heaven and against his father and he was not worthy to be called son to make him as one of the hired servants. Luke 15:22-25: 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.,
God rejoices over the lost coming to Jesus and the backsliders returning to Him. The Heavenly Father’s love is pure and unconditional. Believers need to be the same when people turn their life over to God. We should not be like the eldest son who was angry and was judgemental. Luke 15:29-31: 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
All of our righteousness is as filthy rags Isaiah 64:6. We can not do enough to boast. God gets the glory. We are saved by grace not by works should we boast. The eldest son reminded me of how I used to be as teenger, Acting the part but judging others. I often wondered if the eldest son wanted to do the same thing is why he was so hard on his brother. I judged other teeangers because I wanted to run wild. Thank God I repented and realized it is only through Jesus Blood and faith in Him I am made righteous. 1 John 1:9: 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
God gives each of us gifts, but God do not dwell in filth!
Prayer: God I thank you for choosing me and giving me a gift. I use the gift to the glory of God. I repent for being disobedient and allowing sin to make a home in my life. I confess my sins and start on the path of righteousness. I do not live under condemnation because there is no condemnation to those that are in Christ. Friends of the world is an enemy to you God and I do not want to be your enemy, I submit to you God, resist the devil and he will flee. I rejoice when the lost and backsliders return to you. I let the love of God and my life draw people to you. Thank you for giving me grace to live a resurrected life for you. In Jesus name! Amen.