This Is Your Eviction Notice!

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God's commandment was clear.  Moses would not be leading the Israelites into their Promised Land.  He would not be allowed to take them over the Jordan into the land God had promised long ago to Abraham and his sons.   Courageously he spoke these words to the enormous family whom God had placed in his care,

"The LORD your God Himself will go over before you.  He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them . . . And the LORD will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you.  Be strong and courageous.  Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you.  He will not leave you or forsake you. "  (Deuteronomy 31: 3, 5, 6)

Though these men would go into the land with the purpose of removing all the nations that lived there, it would not be by their own strength that it would accomplished.  It would be by the very hand of the Lord that these god-worshiping people would be run out or destroyed.  This would happen so that His people could possess the land.  The men of Israel were the agents who would present to these ungodly nations their eviction notice, but it would be by God's almighty strength that Israel would take possession of the land.  Both God and the Israelites had their part to do.

While this may seem like an unimportant Old Testament story that is completely irrelevant to the Church Age believer, I challenge you to take a closer look at these verses, and few more, with me.  All of God's word is relevant to us, and this passage is no exception.

We, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, have ungodly "nations" that need to be evicted, even removed with force, from our hearts.  We, too, have a journey to make across the Jordan into the abundant life (our promised land).  It is only then that we will experience the life that awaits us.  It is the life that lies just on the other side of cleaning out those places in our hearts that are not in line with the "whole commandment" of God.

Whatever your sins are that remain in your heart, sins that are active in your life today, it will be the Spirit within who will drive them out, but you must be willing to serve them their eviction notice.  Without your compliance to serve notice to your sins, the Spirit is hand-cuffed in removing them from your life.  If Israel had not crossed the Jordan, had they stayed on the other side, God's mighty arm would have no reason to go in and annihilate the idol-worshiping Canaanites of the land.  But Israel did cross over, and through them, God gained the victory.  To the degree that Israel pressed in to remove all evil from the land, to that same degree, the land was purified.  Are you beginning to make the connection?

God will give us victory over our "enemies" (our sins) when we surrender ourselves to His commandments that tell us of the necessity of removing them from our lives.  If we align ourselves with His purposes, and take a step forward by telling our sins and idols that it is "time for them to go," and truly desire it and mean it, then the Lord Himself by the Spirit within us, will accomplish this.  This is how He purifies our hearts.

Consider these two verses as you contemplate your own need to dispossess and destroy the evil "nations" in your own heart.  They reiterate both your need to "cross the Jordan" to a purified heart, as well as how God has designed it to happen within you. 

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."  (James 4:8, written to believers, not the unsaved)

"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who call you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. since it is written 'You shall be holy, for I am holy' . . . having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth . . ."  (I Peter 1: 14-16, 22b)

"Not by (your) might, nor by (your) power, but by MY SPIRIT, says the LORD of hosts."  (Zechariah 4:10)

Are you ready to tell your heart-inhabiting sins that it is time to go?  Remember, to the same degree that you press in to God to evict your sins from your life, to that same degree you will be purified.  No eviction notices served . . . no purification in your heart.  Serve your sins notice that it is time for them to go from your heart and life, and obeying God and His Word  . . . Victory over your sin!

Christ, Our Example Of Endurance

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(Excerpt from Cheryl Gnagey's Spiritual Healing:  The Surrender That Brings Victory, Chapter 11)

"Our call to holiness will require from us a run of endurance, a race in which we do not waver, but continue to obey no matter what trial, temptation, or test comes our way.  And lest we think such laying aside and endurance is impossible, we need only look to Jesus.  He is the One on whom we must focus our sights while we run this race.  He is our ultimate example and witness because He has endured the cross.

This is what Jesus did when He endured:  He endured [with unimaginable pain and sorrow] our hostility while we were still sinners, walking in the shame that we deserved.  As His children, now we can endure our trials without becoming weary and losing heart.  Now we have the power to attack our sin issues by obedience to the Word in full surrender to the One who showed us how to endure.  Have you ever considered that?  Jesus endured on the cross for us so that we might endure as we take a stand against our most besetting sins and stumbling blocks today.  And He did it by focusing on the joy that was ahead of Him, His triumphant return to the Father and His eternal home.  Should we be focusing on anything else but Christ and eternity in Heaven?  By setting our focus on Him, we can endure until we gain triumphant victory over our sin.

We will never endure as completely as Jesus did, for He resisted to the point of shedding blood.  Even if we persevere in surrender and obedience, we will never work so hard as to shed blood as Jesus did.  No one has or ever will resist sin to that degree.  But it is still our duty and our responsibility to be about the removal of sin and stumbling blocks from our Christian walk with the desire to overcome, master, and gain victory over what satan has used to entangle us."

As I quote this from the book the Lord gave to me, I am challenged once again as I contemplate my level of endurance in 'fighting the good fight.'  By introspection, I can clearly see so many areas in which I am still either fighting in my own strength, or worse, not fighting at all.  To consider the unfathomable lengths that Christ went to in order to pay the penalty for my sin, I am broken-hearted to find, once again, that I am falling short of the mark when it comes to overcoming the sin that has wrapped itself around my heart, choking out the life of Christ within me.  I am faced with my own lack of surrender to the process of sanctification, and that points, with far too much clarity, to my disobedience. 

Maybe you are finding yourself in that same place.  If so, would you join me today by flexing your spiritual muscles through a prayer of repentance, telling God of your desire to completely turn and face Him as you turn away from your entangling sins?  Will you surrender in humility with me today to our ever-enduring Savior as we seek Him and ask Him, once again, to take over the reins of our lives, and live His through us?  Will you set your laser-sharp focus on Jesus with me?

Peaceful Feet

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(Excerpted from Spiritual Healing:  The Surrender That Brings Victory, Chapter 8)

"Moving down to the very bottom of our armor, Paul introduces us to the shoes prepared with the Gospel of peace.  As Jesus was going through His final teachings to the disciples, He told them this:

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.  (John 14:27)

All that Jesus spoke to His disciples in John 13-17 was critical information if they were to be successful in carrying the Gospel to the world in His physical absence.  He knew that His peace would be necessary for their victory over an enemy who would stop at nothing to destroy them and the Gospel.  Jesus' Gospel was one of peace with God.  He was telling His disciples of their need to settle the issue now.  They were never again to doubt, nor fear, their position with God ever again.  Jesus was calling them to be assured of their salvation and to walk in it.

Isn't it interesting that God used the word picture of a sandal or shoe to illustrate how we are to 'walk out' the Gospel?  Because we are God's children, our journey is to be traveled with our shoes of peace and assurance tightly tied on.  Our peace with God that flows out of our understanding of God's love for us is something that must be settled in our hearts before we try to overcome our daily sin.  Walking in the knowledge of His love for us is what our peace is based upon, and it is critical to our belief system, as well.  Without this peace in our hearts, it will be difficult to overcome the lies the enemy will tell us, especially when we fail by falling to sin.  Without the peace of knowing that God loves us, even when we fail Him, we might just believe the lie of satan that it is impossible to belong to God if we do sin.

Also critical to our walk of peace is the manner in which we walk through the terrifying times of the journey.  When Jesus said, 'Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful, ' He was just hours away from His arrest, trial, crucifixion, and death.  He knew that His disciples would face a time of despair and heartache.  He knew that in their flesh they would be fearful of what would come next.  But isn't it amazing that He also left these words for us, knowing that we, too, would face our own dark days?  His peace was the answer then, and it is still the answer for us today.  Jesus is calling each of us today to walk out our spiritual battles by standing firm in the peace that has been given to us by God."

THE RESURRECTED LIFE -- Day 22

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Day 22:  Matthew, the Tax Collector (Luke: 5: 27-32)

Jesus had created more than just a little stir in Capernaum.  He taught with great authority, He was casting out evil spirits, and He was healing people of many different diseases.  News about Him spread throughout the city, and soon the whole city was camped outside the home where he was staying.  Knowing it was time to minister in other cities, Jesus and His few followers left Capernaum.  But after awhile, He returned, and it didn’t take very long for the word to get out that He had returned.  Again, the crowds were attracted to the Man with power.  One day so many gathered in the home where He was that people had to be turned away because there just wasn’t enough room.  That was the day that He healed the paralytic who was let down through the roof.

Everyone was talking about Jesus.  Even Matthew, the town’s tax collector, had spent many hours pondering the miracles of Jesus.  Who was this Man who did the impossible?  Could He be sent from God?   But there was no one to answer his questions.  Who could he ask?  He was hated because he took their taxes, and he hadn’t always been honest. 

Then Matthew saw Jesus coming toward him on the way to the seashore with many townspeople following behind Him.  “Are they coming for me?” he nervously thought.  What might this Jesus say to him or do if He passes by?  But his logic reassured him that Jesus likely wouldn’t even notice him amongst all those who were following after Him already.  And surely someone had told Him what a wicked man he’d been.   “No, I have nothing to be anxious about at all.  He probably hates me as much as they do.  He is a righteous man.  What would He have to do with me, a sinner, anyway?” he convinced himself.

To his amazement, Jesus passed by, turned to him and said, “Follow Me!”  Without a second thought, Matthew obeyed, leaving everything behind.

Following Jesus is what we are called to do after we have been saved.  Have you been willing to leave everything of your sin life behind so that you may follow Him toward Christ-likeness?  What have been your most recent victories over sin?  Can Christ be seen in you?

Though we struggle with laying down our sin, our greatest difficulty is rooted in our response to Jesus' simple, yet profound, words to us . . . "Follow Me!"  Who is truly leading your life?

Gods of the Flesh BecomeThorns in our Sides

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The land belonged now to Israel, but instead of removing everything (and everyone) that was vile to their God, Israel chose to "live among" the pagan worshipers. God had committed to the removal of the Canaanites, but Israel chose to keep them around. So God punished them by allowing the Canaanites to stay. They became thorns to Israel, the source of their destruction. What are your pagan strongholds?  What sins have you left "living among" you?

Israel stumbled yet again.  Israel had been given a promise from God that He would drive out every enemy before them.  They promised to obey His every command so that they might experience His victories.  But Israel didn't keep its end of the bargain.  When they walked away from God, He gave them exactly what they wanted.  He chose not to drive out the Canaanites since Israel would not join Him in the battle to drive them out.  The pagan people, with all of their idol worship, led Israel even farther away from God.  His beloved Israel, called to be set apart and pure, intermarried with the impure and became pagan in their belief, joining Canaanite gods to THE God.  The result of Israel's defiance and idol worship was that they would not become who God designed them to be.  His allowance of Canaanites in the Promised Land would forever be a test to Israel.  Would they follow and obey Him,  or follow their pagan neighbors and the gods of their flesh?

But have you noticed that we are not much different?  We have the same God, and we behave toward Him in exactly the same way.   God's word to us is full of His promises that He is waiting to fulfill in our lives, but we experience few victories over our sins because we are unwilling to "put them out of our midst."  So those sins and idols become thorns to us, taking us away from God.

God is not obliged to wave a wand and remove our sins, those things we worship rather than Him.  But the funny thing is this:  He is willing to destroy every one of them in us!  Most of us ignore His willingness to drive out our sin. Until we are willing to surrender them to Him, putting into His hand those sinful, pagan things that have become apart of our lives, we will not know the victorious life He has planned for us.  

The Israelite men desired and lusted after the Canaanite women.  They wanted what they wanted!  And we behave the same way when it comes to wanting what is in opposition to God and His will for us!  We have a choice set before us several times a day:  Will we remain pure and set apart from the world or will we partake and join with the world in all kinds of sin.  How long will we try to join the two together?  When will we understand that holiness can never be joined to unholiness?

Our defiance and disobedience keeps us from becoming everything that God designed us to be.  Will you settle for less by keeping your sins among you, or will you strive, by the Spirit and surrender and obedience, toward a deeper, more vibrant and victorious life?  You are choosing between the thorns and the beautiful, fragrant rose bud.  We shouldn't have to think very hard!