Reading in Joshua today (Joshua 7) how God commanded the Israelites to not take any item from the wicked people that they destroyed. And of course, one guy did. (these guys never learned... kinda like the rest of us!) God commanded Joshua to destroy the next city of Ai. The city only had like 12,000 people so it should've been easy but they went to destroy it and ended up being chased away and some Israelites were killed by this small city. Joshua was upset and scared and God told him: (vs. 10-13 in the pic)
Yikes right? Well, as the story goes, they found the guy and the stuff and they killed him and burnt his body along with the accursed items AND THEN God gave them triumph over the city of Ai. This is not a pleasant story, just like many accounts of things that happened in the Bible. But it does drive home one very important thing: God does NOT like our disobedience and He literally HATES sin. He does not want sinful things or people influencing His Children. Has anything really changed????
Sweet friends, there are so many things for us to learn and understand about God isn't there? I read about how God did things in the Old Testament and then He sent Jesus. What an AMAZING MERCIFUL ACT OF LOVE that really was!!! I don't think we can ever fully grasp what an incredible gift Jesus is to us. BUT... through Jesus, brought His grace and His mercy into our lives, taking the place of sacrifices and death on the spot for our disobedience. We should be so very thankful for that!
But here's the thing sweet friends, God still hates sin and God still does not like our disobedience. God still does not want wickedness or wicked people influencing the lives of His Children. And God is still not with us or allowing us to win our battles against the Enemy, if we are indeed embracing the same wickedness that our Enemy (Satan) possesses.
This Truth is still Truth today! If we want God to protect us and lead us to victory, and bless our lives.... we MUST be obedient to Him with our lives and stay away from the wickedness of this world. "But Darby, how do we witness to the lost if we can't reach out to them where they are at?".... We witness to them, by being different, by not engaging in the same wicked things, we love the people of this world... it doesn't mean we act like them. It doesn't mean we participate in evil in order to reach the lost. We, love Jesus with EVERYTHING we do, and we realize that GOD is SOVEREIGN and He is more than capable of bringing lost people into your path without you needing to seek out wicked places and activities to find them. The important thing, is know the voice of your Heavenly Father, if HE tells you to go, then go. But only if it's His voice. He is still the same God who calls His Children to righteousness despite how the world "feels". He is the same God who despises wickedness and is angry when His Children turn to it and embrace it.
As a "Christian Community" or the "Church", we have stepped outside of God's heart on these issues in our own desire to "reach the lost". We have pushed our "seeker sensitive" agendas, patting ourselves on the backs and high fiving each other because we have become so effective in "saving people" and "bringing them into the Kingdom of God" (and I am just as guilty here...) but the real question is: Have we? Have we really led people to the feet of Jesus where they have embraced Him and have allowed Him to transform them into His Children, living their lives in victory and freedom against the Enemy of their souls? Where they love Jesus with all their hearts and strive daily to please their Creator? OR.... have we merely played with wickedness, and not only played with it in order to gain an audience, but have we not also brought it into our Houses of Worship? God is Love.... but He is Holy First. We must remember Who HE is so that we can actually BE Who He is calling us to be. Worth a ponder. Love you sweet friends, praying God will help you in this area and pray for me too, we all have work to do!
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