♕ Today's Promise: “You will know also that your descendants will be many, and your offspring as the grass of the earth.” Job 5:25
In last week's letter, I promised to finish up with what will block the blessings of God and then this week to move on to what will MULTIPLY your blessings! But, as the Lord would have it, I became overwhelmed with wanting more of the Lord, so we parked there!
I hope that the Lord met you in a very powerful way as you searched for Him in a deeper way.
What will block God’s blessings: wickedness.
James 4:17 NASB—
“Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
King James 2000 Bible—
“Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin.”
Based on this verse, we could also define wickedness as sin—at least the wickedness in each of us is the sin when we: "entertain" a wrong thought in our minds, allow wickedness in our homes, or still give in to doing what we know is wrong in our lives.
Sometimes wickedness is something in our lives that we are not aware of—that ultimately we are being destroyed by due to a lack of knowledge.
Noah's 1928 Webster's Dictionary defines it this way: "Departure from the rules of the divine law; evil disposition of practices; immorality; crime; sin; sinfulness; corrupt manners.
Wickedness generally signifies, signals evil things that we are practicing, in other words, do repetitively.
Don’t forget how important it is not to practice evil or lawlessness, because of what Jesus said in this verse: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’” Matthew 7:21, 23
Yet, wickedness is also what expresses or uncovers the corrupt dispositions or character of the heart.
Whenever we "depart" or are led astray from the principles that God set up, in the divine and unchangeable laws of the universe, we ultimately suffer the consequences. Even if we are ignorant of the law we WILL suffer the consequences.
This week I heard that many women began seeking the Lord about what was standing in the way of their restoration and a deeper relationship with the Lord. Amazingly, God revealed to each one of them that it was sin.
One woman, who was divorced, confessed she finally realized she was in sin, not through conviction she said, but through the devastating consequences. It’s when she hit rock bottom in despair, and she cried out to to the Lord. Immediately, He reached out to help her, but at the same time, brought to her mind the sins that had caused the destruction that led to despair.
This woman had moved in with her husband, which she "thought" was an answer to her prayer, but the truth was (and is) that a man or woman who is no longer legally married is in sin if she/he is intimate with her/his spouse.
The greatest blessing, which we must never forget, is that we have a loving and forgiving Savior who is right there ready to forgive and cleanse us! And with this, we can no longer be plagued with guilt or shame or any other negative emotion that weighs us down.
This woman repented, humbly, and "turned from her wicked ways" just like in 2 Chronicles 7:14 where it promises us that if "...My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." This means not only will your heart be healed, but so will your home.
Another woman confessed about something the Lord brought to her mind, something that she had done before coming to RMI. When her husband first left she was involved in the occult, seeking anything to bring her husband back. She wasn't sure if this was still standing in her way since she had repented to the Lord with tears.
Yet, when the Lord reminded her of this, she was willing to repent to her husband since much of it involved him. Even though she didn't see her husband, she knew if it were the Lord's will, their paths would cross.
When she filled out her form the next time, she said she knew that "it was finished." The Lord revealed to her at the end of the seven-day fast, that HE had broken this stronghold in her life. She again asked the Lord for an opportunity to speak to her husband, but the Lord confirmed that what she had done was enough.
Remember, God is looking at our heart and our willingness to yield to His leading and His will no matter how terrifying it may seem. Very often, as with Abraham, He will lead us to the mountain, watch us lay "whatever it is" on the altar, then often, mercifully stops us before the knife goes down!
Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds."
Obedience, no matter what the cost, no matter how much you fear doing it—shows our hearts.
Sadly, I also know of at least two women who are still battling “doing what is right.” They both have men living in their homes, but can't seem to get rid of them. So, if you’re in a situation like this or any situation that you feel you’re caught in—simple ask God what to do and then do it! Don’t make the mistake of asking anyone else, or even letting someone know what you plan to do. If your heart is right, He will reveal how to clear up even the worst mistakes you’ve made. Very often, He just asks you to wait and trust Him and He clears it up without our help. 🙂
When one of our ministers had her former husband living in her basement, thank You Lord, she got rid of him as soon as she realized it wasn't right! Now she is a powerful minister that God is using to help others who are in similar situations. One woman in South Africa finally was willing to do what was right no matter what, by telling her husband that she no longer could continue to be intimate with him since they were divorced and 2 months later her marriage was restored!
Wickedness often enters our hearts when we, knowingly or unknowingly, "pitch our tent toward Sodom." All too soon you will find you are not just entertaining the thought of sin, but you’re living in it! This can even be as simple as keeping your eyes on your spouse and/or marriage instead of intently looking into the face of the Lord.
Are you looking toward Sodom?
What do you watch on television?
What movies are you watching or going to?
What do you allow your eyes and mind to be exposed to?
This brings us back to the case of double-mindedness. You may watch the Be Encouraged that helps you turn your eyes on the Lord, but then you let "garbage" reside in your mind by what you watch on television or from your phone.
You may faithfully read your Bible, read through the RYM and Wise Woman or Wise Man, but then you look at things that you should turn away from. If you are plagued with this temptation, then meditate on this verse and follow the example of Job 31:1 who we know God blessed beyond belief.
Let’s go ahead and selah here, and next week I will share an amazing principle that I have never heard any preacher or Christian writer address, which is preventing us from seeing evil done to us to be forever destroyed! Now it's time to...
This was insightful , at first I shook away the feeling that I was doing anything wrong. Until my HH brought a show up that I watch and what seeds of unforgivness , lust and anger it has been planting. I don’t want to deal with a heart issue because of something that I once found entertaining.
With today’s principle, I learned that any sin, even if only in the mind, blocks our blessings. That we must renounce any sin, no matter how small we think it is. That God looks at our willingness and that evil exposes the character of the heart. And if there is any sin in our lives, we must confess it to the Lord because He is faithful to cleanse us of our sins and forgive us.
This lesson is such a revelation, because I don’t think we always realize how sin stands in the way of our miracle or relationship with our Beloved.
If we know there is sin in our life, we must run to our Beloved and we must ask for forgiveness. If we need to ask for someone else’s forgiveness, we must ask our Beloved to provide an opportunity to do so.
Then we must also ask Him to reveal to us any sin from our past so that we can go to our Beloved and ask for forgiveness.
But how wonderful it is that our Beloved’s grace is great enough to forgive every sin and wash us clean! He removes our sins as far as the east is from the west! We must just go to Him in humility, with a willing heart, and ask Him to forgive us! It’s very important that we then turn away from our sin.
‘As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the L ord has compassion on those who fear Him. ‘
Psalms 103:12-13
https://my.bible.com/bible/100/PSA.103.12-13‘
Absolutely, filling our minds with even little things that can alter than way we we believe, think, act, is dangerous! We are called to be sober, which means not just mind altering substances. it means , being calm, serious, Having a disposition or tempter habitually sober, calm and temperate.