Roads, Ditches, Traps, and Snares

~Chapter 9~ Building Your Foundation And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness, the unclean, shall not pass over it … but the redeemed shall walk there. Isaiah 35: 8-9 KJV Why do people think that there is no God? Many people think that if God really existed, there would be no evil on earth, but if we do not have the right to choose to be evil (or good depending on your nature), we have no free will. The fact that there is evil on this earth proves that Christians are not mindless robots, and we serve Christ freely—and with great effort I may add. God works where He is invited. If we use our authority that God gave back to us through Christ, it is up to us in the physical and in the spiritual realm to get things done. Pray hard. Do what you are supposed to do. This is what God has said: “Why have you deliberately walked away from God’s commandments? You can’t live this way! If you walk out on God, he’ll walk out on you.” 2 Chronicles 24:20 I used to wonder why there were so many old beautiful church buildings in Europe that are no longer churches. The above verse gives me my answer. If we turn our hearts away from God, He will not stick around and He will let even the beautiful churches become empty. To stay on fire for the Lord, we not only need to live for Him, but we should also be doing things for Him. God is a doer. We should be doers as well. God will not do for us what we can do ourselves. The Christian walk is one of faith and works—not just faith and not just works. It should be faith first, then works. We, as Christians, need faith in God that His son Jesus made a way for our eternal salvation by His death, not our works. No one can get to heaven by works, but God does expect us to work for Him, for the sake of the others. As we are commanded in the book of James, we should be doing good things for the Lord everyday. But God isn’t so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what you’ve done. Romans 2:2b MSG God is kind but He’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into radical life-change. Romans 2:4 MSG The word I received below shows you what kind of person I was, and still can be if I am not careful with my flesh. God wants us to get out of our flesh. He sees enough of that in non-believers. He wants us to become like Him. A word to me Feb 8, 2010: “You want to know what is the matter with your life? Look inside. Have I not told you? Here it is: Live for me. Everyday you must live for me. Make decisions based on the fact that you are mine. I am holy. Act Holy. I am Lord. Treat me that way. Honor me by what you do and say. I am the Lord. Trust me. Show me that you trust me by your words and actions. Get out of the flesh. Do not seek to please the flesh. Please me. Study the Word. Seek out what pleases me. Can you not see it in the Psalms all that pleases me? Look to my Word and examine it. You come here asking questions; my answers are in the Word. Live by my Word and you will be blessed. Work harder at putting off your flesh. You no longer live for yourself, but me. When you do something, think to yourself, “Will this please God?” Ask yourself when you read a magazine cover, “Does this please God?” Speak your words that are pleasing to me. Make them gentle, not loud or boisterous. Speak kind, encouraging, uplifting words. People don’t need ridicule. Who likes to be put down? Build them up like you would like to be built up. Trust me here. Crucify those fleshly words. Let your words bring life. Give me glory for all you have, for at any moment you could lose it all. Praise me for the good things. What do you have that I have not given you? Where is your praise? Seek me until your spirit is lifted. Everyday, do the things you need to do to get out of yourself and get more of me. These things you should be doing already, but the world you live in is a constant storm of spiritual decline, which you must continually duck and be aware of. You need to be on the lookout. Be watchful. Satan’s traps are small, and you feel as though you can’t get caught. A snare is but a small rope, but it can trap large animals. These small temptations and compromises are snares. Do not get engulfed in this game. You cannot win. How much poison can you swallow before it hurts you? Who wants to find out? As you would not touch poison, do not touch small temptations, for they are poison. The devil knows it and laughs when you bite. Listen now and do these things: be holy, be strong, and listen to my Spirit. You know the right thing to do. Trust me. Living strictly by the Word will bring you many blessings. Every time you compromise you lose footing in the spirit. You must keep yourself strong here. If your footing is bad, how do you expect to win the battle? Secure your footing. Do not recklessly step without looking, but be careful. Everyday there are steps you need to take that draw you closer to me. Watch your every step; you could slip at any time. Like a strict diet where every calorie needs to be counted, every action needs to be counted. Every word needs to be watched. Look at it like a spiritual meter. Do this now and be blessed.”