Genesis 26:15 & 18
As I was going back through old Breads, I found my problem!
Genesis 26:15 & 18
15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. 18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
My pastor preached a message not too long ago based partly on these scriptures. He talked about how, sometimes, your well gets stopped up and filled with dirt. Whether its dirt put there by the enemy or dirt put there by our own struggles in the flesh, sometimes we have to dig again the well of water. There are some warning signs that your well is being filled with dirt:
· You have noticed a decline in your prayer life.
· You have noticed a decline in your Bible reading.
· You find yourself becoming critical of the pastor or the congregation.
· You find yourself resenting the time/expense being spent on your congregation.
· You find yourself easily offended by your pastor or the congregation.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. I'm sure you can come up with more. So once we realize that our well of joy and peace and strength is being stopped up by all this negative dirt, what do we do?
James 4: 8
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Romans 12:2
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Ephesians 4:22-23
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
By doing a quick search on cleanse and renew, it pretty quickly comes right back to holiness. Unless you are willing to live a holy, separated, righteous life, your mind is not going to be renewed. If you stray away from that holy separated life (usually by going back and digging up something that old man had held dear) that dirt will start to fill your well again. So draw nigh to God, present yourself once again as a living sacrifice and put that old man down again! Don't you wish it was just that easy? It is vital though. Whatever is keeping your well of peace and joy from flowing must be dug out. Whatever pride, unresolved anger, bitterness or conflict is robbing you of your worship must be dug out. Whatever hidden sin is standing between communion with you and God must be dug out. Pray, fast and ask God for help in clearing away the anger, hurt, pride, sin, etc., that has found its way into your well. Don't be surprised though, when you start digging up wells, water will flow.
I first wrote this in 03, I believe. As I read it again, I said "That's it!" It's those weeds of the bad habit creeping in. The cares of this world that start to overcome us again. The tapes in our mind that start playing ever so softly at first and with growing volume as we don't erase them. In other words, life happening. So once again....I drag myself to the alter, confess my slipshod ways, ask for forgiveness and healing and start anew. That is the awesome thing about God though, I can do that as often as I need to and He is always willing to meet me at my point of need. Do you need your shovel again?
In His service for His glory,
Deborah
Genesis 26:15 & 18
15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. 18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
My pastor preached a message not too long ago based partly on these scriptures. He talked about how, sometimes, your well gets stopped up and filled with dirt. Whether its dirt put there by the enemy or dirt put there by our own struggles in the flesh, sometimes we have to dig again the well of water. There are some warning signs that your well is being filled with dirt:
· You have noticed a decline in your prayer life.
· You have noticed a decline in your Bible reading.
· You find yourself becoming critical of the pastor or the congregation.
· You find yourself resenting the time/expense being spent on your congregation.
· You find yourself easily offended by your pastor or the congregation.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. I'm sure you can come up with more. So once we realize that our well of joy and peace and strength is being stopped up by all this negative dirt, what do we do?
James 4: 8
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Romans 12:2
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Ephesians 4:22-23
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
By doing a quick search on cleanse and renew, it pretty quickly comes right back to holiness. Unless you are willing to live a holy, separated, righteous life, your mind is not going to be renewed. If you stray away from that holy separated life (usually by going back and digging up something that old man had held dear) that dirt will start to fill your well again. So draw nigh to God, present yourself once again as a living sacrifice and put that old man down again! Don't you wish it was just that easy? It is vital though. Whatever is keeping your well of peace and joy from flowing must be dug out. Whatever pride, unresolved anger, bitterness or conflict is robbing you of your worship must be dug out. Whatever hidden sin is standing between communion with you and God must be dug out. Pray, fast and ask God for help in clearing away the anger, hurt, pride, sin, etc., that has found its way into your well. Don't be surprised though, when you start digging up wells, water will flow.
I first wrote this in 03, I believe. As I read it again, I said "That's it!" It's those weeds of the bad habit creeping in. The cares of this world that start to overcome us again. The tapes in our mind that start playing ever so softly at first and with growing volume as we don't erase them. In other words, life happening. So once again....I drag myself to the alter, confess my slipshod ways, ask for forgiveness and healing and start anew. That is the awesome thing about God though, I can do that as often as I need to and He is always willing to meet me at my point of need. Do you need your shovel again?
In His service for His glory,
Deborah
posted by BreadBakers at 12:36 PM
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