Thread by @GPrater85015

#GeraldsDevotional
A Stake in the Ground – Change and Scorched Earth

This message today is the result of another night of prayer and reflection. It has been reflection on the whole counsel of God’s word (not just individual verses, passages or even books or divisions… the entire bible as you will see). It has been reflection on recent events and

events that go back for many years. And it has been reflection on my own personal experiences and how this is all so interwoven. Remember that I have written several times before of how the LORD continues to emphasize to me that NOTHING that happens around me or that I experience

is coincidence. I saw many examples of that recently.

If I were to try to write all of this right here, this devotional would be a book of several volumes in length (there is much to tell). Therefore I will break it up into several parts to summarize the message. I have called

this first message the stake in the ground because it will be the point of reference for this overall message series. It is about change.

In several of my messages over the years I have been led to discuss the topic of change. When those national and global measures were

implemented in response to that virus, I struggled a lot with it. I asked many people around and above me “Why are we doing this? What had really changed over those weeks other than the way we were choosing to respond in fear?” In one of the messages the LORD gave me in the

initial weeks of this reaction, He had me go and look in the bible to see where fear first appeared (Genesis 3) and where it was last mentioned (Revelation 21 where it was cast out of God’s kingdom). Between those two places, it is interwoven as THE struggle all throughout the

bible. It is a struggle between fear and trust… a struggle that did not exist before Genesis 3.

So from the biblical perspective, what has changed? Absolutely NOTHING. God is still the same as He was “in the beginning” (Genesis 1:1). He has always been our ultimate provider of

all of our needs (physical, emotional, spiritual, health). He has always provided all of these things so there was never any need to worry or fear. He has done it and promises to always do so no matter how we respond. But He never forces us to receive His provision and as a

result of Genesis 3 we naturally choose poorly. But God does not change.

On the other hand, Satan also does not change and never has. From Genesis 3 until today he still does the exact same thing and uses the exact same weapons (lies and doubt) to trick us into making poor

choices. What he said to the woman in the garden is essentially the same that he shouts at you and me today.

“God is holding out on you. You need to take care of yourself. Make YOUR satisfaction and care your top priority because nobody else will – especially not God. If you

think your needs are not being met, be very afraid and fight for them!”

These two counterpoints (God’s promise to provide versus Satan’s lie that God will not) is the overall story of the bible. We all without exception still struggle with this daily. If Jesus was with us in the

flesh right here today, He would do the same thing He did 2,000 years ago. He would look around at His people and say “Why are you afraid? Why do you doubt?” When you think about it, all of the miracles that He performed when He was here were demonstrations of God’s loving

character as a provider from Genesis 2. He was demonstrating how in God’s kingdom there is no sickness or death or lack of any good thing. His miracles were intended to illustrate this because He (God) was now here among us to set things back the way they were before Genesis 3.

But the people failed to see the real message of those miracles and only saw them as a way to satisfy their immediate needs (remember the lie from Satan in the previous paragraph).

It is true that Jesus’ miracles provided evidence that He was the all-powerful God. But I think a

bigger message that was lost in the understanding of the people was that the Great I AM was there among them (Emanuel). That character of God and the image of perfection in His Kingdom from Genesis 2 was there saying “Don’t worry, I am here and I will take care of you. These

miracles are only meant to illustrate the ultimate healing I have for you.”

But the people looked at all of these things through darkened lenses, running to Him in crowds only because they had heard they could get free things to satisfy their temporary needs. Once again, Satan

had not changed and was still using the very same limited weapons that he used in Genesis 3. He still uses those weapons today all around us as he knows that his time is short. He is using a “scorched earth” strategy where he persuades anyone who listens to him that they must win

at all cost, no matter who it hurts.

To be continued…
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