"Kept Away"

"And Og the king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 136:20)

  You know, I do depend a lot on Matthew Henry to give a little input into some of what I might share on, but for this particular journey, he has not been much help. That might be because I have left the reservation, like about twenty verses ago; but I will finish what I started, none the less. Just in case you missed it, yesterday was about how we analysis particular things in our lives, making choices on what to do based upon the thoughts in our heads. Stop trying to figure out what God is doing, and just be available for Him to do a work in you! This is very similar in nature, because instead of thoughts, this is what we see with our eyes. The thought process can get extremely out of control, if we let it; but what we see with our eyes, we don't even consider anything else but what we see. Infidelity is made of this, because the eyes sees what it wants, and the thought process is totally focused upon what is seen, not on any consequence or negative reaction. When it comes to taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, this is something where we need to give those thoughts to Him, voluntary and willingly. It is a lot like answering a wrong number, where you just had Him the phone, saying, "This one is for you, Lord!" There is really sometimes no time to think about, just ask Him to turn it off, and just like that, He will. For this visual encounter, sometimes we just need to run! You would if you knew what a trap it was and who was behind it; you wouldn't even hesitate, it would be a natural reaction; that is, if you could see the situation with spiritual eyes wide open. I have had my share of close encounters, but fortunately have never taken the bait; not that I did not want to, but He always will make a way of escape, if we choose to take it. This was the most fertile land in the region; it was also know for giants, as Og actually means, 'long-necked.' Don't ask, it has been a really long night. I either had food poisoning, or the flu, but I have been up most of the night feeling as though I needed to throw up. Strangest dreams ever! Okay, maybe not ever, but it was pretty strange. I had this dream that God gives us some sort of gut pains when He wants us to stop and take notice; almost as if He is making us hesitate by controlling our bowels or giving us irregularity. You know that old expression, "I had a feeling in my gut," well that is a pretty gentle way of saying it. But, if you want to get right down to it, whatever it takes, is sometimes not enough...

"He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. So we stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" (2 Corinthians 5:15-17) NLT