Dispel the Curse
"And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." Genesis 12:3 NASB
Good evening everyone!! I know, I know, its been way too long since my last post. But I've been on a soul searching and spiritual journey as of late, abandoning all and everything just to get my life in proper perspective. I had a fabulous time in Jamaica with one of my best friends for her birthday (and well, one of my delayed gifts to myself). It was so appropriate for me to go then; God blessed me to realize just how much He favors me. And to be honest, He favors us all the same way. As long as we commit our lives to doing His will by accepting His Son, we can rest assured that God's hand of blessing will be upon us.
So irony struck me today because God orchestrated it that all of my devotions that I read at the start of the day were all discussing blessings and curses. It lead me to share my take on it; for a long time I would complain and have a 'woe is me' attitude towards my life. We all received the ultimate blessing of eternity with God by accepting Christ as the supreme sacrifice, the great atonement for our sins. We are to repent--that is, forgive and be forgiven, and then turn away from our former behaviors towards God. Once we repent and sin no more, we are reconciled to God. From the time we accept Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, we share in the blessings--and the inheritance. Because of my journey lately, I know realize how blessed I really am. But that prevalence of 'blessings and generational curses' discussions forced me to really look at why things happen, and seem to keep happening to people.
My fascination rose when I came to read about curses. I'm not versed in the occult, but I do know that it exists, simply because the enemy satan exists. His desire to pervert everything that is God--the purity, the love, the family, the marriage, everything, so why would he not provide for a way to pervert God's way of showing He loved us by creating a way to show how much he hates us? So I came to understand that curses can only come upon us when we step outside of God's will for our lives. Looking at Numbers 22-23 in my bible study showed me that nothing God has blessed can be cursed. Nothing (See Numbers 22:12 and actually read both stories...this shows you where God will use anything and anyone to speak to you!) can remove the blessing on you but you and your own sinfulness. The Israelites were blessed and it was their own sin that caused them to become cursed in latter centuries. These curses fell upon them because they opened the door and let satan take up residence among them--in fact many of them were sleeping with the enemy (God forbade the Israelites to marry outside of their race, but many disobeyed and it is even evident in some of the most famous kings, i.e. Solomon, who left their love of God for the love of these foreign women, and eventually their idols.)
When we fall outside of God's will, there are all sorts of evils awaiting us. Because our flesh is sinful in nature, it is easy to get caught up and drift away in sin. It is only then that the enemy can get us. In the case of the Israelites, they kept on sinning, generation after generation, each worse than the one before. It was not until Christ came and died, that through Him we are able to again direct communion with God. I started working on this devotion nearly 3 weeks ago (Aug 17) and it was only a few days ago this week that I found the scripture I was looking for. In Exodus 34:6-7, "Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." So I remembered that without Christ, without accepting His seed of eternal life and rebirth as a child of God, we are doomed to these 'curses'. By turning back to that life without God, outside of His will, I overlook the best blessing He gave, Christ.
Good evening everyone!! I know, I know, its been way too long since my last post. But I've been on a soul searching and spiritual journey as of late, abandoning all and everything just to get my life in proper perspective. I had a fabulous time in Jamaica with one of my best friends for her birthday (and well, one of my delayed gifts to myself). It was so appropriate for me to go then; God blessed me to realize just how much He favors me. And to be honest, He favors us all the same way. As long as we commit our lives to doing His will by accepting His Son, we can rest assured that God's hand of blessing will be upon us.
So irony struck me today because God orchestrated it that all of my devotions that I read at the start of the day were all discussing blessings and curses. It lead me to share my take on it; for a long time I would complain and have a 'woe is me' attitude towards my life. We all received the ultimate blessing of eternity with God by accepting Christ as the supreme sacrifice, the great atonement for our sins. We are to repent--that is, forgive and be forgiven, and then turn away from our former behaviors towards God. Once we repent and sin no more, we are reconciled to God. From the time we accept Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, we share in the blessings--and the inheritance. Because of my journey lately, I know realize how blessed I really am. But that prevalence of 'blessings and generational curses' discussions forced me to really look at why things happen, and seem to keep happening to people.
My fascination rose when I came to read about curses. I'm not versed in the occult, but I do know that it exists, simply because the enemy satan exists. His desire to pervert everything that is God--the purity, the love, the family, the marriage, everything, so why would he not provide for a way to pervert God's way of showing He loved us by creating a way to show how much he hates us? So I came to understand that curses can only come upon us when we step outside of God's will for our lives. Looking at Numbers 22-23 in my bible study showed me that nothing God has blessed can be cursed. Nothing (See Numbers 22:12 and actually read both stories...this shows you where God will use anything and anyone to speak to you!) can remove the blessing on you but you and your own sinfulness. The Israelites were blessed and it was their own sin that caused them to become cursed in latter centuries. These curses fell upon them because they opened the door and let satan take up residence among them--in fact many of them were sleeping with the enemy (God forbade the Israelites to marry outside of their race, but many disobeyed and it is even evident in some of the most famous kings, i.e. Solomon, who left their love of God for the love of these foreign women, and eventually their idols.)
When we fall outside of God's will, there are all sorts of evils awaiting us. Because our flesh is sinful in nature, it is easy to get caught up and drift away in sin. It is only then that the enemy can get us. In the case of the Israelites, they kept on sinning, generation after generation, each worse than the one before. It was not until Christ came and died, that through Him we are able to again direct communion with God. I started working on this devotion nearly 3 weeks ago (Aug 17) and it was only a few days ago this week that I found the scripture I was looking for. In Exodus 34:6-7, "Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." So I remembered that without Christ, without accepting His seed of eternal life and rebirth as a child of God, we are doomed to these 'curses'. By turning back to that life without God, outside of His will, I overlook the best blessing He gave, Christ.
So I believe that when we accept Christ, we are freed from the curse--in fact Galatians 3:13 says so! We are no longer bound by generational curses and self-inflicted ones because the blood of Jesus was the ultimate atonement. Believe in Him and be free! He redeems and saves us from our greatest enemy, satan and our own selves.
"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Cor 5:21 NASB
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