Foundations Oct 23, 2010

Saturday, October 23, 2010

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Ecclesiastes 10-12 & Galatians 4

THANKFUL SUBMISSION – Submission in Relationships

SCRIPTURE READING 

Deuteronomy 5:9-10 (NIV); “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Though we are not bound by them, the sins of our parents have an effect on us, and similarly, our sins have the capacity to affect our children. Of course this is not to say that we or our children can blame our behavior on the mistakes of others, for it is clear in Scripture that we are accountable to our own choices. However, this passage shows that there is some connection between one generation’s sins and another’s struggles. Take Adam and Eve, for example. They committed what we would call “petty theft” – they ate a fruit that they were told not touch, like a child stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. But through that “innocent” “little” sin, the world fell into rebellion. Closer to home, their sin allowed Satan a foothold that gave sin an entrance into the couple’s immediate family with one son being murdered and the other becoming a murderer. In 1 Samuel 15, rebellion is likened to witchcraft! This sounds extreme until we consider that all sin is rebellion against God which only leaves one other “side” to be on – the enemy’s! Through witchcraft, one directly opens themselves up to the demonic. This realization should bring us to our knees in repentance!

PRAYER & MEDITATION

1. Are there some sins in your past that have never been brought to light? Ask the Holy Spirit what to do with them. Is there someone He wants you to confess to in order to get it out in the open?

2. Ask Jesus to reveal any sins that you haven’t cleared up. Confess them to God and in Jesus’ name, break any authority that they have in your life or in the lives of your children/grandchildren.

3. Spend some time in intercession for your kids, grandchildren, nieces and  nephews, etc. 

today. Listen and pray into what you receive.

4. Two things you can do to learn more are: 1) Listen to part 5 of the Submission             message series and the extended video online and, 2) attend an Encounter Retreat where these things are dealt with.