My Sticks Have Stones

The story of the Three Little Pigs is meant to teach us about the foundation upon which we choose to build. One little pig decided to build a house with straw, the other with sticks, and the last one with brick/stone. The ultimate goal was to form a protective barrier between them, and the big bad wolf. Sadly, as we all know two pigs did not make the cut.

The materials chosen to build with are just as important as the building itself. It can be the difference between being blown away by the big bad wolf, and in our case Satan, the deceiver, the evil one.

We should have a wall between us and the enemy, that allows us to decipher when we are being attacked, and pulled away from purpose, and/or destiny.

Do you have a wall in place? Are you vulnerable prey because you are using straw, or sticks to build from? These are temporary mediums, not meant to withstand the storms of life.

Maybe you’ve added a couple of stones atop of the sticks that you have mistaken for a long lasting material, and cannot seem to make progress. You are circling your purpose, with old demons still lurking from your past, causing you to doubt every word of truth that has been spoken over your life.

The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. (Matthew 12:20-21)

We must build with the intention to last. We must hear the word with the intention to apply it directly to our lives; or we are counterfeit. The three little pigs all put in the hard work to build a house, and the outcome was aesthetically nice.

They lived in their houses, and made it an enjoyable place to sleep. But when the enemy came, he attacked them all in the same way. The impostor houses, the counterfeit foundations, the temporary dwellings, were soon found out to be faulty.

The big bad wolf, huffed and puffed, and blew their houses down.

At some point, did it ever occur to them to check their foundation, before the attack? The attack is inevitable, but are you prepared?

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

Did you ever think to go to marriage counseling before the marriage is under attack? What about eating well, and staying in shape, before the doctor’s appointment? How about learning how to be a wife while you’re single, before your husband finds you? This is all preventative maintenance that will check the foundation upon which we are building, before the attack of the enemy.

God cares about the integrity of our decisions. Did you choose to build with faulty foundational materials because you were worried about the cost? You were worried about what you would lose in the process. You had to pay more up front. Decor and design seemed more important than stability, and longevity.

The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful (Matthew 13:22).

God is prompting you today, to build your house with the acute responsibility of weathering the storms of life. Don’t let your foundational decisions be made without Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone. The last little pig used brick to build his house, and the big bad wolf could not blow his house down.

But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown (Matthew 13:23).”

If you started with sticks, and intermittently switched over to stones/brick; a re-breaking must happen. Your foundation is compromised, you must start over.

But take heart, you have a master crop yielder, a protector, and a defender of the weak, that has set you up to win. Firstly, we must repent, and fully receive him in our hearts.

Pray with me,

Lord forgive me if I have been building with faulty materials

Help me to start over if I’ve been building without the intention to last

Define in me the right spirit, and the right motives to move forward

Help me to decipher what is wrong vs. what is right

Show me to the way everlasting

Break chains in my heart that are choking away the seed of faith and righteousness

Deliver me o’God

Forgive me dear Lord

Holy Spirit pour into me, and show me my heart

In the mighty name of Jesus Christ

I pray

Amen.

A Snippet of A Promise

A snippet of a promise serves as fuel to keep pursuing God in times of turbulence, and disarray. Life can hand you lemons, but the holy spirit guides, and shows you how to prepare the lemonade. Joseph was shown how his story would end in a dream.

He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” (Genesis 37:6,7,9)

These dreams were lemons. These were the glimpses of a promise that God was making to Joseph.

Why did God give him these dreams? God knew that Joseph was going to face defeating circumstances that would challenge his faith; allowing him to persevere in the abundance of pain, and strife. God wanted him to hold on to the snippet of his promise.

He wanted him to understand that just because adversity comes knocking on the door, the dream, the promise is still alive, his God is still constant.

Understand, therefore, that the LORD your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. (Deuteronomy 7:9)

Have you had some defeating moments, friend? Where you started out with all the zeal, and excitement in active pursuit of your calling, and you hit a stumbling block that caused you to go limp? Joseph had moments where he felt the blessing of the promise, instead of its weight.

Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. (Genesis 37:3)

Being set apart, favored, and chosen sounds ideal, and in retrospect a blessing; but the weight is heavy. Joseph was ostracized by his brothers because of the call on his life. Even his father, Jacob, questioned the integrity of his dreams.

When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. (Genesis 37:10-11)

How hurtful is it to express a dream, only to have it ransacked by the people around you? These were his brothers, this was his father, but they did not have the vision to see into Joseph’s future.

Someone reading this needs to repeat after me: “My purpose is not determined by the acceptance of those around me.” Let’s say that one more time: “My purpose is not determined by the acceptance of those around me.”Joseph had to hold on to the snippet of a promise, after his brothers sold him into slavery.

“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. (Genesis 37:19-20,23-24,28)

The taunting, the lying, the manipulative handles, are all tactics of the enemy. The evil one wants you to forget the snippet of a promise, that God surrendered to you before the storm began to brew.

Even though the climate is dry, and the cistern is empty, God is full. He is full of hope, he is full of provision, and destiny for your life.

Hold on to truth in the midst of evil, and confusion. Resist the temptation to forget the promise, and proceed like Joseph.

Let’s pray:

Lord I bless your holy name

I ask that you pour into the dry parts of my inner man

Help me to discover the dream that you have for my life

If I’ve forgotten it, please replay it in my heart

Show me to the way everlasting

Let all that I am praise the Lord

In the triumphant name of Jesus Christ

I pray

Amen

Spoiled Treasure

God told me to give it up, but I just couldn’t see myself without it. I conquered the obstacle...or did the obstacle conquer me? He gave me the win, he told me the spoils were not mine to attempt to keep; but I was captured by the moment. I decided to go against the will of the Lord, and now I’m sulking. My anointing is now fractured, and I’m losing ground. My spoils have become my treasures, and my heart is lost in the transaction.

Why didn’t I listen? What made me keep, when I should’ve let go? Looking back on the situation, was it worth it? Did I become a spoil to myself? -Saul the “Spoiled” King

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

I imagine Saul had many regrets, as he was anointed, and chosen to be the King, by God, through the prophet Samuel. Saul was given instructions.

“Go and attack the Amalekites! Destroy them and all their possessions. Don’t have any pity. Kill their men, women, children, and even their babies. Slaughter their cattle, sheep, camels, and donkeys.” (1 Samuel 15:3)

God was redeeming the Israelites from their enemy the Amalekites; who ambushed them when they came out of Egypt. Saul did not follow these instructions.

Saul and his army let Agag live, and they also spared the best sheep and cattle. They didn’t want to destroy anything of value, so they only killed the animals that were worthless or weak. (1 Samuel 15:9)

Partial obedience is still considered disobedience. Imagine telling your child to wash the dishes; only to come home and find that they just cleaned the silverware, leaving the sink full of dirty dishes. Should you praise them for their effort? Is this a job well done?

Where in your life are you being partially obedient? Where have you yet to surrender the spoils that were never meant for you to keep? Are you remaining at a job that God told you to leave, so that you can spend more time with your family? Are you focusing on financial gain; while this desire is festering, and spoiling your heart; leaving you weak and compromised to the deceiver?

Somewhere Saul let his will over-run the will of God. This wasn’t the only time he decided to do his own thing. Saul moved without conviction from the Lord.

“What have you done?” asked Samuel.

Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.” (1 Samuel 13:11-14)

“You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

Saul did not comply with the instructions that were given to him from the prophet Samuel.

“Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do.” (1 Samuel 10:8)

How many of us are operating with minimal visibility, and a deaf ear to the holy spirit? We can hear that we will be a great success, and that everything we do will prosper; but then we deny the work behind the calling. Maybe God has tinged your heart about drinking, and you comply with everything else ...but that, or when it’s convenient you will oblige, outside of a social setting.

Possibly, God is cleansing your mind from lust, and perversion, calling you to rid yourself of a favorite television show, a book, or a film that takes you there every time. Maybe the call is not as invasive as Saul’s, but we are still being called everyday. Are you complying to the will of God for your life?

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:24)

Don’t leave the presence of the Lord to honor your own. Without him, without the anointing of the Father, Saul was just a man with a stronghold. He had something to prove. Where did that lead him?

“Tell me,” Samuel said. “Does the Lord really want sacrifices and offerings? No! He doesn’t want your sacrifices. He wants you to obey him. Rebelling against God or disobeying him because you are proud is just as bad as worshiping idols or asking them for advice. You refused to do what God told you, so God has decided that you can’t be king.” (1 Samuel 15:22-23)

This breaks through the notion that we cannot lose our calling. God does not take it away from us, but we can forfeit the call when we don’t obey the Lord. Samuel admits to fearing the reproach of people.

“I have sinned,” Saul admitted. “I disobeyed both you and the Lord. I was afraid of the army, and I listened to them instead. Please forgive me and come back with me so I can worship the Lord.” (1 Samuel 15:24-25)

What have you forfeited due to complacency, or fear? This can be fear of what others will think, fear of being left out, or fear of the unknown; not wanting to expand beyond what you are comfortable with. Today, let go... and be reconciled to the one that knows you better than anyone else.

Don’t rest in the spoils, but bask in the treasures of the Lord: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He has a purpose for your life; he knows what will satisfy your heart better than you do. Let go of fear, and step into who God has ordained you to be.

Prayer

Forgive me for I have sinned

I have feared the outcome, more than the increase of your spirit. Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me.

Help me to follow the instructions you have set before me in your word.

Help me to not lust after the things of this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of my mind. I give away the things that I hold on to, that you have repeatedly prompted me to let go.

Forgive me for my stubbornness.

I love you dearly

In Jesus’ name, I pray,

Amen.