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Barriers
by Steve Countryman One definition of barrier is "Something immaterial that obstructs or impedes". Isaiah 59:2-3"2But your iniquities have separated you from your God, (barriers); your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. 3For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 "16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil." Barriers that we set up prevent God from blessing us, helping us, rescuing us, healing us, restoring us, empowering us and using us for His glory. I am no different. I have prayed for God's help one moment and a few minutes later started complaining about something. That complaining quenched the Holy Spirit's ability to answer my prayer. What is sad is that I didn't even know what I had done. We all treat complaining like it is our right to do so. We do it so often that it has become part of our life style and we think nothing of it. You now have placed another barrier between you and God. You cannot "in all things give thanks" while complaining about them. You are to look for the good in all things so that the barrier of complaining won't cause you to miss moving in them. Telling lies, little lies, white lies, grand elaborate lies, small fibs and half truths. Lies are meant to deceive by stealing the truth. How long would you serve a god who lied? But yet most of the time most Christians see no problem with a lie now and then. By telling lies you now have placed another barrier up between you and God. Every time you compromise away your beliefs in your God and His Word you dilute His blessings, power and gifts for your life. Compromise affects every area of your life and easily creeps into all areas of your beliefs. By giving up one area of Gospel truth you allow that corrosive element to eat at other areas of your beliefs. Compromise is too often used as an enabler for justifying and staying in your sin. Compromise WILL ALWAYS cost you something. It ALWAYS places more barriers in your life between you and your God. Every time you "wink" at sin, sinful lifestyles or say nothing and condone sin in silence you place another barrier between you and your God. The Word of God spells it all out but you must believe it and live it. When you doubt the Word of God or doubt Jehovah God's abilities and power you place a barrier of unbelief between you and your God. Other examples of barriers are disobedience and sins of omission. As found in James 4:17, knowing that you should have helped or blessed someone but didn't is a sin of omission. Gossiping and telling stories that are hurtful to others adds more barriers. Lack of reverential fear of the Lord is another barrier. Treating God as just someone you know but do not respect. Selfishness, arrogance, pride, haughty attitude and self centeredness are barriers. Lack of showing love, forgiveness and mercy are forms of barriers. Apathy, lack of caring and just plain pew sitting are more barriers. Anger, frustration and bad attitudes are other barriers between you and God. Galatians 5:19-21 "19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." Likewise the above mentioned items are also barriers between you and God. All barriers hinder, limit, restrict, suppress and quench the moving, healing, deliverance and blessings of God in your life. Its not that you have to be perfect to receive God's blessings. I have personally witness His wonderful blessings when I didn't deserve them because of His unmerited favor! But I also know that when some of my prayers are not answered it's because of the barriers that I have put up between me and my God. Pray for Father God to remove ALL of the barriers in your life. He wants to take you higher and deeper in Him and your relationship with Him if you will just remove the barriers between you and your God! Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |