Lunchtime Live with ~*Sister Soldier*~
Your "Can do it" becomes a "Conduit"
Before we get into the text I want to look at the word conduit. Webster's fine book says that a conduit is defined as: 1: a natural or artificial channel through which something is conveyed 2: a means of transmitting or distributing. examples would be: a conduit for illicit payments or a conduit of information. 3. a conduit is also the small box that the power feeds thru to go into your house from the power lines on the power pole outside your house. It is a doorway so to speak into your house.
In life we are faced with different situations that may or may not be good for us. I want to talk to you about a few things today. When we are in a situation and we are transitioning from one phase of our life to another we are faced with restrictions and freedoms that become fluid during this transition. I work with people in the homeless ministry and in the FMOC that are constantly moving from one phase of their life to another. In each phase there are different rules. This is why we must govern ourselves accordingly in each phase. As we move through this life we mature due to situations we face and at times we fall due to choices we make. God gives us free will to chose. he wants us to succeed in life and be prosperous but we chose things at times that are not so good for us. I oft times hear the elders call this "having a door open in the spirit". When we entertain things and spirits that are not of God, we have an "open door" in the spirit for the devil to have a foothold over our mind, our money, our life and at times our freedom. I have helped people who find themselves in a state of homelessness transition into a new life with a job and a home and in doing so they call it an open door to opportunity. I have watched some go into that opportunity and change their whole life. I have also seen some go into that opportunity and still try to live by the same rules they had set for themselves while they were homeless where they "can do" what ever they want to with no rules or bills or landlords or jobs dictating what they need to do to survive in this new arena. When they do this they most times loose what they have worked so hard for. I have also assisted many individuals come out of incarceration and as they transition into life they meet milestones of growth and one of them is the realization of the fact that they are free from the rules and regulations of DOC and now "can do" what they want to do. When they get to this point in their transition I call it a crossroad of decision. Once they have that reality that they "can do" what ever they want to and be around who ever they want to, this is where sometimes trouble finds an open door to their lives. That moment where you have worked to get out of prison and now you are adjusting to freedoms you did not have before and finally get to the point where you realize you are free to do what ever you want to. You have a choice to walk in the new convictions you have and personal disciplines or you can chose to just turn to old habits and way and people you used to hang around that you got in trouble with to begin with. You have that thought of "I can do what I want to". Teenagers go through this when they move from age 17 to age 18. All of a sudden they feel they "can do" what ever they want to even tho they still live at home with Mama and Daddy. Well, this "can do" attitude quickly becomes a conduit. Your decisions of right or wrong actions determines what flows through that conduit. If you entertain the spirit of pride that tells us "I can do what I want to." and you make choices to allow certain situations in your life then your "can do" just became a conduit for evil to have a foothold in your life. when we make good decisions we open ourselves up to natural and spiritual growth as well as opportunities and favor with God. When we make bad decisions we open doors to negative things in our lives that hinder our natural and spiritual growth. This also allows sin to come in and blocks the favor of God in our lives. At this point your "can do" has become a conduit. We can chose to live by the scripture: I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me or we can live under the bondage of pride that tells us "I can do what ever I want to. You are not the boss of me." One leads to a path way of righteousness and one leads to a path of destruction. But what determines this is our "can do". We must make a decision what we are going to do even though we may have the knowledge that we "can do" what ever we want to. The thought comes to mind just because it's possible doesn't mean it's permissible or profitable. Remember your "can do it" is a "conduit" for what direction your future takes.
Let's look at 2 Peter 1:1-20 King James Version (KJV) Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In this scripture we see God stating to us the promises He has for us and what we need to have in our lives. He instructs us here to make your election and calling sure, so that you never fall. This means decide on what you will do now that you know you "can do" what ever you want to. What type of conduit will you allow your "can do" to become in your life?
In 2 Samuel 16:5-14 David was king. He had the power to do what ever he wanted as king because he was the government during his reign. However, he chose not to stand up and take action, therefore giving into the foothold of fear by not stopping Shimei from publicly shaming him and throwing rocks at him. Now we all know as king he had the power to take action. I'm sure he may have had the thought I "can do" something to stop him, but fear held him in it's grips and his decision to do nothing about it became a conduit for that fear to grip him. David then made a second mistake: He failed to forgive. As a result, he was tormented by this memory until the day he died (1 Kings 2:1-46). We hear King David here in 1 kings 2:1 he is on his death bed talking with his son, Solomon. He is passing the kingdom on to his son and he is telling him how to walk as king and to walk in wisdom. In vs. 8-9 we see King David instruct his son with regard to Shimei. It says the following: 8 And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. 9 Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood. Then in Vs. 10 it says: So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. The word shows us here the last thing King David did as King was to pass this foothold of unforgiveness on to his son in a generational curse saying I promised this man I would not kill him (I'm paraphrasing) but I want you to bring him down in blood even though he is old now. The lack of "can do" in David's life opened a conduit for fear and unforgiveness in his life that followed him to his death and then fell on his children. Truly we must be careful, be mindful of how we handle our "can do's" and don't allow them to become a conduit that can travel throughout our lives as a foothold and then be passed on to our children.
When we reach places in our lives where we must make decisions of who and what to allow in our lives, we must keep in mind that the fact that we "can do it" will ultimately become a conduit for good or bad in our lives. So I ask you, please, think before you act. Think when you come to that cross roads of decision. Think of what reaction will come from your actions. It is vital to remember just because we "can do" something, have the power to do something, or something is possible it may not be permissible nor profitable for or in your life. We must move past that first thought and seek kingdom, heavenly eternal decisions for our lives. Today I challenge you to do so in your own life. Start from where you are and move forward with a "Conduit" mindset instead of a "can do it" mind set. Do not allow the fact that you "can do it" become a conduit for evil in your life.
I pray this has helped you as much as it has helped me.
Just a little food for thought from the desk of: The ~*Sister Soldier*~