God spoke this to me a while back, I put it in the notes on my phone. Here this last couple of weeks while being quarantined & dealing with life around here having my wife & 3 kids with Covid my heart has felt heavy & I kept coming back to this. Sorry for the long read, I hope it helps someone. I am nobody, I don’t proclaim to be anybody, I’m just passing on what God had laid on my heart.
I hope it makes since.
Boundaries
Something (such as a river, a fence, or an imaginary line) that shows where an area ends and another area begins. : a point or limit that indicates where two things become different.
Boundaries are created to keep things in a certain area or keep things safe. Fences are one typical boundary, while other boundaries are more personal we set for protecting ourselves. Boundaries we set for ourselves are to protect us & our loved ones. We need boundaries to protect us from the world. We need boundaries set in safe places; Boundaries set where if we fail we still have plenty of safe room, but we don’t need to always cross our boundaries due to the fact that we know we set them in safe places, Because our safe places will not always be safe. We will think there safe but they’re actually not safe, we’ll be on the other side of the “safe” line & we want even know it.
You ever notice as your driving down the road a barbed wire fence that keeps cows in place? Ever notice how in areas the fence is leaning away from their pasture? A place the Rancher has set to keep them safe, to keep them out of the road. They’re trying to get to the grass that’s “greener on the other side”. Ever wonder how they stick their neck & heads through that fence without getting cut or scratched? Well they do get cut and scratched, but what they want is on the other side. They do what they can to get it. Even if it hurts at first, eventually they build up scares to where they don’t feel the pain of crossing the fence. Their just used to it & eventually they get through the fence & end up in the middle the road. And in the middle of the road there’s no protection from disaster.
As with us, we set lines for our self not to cross, but eventually we think “well I can cross this line & nothing will happen” but what happens we lower our guard. Then the next time we cross that line it doesn’t bother us. Then finally we don’t even recognize the line we set for ourselves, cause we’ve crossed it so many times. We’ve built up scares that cause us not to recognize the pain caused from crossing our boundaries.
Take a look at the Bible. It’s full of boundaries that we need to pay attention to. The way we should live, the way we should talk & walk. When we cross these boundaries we lessen Gods word. Then next thing you know we’re asking “hath God really said??”. Then next thing you know we turn our backs on God & on the Truth.
Back to the Rancher that has cows, he runs the fence lines to make sure all the fence is good shape. God has put a man of God in our lives to “run our fence lines” to make sure their in good shape & still a safe distance from danger. But being human & covered with flesh we think we know what we can handle.
What happens when we have lines that have been crossed to many times & we’re used to crossing? We get scared & calloused to where we don’t feel the conviction, then we end up setting up new boundaries where we think we’re still safe. Then the same thing starts all over again. We cross the new boundaries & kept crossing the new boundaries just as the old boundaries & now we’re not in a safe place, we’re in the middle of the road. In the middle of the road is where disaster happens.
I’ve got 2 fences around my place. Age plays a roll in the boundaries you set. A fence close to the house to keep the grand baby’s away form the pond. But my older kids don’t need that fence, they know how close they can get to the pond. A fence around the property to help keep the dogs in, a fence around chickens, pigs & duck. All those fences are there for protection.
Back to the cow that got of the fence & was in the middle road; on a dark night , when we’re driving home & coming out of a curve, by the time we see the cow it’s to late. Disaster has struck & the disaster don’t just effect the person driving the car. It effects our family, our vehicle, the cow & the Rancher.
Joshua 7:10-26
10 The LORD then said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen facedown?
11 “Israel has sinned. They have violated my covenant that I appointed for them. They have taken some of what was set apart. They have stolen, deceived, and put those things with their own belongings.
12 “This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you what is set apart.
13 ¶ “Go and consecrate the people. Tell them to consecrate themselves for tomorrow, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There are things that are set apart among you, Israel. You will not be able to stand against your enemies until you remove what is set apart.
14 “In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the LORD selects is to come forward clan by clan. The clan the LORD selects is to come forward family by family. The family the LORD selects is to come forward man by man.
15 “The one who is caught with the things set apart must be burned, along with everything he has, because he has violated the LORD’s covenant and committed an outrage in Israel.”
16 ¶ Joshua got up early the next morning. He had Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected.
17 He had the clans of Judah come forward, and the Zerahite clan was selected. He had the Zerahite clan come forward by heads of families,fn and Zabdi was selected.
18 He then had Zabdi’s family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected.
19 ¶ So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to him.fn I urge you, tell me what you have done. Don’t hide anything from me.”
20 ¶ Achan replied to Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I did:
21 “When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Babylon,fn five poundsfn of silver, and a bar of gold weighing a pound and a quarter,fn I coveted them and took them. You can see for yourself. They are concealed in the ground inside my tent, with the silver under the cloak.”
22 So Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent, and there was the cloak, concealed in his tent, with the silver underneath.
23 They took the things from inside the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and spread them out in the LORD’s presence.
24 ¶ Then Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, and the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his ox, donkey, and sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and brought them up to the Valley of Achor.
25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought us trouble? Today the LORD will bring you trouble! ” So all Israel stoned themfn to death. They burned their bodies, threw stones on them,
26 and raised over him a large pile of rocks that remains still today. Then the LORD turned from his burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor still today
When you think that you can do something in private or when your by yourself & think no one will ever know. It’s just me, it want hurt anything. It want effect anyone else. When you think you can cross that boundary. You better think about your family. Achan crossed a boundary, he was the only one who knew. God set a boundary, Achan crossed it & his entire family paid for it. They got stoned to death & burnt. All because the leader of their house crossed a boundary.
In todays world we NEED boundaries set in safe places. Daddy I’m begging you set boundaries for you & your family. Your the leader of the house & your kids are watching.
Your family will pay for your SINS!!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I hope it makes since.
Boundaries
Something (such as a river, a fence, or an imaginary line) that shows where an area ends and another area begins. : a point or limit that indicates where two things become different.
Boundaries are created to keep things in a certain area or keep things safe. Fences are one typical boundary, while other boundaries are more personal we set for protecting ourselves. Boundaries we set for ourselves are to protect us & our loved ones. We need boundaries to protect us from the world. We need boundaries set in safe places; Boundaries set where if we fail we still have plenty of safe room, but we don’t need to always cross our boundaries due to the fact that we know we set them in safe places, Because our safe places will not always be safe. We will think there safe but they’re actually not safe, we’ll be on the other side of the “safe” line & we want even know it.
You ever notice as your driving down the road a barbed wire fence that keeps cows in place? Ever notice how in areas the fence is leaning away from their pasture? A place the Rancher has set to keep them safe, to keep them out of the road. They’re trying to get to the grass that’s “greener on the other side”. Ever wonder how they stick their neck & heads through that fence without getting cut or scratched? Well they do get cut and scratched, but what they want is on the other side. They do what they can to get it. Even if it hurts at first, eventually they build up scares to where they don’t feel the pain of crossing the fence. Their just used to it & eventually they get through the fence & end up in the middle the road. And in the middle of the road there’s no protection from disaster.
As with us, we set lines for our self not to cross, but eventually we think “well I can cross this line & nothing will happen” but what happens we lower our guard. Then the next time we cross that line it doesn’t bother us. Then finally we don’t even recognize the line we set for ourselves, cause we’ve crossed it so many times. We’ve built up scares that cause us not to recognize the pain caused from crossing our boundaries.
Take a look at the Bible. It’s full of boundaries that we need to pay attention to. The way we should live, the way we should talk & walk. When we cross these boundaries we lessen Gods word. Then next thing you know we’re asking “hath God really said??”. Then next thing you know we turn our backs on God & on the Truth.
Back to the Rancher that has cows, he runs the fence lines to make sure all the fence is good shape. God has put a man of God in our lives to “run our fence lines” to make sure their in good shape & still a safe distance from danger. But being human & covered with flesh we think we know what we can handle.
What happens when we have lines that have been crossed to many times & we’re used to crossing? We get scared & calloused to where we don’t feel the conviction, then we end up setting up new boundaries where we think we’re still safe. Then the same thing starts all over again. We cross the new boundaries & kept crossing the new boundaries just as the old boundaries & now we’re not in a safe place, we’re in the middle of the road. In the middle of the road is where disaster happens.
I’ve got 2 fences around my place. Age plays a roll in the boundaries you set. A fence close to the house to keep the grand baby’s away form the pond. But my older kids don’t need that fence, they know how close they can get to the pond. A fence around the property to help keep the dogs in, a fence around chickens, pigs & duck. All those fences are there for protection.
Back to the cow that got of the fence & was in the middle road; on a dark night , when we’re driving home & coming out of a curve, by the time we see the cow it’s to late. Disaster has struck & the disaster don’t just effect the person driving the car. It effects our family, our vehicle, the cow & the Rancher.
Joshua 7:10-26
10 The LORD then said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen facedown?
11 “Israel has sinned. They have violated my covenant that I appointed for them. They have taken some of what was set apart. They have stolen, deceived, and put those things with their own belongings.
12 “This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you what is set apart.
13 ¶ “Go and consecrate the people. Tell them to consecrate themselves for tomorrow, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There are things that are set apart among you, Israel. You will not be able to stand against your enemies until you remove what is set apart.
14 “In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the LORD selects is to come forward clan by clan. The clan the LORD selects is to come forward family by family. The family the LORD selects is to come forward man by man.
15 “The one who is caught with the things set apart must be burned, along with everything he has, because he has violated the LORD’s covenant and committed an outrage in Israel.”
16 ¶ Joshua got up early the next morning. He had Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected.
17 He had the clans of Judah come forward, and the Zerahite clan was selected. He had the Zerahite clan come forward by heads of families,fn and Zabdi was selected.
18 He then had Zabdi’s family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected.
19 ¶ So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to him.fn I urge you, tell me what you have done. Don’t hide anything from me.”
20 ¶ Achan replied to Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I did:
21 “When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Babylon,fn five poundsfn of silver, and a bar of gold weighing a pound and a quarter,fn I coveted them and took them. You can see for yourself. They are concealed in the ground inside my tent, with the silver under the cloak.”
22 So Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent, and there was the cloak, concealed in his tent, with the silver underneath.
23 They took the things from inside the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and spread them out in the LORD’s presence.
24 ¶ Then Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, and the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his ox, donkey, and sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and brought them up to the Valley of Achor.
25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought us trouble? Today the LORD will bring you trouble! ” So all Israel stoned themfn to death. They burned their bodies, threw stones on them,
26 and raised over him a large pile of rocks that remains still today. Then the LORD turned from his burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor still today
When you think that you can do something in private or when your by yourself & think no one will ever know. It’s just me, it want hurt anything. It want effect anyone else. When you think you can cross that boundary. You better think about your family. Achan crossed a boundary, he was the only one who knew. God set a boundary, Achan crossed it & his entire family paid for it. They got stoned to death & burnt. All because the leader of their house crossed a boundary.
In todays world we NEED boundaries set in safe places. Daddy I’m begging you set boundaries for you & your family. Your the leader of the house & your kids are watching.
Your family will pay for your SINS!!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I know that I’ve been guilty of ignoring boundaries, and one day I looked up and had ended up so far past the boundaries I had set, that I couldn’t even see daylight. I’m thankful for men like you who showed me the way back. Not sure if I’ve ever told you that, but thanks for being a real man in a day and age that so many seem to lack a spine
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