Cleaning out the camp

Last we spoke we talked about your camp: making sure that your camp is supposed to be your camp and purging it of people who aren't supposed to be there.. Speaking of people who aren't supposed there - How do you know they aren't supposed to be there?

Now we can get all deep and spiritual about this and say the Spirit will reveal to you whose supposed to be there and who is not... That's all well and good... We do get to a point where the Spirit guides us and directs us. But how do we distinguish between us (our carnal selves) and the Spirit?

Firstly, we have to make sure that we know God's voice. We know his voice by reading and understanding his word. 2Timothy 2:15 Says: Study to show thyself approved. Now if you've grown up in the Church like I have, you are very familiar with this verse but may not understand it. On the surface it's very simple: Study means to devote time to acquiring knowledge. So the verse on the surface means to devote time to acquiring the knowledge to show thyself approved. Approved? Approved for what.... Approved to be able to teach others about God... You can argue that no formal education is needed in order to do this. But I present this to you If no formal education is needed, why did the Apostles, leave everything behind and travel with Jesus before they embarked on their own journeys? This is because they did not know all that they needed to just as we do not know.

Secondly, we have to make sure we have our own understanding of God's word. Many of us have grown up in or around the Church in some shape form or fashion. Me, I went to Catholic School. But it wasn't until I got older that I came to the realization that what I knew of God's word, is what others taught me based on Their understanding, but I didn't know it for myself. Not knowing it for myself, left me open to all types of interpretations of it. Some of it good, some of it bad, and some of it indifferent. There was no way for me to know what was truth and what wasn't. There are still things in which I do not know, but I have gained a better understanding of the Word by reading it and praying on it...

Thirdly, we have to constantly stay in the word. Just like with everything else, we go through stages in order to grow. We start off as babes, then grow in maturity until we become "Adults". *Disclaimer.. Age does not always mean you are an adult* Just like having been saved for 5+,10+, 15+ years does not mean you are a mature believer. A mature believer has studied the word and have an understanding for themselves, yet they understand that there are always things that they can learn. A mature believer understands that they have to read the word daily and meditate on it day and night. A mature believer understands that the things that they absorb through their senses directly affects their way of thinking which directly affects who they allow to be in their camp.

Our camp changes as we mature. This is because we by nature associate ourselves with people who think like us, act like us.  If we are operating on another level, those who are no longer on the level with us, nor who are willing to be pulled up by us and along with us, will be weeded out. Some of them will leave, but most we will have to let go.... Being able to do this all comes from the renewal of our minds ( Staying in the word, understanding the word, and hearing God's voice.)

Whose in your camp?

 Jacob means "Trickster" and he spent his life living up to it. He however, encountered a bigger trickster in his Uncle Laban. He tricked him into marrying Leah before Rachel even though all Jacob wanted was Rachel. Laban then tricked Jacob into working another 7 years for Rachel. When Jacob finally said enough is enough he had worked for Laban for 20 years. Jacob was ready to go. He was ready to pack up and leave. When he got ready to leave, he went to Laban and let him know he was leaving. Laban convinced him to stay. He offered him anything he wanted. Jacob recognized that Laban had all he had because he was connected to Jacob. When God blessed Jacob, Laban received a blessing as well.... Long story short, Jacob, in the middle of the night, packs up his wives, his children, his servants, and all of his possessions and left. When Laban realized he had left, he traveled after him. The reason that Laban was chasing after him was because one of Jacob's wives had gone into Laban's tent and stolen his gods. Jacob did not know that the gods were in his possession.(Genesis 31:15-49)

The reason I bring this particular story up is because it goes to show you that the actions of those in your camp affect the overall outcome of things as much as your actions do. We see this throughout the Bible. Adam went through it, Moses had to wander 40 years because of it, Joshua went through it... Even Jesus had to deal with betrayal in his own camp. Why do we keep finding examples of this throughout the Bible? We find it to let us know that not everyone who is connected to us has our best interests in heart. It is to let us know that we have to be very careful who is allowed to move with us. We have to be careful because as we see in the case of Jacob, a member of his own camp, his inner circle, brought with them foreign gods. They did this knowing that the God of his father Isaac and his grand-father Abraham was the only God that they served. They also did this without telling Jacob....

Jacob's story is a warning to us.... We may have people who are in our camp, in our inner circle, who have brought idols into the camp. Idols can be money, fame, power or even other gods. We may not even know that they are there and we wonder why things are not going the way that they should be. From time to time, we have to take stock of those around us.. We have to make sure that our camp is not with us just because of the blessings they are receiving, but that they are with us because they are supposed to be with us. We have to make sure that they are not bringing idols or false gods into the camp.  I have found in the reflection of my own camp that there are people who don't always have my best interest in mind and have had to be cut loose in order for me to move onto the next level. I have also found in my own camp that there are people in which I thought might not have had my best interests, but in reality, were just coming from a different experience.

My challenge to you is to pray on it, then take stock of your own camp. There may be people that have to be let go... And don't be afraid to do this from time to time....

Who God is to me....

The Lord is my shepherd my rock my salvation The reason why I smile even when having a rough day He is my example My light and when I can't go any more His is the wings on which I soar.