In every walk of life to become what you want to become then you must decide first what you will stop doing. It is not about doing something new as much as not doing what you are doing now. The examples are endless: but if you are really trying to get out of debt but still carry and use your credit card and do not change your spending then you will remain in debt. If you are wanting to be healthy but are still feeding on the wrong foods then you will remain unhealthy. We have to carry around in our lives the important two words, DO NOT.
“Though you, Israel, commit adultery, do not let Judah become guilty. “Do not go to Gilgal; do not go up to Beth Aven. And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ (Hosea 4 v 15)
The problem has always been that the people of God do not completely reject God but they compromise their walk with Him.
- Both Gilgal and Beth Aven (known as Bethel) had been places used by God in the past but now they are places of idol worship. It is important to simply stop going to certain places or meeting certain people.
- Before entering those places the people would declare, “As surely as the Lord lives!” or “Yawheh lives!” Then they would move right on in there to worship with idolatry. It is important to eradicate any justifications for actions that are not commissioned by God.
- God doesn’t want the southern kingdom, Judah, to go the way of the north, Israel. It is important to know the kind of person you do not want to become.
Missions Paul 