Generational Curses?

Let me just say this off the bat- You are either cursed or you are in Christ.

Many people like to talk about the curses in the old testament as if they apply to people who have been saved or call Jesus their Savior. They don't. It is a lack of knowledge that destroys you.

But you will ask, "What about when it says that God will visit the sins of the father to the third and fourth generation?"

To clear that up, look at the context -

‘The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.’ Numbers 14:18

Notice that God is in the business of loving people and forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But He does not excuse the guilty. Who are the guilty? In this context the would be the people who didn't make atonement for their sins through the sacrifice system that God created for them. If you made sacrifices, your sins would be forgiven. But for the rebellious who wouldn't listen to God, they would be punished. The curse is death. That is THE curse. It was put into effect by the Law.

But I said earlier "You are either cursed or you are in Christ."

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." Galatians 3:13

This is an interesting concept. If Christ redeemed you (made you right with God) then can you be cursed by God? No.

"Yet you ask, 'Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?' Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him. Ezekiel 18:19-20

This passage in context of the Law but the principle still applies to us under Grace. When we turn to Jesus and accept his free gift of salvation which brings righteousness, God doesn't remember our sins and we are not cursed. We cannot be! Can Christ curse himself? Aren't we the body of Christ?

When you are saved, you are saved.

Rest and Worship

If you have read the Bible or been around Christians or Jews you may have heard of a term called "Sabbath". This is a day observed often times by many different sects of Christians and Jews.

What is Sabbath? Well, it started out pretty simple: it was a day for rest and worship. A day to relax and spend time with the Lord. Sounds pretty nice. But things get complicated, not because God makes them complicated but because we complicate them.

A lot of Christians view Sunday as their Sabbath. It is known as the "Lord's Day." Just one day a week. We have made it a law though. This is what Sabbath has been boiled down to, "Go to church and fear God or else you are an unsaved pagan." Really, I guarantee if "non-Christians" were honest, they would tell you that this is the vibe they get from Christians. This is a major turn off to a stuffy religion.

In Mark 2:27-28 (NLT) Jesus talks about the Sabbath.

"The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath."

WHAT?!

You see, in the context of this, Jesus and his disciples were being accused of breaking the Sabbath (There were 39 things punishable by death on the Sabbath. If you want to preach Law, you better check yourself.)

But Jesus reveals a new concept: Rest (even though the Sabbath was a day of rest).

People have made Rest & Worship a chore. People have made it so you have to serve Rest & Worship. This is an oxymoron! Like a solar powered flashlight! You can't serve rest. How is that possible? If you were serving it, you wouldn't be resting. Therefore it is no longer rest! The whole idea of Rest & Worship becomes a pointless chore.

It says in Hebrews 4 that the promise of entering God's rest still stands for those who have faith in Jesus. Anyone who enters God's rest, rests from his own work.

As Jesus says in John 6:29 (NLT) "This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent."

The only way you can have rest is by believing in Jesus. You were not made to meet requirements on a set day. Actually, you were made to have your needs met by God himself. Rest & Worship are just a means of experiencing His goodness. They are not ways for you to impress God.

So what system have you been following? Are you rested or stressed? Really, think about it.