Cleansed

I was ready to address the second part of my blog concerning cyberspace soul ties, but I felt led to write a short topic on a verse from John that the Lord gave me.

In John 13, before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that the enemy was going to do his work through Judas. He was aware of all that which was now before Him. Yet he arose from the supper and put a towel around His waist and poured water into a basin. He then proceeded to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel around His waist. When He came to Peter, he pulled back and said, “Lord are you going to wash my feet?” The Lord answered, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will after this.” Peter responded, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus then said, “If I do not wash you, you will have no part in Me.” Peter responded that the Lord should also wash his hands and head! Jesus then said, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For one would betray Him.

Jesus went on to explain that what He did they must do also. He was the example. “A servant is not greater than his master; neither is he who is sent greater than He who sent him.” But, “he who receives whomever I’ve sent receives Me, and the one who receives Me receives the Father who sent Me.”

Easter is but a few weeks away and how many are reflecting on these words Jesus spoke knowing what was going to happen to Him. These words should resonate with us always. He is still offering for us to come before Him and be cleansed. That which He did was usually done by a servant. But He was the ultimate servant. Cleansing your feet washed away all that you picked up in your hard travels and work of the day. It was a hard life for most and having that service done to you was cleansing to both the spirit and the body. All the things you went through and the troubles and hardships that were caked onto your feet were washed away as a sign of hospitality. But this was different. This was the Lord. And Peter realized that which he had touched and put his hands to in his life also needed to be cleansed. And more importantly, his thoughts that he believed to be unseen were suddenly there for his Lord to see, and he wanted that cleansed also. As should we all. The mind is our major battlefield.

The Lord was giving an example that His disciples must live by. But that example also pertains to us. We must be servants. Give and it will be given to you, but give only because He who is everything gave to us. If you follow His commandments, you will love one another as He loves us. He gave His life for us, though we still seem to miss it and not understand. All that pertains to life He has given us. Yet so many seem to grasp on to things that bring calamity and heartache. People gravitate to those things that touch the senses and only too late realize they have chosen a crooked path. Keep your eyes on the prize. Any other way will bring destruction. Quit believing what so many say that causes you to deviate from His true path. It ends up in a ditch. He said that He has sent the spirit of Truth that we may be led and not be deceived. But it seems His sheep run after that which they see or hear that touches their soulish realms, which in turn brings a division between them and the Lord.

Stop right where you are and ask Him to cleanse you. For those that see, you’ll be surprised by how much filth and grime comes off you. His love and peace is ever present. Put away that which is going on throughout the world and the politics of this country, the church, fear of your future and fear of the present. Give it to Him. The Lord says in Ezekiel 36 that “I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all idols. I’ll give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I’ll take out the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I’ll put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes. Then you shall be My people and I will be your God.”

That’s what Jesus was giving in John 13. Cleansing. A new life. A new outlook. His view. Give in to Him. It will bring new life. Even though the outward man seems to be perishing, the inward man is being renewed day by day. All of His promises are yes and amen in Christ. It says in 1 Corinthians 2:9 that “Eye has not seen, nor has ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” Even though it was not necessary, be like Peter when he realized what was at hand, and say cleanse all of me. Blessings.

Soul Ties

Soul ties are discussed and recognized in the bible as both positive and negative. When we’re connected with someone via our mind, will, or emotions, we form a soul tie. As stated, if we form a soul tie with someone that is a positive influence on us, then that soul tie is positive in what it produces. But the converse of that can tie us with someone that brings about a negative influence and bad results.

We are not meant to be alone, and look for relationship, love, acceptance, and validation. Bonds can be formed that produce lasting friendships and bring a sense of peace and fulfillment to our lives. This can come from friends, spouses, siblings, parents, church leaders, mentors, or those in leadership positions that have an effect on our lives. We form ties with people that often have similar likes and thoughts to us. We feel they believe as we do and therefore feel comfortable with them and are more likely to form a bond of trust with them.

Biblical examples of Godly soul ties can be seen with Ruth and Naomi in the book of Ruth. It shows how Godly soul ties can affect history and even change rules. Ruth was a Moabite. In Deuteronomy 23, it states no Moabite can enter the assembly of the Lord because of their treatment of Israel after they left Egypt. Yet, because of Ruth’s friendship and vow to never leave Naomi, she ended up marrying Boaz and became the great-grandmother of David, and therefore entered the family line of Jesus. The rule in Deuteronomy became void for her.

Elijah and Elisha had a soul tie from the standpoint of Elijah being the mentor. Elisha kept his eyes on his mentor and never left his side. He ended up with a double portion of Elijah’s anointing.

In 1 Samuel, it states that the soul of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was knit to the soul of David. The two of them made a covenant of lasting friendship with each other. They said that their vow was in the name of the Lord and that the Lord would be between them forever.

You can see the same Godly soul ties with Jesus and His disciples, or with Paul as a spiritual father to Timothy. If you read in the epistles Paul wrote, you’ll see the deep connection he had with so many he called friends. Deeper than just those who ministered together. This is how it is supposed to be.

We see all too frequently that the soul tie between two people, or even a group of people, can be out of order in many ways. People sometimes seek to have needs met that put them in a place where they are used or abused. Some prey on others and take advantage of emotional problems. This can happen with any relationship. People control others by fear and manipulation. The person being controlled may be looking for love or acceptance. The fear of losing someone, even when the relationship is unhealthy, allows that ungodly, co-dependent relationship to continue. Someone may be looking for another to heal a fractured relationship or be the product of abusive or neglectful parenting. You then end up gravitating toward the wrong person who will actually just continue that pattern of abuse or control. They may affirm you or just make you feel strengthened as in an “us against them” relationship, or even be a sympathetic ear to all your problems as well as feelings of revenge which may serve to affirm you. All of these are soul ties that are contrary to God’s will.

The most commonly talked of wrong biblical soul tie involves sex. When two people are joined together sexually out of wedlock, a connection is made. It speaks of this in 1 Corinthians 6. You become soul tied to that person and at the same time, tied to everyone they were with, for it is out of God’s order. The same is true of adultery and any other sexual connection. We pervert what He gave us as perfect. When this happens, we can see how we become entangled. Unless that tie is broken, we can end up affected as those subatomic particles I wrote of in my blog on Entanglement Theory. We are affected by that other person even when out of that person’s presence. It can become likened to one who suffers a phantom pain with the loss of a limb. You may feel a pain you believe to be from your foot, but it is no longer there. You’re still connected.

Even church leaders are not immune to this. All too often you see a case where someone is being controlled by a church leader they felt they could trust. It can start out harmlessly, but then you find some unmet need you have being met by them, not God, and a wrong tie is developed. As with any tie, they may have initially helped you with rejection, loneliness, insecurity, low self- esteem, a broken relationship, abandonment, disappointment, etc. These people are users. Hucksters. They do not show the love of God, nor do they look to heal and then see you established in your ministry. You become a necessary sheep providing an offering or filling some need they may have. This must be broken. Even parents make wrong soul ties and control their children. They end up raising an emotionally unstable child that will often just make another wrong soul tie with someone else if not healed.

One soul tie I’ve not seen talked about that I perceive becoming a grave problem is what I call a cyberspace soul tie. I see people so emotionally tied to others that they are unaware that their attachment is not God’s will.  Nor do they see the damage it’s doing. This is just a cursory examination of soul ties. I’ll speak on this and cyberspace soul ties at another time.

We need to know that through Christ we become new creations. Old things have passed away and all things become new. We were bought at a price. We cannot become slaves of men. Only be yoked to Him. All other things out of His will cause heartache and problems. Develop a right tie with Him and know your faith and hope should be in God, not men. I pray you ask the Lord if any wrong tie exists with you. If so, repent and break them in Jesus name for whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Psalm 1:1 says “Blessed is the one who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. His delight is in the law of the Lord.” Send every wrong word that you’ve been enticed with back to whoever spoke it. Renounce all ties not in His perfect will. I pray His peace and wisdom for you. Blessings.