{"id":64,"date":"2002-07-01T20:28:35","date_gmt":"2002-07-02T01:28:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=64"},"modified":"2012-04-23T20:34:40","modified_gmt":"2012-04-24T01:34:40","slug":"play-by-the-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=64","title":{"rendered":"Play By The Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cA poor man\u2019s field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away.\u201d Proverbs 13:23 NIV<\/em><\/p>\n

A friend told me about something that happened to her last year. She and her husband were running a business they had bought from another individual, and the bank where they had their business account often mixed up transactions on the former owner\u2019s account with theirs. One day before the July 4 weekend, the former owner went into the bank, cleaned out their account, and left the state. In the space of an hour they were bankrupt.<\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t the bank make good on the money?\u201d I asked. \u201cNo,\u201d she said. \u201cThey refused.\u201d \u201cHave you contacted the oversight authority for banks?\u201d I asked. \u201cHave you talked to a lawyer?\u201d \u201cYou know,\u201d she answered, \u201cwe\u2019ve been so busy just trying to survive that we haven\u2019t.\u201d Her tone was resigned. The injustice was so extreme that I couldn\u2019t help wondering if my friend and her husband had inadvertently given the thief access to their account.<\/p>\n

Did you know that\u2019s just what happens to Christians too many times?<\/p>\n

Now, I don\u2019t have anything against banks\u2014they\u2019re wonderful\u2014but I had a problem myself once years ago. The bank said they had not received my electronically deposited federal paycheck and started bouncing checks like mad. Fortunately, I had heard about a government rule that requires banks to honor those paychecks whether they receive them or not. It\u2019s part of their contract with the government. I cited the rule (which I\u2019m certain they already knew) and they reluctantly agreed to start paying the checks I had written. Still, they continued to show an ever-increasing negative balance in my account. \u201cHey!\u201d I protested, but they weren\u2019t too worried about making me happy, at least not until I contacted my payroll office. The federal government tapped the bank lightly on the shoulder, and the check was magically, immediately found. It had been their error all the time.<\/p>\n

The Bible says\u00a0God has given the honorable job to every believer\u2014His saints\u2014to execute the written judgment against the evil powers in this world (Psalm 149:6-9 and Ephesians 6:12). You see the devil doesn\u2019t play by the rules unless we insist. As a matter of fact, a big portion of his every day is spent convincing people, especially Christians, that he has a right to their blessings, their peace, their children, their marriages, their health, and their finances. But he is never the final authority on any situation because he lies like a dog and the truth is not in him. He\u2019s the last one to consult about how things will turn out. \u201cI would never consult the devil!\u201d we exclaim. Well, guess what. When we anxiously watch a situation to see how it will turn out, instead of going immediately to the Word and to the Lord in prayer for guidance, that\u2019s exactly what we\u2019re doing. And too many times we\u2019re whipped without even throwing a punch.<\/p>\n

The Bible says\u00a0Jesus spoiled principalities and powers at the cross, and made an open show of their defeat (Colossians 2:15). Isn\u2019t it time we executed that judgment? Isn\u2019t it time we cited the Word of truth when injustice strikes? Isn\u2019t it time we trusted that when we call on Jesus\u2019 name, He\u2019ll tap Satan on the shoulder and say, \u201cIt\u2019s time to play by the rules. My rules\u201d?<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t roll over. You don\u2019t have to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cA poor man\u2019s field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away.\u201d Proverbs 13:23 NIV A friend told me about something that happened to her last year. She and her husband were running a business they had bought from … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Mo02-12","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":316,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=316","url_meta":{"origin":64,"position":0},"title":"On Tangles and Tenacity","author":"lsimonds","date":"October 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cTo execute on them the written judgment \u2013 this honor have all His saints.\u201d Psalm 149:9 There have been a couple of time the Holy Spirit spoke to me through a situation. I wrote about one in March 2002 (see Upstream Dream). Another happened several years later. Some friends and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2013"","block_context":{"text":"2013","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":437,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=437","url_meta":{"origin":64,"position":1},"title":"Stella!","author":"lsimonds","date":"January 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThis is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.\u201d John 6:39 About a year and a half ago, against good judgment, I adopted a black and white Pomeranian out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2015"","block_context":{"text":"2015","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":283,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=283","url_meta":{"origin":64,"position":2},"title":"You’re Not That Lost","author":"lsimonds","date":"April 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201c\u2026for in Him we live and move and have our being\u2026\u201d Acts 17:28 A friend and former colleague died suddenly and violently in April. 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