Every other day a text message based competition is being advertised where the top prize is millions of shillings or a house or a holiday trip. One of the things that many people may not bother to look into, are the terms and conditions for enrolling in such a competition.
Usually you will see at the end of every advertisement they will write the words “terms and conditions apply.” If you win yet you have breached some of the terms and conditions then you are automatically disqualified. One of the most common is that employees and their families from the companies doing the promotion are usually not eligible to participate in such competitions.
We have also seen it in athletic competitions where winners are stripped off their medals because they breached the terms and conditions of the race.What about in the house of God, Do we have terms and conditions?
That’s the kind of message that we in this generation like to hear and it is the most popular. The sad thing is that we have equated the blessing of God with material possessions only. If I have a big house and I drive a fancy car, all my bills are paid up and I have a little extra to splash around then I am blessed. Any kind of hardship and we think God has forsaken us.
The blessings of God are for real but rarely do we hear the terms and conditions of receiving the blessing being talked about. As you cry out to God to bless you, have you met His terms and conditions?
Joshua 1:5-8(5) No man will [be able to] stand before you [to oppose you] as long as you live. Just as I was [present] with Moses, so will I be with you; I will not fail you or abandon you. (6) Be strong and confident and courageous, for you will give this people as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers (ancestors) to give them. (7) Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do [everything] in accordance with the entire law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper and be successful wherever you go. (8) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read [and meditate on] it day and night, so that you may be careful to do [everything] in accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will be [d]successful.
God paints a great picture of the amazing things that He has laid in store for His servant Joshua but at the end He says terms and conditions apply. All this will be possible if Joshua does everything that Moses taught him to do and also if he never stops reading the book of the law that was given to him Day and night he must meditate upon it and if he does that then he and Israel will be able to take the land.
Gods promises come with the phrase terms and conditions apply because we have a part to play in the whole process. Yes God is good and sometimes we want to manipulate Him because of His goodness nature but that cant work because He is also a just God. He tells us that whatever we sow we will reap. Every path we choose to take has consequences.
The path of obedience to His word is filled with blessings and victory, on the other hand the path of disobedience is filled with curses.
So what promise of God are you standing on today? Have you taken the time to understand the terms and conditions before you take off to claim the promise?
Yes God wants to bless you but He has laid down some regulations that we have to live by and as long as we are living in that prescribed manner then we shall not have to chase after these things but they shall follow after us.
Genesis 12:2-3
I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.
Word For Today: Terms and Conditions Apply
