Whatever life throws at you, as Christians, we are not to act or react like the world reacts in whatever situation we are in. This means that we are to live our lives like Jesus did. Jesus said, “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.”

One of the first songs my sons loved to sing was Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the Wall came tumbling down. When Joseph brothers were cruel to him by throwing him into a pit and sold him as slave, he could have built a wall of bitterness towards his brothers. Instead, of building a wall that would keep his brothers out, he built a wall around his heart that kept them in. “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many (Heb. 12:15).” His wall was built with compassion, grace, hope, love and forgiveness. God is mighty and mighty in battle. He has the power to tear down the walls you and I build around our hearts.

 God’s Word is sharper than any two-edged sword and can tear down and penetrate any type of brick. In Ephesians 4:32, God said, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Whatever your reasons are for finding yourselves going into hiding behind your wall, ask God to give you the strength to tear down each brick of disappointments of guilt, shame, fear, unforgiveness and hopelessness. If your wall is filled with bricks of guilt and shame Jesus said, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water (Heb. 10:22).”

Bricks of fear can be can be replaced with “Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident (Psalm 27:3).” I want to encourage you to replace your bricks of unforgiveness with Colossians 3:13, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” God is the “Master Wall Breaker” of what we have constructed in our minds to keep people out and He builds new walls to bring those same people back through our Faith in Him.

 As we begin another New Year, let us pray for those individuals you might know that have constructed a wall that is keeping them from coming to Jesus for salvation.

 What “Walls” needs to bring down in your life?