Leave No Survivors

So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. 

Joshua 10:40

Joshua and Israel were taking the land the God had promised. They had just been tricked by the Gibeonites and made a treaty with them. They had to defend the Gibeonites because of it. They had to expend their time and effort defending them rather than taking the land. So, from then on Joshua made sure to obey the Lord and totally destroyed their enemies. Remember God was judging the inhabitants of the land because their sin was so great. 

The idea I want to hit on this morning is that like Joshua we need to leave no survivors and totally destroy all who breathe, so to speak. Of course I'm not saying to physically attack non-believers. Paul teaches us to "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual desires and greed, which is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5). Those are strong words. 

I seem to gather stuff on my desk and every now and then I just have to take stock of it all and toss some stuff out because it's not useful and in the way. Spiritually, we need to take stock of things and see if there is anything we need to get rid of. We need to check and see if there are any "survivors" of things that should not be in our lives. I think this is a normal part of being a Christian over time. Has any "enemy" snuck back in or have we allowed some things to just hang around? Are we making "treaties" with some enemies? If something is popping up in your mind maybe it's time to go to battle...