Stumbling Blocks

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy..." ~ John 10:10

The Bible uses very aggressive language when it talks about the enemy's mission. See John 10:10 above - steal, kill, destroy. But it's important that we know that while the enemy's goals are aggressive, often times, his tactics are not. The Bible tells us to stand against the devil's "schemes" (Ephesians 6:11) -
schemes invoking thoughts of subtlety, deception, and discreteness.

In Matthew 16:23, Jesus describes Satan as a stumbling block. Think about that. A stumble doesn't completely knock you out or even take you off your feet. It certainly doesn't steal, kill, or destroy you. But it does slow your progress and distract you. It may even cause embarrassment, humiliation, and shame. More importantly, it knocks you off balance, making you susceptible to even stronger attacks.

So often, as Christians, we only recognize the enemy's "steal, kill, and destroy" attacks. But we must remember that, more often than not, he simply tries to get us to stumble first.

So watch out for those stumbling blocks!

God bless,
J.W.

P.S. If you like this post, please feel free to share it with friends and family. I'll be writing more soon.

No Fear

"Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." ~ Revelation 2:20

As Christians, fear is our biggest enemy. It’s Satan’s way of stopping us from achieving the great things God has called us to do. For some of us, that means touching millions of lives. For others, that means touching just one life.

Either way, don’t let fear stagnate you! People’s lives are dependent on it. There is a crown of life waiting for you on the other side. But you have to press through the fear and the test.

God bless,
J.W.

Love The Way You Lie

"When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." ~ John 8:44

In the garden of Eden, Satan provoked Adam and Eve to sin, not by telling an outright lie, but rather by deceiving them through truth. He told Eve that if she were to eat the forbidden fruit, she would "be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5). That was true.

What he didn't tell Eve was that she was already like God (Genesis 1:26), but that eating the fruit would make her less like God. In fact, it would kill her and her entire family (Genesis 2:17).

As you go through your daily trials, don't expect Satan to tell you outright lies. No. Deception is best executed when disguised as truth.

God bless,
J.W.

What Was I Thinking?

"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do... As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me... For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing." ~ Romans 7:15-20

Often times, when we do stupid things in life, we look back on the decisions we've made and say "what was I thinking?"

Often times, we can't explain our stupid decisions, other than to just say "it happened, it was a mistake, and I'm sorry."

Well, Paul tells us that making mistakes is natural. Because we live in an imperfect world amongst an enemy that hates us, we are going to mess up sometimes. Temptation to do the wrong thing is natural.

But every experience doesn't have to be a bad one. Some things are meant to be a learning experience.

In the end, it's not our mistakes that matter, but how we bounce back from those mistakes. Likewise, it's not being tempted that counts, but how we respond in the face of temptation.

That is what shows our true character.

So what kind of character are you showing today?

God bless,
J.W.

Why Do Bad Things Happen?

"For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." ~ Matthew 5:45

Yesterday, on his CBN telecast "The 700 Club," tele-evangelist Pat Robertson suggested that the earthquakes of Haiti were retribution for the Haitian people selling their souls to the devil.

Specifically, he said:

"And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'we will serve you if you'll get us free from the French.' True story. And so, the devil said, 'okay it's a deal.' And they kicked the French out. The Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other."

If we were to accept Robertson assumption and take his premise as true, we would have to assume that whenever bad things happen to people, the victims must have somehow earned or deserve it.

Dr. King, then, must have deserved to be assassinated. Likewise, the nearly 3,000 people who died on 9/11 must have done something to deserve to be killed. Surely, Jesus must have done something to deserve crucifixion.

Clearly, this is absurd. In actuality, we know that none of these things are true. In fact, the entire Book of Job specifically calls out this line of thinking.

Job, a man who the Bible calls "blameless and upright," is relentlessly and consistently attacked by Satan for no other reason than for Satan to prove to God that Job's worship wasn't genuine or sincere. Much like Pat Robertson, Job's friends blame Job for the mess he finds himself in. "If you were pure and upright, surely now He would awake for you, and prosper your rightful dwelling place" (Job 8:6).

But in Isaiah 55, God says "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways."

Bottom line: Pat Robertson's remarks are in no way in line with Scripture. We don't know why God allows bad things to happen to certain people. What we do know is Matthew 5:45: "For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

To help in the relief efforts in Haiti, visit http://www.yele.org/ or text YELE to 501501. By donating through text, a $5 charge will appear on your cell phone bill. 100% of the proceeds go to helping those affected by the tragedy.

God bless,
J.W.