Watch For The Stumbling Blocks!

"If anyone causes one of these little ones--those who believe in me--to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!" (Matthew 18:6-7 NIV)

Jesus spoke these words to those who were listening to Him, while He walked the earth. He is yet speaking to those who are listening and obeying, warning us to watch out for those who would be stumbling blocks in our path, deliberately setting us up for a fall.

There are many things in this life that may cause people to stumble in their walk with Christ--temptations set before us to strengthen us and reveal our true characters. Are we people of integrity and honor? Do we value the wrong things in life? Are we so high-minded that we are only concerned with self? Are we wafflers--taking the side of anyone we listen to for more than five minutes? When the temptations come--and they will--are we able to withstand the urge to give into the temptation?

Sometimes, we get the wrong ideas about what can tempt us by thinking only about the obvious sin--living in opposition to God's Word--when we are warned that it is the "little foxes that spoil the vine." It is the little things that we allow to creep into our spirits when we think--they are little--that become stumbling blocks.

Let's see how much these little things become stumbling blocks in our lives. We see the last piece of _________ left over from dinner and we decide--no big deal, I'll eat it rather than see it go to waste. And before long, we're eating that last of everything, justifying doing so within ourselves. But then the time comes when we have to see the doctor because our bodies are not functioning the way they should, and we discover we're a hundred pounds overweight, our heart is failing, and we're always out of breath. It was a little thing that snowballed into a big thing.

Some parents allow their children's girlfriends and boyfriends to spend the night when they could easily go home. It's not a big thing--they simply stayed up too late watching a movie or doing homework. When the parents went to bed, the kids were knocked out, but soon someone is knocked up and everyone is blown up with anger and resentment. But it was a little thing that blew up to a big thing.

When Christians say--same sex couples have a right to love and marry who they want--it's a little thing to them because they claim it is an affair of the heart, when really it's all about lust of the flesh. It was a little thing that has now exploded in a big thing as lawmakers attempt to determine when rights are violated and whose rights have priority over another. It is fight over whether the rights of those who believe and adhere to God's Word transcend the rights of those who deliberately oppose God's Word. It is now a matter of good versus evil in every sense of the word, but it was a little thing--ignored and underestimated that has now become a stumbling block for many.

Drugs, alcohol, theft, lying, profanity--might have been little things in the lives of many, but become bigger than life when ignored. Children lying and using profanity is not cute; it's negligence on the part of the parent and so is stealing and allowing kids to experiment with drugs and alcohol. Addictions of any kind may have started as a little thing, but became bigger when ignored. They became stumbling blocks in the lives of people who did not recognize how to steer clear and find another path.

For those who deliberately put stumbling blocks in the path of those who are trying to live righteous lives, the penalty is severe. I cannot imagine the weight of a millstone (2 feet round and half a foot thick) hanging around my neck, holding me under the water until I succumbed to it. Nor do I want to be responsible for encouraging anyone to live in opposition to God's Word.

Therefore, to make sure I am not a stumbling block--interfering with God's plans in a person's life, I simply promote the Gospel, focusing on Him, trying to steer clear of the drama that some see as a little thing, but if ignored, blows up into theatrical performance, worthy of awards for stupidity and a lack of integrity. There is no honor in creating stumbling blocks for others. When we know Him, we should be represent all that He is in everything we do--peacemakers in all things--and not peacebreakers. Watch out for the stumbling blocks that keep success out of reach!

A Stronghold in Times of Trouble!

"The Lord reigns forever; He has established His throne for judgment. He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity. The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You." (Psalm 9:7-10 NIV).

If the Lord reigns--not just in the atmosphere--but in our hearts, the world will know peace. Where there is no peace, we do not acknowledge who He is and do not allow Him to govern our lives. If He is not governing our lives--we fall prey to the influence of the enemy and allow his influence to reign in our lives.

But we don't have to. The Word tells us to "give no place for the devil" and we should heed the Word. But what does that mean?

It means that when we know certain situations or people can open the door for the devil to step in--we should avoid them. Now, there The Word tells us there is no temptation that can confront us that He has not made a way of escape. The escape route that many ignore--is the wisdom to avoid the situation in the first place. If we do not place ourselves or allow others to put us in a position where we can be tempted, we effectively keep the devil's influence out of our lives.

But when we don't--heed wise instruction and warnings--the devil's influence does not creep in--it walks into a situation because we have opened the door. When the devil does what the devil does--influencing others to do what is wrong--who is the guilty party? Is it the one who succumbed to the influence or the one who created the situation by opening the door?

People who have overcome addictions of all types, have nothing to prove to others and especially those who are trying to influence their judgment and behavior. It is not all right for anyone who suffers from addiction to put themselves in harm's way, nor should they put themselves into a position to be influenced by others to do so. When we do things that we know are contrary to Holy Spirit's influence, we cannot say, "this is just a test." No, that is just foolishness.

We would not put a known thief in a room full of valuables and leave them alone, expecting them not to take anything. That's not faith, it's foolishness. The same is true of anything we value--respect, integrity, honor--all should be more valuable than things, and yet we risk allowing the enemy to influence what we do, when we think we know more than God.

The Bible tells us that no one should say when they are tempted, they are tempted by God, but understand we are tempted by our own lusts. We are tempted because of pride and egos and when we allow pride and ego to get in the way of wisdom and making wise decisions, we have no one to blame, but ourselves.

And when temptation wins--the least we can do is to acknowledge how wrong we were in allowing the situation to exist in the first place and not blame others. This is not to say we should condone wrong, but we must accept responsibility for any wrong that occurs and set things right.

Human beings are not God and cannot know everything, but when we allow Holy Spirit to lead us in all things, we limit the opportunities for the devil's influence to operate and manage to maintain peace in our lives. The Lord is a stronghold in times of trouble and when we see trouble coming--we must cry out a warning and seek the refuge of God. If we don't heed the warnings--the stain of guilt is on us--and we need to get right with God while we have the opportunity to do so.

No Holy Spirit guidance--no peace in homes or lives or nations. With Him--as our counselor and comforter--allowing Him to speak into our lives--we have peace with all we meet.