There was a workday at our church this past weekend but I couldn’t attend. The need for getting groceries early because of the heat and our lack of an air-conditioned vehicle seemed greater than the need for one more set of hands at our church. Yet, on Sunday morning I felt as if I didn’t belong there because I didn’t do my part the day before. I prayed for their safety in the heat and for our revival coming up but it still didn’t seem to be enough. Why? 

The spirit of “guilt” was affecting my conscience I suppose. Nobody said anything to me about my absence but I still felt out of place. Was it Satan trying to get to me for not being there? It could’ve been.

In spite of our salvation, Satan can and does get into our heads and he can make us feel things that aren’t an issue as if they are. That is how he can split a church over trivial things that shouldn’t matter that much! Many times we make problems bigger when they shouldn’t be actual problems at all. That is his work. He tries to make our lives miserable even when we are serving the Lord. This is when we should recognize that he is behind it and just tell him to stay out of the way in the name of Jesus. 

God carries us through each and every day whether they are good or bad days. Our problem is our own minds can and will listen to Satan’s lies making little things seem to be much bigger than they are. Seek to do the will of God on the good days and the bad days. Read His Word and learn of His Wisdom because your own wisdom can get you into trouble far quicker than you can imagine, especially with Satan’s help. If you think you are above listening to Satan, he will prove you wrong and in a big way. He can place thoughts in your mind that can cause you to think things that you wouldn’t otherwise, so be careful.

God loves each of us and He has given us a way to tap into His strength through the Holy Spirit but we have to initiate it through prayer and by knowing His Word well enough to use it for our defense. Read His Word each day, pray about what you have read and ask Him to give you His wisdom so that you can understand the meaning behind what you have read. It is our obligation to know His Word so that we know His voice when it speaks to us as we read it. It is our obligation to do what His Word commands us to do so that others will know about the Savior Who came to give each of us a chance at eternity. Make sure that you know Him and that He knows you before your time here is through.

How can I put this? The number of people who need to be reached seems to be growing beyond the ability of the workers that are available. Why? Because there are fewer believers willing to get the message to them regardless of the method used. Yes, there are plenty of “ministries” that are working around the world to reach the lost with His Message but there are still more at home who need to hear it too! Jesus came as a child…a baby in a manger and grew up as a Jewish kid learning the carpentry trade from His Earthly father, Joseph. Many sermons don’t tell this because after the time that His parents found Him in the Temple we rarely hear about His childhood or the vocation of Joseph. It seems to belittle or make a light thing out of His early life that He learned from Joseph.

While it is true that Jesus came as the Son of God, He was raised and taught the Torah by His Earthly father. Joseph also taught Him about being a Jew and living by the Laws of Moses and all of the Ten Commandments. I’ve heard some preachers and others say that Jesus was the Living Word, He didn’t need to be taught like other children. Why not? Just because He was the Living Word doesn’t mean that He was born with all of the knowledge of the Old Testament packed inside His brain. Jesus had to learn just like all the other Jewish boys His age although He did have the Holy Spirit to guide Him and give Him deeper insight into the Word that He was learning.

The Christian church needs to seek God’s Wisdom in our daily lives so that we can take His Wisdom with us everywhere we go. People need to see it in our lives and hear it in our speech so they will know that we belong to Jesus. Your life as a Christian is one that begins when you give your life to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you for all of your sins. Then you have to learn as much as you can every day from that point forward in God’s Word so you will know His voice when He speaks to you. Learn about Him and then tell others about Him too!