The Joy Of Blessing Blockers

In a time of chaos, the words, “God is in control,” can bring peace to believers and non-believers alike. This phrase has found its way to bumper stickers, Hallmark cards, and Facebook post, and in many ways it has become a junk drawer phrase – one that we pull out when we need a comforting cliché. When pandemonium breaks loose and we seem to have lost all control, then it is convenient for God to be in “control.” But what about when things are not? What if things are relatively normal.

searches into things under the earth and in heaven, and he makes the worse appear the

For example Screwtape tells Wormwood to do everything in his power to keep his patient from regular communion with God, and to convince the patient that being busy in life and ministry is an acceptable excuse not to spend regular time in prayer. If you can get him to rationalize that because he offers short prayers to God throughout the day, he doesn’t need to have a dedicated and disciplined time of prayer. If you can get him to the point where he tells people he prayed for them, without actually praying for them, even better. This example tells me that having a dedicated time to pray is something Satin doesn't want. This is just one of many instances where I recognise Satan's deception. “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,...Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape.” This quote shows Satan's subtle deceptions when Screwtape is telling Wormwood to slowly bring his patient to sin. I’ve seen this happen at times in my life where one month I was very consistent with devoting time with God in prayer and scripture and then the next not being as consistent because I began prioritizing other things over

He expects us to pray to Him to give us strength and courage, so we can use it to glorify Him and spread his word. We need to ask him for courage, not just rely on our own strength. If we rely on ourselves to be courageous, we are bound for failure. But also are drifting from Jesus- the only one who can save us. So the lesson here is to rely on Jesus to give us courage and bravery to do His will. We can’t expect that we will be alright with little fears by

He explained to us that now while playing with NF, he performs every night in bars with drinks on all four walls, but has no temptation. Instead, he helps those who are hopping from wall to wall getting drinks. All of what I was hearing made me realize that I can overcome temptation. It made me understand that if I do fall into temptation, God will lead me out of it, and in turn, use me to help those who are struggling. This was the first time it had really sank in how much I need God in my life. It made me realize I am here on Earth, not to stay, but to help those who otherwise, would be staying somewhere worse after this life. Not only can I help those by temptations God has helped me overcome, but by my passion, drumming itself. He made me realize that my drums are an outer representation of an inner manifestation. Although I might be playing a polyrhythm on my drums, it is representing my passion for God. That is more important than any beat I could ever create on the

Though our situations are different, I find it relatable to give into uncertainty. To allow myself to get overwhelmed with irrational fear. Making the mistake of getting so stuck in my own thoughts, that I forget the promises of God. I forget that life has it's problems and I will have my stresses, but none of these things are bigger than the creator. I think this temptation is one that many people deal with. Permitting life to get in the way, and divert our attention from God. We become so consumed in our own stuff, that we allow our situations to come between us and the Lord. "My feelings are now growing more debout, or more charitable so fix his attention inward that he no longer looks beyond himself to see our Enemy or his own neighbors" (Lewis, 26). Screwtape clearly knows exactly what he's talking about when telling Wormwood to use this against the patient. Using his fear of the future, to cloud his mind and overwhelm him. I too have been tempted with this. A specific example was my decision to come to John Brown. I had a lot of uncertainty when deciding to come here, and forgot to listen to the one who could give me peace. Once I got out of my head and onto my knees, I found my way because of

Temptation is certainly one of the devil’s main weapons. It takes many different forms. He’ll try, for example, to tempt us with sins of the flesh. Such as immorality, pleasure-seeking, destructive habits, and more. But if those don’t work he’ll tempt us with sins of the heart or mind: evil thoughts, wrong motives, anger, jealousy, and so forth. He’ll also attack us spiritually, trying to fill us with doubts, attempting to convince us that God doesn’t care about us, filling us with pride, and so forth. As we can see the devil has so many tools to shift our focus away from God. Because we are not perfect, we are prone to give into things and many Christians can confess to falling under any weapon the devil has used against them. Being a christian myself, I

and it makes him mad at himself and view himself as a sinner. I also think he fits the

In this area of the book, he explains that so many times we, as believers in Christ, ask for things that we already possess. We ask for strength, power, blessing, favor, peace, joy and His presence. When in reality we have possessed those powers and blessings from the moment that we accepted Christ. “God’s divine power has granted to us everything pertaining life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). Being a follower of Christ and asking for God’s presence is essentially like being a tall glass asking for water when there is a water bottle right next to us.

He struggles to get out his prayer, because he is unsure that he will be

While this verse is about handling anger, the greater truth that it brings to light is that our thoughts and actions can be responsible for giving the devil a foothold. In this case, if we handle anger wrongly we give the devil a foothold. For our purposes, we want to use this verse to focus on the issue of footholds and what it says they mean in the life of a believer.

that he wants to maintain the peace of his physical realm as well as people's mind. He command to

contexts of time and place, and he is observable. At the same time and because of his faith or through it, he is or claims to be in touch with another world transcending this. The duality of this position some would say is the greatness and some the very meaning of human life: the heart of its

“You are wasting away in pining and longing for your former good fortune,” she tells him (p.54). This is because he has forgotten the true nature of Fortune. Once he comes to an understanding of Fortune and how she works as an instrument of God, he will be healed of his sickness of depression.

In these circumstances cursing and blessing are used as a means the evil to leave and the good to come forth