Know Your Faith Step Enemies?

A Note from Pastor Dennis Schaffer

January is in the rearview mirror, but that does not mean that the steps your taking for Christ need to be!

According to several surveys, most resolutions people make at the first of the year will never make it across the finish line--only 1% will! That means that there are a host of people who feel like they are failures and can't overcome life. That being said, you probably need a word of encouragement and a word of wisdom.

I plan to give a fuller look at this with you and our church family tomorrow morning at our 10:30 service, but this is too important not to share some of this here with you now.

Psalm 1 gives us clear insights on this because it has been encouraging us each day to choose the right path, delight in the right things, and enjoy the right fruit of these decisions.

First, know that any steps you are taking for Christ that He has encouraged you to take by faith are important and will be rewarded by Him.

Two, when you take faith steps, you're doing more than taking steps--you're actually blazing a trail and swimming against the tide of others.

Keep that in mind when you don't see everything working the right way because others aren't as excited about the faith steps you've been deciding to take lately. In time, those decisions, if you let them stick, will become habits and a part of the "new you in Christ" that others will include in what they think of you. Good habits do make things easier eventually.

Three, you have a host of enemies wanting to keep you from doing the right things.

This is where we're going to dig in even deeper tomorrow. I've been a big cheerleader in January, and in February I hope to lead you into battle. By now, you've probably felt some friction with some decisions you've made.

As an example, several have been signing up for the 90-Day Challenge to Build Blessed Disciplines. (If you have not yet, I encourage you to do that now with this form: 90-Day Challenge.) This challenge is easy enough. It's purpose is to ask that participants take time each day to study, obey, memorize, and share the Bible with others. Making the commitment is the easy part. Doing that starting on Monday is the difficulty if it's not already a habit that is cut into your day's schedule. You may be tempted to oversleep if you planned to do this early in the morning, or you may get 1,000 interruptions from others wondering why you are suddenly radio-silent.

Needless to say, there is an army pitted against you building blessed discipline in your life. The enemies will whisper, ding, beep, buzz, laugh, and cry for attention. Sometimes they taunt or mock, trying to keep you from spending time with God and discovering the fruit of the amazing blessings God has in store for you! These enemies want to spoil God's blessings!

Who would do this to you? Why wouldn't everyone encourage you to grow in your relationship with God and be blessed by Him?

Don't be offended, but there are more enemies than I have time to list. And one of the biggest enemies we face is our sinful, selfish, prideful selves. Satan is a powerful enemy, but he does not have to do too much if we are already losing on the inside.

So, February is a month for love (i.e., Valentine's Day), but, as they say, "All is fair in love and war." We're going to focus on both because this is a battle for Who and what we love. Psalm 1 uses the word delight.

What enemies are you facing as you take faith steps? Discover who they are and the victory that you can have at tomorrow's 10:30am service.

Be blessed,
Dennis Schaffer, Pastor
Open Door Baptist Church | Academy | Childcare Center

Journey the Psalm 1 path with us through 2025 and discover the keys to delight and blessings!

Now is not the time to quit and let the world be victorious. No matter who you are and what you have faced, God has always been faithful and gracious. Let's encourage and equip each other for this day and this hour. Christ's return is soon and on the horizon. Let's be found as good stewards who are faithful.