Josiah Road

Fly Attack

posted by Mike Blackaby 24Nov

I was sitting on my couch reading when something floated past my head. It was a tiny little fruit fly. Had it been a spider or a roach, I may have taken immediate actions, but a harmless little fruit fly? I decided to let him be. Big mistake.

I began to question my demonstration of mercy when a second fly coasted by. However, I knew I had a problem when I lifted the lid on the trash bin and a black cloud rose from its depths! I froze in shock as the entire Von Trap Family of fruit flies scattered into my kitchen! The army of pests descended on my apartment like an Egyptian plague as I dove for cover.

I suddenly had a sickening realization: campus housing was going to inspect my apartment any day. There was no doubt in my mind that “infestation of flies” would not look good on the inspector’s check list, for which there were steep fines for any violation. I had no choice but to go to war!

Armed with a bottle of Windex, I crawled towards the kitchen. The flies swarmed down upon me, only to meet their end at the hand of my trigger-finger. Inch by inch I gained ground into enemy territory. Finally, I reached the trash bin, which the flies defended like The Alamo. Dodging and spraying, the fighting was fierce, neither side giving ground for several minutes. Finally, I ceased fire, allowing the blue mist to clear and reveal a vast graveyard of my former enemy. When the inspector arrived a few days later, he commented on the fresh sent of Windex greeting his nostrils. If you only knew, I thought to myself. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw it. A tiny fly was circling the inspector’s head…TO BE CONTINUED.

It’s amazing how fast a small problem can grow into a big one when it is neglected. In my mind, one small fly did not present a crisis. But that fly soon multiplied into many and before I knew it, I was in over my head.

Does the same thing happen with sin? Losing your temper doesn’t seem like a big deal until it degenerates into full blown anger that tears apart relationships; the occasional lustful thought doesn’t sound so bad until it leads to adultery; little white lies look harmless, until you find yourself caught in a twisted web of deceit. Sin, in its beginning stages, rarely looks like the monster it really is. Indeed, that is why it is so enticing! Would an alcoholic have even taken that first drink had he seen the obsession that would rip his family away?

The time to purge sin is not once it has multiplied and overrun our lives; it is before. Uproot the weeds while they are still new, for tomorrow may be too late.

“But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.” James 1:14-15

Hostage

posted by Jonathan Frank 17Nov

Every day people say things to me that go in one ear and right out the other. Like when my parents say, “Be careful!” before I leave anywhere in the car or anything my teacher says that is preceded with “This will not be on the test.” Or that time the custodian at school said to me, “Don’t sit there—wet paint!” Yeah, wish I’d listened that time.

But every now and then I hear something that really resonates with me, and I make an effort to remember it and carry it with me in my life. Such was the case with a recent sermon series at our church called, “Hostage.” It was all about things that hold us back in our lives and prevent us from living the life God had intended for us, things that truly hold us hostage. That can look like a lot of different things, and many of those destructive habits and addictions were discussed during the course of the series. People shared testimonies of how God had delivered them from addiction to alcohol, powerful stories were shared of people trapped in sexual sin and how God had made a way out for them. While none of those things held me captive, God revealed to me something that was holding me captive.

I realized, as God spoke to me through the series of messages each week, that I was bound by a lack of confidence and feelings of inadequacy. I felt awkward, and I hated that about myself. I would leave church, social functions, and even just run-ins with people I knew at the mall, cringing because I felt like I had just made myself look like an idiot. I never knew, and still often don’t know, the right things to say or how to gracefully diffuse an awkward situation—to which I seemed to be a magnet.

Afraid of jumbling my words and making myself look like an idiot, I often times would just resort to not speaking up or offering my opinion in certain settings. I was discouraged and felt inhibited by my lack of even the slightest trace of athleticism or hand-eye coordination and I felt about as hip and cool as polka music. I was trapped, and for the longest time I didn’t even know it.

But God has torn away the lies I’ve allowed myself to believe about me and replaced them with the truth. He tells me that I am His workmanship (Eph 2:10 NIV), that I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), and that He has amazing plans for my life (Jer. 29:11)! I’m learning to embrace my identity in Christ and that regardless of the things that I don’t like about myself, or what shortcomings I may have, He can use me for His glory.

Thank you God that I am no longer a hostage!