"So let's stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall." Romans 14:13 NLT
Stumbling blocks, what are they? They're anything that stops us from living our daily lives with Jesus. They come in many ways, from family squabbles, money issues, troubles with friends or neighbours or church members. There are many ways that we can come to stumble over something.
We may also cause ourselves to stumble by having habits that we hang on to, refusing to give them up. These bad habits, addictions or whatever they are, lead us away from Jesus. The Holy Spirit cannot dwell in an unclean vessel (2 Timothy 2:21). Therefore straightaway, we have a stumbling block and need to clean this up so that the Holy Spirit can re-enter. It's not that He has left but, that He cannot function where there is sin, so He stands aside.
Stumbling blocks may come when we criticise people, believers or unbelievers. We are not called to judge (Matthew 7:1-2) but we do it all the same. We need to be careful here because, when we judge people, we are judged by Jesus. The mouth is a big stumbling block, what comes out of it can make us fall. We can begin to talk negative things to ourselves such as, ‘I'll never be able to do that, I'm useless at anything.' Don't you realise that what you confess, you will receive? 'The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences' Proverbs 18:21. Dangerous stuff, we must control our mouths and the words that come out of it. The fruit of the mouth spoken in such a way is a stumbling block.
In the same way, we ourselves can be a stumbling block to others. Someone may come up to us with a word they feel they have received from God, and straightaway we can shoot them down by casting negative words upon it. Others may be carrying out God's orders and someone may say, 'You need to be careful here, many have tried something like this and they all failed. Give up the idea.' How would you feel if someone said this to you? The person may have brought you a stumbling block and this has brought with it, confusion. Now listen a minute, the only one who brings confusion is the devil. So, take your plans back to God. Ask Him for confirmation and then, do what He says. You may have it wrong but then again, you may have it right so, it's always best to check it out if you're confused by things.
The conclusion here is, (1) be careful of the stumbling blocks, especially those that are in your own life. Ask God to help you deal with them. (2) Be careful of your own words, watch what you say (3) Don't be a stumbling block to others. Be Holy Spirit focused as you deal with people and be open to what you hear. (4) Listen to others but, check it out with God.
This way, you are sure of the right way to go.
Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.
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