Who Stopped Your Progress?

Devotional Reading—Who Stopped Your Progress? From The Struggle of Sanctification by Sonya Johnson

Our dreams, goals, and plans are healthy signs of the motivation necessary to achieve bigger and better things. Our excitement grows as we research and develop strategies to accomplish our vision. Hopefully, we have searched for a mentor with the work experience to give us the guidance required for our dream to come to fruition. To achieve is vital to the growth of our intellect.

But is the sky the limit? We agree that a new entrepreneur faces fierce competition in today’s business arena. Yet, confidence, courage, and common sense will propel your business plan into a start-up with endless growth opportunities. As a former business owner, there is one aspect new business owners do not anticipate: losing a relationship with [some] family and friends who readily give their opinions on how to operate your business.

Can you imagine that your business is doing well and one of your employees secretly speaks to their coworkers that the business operations are making them work harder not smarter and the software you have chosen has many flaws? Immediate termination may be your first thought, but that would not resolve the doubt that was placed in the minds of your staff.

A mandatory meeting reminding your employees when they were interviewed that the organization’s mission and vision were thoroughly outlined to them and they agreed to assist in achieving said goals. In addition, have a one-to-one meeting with each employee to assess their loyalty to the company.

Start-Up Churches: The Apostle Paul faced many obstacles when starting the early Christian churches, especially the churches of Galatia which refers to a region in north-central Turkey. The Galatians epistle exposes the difficulties he faced with the members of the start-up churches.

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10)

The new converts did not anticipate the separation from their cultural morals and values and the family and friends they were familiar with when they accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Because they desired to keep their former worldly friends and participate in sensual idol worship, they embraced false theories from religious heretics, people who develop a different opinion of God’s truth and attempt to convince others to accept their false beliefs.

The Apostle Paul urged the Galatian members to consider their commitment to Jesus Christ and the consequences of returning to their former practices of idol worship.

“Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world?”(Galatians 4:8-9).

Paul pleaded with those who had accepted Christ and had known the power of God in their lives to return to the Living Truth. He was not alone in His efforts. The mighty power of the Holy Spirit worked on the conscience of many who had wandered away and they returned with a steadfast commitment to serving God.

When those who were steadfast in serving God begin to falter in their relationship with Christ–it is spiritual warfare from Satan. He uses people to distract us from God’s Truth and to entice us to give up our righteous standards. But his favorite tactic is to bring people from our past sinful life or former Christians who “…having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people (2 Timothy 3:5).

Bible Study: Book of Galatians

Prayer: God, we pray for clarity. We have listened to the doctrines and beliefs of many individuals and can no longer discern if our beliefs are false teachings. We ask for forgiveness for our sins. We pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit as we study the Scriptures. Thank You for hearing and answering our prayer that we ask in the Worthy name of Jesus, Amen.