Ask The Pastor
December 2007
How do I know if a "crisis" (small or large) is an attack of Satan or of my own stupidity/carelessness/ignorance? Some things are clear...bouncing the checkbook because I forget to write down a withdrawal (carelessness). Some things are not clear...paying the same CPA to do our taxes for years without any problems...until this year when he used the wrong income line to figure our local tax and now we have a debt we did not know existed. (An attack of Satan??) The bottom line is this, I expect attacks when I am praying, fasting and pressing into God. Is there any way to prevent, lessen or decrease an attack when I decide to take my faith in God to the 'next level'?
In reality, it does not matter how things happen, whether they come by the devil, by our own selves, or by others. What matters is our faith in God. Faith in God will bring an answer no matter how the problem came, as long as there is not a deliberate disobedience to spiritual or natural law. Even then, God is there to help if you truly repent. I encourage you to keep a close watch on things, be diligent and faithful, and know that God is your help in the big and small matters of life. Keep your focus on Him and His Word.
Will there be a follow-up to last Sunday's message? I understand what you were saying about God always answering prayer, but what does it mean when you don't see the manifestation of your prayers? Are we not living the correct lifestyle and following the Word or is Satan just hindering the answer? If Satan is the reason, then how do we push through to the fulfillment of our prayers? I hope you have another sermon to explain this further. My other question also followed up on what you said about men and temptations. Why do some women feel the need to dress provocatively in church and add to man's wandering eyes and thoughts? I know we are to take each thought captive, but if the women dressed a little more conservative in the House of God, it would be even easier to focus all attention on the Word.
To answer the first part of your question, yes there will be a follow-up message that will deal with all of your concerns.
More important, I want to focus on your last question about the dress of women in church. For men to say they are distracted by women who do not dress modestly, it’s just an excuse in my book. It has nothing to do with the opportunities temptation brings, but has everything to do with the heart of a man.
Take for instance the pastor who fell as a result of a homosexual sin. Was his problem a sight problem or a heart problem? We cannot blame others when we struggle. Should women dress modestly? Absolutely. But if a woman is ignorant and does not know how to do so, it does not give any man an excuse to turn his focus from the Word and onto her. Don’t give place to the devil!