{"id":1598,"date":"2020-04-17T23:26:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-17T23:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/?p=1598"},"modified":"2020-04-19T23:28:04","modified_gmt":"2020-04-19T23:28:04","slug":"eyes-on-the-wind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/word_of_encouragement\/word_of_encouragement_post\/eyes-on-the-wind\/","title":{"rendered":"Eyes on the Wind…?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cSo, He said,\u00a0\u201cCome.\u201d\u00a0And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that\u00a0the\u00a0wind\u00a0was\u00a0boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, \u2018Lord, save me!\u2019\u201d Matthew 14:29-30<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years ago, Chicago was dubbed The Windy City <\/em><\/strong>\u2013 not because of its weather, but because of its politicians!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winds<\/em> are used metaphorically in poetry and in prophetic scenarios, but the winds<\/em> I\u2019m referring to are those that are causing many Christians to focus on the problems instead of the answers. I\u2019m referring to the winds of CONSPIRACY THEORIES<\/em>. The enemy uses these distractions to develop curiosity \u2013 but curiosity becomes a hunger. Then hunger develops into an appetite, and appetites are what addictions are all about. Addictions lead to devastating consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conspiracy theories have been around since their inception in the Garden of Eden, and they are just as seductive today as they were then. They are not harmless either. They are powerful tools of the enemy to distract Christians in order to steal the Word of God out of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

their hearts. This is what pickpockets do \u2013 distract and steal. They have the capability of  deceiving intelligent people into believing almost anything. Jesus said, \u201cTake heed that no man deceive you.\u201d Matthew. 24:4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The above scripture (Matthew 14:29-30) gives us the account of Peter walking on the water toward Jesus. Then his attention was redirected by the winds<\/em><\/strong>. <\/em>That\u2019s when he began to sink into the death grip of the Sea of Galilee. This image is so graphic, but yet, so easily forgotten; because like Peter, when the winds of conspiracy theories blow, many find themselves just as distracted as Peter and their focus is suddenly fixed on the problems instead of the answer \u2013 the Word of God.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter what people believe about these things, compared to the Word of God they are vacuous and empty. the Bible teaches us that \u201c\u2026one thing is necessary, and Mary has chosen that good part that will not be taken from her\u201d (Luke 10:42). Choosing the Word of God above all else promises an eternal reward. If we keep the Word of God dwelling richly in our hearts, we will not be as easily distracted, and, where He is, we will be also \u2013 and nothing gets past Him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Him we are safe. In Him we are well informed and well prepared because, \u201cHis Word is a light to our path.\u201d It\u2019s not the winds of this world or the empty theories false teachers come up with. It\u2019s the Word of God that causes us to stand and our decision to remain fixed on His Word comes with eternal promises. Jesus said, \u201c\u2026heaven and earth will pass way, but My Words will not pass away!\u201d Matthew. 24:35<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our job as Christians is simple; keep our eyes on the Word and don\u2019t be seduced by the winds of theories. The Bible isn\u2019t theory. It\u2019s God\u2019s unchangeable promises. It\u2019s His love letter that offers victory to all who believe regardless of what the world believes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Love, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pastor Tom<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cSo, He said,\u00a0\u201cCome.\u201d\u00a0And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that\u00a0the\u00a0wind\u00a0was\u00a0boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, \u2018Lord, save me!\u2019\u201d Matthew 14:29-30 Years ago, Chicago was dubbed The Windy City \u2013 not because of its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1080","footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-word_of_encouragement_post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1598\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}