Strong Hands Enterprises, LLC
  • Home
  • LEARN the Bible
  • TEACH the Bible
  • DEVELOP a Bible Program
  • About

The Back Door

5/29/2019

 

The Stranger.

The doorbell rings.  You weren’t expecting company, so you glance through the window as you move to the front door.  You don’t recognize the person standing there with a clipboard in his hand.  A neighborhood salesman.  Even before you open the door, you are formulating how to politely decline whatever it is he is selling.  You are guarded.  
Picture

The Friend.

​The doorbell rings.  You weren’t expecting company, so you glance through the window and don’t see anyone there.  You realize there is someone at the back door when you hear a light knock.  As you move to answer it, you see the familiar face of your dear friend.  Immediately your heart warms and your face brightens and you open the door quickly to let them in.  They are trusted. 

The Enemy.

​After the first miraculous signs Jesus performed in Jerusalem, the crowds were in awe.  John 2:23 says, “Many believed in his name.  But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men.” (NASB)  Jesus was guarded against the surge of popularity that rested not on genuine repentance of heart, but on fascination with displays of power. 

Nearly two years later, Jesus is with his disciples and asks them who everyone is saying He is.  He then asks, “But who do you say that I am?”  Peter plainly states, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”  Peter is a trusted friend.  At that point, Jesus begins to reveal that He will “go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.”  When Peter tells Jesus that He would never have to suffer and die, Jesus recognizes the words—Satan had also tempted Jesus in the wilderness with receiving a kingdom that did not include suffering, if he would only bow to him. At that moment, Jesus spoke to the enemy and rebuked Peter’s words: “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” (Matthew 16:21-23)
Satan’s most clever disguise was to come through the back door—the door that friends come through--to use a trusted friend to speak the same temptation.
​Satan’s attempts failed in the wilderness when he came directly against Jesus because Jesus was guarded with the Word of God.  Satan’s attempts failed when he came indirectly through the crowd’s swooning applause, because Jesus was guarded and saw the unrepentant hearts.  But Satan’s most clever disguise was to come through the back door—the door that friends come through--to use a trusted friend to speak the same temptation.  Satan's attempt failed because Jesus recognized the words and was guarded against the lie being offered to him.  His focus was on pleasing His Father, even if his closest friends were clueless to what that meant.

​Most of the temptations that Christians face do not come from the world that comes ringing at the front door, because they are guarded against those.  Most fall to temptations that come in from close Christian friends that may not be living by God’s truth at that moment—and usually the intentions are quite innocent.  Have you ever noticed that gossip sounds so much more gossipy when you overhear strangers talking with each other?  But it sounds almost like essential information when coming from a close friend! Or a flirtatious gesture from a stranger feels inappropriate, but the same gesture from a close friend can be dismissed as “nothing”?  Or advice from a book by an eastern mystic is immediately seen as opposed to sound doctrine, but the same advice from a pastor sounds so wise?  The goal of guarding the back door is not to distrust of our close friends, but to develop a sharp recognition of the temptations that might be coming in the back door with them.
Our enemy is very clever at disguising himself.

    About this blog...

    Thousands have come to the same Word of God and seen His magnificance and penned commentary or devotional thoughts or hymns. What can I add that hasn't already been said?!
    ​Yet seeing the amazing God of Scripture propels me to add my snapshots to the multitudes that have gone before. 

    This informal blog is a place to share these devotional thoughts in the hope that they encourage you as you read through God's Word for yourself.

    ​--Leiann Walther

    Archives

    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019

    Categories

    All
    Confession
    Guidance
    Life Of Jesus
    Ministry
    Prayer
    Provision
    Scripture
    Temptation
    Wilderness

    RSS Feed

Quick Links Index

​Able to Teach
All These Died in Faith (.pdf booklet)
Am I Saved or Am I Lost (.pdf booklet)
Best Bible Reading Plan
Best Bible Resources for Kids
​
Bible History Timeline
Bible Discovery Guides
Blog
Connect the Dots of the Old Testament
Devotional Articles
Easy Bible Timeline
​
Encouraging Verses
Ephesus
Esther
GROW Study: Overview of what they are
GROW Study: Bible Skills
GROW Study: Genesis 1-12
GROW Study: Genesis 12-50
GROW Study: Wilderness Training
GROW Study: Tabernacle
GROW Study: Life of Jesus
GROW Study: Book of Acts
Hand of God (Seminar)
Helps for the Teacher
​How Long Each Book Takes to Listen Thru 
How to Keep a Proverbs Notebook
​I Love to Tell the Story (seminar)
Isaiah Overview
Jeremiah Overview
​Jesus, Messiah (seminar)
Kings and Prophets 1: Turning the Hearts
Kings and Prophets 2: Comfort My People
Kings and Prophets Overview
Kings and Prophets Simplified Timeline
Knowing the Savior

Lamb of God
Last Kings of Judah overview
Moses: Humble Servant of God
Parables
Proverbs by the Dozen (.pdf booklets)
Revelation
​Songbird Scriptures video
Story of the Bible
Strategies of Satan
Teaching Closet (resources for Bible Teachers)
The Holy Scriptures
Train Yourself to Be Godly (Spiritual Disciplines)
Treasures from the Sand
Why Canaan is Important (seminar)
Women’s Retreat: Green Leaves in Times of Drought
Women’s Retreat: The Cry of My Heart
Picture