{"id":1015,"date":"2022-09-01T17:26:02","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T17:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015"},"modified":"2022-09-01T17:26:38","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T17:26:38","slug":"enemies-on-the-journey-towards-joy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015","title":{"rendered":"Enemies on the Journey Towards Joy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are enemies on the road. If 1 John is a journey to<\/a>wards Joy, one of the things which will come up again and again is that there are enemies on the journey towards joy. Not all goes easy. Not every step is uncontested. In more conservative and evangelical branches of the church, we tend to have a heightened sense of the enemies on the journey. The enemy is the culture. \u201cThose people out there\u201d are enemies hindering our journey. Those policies, the loss of moral values, \u201cpeople don\u2019t go to church anymore,\u201d the slide (or head-first, breakneck run) down into all sorts of depravity\u2014those are the enemies on the way. And while that is true, an obsession with \u201cthose enemies\u201d can blind us to what is probably the greater enemy: the person in the mirror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A biblical scholar put it well when he said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoth the Old and the New\u00a0Testaments make it painfully clear that God\u2019s people are often their own worst enemies, worse by far than the \u201cworld\u201d outside the church, when it comes to faithful appropriation of the gospel message.\u201d<\/p> Walter A. Elwell and Robert W. Yarbrough, Encountering the New Testament: A Historical and Theological Survey<\/em>, 3rd ed <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The last part of the quote is key: \u201cwhen it comes to faithful appropriation of the gospel message.\u201d When it comes to living comfortable lives, then a changing culture is definitely a major enemy on the journey. To the degree we associate joy with what our culture calls \u201cthe good life,\u201d to that degree changes in the culture hinder our joy. In our increasingly post-Christian culture<\/a>, there are increasingly many ways that it is getting hard to be both a follower of Jesus and pursue the \u201cgood life\u201d of the American Dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gospel Appropriation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Appropriating the gospel is a different concern. There are plenty of cultural hardships\u2014and more appear to be coming\u2014but these are not the only thing which keeps us from joy. The joy which is of highest concern in the Bible is a joy that can be experienced in want and in plenty, in persecution and in power. It is a joy that challenges many of our assumptions about how the world ought to work and many of the assumptions of what \u201cthe good life\u201d is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is undeniable that there are many external enemies towards our joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But ask yourself this question: \u201cWhat is hindering you from having the vibrant relationship with God that you desire?\u201d While there are many factors hindering us, it is hard to conclude that outside influences have the ultimate say. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that my own lack of desire and engagement is the biggest hindrance in having a vibrant relationship with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Targeting the right enemies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We can address wrong beliefs. Those are an important and pernicious enemy on the journey towards joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can address wrong actions. Those also are an important and pernicious enemy on the journey towards joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it is difficult, if not impossible, to make advances when our attempts to address these issues aim mainly outward. The self rages against obedience to the gospel. The self hamstrings our own efforts on the journey towards joy by constantly directing our efforts in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we consider enemies on the journey towards joy, don\u2019t forget that in many realms of life, you are your own worst enemy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are enemies on the road. If 1 John is a journey towards Joy, one of the things which will come up again and again is that there are enemies on the journey towards joy. Not all goes easy. Not every step is uncontested. In more conservative and evangelical branches of the church, we tend … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Enemies on the Journey Towards Joy”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1014,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[63,110],"yoast_head":"\nEnemies on the Journey Towards Joy - First Baptist Church of Manistique<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Following Jesus is a journey towards joy, but there are many enemies on the way. The biggest enemy is probably the man in the mirror...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Enemies on the Journey Towards Joy - First Baptist Church of Manistique\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Following Jesus is a journey towards joy, but there are many enemies on the way. The biggest enemy is probably the man in the mirror...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"First Baptist Church of Manistique\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/248467813772\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-09-01T17:26:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-01T17:26:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Man_fighting_himself.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1577\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1041\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nathaniel Erickson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nathaniel Erickson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nathaniel Erickson\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#\/schema\/person\/5d499ff1e51066490af4e35bfcbe077b\"},\"headline\":\"Enemies on the Journey Towards Joy\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-01T17:26:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-01T17:26:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015\"},\"wordCount\":578,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Man_fighting_himself.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"culture\",\"joy\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Pastor's Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015\",\"name\":\"Enemies on the Journey Towards Joy - First Baptist Church of Manistique\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Man_fighting_himself.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-01T17:26:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-01T17:26:38+00:00\",\"description\":\"Following Jesus is a journey towards joy, but there are many enemies on the way. The biggest enemy is probably the man in the mirror...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Man_fighting_himself.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Man_fighting_himself.jpg\",\"width\":1577,\"height\":1041,\"caption\":\"man boxing against his much larger shadow\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Enemies on the Journey Towards Joy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/\",\"name\":\"First Baptist Church of Manistique\",\"description\":\"Friends pointing the way to a safe harbor through the light of faith in Jesus Christ.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"First Baptist Church of Manistique, MI\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/FBC-Logov4-Color-Small-transparent.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/FBC-Logov4-Color-Small-transparent.png\",\"width\":259,\"height\":317,\"caption\":\"First Baptist Church of Manistique, MI\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/248467813772\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCNAoycWBk0stSprUBng8Uhw\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#\/schema\/person\/5d499ff1e51066490af4e35bfcbe077b\",\"name\":\"Nathaniel Erickson\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/ntgreeketal.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?author=3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Enemies on the Journey Towards Joy - First Baptist Church of Manistique","description":"Following Jesus is a journey towards joy, but there are many enemies on the way. The biggest enemy is probably the man in the mirror...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Enemies on the Journey Towards Joy - First Baptist Church of Manistique","og_description":"Following Jesus is a journey towards joy, but there are many enemies on the way. The biggest enemy is probably the man in the mirror...","og_url":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015","og_site_name":"First Baptist Church of Manistique","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/248467813772","article_published_time":"2022-09-01T17:26:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-09-01T17:26:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1577,"height":1041,"url":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Man_fighting_himself.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Nathaniel Erickson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nathaniel Erickson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015"},"author":{"name":"Nathaniel Erickson","@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#\/schema\/person\/5d499ff1e51066490af4e35bfcbe077b"},"headline":"Enemies on the Journey Towards Joy","datePublished":"2022-09-01T17:26:02+00:00","dateModified":"2022-09-01T17:26:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015"},"wordCount":578,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Man_fighting_himself.jpg","keywords":["culture","joy"],"articleSection":["Pastor's Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015","url":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015","name":"Enemies on the Journey Towards Joy - First Baptist Church of Manistique","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Man_fighting_himself.jpg","datePublished":"2022-09-01T17:26:02+00:00","dateModified":"2022-09-01T17:26:38+00:00","description":"Following Jesus is a journey towards joy, but there are many enemies on the way. The biggest enemy is probably the man in the mirror...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Man_fighting_himself.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Man_fighting_himself.jpg","width":1577,"height":1041,"caption":"man boxing against his much larger shadow"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?p=1015#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Enemies on the Journey Towards Joy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/","name":"First Baptist Church of Manistique","description":"Friends pointing the way to a safe harbor through the light of faith in Jesus Christ.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#organization","name":"First Baptist Church of Manistique, MI","url":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/FBC-Logov4-Color-Small-transparent.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/FBC-Logov4-Color-Small-transparent.png","width":259,"height":317,"caption":"First Baptist Church of Manistique, MI"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/248467813772","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCNAoycWBk0stSprUBng8Uhw"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/#\/schema\/person\/5d499ff1e51066490af4e35bfcbe077b","name":"Nathaniel Erickson","sameAs":["https:\/\/ntgreeketal.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/?author=3"}]}},"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1015"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1015"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1017,"href":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1015\/revisions\/1017"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fbcmstq.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}