WINNING WITH THE WORD
“Winning with the Word” is a weekly blog that will help you to be a winner in life by applying God’s principles for living the abundant life as found in the Bible, God’s manual for life.
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Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Monday, August 3, 2020. Today’s Podcast is Episode #31 in Series 2020 and is titled “The Dangers of Passivity.”
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God hates passivity. But the devil loves it.
What is passivity?
Passivity is the trait of holding back and letting someone else act in a given circumstance. Passive people avoid resistance and confrontation and give in to external influences.
Noted Bible teacher Francis Frangipane calls passivity “Satan’s secret weapon,” a tool to render Christ-Followers ineffective. As Frangipane further notes, “There is no room for a passive spirit in God’s army.”
There are times when passivity is warranted among Christ-followers, such as in submitting to God. But there are many more times when passivity is unwarranted and harmful both to the passive Christian and to the Body of Christ.
We are living in times in which passivity on the part of righteous people is causing the destruction of our nation. Demonic forces are taking down our country while far too many Christ-followers are sitting back and just watching.
Jesus warned us of what would happen in the last days. But He also commanded His Church to occupy until He comes. With what are we to occupy ourselves? We are to occupy ourselves with preaching the Gospel.
But why is it that so many Christians are failing to preach the Gospel? Why is it that so many Christ-followers are simply allowing the enemy to encroach upon the Church? Why are they being passive?
Here are some insights on passivity:
1) Passivity is a learned behavior. It has psychological roots in rejection, abandonment, and fear. Passive people are often self-centered rather than other-centered. They are afraid of speaking out because they are afraid of being rejected. Sadly, many Christ-followers fall into this category.
2) Passive people do not see themselves as passive. They will often object to accusations of passivity, replying that they work very hard and make many sacrifices in their families or ministries. While this may be true, it is an out-of-balance perspective. Provision has many facets to it, and one facet is also bold leadership.
3) Passive people see themselves as victims, not as victors. This is contrary to what God says about us. Scripture tells us that we are more than conquerors through Christ Who loved us. This perspective is not the perspective of a passive person.
The opposite of passivity is boldness. While passivity holds back, boldness pushes ahead. While passivity refuses to get involved and take action, boldness jumps at the opportunity to get involved and to take action.
Interestingly, Scripture rarely requires passivity but most often it requires boldness. In order to obey God’s commands, we are often required to get out of our comfort zones and to speak out. For example, it is impossible to obey the Great Commission while being passive.
In his excellent book, THE SPIRITUAL MAN, Watchman Nee writes this about passivity: “God has not called us to be passive. He has called us to fight. We are engaged in a spiritual battle of intense proportions, and we cannot–we must not–be passive in that battle. Otherwise, we will be sorely defeated.”
If you have been suffering from passivity, repent and ask the Lord to deliver you from this curse. If you are not yet a Christ-follower, become one now by praying this simple prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have been passive instead of active in my relationship with You and with others. I have been more concerned about being rejected than about fighting for what is right. Please forgive me and change me. I receive You now as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for making me into the person You created me to be. In Your Name I pray. Amen.
If you prayed this simple prayer, please write to me at drmaryann@maryanndiorio.com. I would like to send you a little booklet that will help you get started in your walk with Christ. I also encourage you to get yourself a Bible and read it every single day. The Bible is God’s love letter to you, His manual for your life. In the Bible, God reveals Who He is, and He instructs you how to live.
Finally, ask the Lord to lead you to the church of His choice for you where you can learn about Him and have fellowship and encouragement with other Christ-Followers.
For those of you who may not know, I write fiction about many of the issues I deal with in this blog and podcast. I encourage you to visit my website bookstore at maryanndiorio.com/book-table . There you will find a complete list of my fiction for both adults and children.
If you have been blessed by this blog and podcast, I encourage you to share them with others. I also invite you to become a Winning with the Word patron on Patreon. As a patron you will enjoy special benefits only for my patrons. Just go to Patreon.com and search for Winning with the Word to join. I would like to thank all of my patrons who are making this podcast possible. It is now reaching 23 countries throughout the world with the message of the Gospel, and we have had oer 1000 downloads. I could not do this without your help.
Thank you so much for listening. This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, novelist and life coach, reminding you that God loves you just as you are and just where you are, and that He will help you to keep on Winning with the Word.
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Now it’s your turn: Are you prepared for the return of Christ? If no, are you willing to get prepared? Please leave your comment in the Comment Box below. Thank you!
PLEASE TWEET: “Are You Majoring in the Minors?” by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio (CLICK TO TWEET)
Source cited: https://preachitteachit.org/articles/detail/passivity-satans-secret-weapon/
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“Winning with the Word” is a weekly blog that helps you to deal with the daily problems of life by using the Bible as your guide to solving them. The Word of God will make you a success in life!
AN INVITATION TO YOU: To subscribe to Winning with the Word, click here.
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A wonderful devo – and Good morning! Have a wonderful day!
God bless you!
Love
Peggie
Thank you, Peggie! I am glad you were blessed. You, too, have a wonderful day!