"Stumbling" refers to people who stumble over the church or the past…

What does it mean to "stumble"? 🤔

Some people stumble over the church or the pastor... 😢
They leave the church.

...When I was a student, I gathered students on campus and sang hymns and shared a message...
...They enjoyed the hymns, but when I told them about Jesus' miracles,
...they left as if the tide were going out.

...Human nature hasn't changed, then or now.

...Having faith means...being transformed from the values ​​of this world to the values ​​of heaven.

...John the Baptist... heard through his disciples, "Are you the one who is to come?"

...John probably knew he would eventually be executed...

...As someone who lived by God's values, as someone who walked this path of belief, I wondered if the promised heaven and the promised Messiah were real... 😥
I sought assurance from Jesus.

"Blessed is the one who does not stumble over me."
...For John, as a dying man,
Jesus' words were enough.
Later,
John was beheaded in prison.
However, through the Lord Jesus' words, "Blessed is the one who does not stumble over me,"
he was able to overcome his stumbling block and live his life as a blessed person, blessed by God, in the hope of salvation and eternal life that the Lord Jesus accomplishes.

By trusting in the words, "Blessed is the one who does not stumble over me,"
we too have received the blessing that will not be lost even by the suffering and sorrow of this world,
and that overcomes the power of death...
Let us continue walking this week,
with this hope in mind!

Shalom 😃

This page archives a Morning Word message shared by Pastor Peter Sunagawa on LINE. The English prose is a translation of the Japanese source message. For Scripture wording, use the BSB link above.