Triple Threat of Our Own

So, I told an abbreviated version of the abovementioned story on Sunday during announcements and called it my “Triple Threat Week.” I encouraged the congregation to praise God regardless of their circumstances. As I contemplated the whole story this week, I had some additional thoughts… The term “triple threat” comes from my middle school basketball days when our coach taught us a technique for when we received the ball. If you posture a certain way, you are ready to pass, dribble, or shoot at a moment’s notice.

I realized that God has provided us with a spiritual “triple threat” so that we can be postured to combat the defenses of the devil. They are demonstrated in scripture numerous times – prayer, fasting, and scripture. The prophets of the Old Testament used them on a regular basis, Paul practiced prayer and fasting regularly during his missionary journeys, and even Jesus used these tenets when he was tempted in the desert. Perhaps, instead of responding well when crises come our way we should prepare for them using our triple threat. Maybe that’s why James says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”… because it’s always fun to do something that you’ve practiced, something that you’ve trained hard and prepared for.

I think it’s time for us to go on the offense and stop spending so much time finding ways to just defend against satan’s attacks