{"id":2633,"date":"2014-11-18T14:34:53","date_gmt":"2014-11-18T20:34:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.littworldonline.org\/?p=2633"},"modified":"2016-11-18T22:33:40","modified_gmt":"2016-11-18T22:33:40","slug":"stumbling-block-or-helper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maiglobal.org\/id\/stumbling-block-or-helper\/","title":{"rendered":"Stumbling Block or Helper?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

\"Dr<\/a>By Dr. Mary Massoud, Egypt<\/p>\n

My friend, Basma (her usual smile matching her name), is a fun-loving person who, alas, does not know the Lord Jesus. The other day I was so engrossed in my work, that I did not see her as she crept in, and was quite startled when she exclaimed, \u201cAlways at your desk!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh Basma,\u201d I protested, \u201cyou\u2019ve startled me!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI meant to take you by surprise,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat are you writing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAn article about the way of salvation,\u201d I answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich way?!\u201d she inquired. \u201cAren\u2019t there several ways, and don\u2019t they all lead to Heaven? All roads lead to Rome, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, to Rome; but not to God. According to the Bible, the only way to God is through commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t say!\u201d she mocked. \u201cSo according to you, I\u2019m going to hell? You must be aware that I no longer believe in your Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t believe because you haven\u2019t had a proper chance to know Him,\u201d I answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe studied the Bible in school,\u201d she protested. \u201cReligion was a compulsory subject, and I always passed with flying colors. But you haven\u2019t answered my question,\u201d she objected. \u201cDo you think I\u2019m going to hell?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly God can answer this question,\u201d I explained, as I secretly prayed for guidance. Aloud, I said, \u201cWhat about reading my finished article later?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Bible-Genesis-Freedigtal-ph\"<\/a>\u201cI\u2019m tired of all that rot,\u201d she said. \u201cNow that I\u2019m no longer a school girl, I can see that it doesn\u2019t work. Look at all those hypocrites in Church\u2026\u201d Then abruptly she asked, \u201cBut you actually think you have the power to change an atheist like me through that article of yours?!\u201d<\/p>\n

To my amazement, she snatched my draft and began to read. I continued to pray for guidance, and as I prayed, I was reminded of Zechariah 4:6 (NIV): \u201cNot by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.\u201d<\/em> After a while, she looked up and said, \u201cI expected to read an account of the Gospel story, but you\u2019ve started with the Old Testament!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d I explained, \u201cand if you read on, you\u2019ll be amazed at the innumerable and devious plots of Satan to thwart God\u2019s plan of salvation.\u201d<\/p>\n

After reading some more, she returned the draft to me, saying, \u201cBe sure to give me the finished article. Those Old Testament citations are quite intriguing!\u201d<\/p>\n

Thank you, dear Lord, for giving yourself to save us, and for offering your Spirit to guide us. Forgive us when we\u2019ve been a stumbling block to others, and help us to live what we profess, in Jesus\u2019 name. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dr Mary M.F. Massoud (Egyptian, single) is a professor in the English Department of Ain Shams University, Cairo. Her published critiques of English, Irish and American literary works are written from a Christian perspective. She has also translated theological works. Her chief hobby is writing and producing Christian plays (one, Our Father, <\/em>has been translated into ten languages).<\/p>\n

>>Read this article in our new book, Light for the Writer’s \"Light_Writers_Soul_MAI_2D\"<\/a>Soul: 100 devotions by global Christian writers.
\n<\/em><\/strong>-You’ll be inspired by 100 devotional articles by 80 writers from 27 countries.
\n-Ideal for personal devotions, or as a resource in writer groups, workshops and communications courses.
\n-Each article includes a writer’s personal struggle, a verse and a short prayer.
\n-Personal stories by Randy Alcorn, Jeanette Windle, Jerry Jenkins, Keila Ochoa Harris, Lawrence Darmani, Emily Lim, Grace Chong and many more authors.<\/p>\n

$15 USD, plus shipping. Email mai@littworld.org.
\nCo-published by Armour Publishers, also available in Singapore<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dr. Mary Massoud, Egypt My friend, Basma (her usual smile matching her name), is a fun-loving person who, alas, does not know the Lord Jesus. The other day I was so engrossed in my work, that I did not see her as she crept in, and was quite startled when she exclaimed, \u201cAlways at […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"iawp_total_views":15,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,46,17],"tags":[23,219,322,324,67],"class_list":["post-2633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mai","category-writing-resources","category-writing-contest","tag-africa","tag-christian-writing","tag-daily-devotional","tag-egyptian-writer","tag-writing"],"yoast_head":"\nStumbling Block or Helper? - Media Associates International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/maiglobal.org\/id\/stumbling-block-or-helper\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"id_ID\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stumbling Block or Helper? - Media Associates International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Dr. Mary Massoud, Egypt My friend, Basma (her usual smile matching her name), is a fun-loving person who, alas, does not know the Lord Jesus. 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