A word that was placed in my spirit in prayer, “stumbling blocks” (see Matthew 13:41). We may have various ideas when we think of a stumbling block. Some may visualize an object being placed in front of us that causes us to trip and fall. This is true to a degree. However, the term “stumbling block” in Greek is “skándalon” (where we get the word “scandal”), which depicts “a trigger of a trap”, “the mechanism used to ensnare”. The enemy wants us to sin. And he has a variety of ways in tricking us into doing it. Some of the “skándalon” tactics of the enemy we may hold dear to our heart.
People of God, we must exercise discernment. A broad “skándalon” strategy the enemy tries to employ is merging the unholy with the holy. For example, he will take the pagan practice of “yoga”, which is ultimately the worship of various Hindu gods (demons) and present it as acceptable. Indeed, he will present it to the Christian, and have them believe they can practice “Christian yoga”. Some may say, “When I practice yoga I chant the name “Jesus”. In truth, it doesn’t matter what is chanted if the practice itself is governed by demonic spirits. That would be no different in saying its acceptable to practice sorcery as long as you use the name of Jesus (which some do).
Scripture speaks directly to this issue. One clue we find in Scripture is that another descriptor of “demons” is that they are “unclean spirits”. The term “unclean” in Greek, “akathartos” which means “not pure (because mixed)”. There are many examples in Scripture that reveal whenever the people of God tried to mix there worship with pagan gods it would bring judgment (Exodus 32; 1 Kings 12:28-30). Why? Because behind the pagan gods were demonic spirits (Deuteronomy 32:17; Psalm 106:37). May we be wise to learn from their mistakes to avoid the “skándalon” of the enemy.
