August 86, 2026 WWJWMTD by Steve, the son of John (2SoJ)

Youth: Sexual identity Confusion

Today, confusion about sexual orientation is all too common during adolescence. As a result, it is risky to label teenagers “gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, or transgender” before they have the wisdom of adulthood and the opportunity to make a fully informed choice.

Ultimately, when a teenager is prematurely “labeled,” there is a serious risk of “mislabeling” a portion of sexually confused youth.

Many factors can possibly lead a struggling or questioning youth into homosexual behavior or sexual identity confusion. Such as curiosity, a feeling of not fitting in, the horrific tragedy of being molested, and the desire for attention, and a sense of belonging.

I remain extremely concerned that youth, including Christian youth, are not getting all the facts regarding the many facets of human sexuality in order to make a truly informed and godly decision about sexual identity.

When our path crosses with a struggling youth, we must be open to partnering with the Lord Jesus to help turn the tide in his or her life. During adolescence, most people determine the morals and personal identity they will embrace for the remainder of their life.

As a result, much confusion and challenges will take place before any semblance of clarity comes. This is all the truer for youth deciding their sexual identity.

The teenage years are a crucial period for the Church of Jesus Christ to speak to youth tempted by the various and numerous forms of sexual and relational brokenness.

I remain concerned that society, and sometimes the Church, is unwittingly promoting social experiments and various behaviors with no justification in reality and, with all probability enabling inevitable serious moral problems with potentially tragic consequences.

In trying to ascertain the rightness or wrongness of any behavior or misguided identity, it seems to me the determining factor should be consequence, not cause. Or have we become completely ambivalent to what is morally right?

Today, the many and various subcultures into which youth are being thrust, have high rates of depression, substance abuse, alcoholism, anonymous sex, and unsafe sex practices. Few teens possess the judgment and self-control to make wise decisions in such environments.

While I have met and continue to meet with youth who are determined to resolve the issues of their sexuality, most feel too inadequate, lack motivation, and do not have an individual structure in their life to help them through the process of healing and wholeness.

Reaching youth struggling with their sexual identity is something we all can do and must do to help searching youth understand God’s abundant plans for their lives and to counteract misguided agendas that seek to ruin all hope for the youth. You and I may be the only person that will have the courage to share the Good News with a youth impacted by sexual and relational brokenness.

Practically speaking…

*Keep the consequence of sin in context. We have all fallen short of the glory of God.

*Accepting and loving a teenager without conditions has nothing to do with condoning their behavior/lifestyle.

*Offer to serve as an accountability and prayer partner.

*Clearly distinguish the difference between temptation and sin.

*Don’t overreact – be prepared for the “born that way” argument.

*You are not expected to have all the answers.

*Never, ever water down the Word of God.

*Be patient and trust God completely.

*Emphasize the key to overcoming sexual brokenness and sexual identity confusion is in Christ Jesus.

On the Cross, Jesus secured salvation for any and all who commit their lives to Him. At Calvary, Jesus’ blood put into effect the new covenant. He said, “It is finished.”

With that proclamation, anyone can now walk in the fullness of life that He intended and provides. All things are possible, as Jesus intercedes for us. Assuming our sin, shame, and death, He declared, “It is finished,” which is a statement about an end. However, each end makes room for a wonderful and glorious new beginning.

While it is easy enough to become cynical about the times in which we live, remember that when God is put in the equation of life, a hope that does not disappoint rises with us. It is true that the number of teens struggling with their sexuality has become alarming, but we should and must trust God and reach out to youth with the message of salvation and sexual redemption available through the Lord Jesus Christ.

By Pastor Phillip Lee Executive Director His Way Out Ministry

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August 16, 2026 WWJWMTD by Steve, the son of John (2SoJ)

Over and Over Again

I Corinthians 16:8-9: “But I will stay on at Ephesusuntil Pentecost,because a great door for effective work has opened to me,and there are many who oppose me.”

A definition in the Bible of the term Pentecost: Pentecost is both an Old Testament harvest festival and a New Testament event where the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus’ followers. The word comes from the Greek pentekoste, meaning "fiftieth," because it happens 50 days after Passover (or Easter), and here are the facts.

· Feast of Weeks (Shavuot): Originally a Jewish holiday called the Feast of Weeks, Feast of Harvest, or Day of “Firstfruits”.

· Timing: Celebrated 7 weeks (50 days) after Passover.

· Purpose: A time to thank God for the first fruits of the wheat harvest. Later Jewish tradition also linked it to God giving the Law (Torah) to Moses on Mount Sinai.

· The Descent of the Holy Spirit: the followers of Jesus gathered in Jerusalem when a sound like a strong wind came. Tongues of fire rested on their heads.

· Speaking in Tongues: The believers spoke in foreign languages. Visitors from many nations heard the message in their own native tongues.

· Peter’s Sermon: Peter preached about Jesus, and about 3,000 people believed and were baptized that day.

· Birth of the Church: Christians view this day as the start of the global New Testament Church and the moment the Holy Spirit began living inside believers.

To Paul, the significance of Pentecost was all the above, as stated in his writing of I Corinthians chapter 16. Paul knew the history, the significance, and believed in God that Pentecost would happen over and over again!

Church history has shown this to be true, as we have at the Azusa Street Revival and many other encounters of the Holy Spirit coming into people with the same signs of the Holy Spirit.

So, my questions are: Where is your faith? Where is your unity? Where is the conflict and opposition to the Gospel of Christ? Where are the signs of the Holy Spirit happening over and over again?

I want the Fire; I want the Wind; I want the Unity; I want the ‘door of effectiveness’ and ‘opposition’ to the Gospel of Christ, and I want the determination and thousands of people coming to Christ. I believe this can happen every 50 days—yes, it can happen over and over again. I stand with Paul and the Bible; I stand with the command of Christ to wait for the Holy Spirit, and I stand with the Holy Spirit knowing that this experience was not just for a particular time, 50 days after the Passover in the Book of Acts, but it is the will of God all the time and for everyone who can believe God for it. This is what I believe, over and over again.

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August 12, 2026 WWJWMTD by Steve, the son of John (2SoJ)

Forgiveness Unfilled

In John 5:39, Jesus tells the religious leaders of the day that “they think they have eternal life” (based on) “what they know about the Scriptures”. Proverbs chapter two says, “If you look for, cry out for, and search for wisdom—then and only then will you find it”.

God is always looking for a ‘heart-felt response’, a response that combines one’s soul, heart, mind and strength. Too only think, i.e. to only believe by ‘solely thinking’ will never get us to a salvation experience (contrary to what many biblical scholars would have us to believe).

Salvation is embedded in repentance—always has and always will be! You and I should never take for granted that what ‘we think’ makes me ‘who I am’. With God, it has never been one’s education or the brightest thinkers that will ‘make the grade’. Salvation is discovered through repentance alone; with God, it is what one ‘thinks in one’s heart ’, not the processes of mental activity or cellular synapse.

If you are only thinking about repentance, forgiveness will never be yours. If you are wanting forgiveness—if you are truly sorry, if you search for it as if it is ‘the treasure you always wanted’, if this is your one desire—to finally be given the chance to be what you always hoped to be—then God will meet you there!

You can have all that is God through Jesus Christ! Everything God has ever promised, just as it says in Proverbs 2—a life full of success, protection from evil, able to do what is right and just, exhibiting good behavior, and blameless at the coming of Christ—to be the person God created & wanted you to be. Yes, Godly repentance only comes from a heart response, never by ‘just thinking’. Repentance and ultimate forgiveness can never be realized and never be fulfilled if we believe that our thinking will get us there.

If you want to think about something, try this: I am not worthy to be forgiven; it was only God’s love for me—I trust in ‘His Love Alone’.

(Oops, I guess this is a heart response also…sorry you thinkers!)

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July 12, 2026 WWJWMTD by Steve, the son of John (2SoJ)

I Have Been Waiting For This To Happen…When the Uncommon Becomes the New Normal!

I have been waiting for what God spoke to me what would be coming. I believe it is now here. I have been waiting patiently for the signs that accompany His spoken words to me.

The Day of the Lord is upon us all. This is not a revival, which many in the Body of Christ has called it, but it is the Second Pentecost as God has written about in the Bible and has spoken to me and other faithful witnesses in the Body of Christ.

I have heard about many Christians being persecuted and killed, music (songs) that speak solely about Jesus Christ and the Presence of God fills the buildings where they are sung, and of course the multitudes of people who are coming to Christ throughout the world. This is no accident or just another revival but is spoken in Scriptures and will only grow and grow until Christ returns. My dad wanted to see it happen, but God’s ways are not our timetable to predict.

If you are not reading the Book of Isaiah, you will not understand the importance of this time, nor will you understand the Day of the Lord. It is upon us and what is left is the uncommon becoming the New Normal.

Walking on water will become normal, women receiving their children given back to them from the dead, miracles and healings will be so common they will become too numerous to mention. No longer will it be said that some miracles are more difficult than others. Faith will be commonplace, so no miracle or healing will be more difficult for our faith to make it happen. Healings will be for the asking and miracles will happen without prayer.

But all of this will happen so the Judgment of God can follow. Forgiveness will flow as water and repentance will become so great people will cry for days. People will find the Fear of God and learn to take comfort in its manifestation. All of this will be done for the Glory of God alone. You will not need a prophet to tell you what to do and a teacher telling you the mysteries of God’s Truth for all will know and understand in the Body of Christ.

It is upon us! Get yourself ready for manifestations of the Holy Spirit that will surprise even the greatest of Christians among us. It is here; Jesus is here, and the Holy Spirit of Truth is about to make it happen. Even so, Lord Jesus, make it happen—be glorified in us.

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July 11, 2026 WWJWMTD by Steve, the son of John (2SoJ)

The Series of Personal Testimonies, #5: Where Is Justice & Education?

America’s Death Will Only Come From Within

All of us violate regulations, codes, or laws each day, from a simple speed limit to laws we do not even know exist. The State of California has 13 large volumes of educational codes—most states only have one volume, and between local, state, and federal laws, not counting all the special government agencies, it is impossible to know and obey all the laws.

I have a good friend who is a judge. He is honorable, smart, a hard worker, and takes his job seriously, but those are not his best qualities. He is a committed family man; he cares about his wife and children, he is kind, loves to laugh, and most of all, a true Christian. That is not always the case for many people who write, enforce, and/or interpret the laws that govern America.

Earl W. Warren is one person who personifies how one’s character can influence a nation either for good or bad. He was a progressive, politically driven attorney general, a governor, and a Supreme Court Justice. He ruled often against anything that was Christian in nature. He wanted nothing to do with religion or God. If you would ask local Kern County residents who murdered his father, they would not hesitate to tell you that it was his son, Earl, and he got away with it.

Earl Warren with his passion against anything that has ties to Christianity undermined centuries of laws and the foundational beliefs of our Founding Fathers. He destroyed the educational system in America single handedly and put into place aspects of judicial thinking that has chipped away at constitutional common sense.

Henry Blackaby stated, in a Legal Conference at Focus of the Family in Colorado Springs in the 80’s, “Do not concern yourself with what Washington is doing but what God is doing!” He was speaking to an audience of judges, attorneys, clerks of the court and one lone superintendent—me. His concern was our relationship with Christ. It is that relationship alone that makes the difference in a courtroom, a state, or a nation. His stories were powerful and convincing. (If you have not read the book, The Man God Uses you need too.)

Our schools have been failing since the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, and other educational cases Earl Warren presided over during his term as Supreme Court Justice. No matter what we do, laws we pass, money we throw at our school systems they keep getting worse. America went from the best and highest rated schools and universities in the world at the beginning of the 60’s to among the worst in the world in so many categories.

Do not be fooled, God is not mocked. God notices everything, and He cares about what leaders at all levels of our government do from Presidents to Mayors; from School Superintendents to custodial staff; from Justices to court clerks. When God is ruled against in the implementation, interpretation, or writing of laws, God merely walks away. He leaves the people or institutions to themselves—to failure.

Warning #5: God judges nations not just on the sin of its people but also on the rulings/decisions of its leaders (Book of Proverbs).

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July 5, 2026 WWJWMTD by Steve, the son of John (2SoJ)

The Series of Personal Testimonies, #4: You Have No Problems!

End of Discussion—God’s Final Answer.

We look today at our problems more than the successes in our lives. Problems get all the hype, the headlines in today’s news, and the emotional connections and personal reactions. What about all the non-problems we faced during the day? Where are the emotional gratifications that we need so badly to invest in when things go well, and the real-life stories that make us feel good? So often we are not grateful. We are not thankful. Instead, we look to having problems—what a waste of all that is good in humanity.

During my career in education, I seemed to inherit ‘the problems’ that others often struggled with. When I was brought, a problem there was always an emotional indebtedness to the problem on the part of the sender. My reaction was never one of supporting their personal connection to the problem but rather a simple statement: “Can the problem be fixed?” My response to their perspective on the problem usually always brought about a stunning and insightful reaction: “Well, I guess it can be fixed,” then I say, “I guess you do not have a problem.”

A problem is a problem when you cannot fix it! If a solution is found, if a correction can be made, where is the problem? It is time we quit reacting when a problem is stated. What the problem is in America today are the life-issues that cannot be solved without God and there are many. They usually are perpetuated by the idea that money alone can fix it. There is nothing farther from the truth. We cannot buy our way into contentment or security. We first need to know that every problem can be fixed but it takes strong character, willingness to sacrifice, and ability to see all aspects of the problem from God’s perspective. (God loves to solve problems!)

OK then, what is God’s perspective? It is found in a story that took place about 45 years ago. Two ministers got together to fast and pray for 21 days. During that time, they decide to compare what God was saying to them during their time of prayer. Each one was in a different location and kept a log of what God would tell them that day. To O.J., God said, “You do not have any problems if you are spiritual.” To Dale, God said, “You only have one problem, that is being spiritual.” When they handed to each other their notes for the day, they both began to laugh. To God life does have its struggles and disappointments but in Christ all problems have been solved…period!

We need to see our problems as God sees them—solved. It is not the problem that is my problem, but my perspective of the problem that is the problem. Only God can create problems that cannot be solved—not you, not me, not Satan. So, get ready for the Time of Revelations—when God does end everything with His world-stopping, unsolvable, & not-fixable problems.

A Warning—Do not fail to believe that “nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus”. Jesus already won; there are no problems He cannot fix.

Lesson for Today: God does not see problems;

He only sees His Son’s victory over all that is evil, wrong, and unfixable.

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July 3, 2026 WWJWMTD by Steve, the son of John (2SoJ)

The Series of Personal Testimonies, #3: Celebrating What?

We celebrate so much today. In every calendar month, we are honoring this or that from what cars we buy, the food we eat, how we look, what we have accomplished, and everything in between. I am sure one can find something Americans are celebrating each day of the year. Most of what we celebrate does not need to be celebrated. Many times, we are asked to celebrate in what is prideful, immoral, or unhealthy—when will all this nonsense end? (The gay movement is a good example of this.)

Do you remember the musical group, Rare Earth? They were the only white group on the Motown record album label in the 60’s & 70’s. I saw them live in Fresno, and one of their greatest hits is still used in commercials today, “I Just Want to Celebrate.” I felt as a young man that I was on the right track—I wanted to celebrate life alone and let everything else go by the wayside just as the song suggested. Now, looking back, I wish I had stayed on track and not gotten caught up in the frenzy of personal happiness over what is right, good, and supportive to others.

God loves to celebrate, and He created us to celebrate too. There is going to be a party in heaven someday, and I want to be there. Nevertheless, Americans have allowed industries, cultures, and God deniers(so often for the sake of making money)to decide what we rejoice in and celebrate about on a daily basis.

Am I thankful? Yes; should I be ‘thankful in all things and for all things’, the Bible says. But to ‘rejoice always’ belongs for those things that are good and wholesome and definitely not for monetary gain or ‘being better than someone else’ attitude. Doing one’s best should always be celebrated whether we win or fail. I congratulate others on their successes by being glad for their efforts, but I am also happy for the person or group that did not have the talent but made the same sacrifice though did not medal. I especially do this when working with children as an educator.

Do not think that God does not notice our hypocrisy and pride, our ‘in your face’ attitudes, and our apathy against evil motives and behaviors. So, take a stand, be counted for celebrating good alone. This is a warning for all Americans: be happy in what is good; not in personal gratification, pride, monetary gain, abilities/talents, or accumulation of things.

The 4th of July is upon us, and America does indeed have something to celebrate. But it not because of the successes of mankind or our monetary accomplishments. Our success came from God, and our future successes is because the people of God look to Jesus Christ, listen to Him, seek His will and purposes; being thankful to God alone and rejoicing in His help, kindness, and strength to do what He wants for us. This is what started America and is the only success model for America for tomorrow.

Don’t believe me? Just take a history lesson of the leaders in American history, and you will find God in their lives, and after reading their prayers, you will see what God will do for people who look to Him alone for direction and strength. Today, let’s be thankful and rejoice that God has blessed America and not we ourselves—God alone deserves all the glory and thankfulness in our days of celebration, our 250th birthday!

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June 21, 2026 WWJWMTD by Steve, the son of John (2SoJ)

The Series of Personal Testimonies, #3 Wisdom From God

This article needs to be read by all Christians and especially church leadership. I have underlined various statements that show the wisdom of God being applied to America’s lifestyle and the need for change… Steve

Read on blog or Reader Article by Phillip Lee, “The Pro-Gay Agenda: Where Is This All Going?” "We demand freedom from social restraint and independence from any and all moral order." “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.” (Isaiah 5:20) Today, especially in America, little is being offered that promotes the truth about homosexuality, with the general public and the Church believing the many untruths and inaccuracies being offered. This did not happen by accident. This has been and continues to be a well-crafted strategic plan. The first step in Satan’s deception is to get you to doubt what God said. God’s Word has always been a love speech toward us. The devil is the one who uses hate speech. The devil hates God, so he hates what God loves most…you! Phase One: Get society and the Church to ‘accept’ the falsehood that someone can be a gay Christian (it’s ok to practice homosexuality), which then sets the stage for the transition to Phase Two. Phase Two: Revise Scripture to endorse and validate the homosexual disposition and agenda. Hence, pro-gay theology: “the abandonment of Scriptural truth; scientific information, social changes, and personal experience become the cornerstone of how ‘truth’ is determined.” For homosexual practice to be seen as acceptable and created by God, historic and traditional Christian teaching had to be discredited. Phase Three: Since it’s ok to be a gay Christian (according to pro-gay theology), then God Himself supports, approves, and validates homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Herein lies the true problem: a crisis of truth. Nowhere in the Bible does any Scripture, not one, approve of or support the notion or concept of gay Christian or same-sex relationships. Every time Scripture mentions homosexual practice it is always, without exception, mentioned in the context of a behavior in which no man or woman is to practice – not unlike many other behaviors. The Church cannot ‘welcome and affirm’ what God Himself never affirms. Yes, Jesus welcomed and loved every person, but He never, ever affirmed their sin – not once. That said, permit me to take this another direction for a moment. It is long overdue for many, including homosexual strugglers, to stop singling out homosexuality as the worst of all sins. Today, many view the person engaged in homosexual acts to be unsaved. Why are not the same assumptions made, at least with the same rigor and emphasis, regarding other sins such as fornication (pre-marital sex), idolatry, adultery, thievery, covetousness, alcoholism, slander, and deceit? An end must come to declaring those guilty of pre-marital sex as just, well, “disobedient Christians,” while declaring homosexuals definitely non-Christians. As Christians, our relationship with God through Christ is the cornerstone of our identity. Today, many are being told, “Accept yourself and follow your heart.” However, Jesus says, “Deny yourself and follow Me.” “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him; the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” (1 John 2:3-6) You don’t have to give up your intellect to trust the Bible. You have to give up your pride. No one hates the LGBT community and all humanity more than the devil. Pastor Phillip Lee, Executive Director, His Way Out Ministries

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Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

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April 8, 2026 WWJWMTD by Steve, the son of John (2SoJ) The Series of Personal Testimonies that Glorify Jesus Christ Testimony #1 Fidelity to Truth by Phillip Lee Fidelity to truth, God’s absolute truth, both in doctrine and behavior, is not an option for faithful followers of Christ Jesus. When Christian leadership allows secular demands and guidance to trump Biblical teaching, the world has its foundation to boast of having become the light of the Church which completely reverses the formula that Jesus prescribed – "You are the light of the world" – (Matthew 5:14-16). However, there will always be those willing to say what is most definitely unpopular but nonetheless redemptive, standing for what is controversial but true, even when truth is being relentlessly and systematically obscured… It is 1981, I am living in San Francisco and very much a member of the gay community. On a Sunday afternoon, I leave my apartment and walk down Powell Street toward Market Street, the main drag of downtown San Francisco. The closer and closer I get to Market Street, clearly something is going on because the boulevard is lined with a huge crowd of people. I have happened upon my first Gay Pride Parade. I cannot believe what I am witnessing. Frankly, the first thought that occurred to me was – “Why aren’t these people being arrested?” – largely due to the pornographic nature and displays that are parading by, one after another after another. And, I am thinking, “This is what I am to be proud of?” It was my first and last gay pride parade. Today, far, far beyond equal rights for many groups in America in their attempts to reweave the social, cultural, and political fabric of this country, is an unquenchable thirst for power. Right on the heels of the power quest is a relentless crusade by many groups for acceptance and to gain society’s stamp of approval on a considerable list of various behaviors. When gay marriage became legal throughout America (but not lawful in the Kingdom of God), the entire lid to Pandora’s Box came off. Various groups that had been for a very long time standing along the sidelines waiting their turn, busted out of the box and began to be much more vocal and visible, demanding to be recognized and accepted. And, let me be perfectly clear by stating, we, the Church, did contribute to the past, and the on-going cultural vacuum that has allowed the redefinition of marriage, family, etc. to happen with so little resistance. One of the groups that came parading by in 1981 was the North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), an organization at the forefront pushing for the right of adult homosexuals to have sex with minors. At its seventh General Membership Conference held in Boston in December 1993, NAMBLA adopted numerous and various points, as well as this position: “Whereas it is impossible to say at what age a person is capable of consenting to sex because every individual and every case is different; and therefore any attempt to set an age is capricious, arbitrary, and unfair…” NAMBLA has long been dedicated to the replacement of the age-of-consent laws. The push for the acceptance of pedophilia is by no means new on the scene as some seem to think today. The ongoing push and threat for the lowering of age-of-consent laws, so that sex with youth might be legally permissible, reveals a threat that pedophilia poses to children and through them, to society. Herein lies my concern… If you can get the public to think pedophilia is just another thing – then the battle for legal and social acceptance and rights is pretty much in the bag. Have we not traveled this exact same road before? No matter how strongly we may be opposed to any number of agendas, we are first of all called to be Christians who have the privilege of representing Christ to all the communities of the world, regardless of class, color, nationality, gender, or sexual orientation. That said, it is not enough to condemn the darkness, if we fail to shine a light of hope on our disintegrating culture. “If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at the moment attacking, then I am not confessing Christ, however boldly, I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is tested.” Martin Luther

Pastor Phillip Lee, Executive Director, His Way Out Ministries

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Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

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February 10, 2026 WWJWMTD by Steve, the son of John (2SoJ)

Final Parts From blog, Corner Stone Christian Fellowship

Timothy writes:

2. You Can’t Command Virtue, But You Can Spark Curiosity

The most profound transformations are not achieved through sheer willpower alone, but through the Holy Spirit’s power renewing our minds. The journey begins with a deep curiosity to know and understand God’s better way—a pursuit of divine wisdom over human understanding.

· The Renewing of the Mind: Lasting change is not behavior modification, but intellectual and spiritual transformation. We become what we continually expose our minds to.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” — Romans 12:2

· Trusting God’s Wisdom: The “curiosity” of the early Christian was not about questioning God, but about acknowledging that His wisdom surpasses their own, leading them to search the Scriptures.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” — Proverbs 3:5-6

This reframing holds a powerful lesson for our own internal struggles. The grim war for self-control, so often framed by the tyrannical command “I must,” can be transformed into a curious investigation of “I wonder.” When we become apologists for our own best selves, using persuasion and discovery rather than brute force, our internal resistance softens. We shift from being a taskmaster demanding obedience to an explorer charting a new way of living. Curiosity, as the ancients knew, is a far more sustainable fuel for the journey than sheer, teeth-gritting willpower.

Genuine, lasting change is seldom forged in the crucible of willpower alone; it is cultivated in the fertile ground of inquiry and discovery. Early Christian apologists understood that you can reach people most effectively when you “pique their curiosity,” even if their initial motive is simply to prove you wrong.

Rather than merely demanding that Roman emperors stop their persecutions, the 2nd-century writer Athenagoras appealed directly to their intellectual pride, asking them to apply their “desire of knowledge and love of truth to the examination of our doctrine also.” He did not command them to obey; he invited them to investigate.

Similarly, Justin Martyr, in his defense of Christianity, didn’t just present it as a new set of rules. He framed it as the fulfillment of the great philosophical quest for truth that the Greco-Roman world already revered—a quest that even Socrates had begun. He argued that Christ completed what the greatest minds had only started.

And Socrates… exhorted them to become acquainted with the God who was to them unknown, by means of the investigation of reason, saying, “That it is neither easy to find the Father and Maker of all, nor, having found Him, is it safe to declare Him to all.” But these things our Christ did through His own power.

3. To Change Your Life, Redefine Your Values A key to early Christian self-mastery was a profound act of cognitive reframing. They adopted a new way to measure what was valuable, fundamentally redefining success and failure. What the Roman world called glory—power, wealth, pleasure—they identified as a spiritual danger. What the world called failure—persecution, humility, poverty—they saw as the path to true glory.

This new value system provided an incredibly stable foundation for their actions. It insulated them from both worldly temptations and worldly threats. If persecution is seen as an opportunity for ultimate victory, the threat of persecution loses its power. If wealth is seen as a potential snare, the temptation of greed is disarmed. Athenagoras demonstrated this keen awareness of how language shapes reality when he argued against the absurdity of judging Christians based on a name alone, rather than their actual deeds.

But no name in and by itself is reckoned either good or bad; names appear bad or good according as the actions underlying them are bad or good. You, however, have yourselves a dear knowledge of this, since you are well instructed in philosophy and all learning.

This redefinition is not just an intellectual exercise but a pre-emptive strike against temptation. By reframing wealth as a “spiritual danger,” the early Christian was not just resisting greed; they were dismantling the very logic that made greed seem appealing in the first place. This is a prime example of self-regulation: to win the battle before it even begins by choosing the battlefield and defining the terms of engagement. It is the deepest form of self-control: to choose the lens through which you see the world, and in doing so, to define what has power over you.

The early Christians didn’t just resist the world’s vices; they upended its very definition of success, honor, and blessing. The values of the Kingdom of God are often an inversion of the values of man.

· The Upside-Down Kingdom: Jesus’ teaching turns the world’s hierarchy on its head, defining true blessing not in terms of wealth or status, but in humility and spiritual need.

o “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven… — Matthew 5:3

o Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” — Matthew 5:10 (The Beatitudes)

· The Contempt of Worldly Pride: The Apostles explicitly warned against adopting the value system of the secular age, insisting that what the world prizes is transient and foolish in God’s eyes.

o “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” — 1 John 2:16-17

o “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness’…” — 1 Corinthians 3:19

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Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

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