Latest / PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES / The House in the Middle of the Forest – Conversation 11 | Part II: The Traveler at the Door

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The House in the Middle of the Forest – Conversation 11 | Part II: The Traveler at the Door · PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES

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  Welcome to Pomoja Podcast, a ministry of Life
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  of Christ International Ministries, the place
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  where stronger lives are built, faith is strengthened,
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  hearts are encouraged, and Christ -centered homes
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  are shaped through ordinary conversations that
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  become extraordinary encounters with God's truth.
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  One conversation, one story, one revelation at
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  a time. In our last conversation, we discovered
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  that every house has windows. Every marriage
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  has windows. Every covenant has windows. And
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  I left you with a question. If the greatest danger
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  is not always the storm outside, how does the
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  enemy get inside? Today, I want to answer that
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  question through an old story. It is not found
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  in the pages of scripture. But like many stories
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  passed from one generation to another, it carries
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  wisdom. It is the kind of story elders tell around
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  a fire, simple yet unforgettable. The story says
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  there was once a husband and wife who lived peacefully
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  together. Their home was known for its warmth.
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  Travelers often admired it. Neighbors respected
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  it. People who entered always felt welcomed.
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  One evening, a traveler arrived at their door.
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  He looked tired. Dust covered his clothes. His
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  voice was gentle. His smile seemed sincere. He
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  asked for nothing more than a place to rest for
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  the night. The couple looked at one another.
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  How could they refuse? After all, hospitality
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  is honorable. Scripture teaches kindness to strangers,
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  so they welcome him. They prepared a meal. They
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  offered him water. They gave him a place near
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  the fire. That evening, they laughed together,
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  shared stories, talked about life. Everything
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  seemed harmless. The next morning, the traveler
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  remained. He offered to help around the house.
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  He complimented the husband. He praised the wife.
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  He appeared grateful. Again, nothing seemed wrong.
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  Days passed, then something changed, not in his
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  behavior, in his conversations. When the husband
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  was away, the traveler would casually speak with
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  the wife. I noticed you carry many responsibilities.
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  You deserve more appreciation. I'm surprised
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  your husband doesn't see how much you do. Nothing
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  offensive, nothing obvious. Just observations.
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  Seeds. Then, when the wife was busy, he spoke
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  privately with the husband. You work so hard.
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  You sacrifice so much. I wonder if she truly
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  understands everything you carry. Again, nothing
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  dramatic. Just words. Simple words. But words
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  have a way of finding fertile ground. Before
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  long. The husband began noticing things he had
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  never noticed before. The wife began remembering
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  disappointments she had long forgiven. Conversations
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  became shorter. Patience became thinner. Suspicion
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  quietly entered the room. The fire still burned.
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  The house still stood. But something invisible
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  had changed. The atmosphere. The elders would
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  end the story with these words. The Traveler
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  never came to steal the house. He came to change
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  its atmosphere. And once the atmosphere changed,
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  everything else became easier to destroy. When
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  I first heard that story, I thought it was simply
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  about being careful who you invite into your
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  home. Now I believe it is much bigger. The Traveler
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  represents every influence we welcome without
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  discernment. Not every influence is evil because
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  it looks evil. Some arrive looking helpful, comforting,
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  understanding, reasonable. That is why discernment
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  is one of the greatest protections God gives
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  his people. When Satan appeared in the Garden
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  of Eden, he did not force his way in. He started
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  a conversation. He asked a question. Did God
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  really say one question? One conversation, one
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  suggestion. That was all it took to open a window.
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  Notice something remarkable. Eve sinned with
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  her hands. Only after she had first entertained
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  the conversation in her mind, every visible fall
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  begins with an invisible conversation. I have
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  learned something through life. The enemy rarely
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  begins with behavior. He begins with perspective.
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  If he can change how you see your spouse, your
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  marriage, your calling, your church, or your
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  God, your actions will eventually follow. Behavior
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  is often the harvest. Perspective was the seed.
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  That is why we must become very careful about
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  the voices we repeatedly listen to. Not every
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  voice deserves access to your marriage. Not every
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  opinion deserves a seat at your table. Not every
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  friendship deserves your deepest confidence.
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  Not every counselor speaks with God's wisdom.
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  Not every social media personality understands
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  covenant. Not every successful person is qualified
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  to teach you how to build a godly home. Influence
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  is never neutral. Every voice is planting something.
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  I have also discovered that the most dangerous
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  influences are rarely loud. They are subtle.
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  A television series that slowly normalizes unfaithfulness.
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  A co -worker who always seems to understand you
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  better than your spouse. An old relationship
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  that begins with, we're just catching up. A private
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  conversation that doesn't mean anything. A comparison
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  that starts with, I wish my marriage were more
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  like theirs. Little by little, the traveler finds
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  a chair by the fire. The tragedy is this. Many
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  people believe they are simply opening a window.
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  They never intended to lose the house. No husband
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  wakes up planning to destroy his family. No wife
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  dreams of breaking her covenant. The collapse
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  usually begins much earlier. when someone or
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  something was allowed to stay long enough to
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  reshape the atmosphere. This is why scripture
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  repeatedly calls us to watchfulness. Not because
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  God wants us to live in fear, but because he
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  has entrusted us with something sacred. Marriage
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  is sacred. Family is sacred. Peace is sacred.
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  The presence of God in your home is sacred. Sacred
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  things deserve protection. There is one line
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  from the elder's story that has never left me.
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  It says, the traveler eventually left the house.
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  But his voice remained. Think about that. The
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  visitor departed. The whisper stayed. How true
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  that is. Many of the voices that shaped us are
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  no longer around. Yet their words still echo
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  in our minds. Sometimes we are still fighting
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  conversations that ended years ago. Sometimes
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  we are still believing lies spoken by people
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  who are no longer in our lives. Sometimes we
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  are still living under the influence of someone
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  who has already walked away. The good news is
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  that God also speaks. and his voice is stronger
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  than every whisper of the traveler. His truth
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  can silence every lie. His word can renew every
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  mind. His spirit can restore the atmosphere of
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  every house willing to welcome him. Next time,
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  we will become even more practical. We will identify
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  the specific windows that are most often left
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  open. The window of words. the window of comparison,
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  the window of offense, the window of secrecy,
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  the window of distraction, the window of influence.
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  And we'll discover that protecting a house is
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  not about building higher walls, it's about wisely
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  guarding the windows God has entrusted to us.
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  Until then, remember this, be careful who you
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  invite into your house, because some guests leave
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  but their voices remain.