Black Bart was a professional thief whose very name struck fear as he terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line. From San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the danger of the frontier. Between 1875 and 1883 he robbed 29 different stagecoach crews. Amazingly, Bart did it all without firing a shot.
The moniker, “Black Bart” was given to him because he wore a black hood that hid his face. And it was this image of a bandit wearing a black hood that caused people to be seized with fear. His sinister presence was enough to overwhelm the toughest stagecoach guard. He would simply command people from behind his veiled face and they did what he said.
Black Bart isn’t the only one who uses fear to paralyze his victims…
Satan uses fear in the same way to rob from us of our spiritual power and potential. As a result many of us live way beneath the level that God intends for us. Satan’s method for using fear is multifaceted:
• He uses our past sins and failures
• He uses the potential of more sin and failure
• He uses the certainty of rejection
But when Hell’s Black Bart confronts us, we do not have to roll over and give up. Instead, we can renounce that foul attack, not because of who we are, but because of whose we are!
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15)
“Abba” means, “papa.” It’s an endearing term for your father, in this case Father God. When Satan lurks behind the next bend, keep moving, don’t stop, look over at your divine stagecoach guard and say, “Get ‘em papa God!” And he’s got bullets made from nails of Calvary’s cross.
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