Saturday, May 24, 2014

Fighting Temptation 5/24/2014

Good Morning.

My coffee today is Door County Heavenly Caramel. I have to work for a couple of hours this morning so I will be headed out soon to return to some yard work later.

Temptation. Everyone has a week spot that we are tempted to cave in to.  It could be anger, jealousy, list, greed, alcohol, drugs, lust, over eating, laziness or being rude. If you read these again you will notice that anyone of these if acted upon can open up a can of seven kinds of crazy and start problems for you and those around you. Make it worse by combining a couple of these and you have "Disaster". Now you don't have to own both of the weaknesses to start the disaster, you might be prone to laziness and your spouse has an anger issue. When we give into the temptation to be lazy and our spouse gives into a burst of anger the calamity begins.
Temptation does not come from God.

James 1:13-18
New King James Version (NKJV)
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of His creatures.

Satan knows our weaknesses. Out a plate of cocaine in front of me and there is no temptation. Put a duck hunting trip in front of me at the same time as a family gathering and I am tempted beyond belief.

There is a way out.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (AMP)

13 For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.
 
We can use one of the first words we learned as a child. NO. we can say no and then run to the right choice. We must resist.
 

James 4:7

King James Version (KJV)
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Not only are we to resist but submit to God. We must learn and memorize Scripture to battle the devil. There is power in the word. Submission to God is declaring our love for Him. Loving God and is the first defense against giving in to temptation. We don't want to sin against someone who loves us enough to send His Son Jesus to die for our sins.

This lesson is fool proof. Try it. God guarantees it.

God bless,
Marty
 

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