Chuckle: "The trouble with resisting temptation is it
may never come your way again.”
Quote: "O help me Father in heaven to overcome and
resist temptation in every form or shape.” --Emmeline B. Wells
"No temptation has seized you except what is
common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond
what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so
that you can stand up under it"
(1 Corinthians 10:13
NIV),
Who is tempted? The answer is --
everyone. Temptation even came to Jesus. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with
our weaknesses, but we have one (Jesus) who has been tempted in every way, just
as we are -- yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15 NIV). New
Christians may be surprised to feel a pull toward those old sins of their
previous life.
Who tempts us? God does not tempt
us, but may use temptations to help us grow toward maturity. "God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He
tempt anyone" (James 1:13 NIV). We tend to blame God for our
weaknesses, but that blame is misplaced. It's not God's will for us to yield to
temptation. When we yield, we are the ones who make the conscious decisions and no one is to
blame but ourselves.
Some say: "I was just made
that way - it's just my nature!" (liars, cheaters, thieves, adulterers, etc.).
We justify our actions by blaming God for making us that way. "To err is human,
but to blame God is even more human." Then if we don't blame God, we can blame
our parents -- "it was the way they raised me." Parents often fail in their
responsibilities, but yielding to temptation occurs within us and
we make the decisions. Nobody can make you yield to temptation. Eve
blamed the serpent and Adam blamed Eve, etc.
What are the results of yielding
to temptation? "Then, after desire
has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives
birth to death" (James 1:15). When we succumb to the lure of
temptation, we begin to die to purity, purpose, life, joy, meaning. How can you
and I overcome temptation? We must deal with our desires. You don't have to give
in -- its up to you. You are the final authority. You have a new nature in
Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit lives within you. "Greater is He that lives in us than the one
who lives in the world" (I John 4:4 KJV).
Here are some practical
suggestions for dealing with temptations. (1) Recognize your desires as real and
normal. (2) Keep your focus on Christ. A trained dog will "sit" in front of a
steak keeping his eyes on his master, and will eat the steak only after the
master signals it's OK. (3) Discover and understand the areas where you are the
weakest and most vulnerability and stay away from temptations in those areas. If
you don't want to be stung, stay away from hornet's nests. (4) Learn to say "no"
in the power of the Holy Spirit. "Walk (live) by the power of the spirit and say no to the desires
of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). (5) Acknowledge past failures,
ask God for forgiveness, and begin focusing on Him. Use the fellowship of
Christians in your church to help you -- a friend -- an accountability group.
Love, Jerry &
Dotse
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