1 Corinthians 10:13
"The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.
James 1:13-15
"No one is to say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it has run its course, brings forth death."
2 Timothy 2:22
"Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts."
[Emphasis added]
I have a strong sweet tooth [carrot cake anyone?] and so, I remain mindful of when, how much and why I am consuming sweet treats. When I was an athlete [and became a bit of a health nut] I consulted with a Registered Dietitian for professional advice on the most ideal things to consume without depravation or overindulgence and she gave me a great piece of advice that I follow to this day, and which can be applied to our Spiritual lives. When it comes to cake [my favorite] she said, "If you don't buy it and have it in the house, then you can't eat it. If it is something you feel OK consuming in moderation, then designate a day to have it within healthy boundaries [one slice] or not at all." So, with no sweets in the house, once or twice a month after church, I would stop by my neighborhood cake and get a small slice of cake and would be satisfied. Did you know that God's Word has a similar principal? Though God urges us not to give sin a foothold He does know that temptation [which can lead to sin] happens, temptation is common and temptation is nothing new. Guess what? He also provides a way of escape.
How? Step One - FLEE!!! Step Two - PRAY!!! Step Three - HOLY SPRIT!!! You may need to do all three at the same time. I've mentioned previously that I was an active and energetic locomotion as a child and was often referred to as Road Runner or Speedy Gonzales. My little feet had smoke on them and my dear Masterpiece, when it comes to sin and temptation that is exactly how your feet should be and how God instructs in His Word. Want some examples? When Joseph was presented with a proposition from Potiphar's wife, he ran! Was he tempted? Probably, but we don't know. We do know that being the good-looking young man he was in an employee role to a beautiful woman's husband he might certainly be vulnerable to a binding relationship with perks. And as he fled, the Word says he did so because not only was it a sin against her husband, it was first a sin against God. So, Joseph's first priority was to not sin against God and that spurred his feet to flee. When Jesus was tempted what did He do? He combatted it with the Word, prayed and drew on the Holy Spirit. Neither one of them sat around chit chatting with sin and getting caught up. They fled in haste but in different ways. You can physically flee like Joseph, you can flee by withdrawing to prayer like Jesus and you can even flee by avoiding the situation before it even starts like me not keeping sweets in the house.
Be clear on the fact that the lust of temptation doesn't just refer to the sexual, it refers to anything that pulls your attention towards covetousness and overindulgence. You can be tempted with a lust for power, food, money and yes sex. The snare of temptation is that it can lure you by using your own desires [but remember - born into sin but made new in Christ]. That's why we must guard our hearts, minds, eyes and ears so as not to succumb to the wiles of the Enemy, the world and the flesh. And despite what the world would have you believe, temptation DOES NOT come from God, even though testing can. Firstly, His Word tells us this and secondly, do you think He would provide a way of escape from temptation if He sent it? No, that would be Him operating from a divided house. I heard a pastor once sum it up by saying that temptation comes from ungodly sources and are designed to cause Believers to fall away from their relationship with God, while testing, comes from God and is designed to help or show Believers their dependence on God, as well as bring them closer to Him. And rest assured dear Masterpiece, that being tempted IS NOT a sin. Everyone has faced it [including Jesus and the Apostle Paul!], but we don't have to act on it or be a slave to it. That is precisely why when tempted we submit it to God and draw on the Holy Spirit to overcome it and walk victoriously in our freedom in Christ.
Takeaways for you to remember.
#1 Temptation can come from Satan, the world or our flesh, among others.
#2 Testing but not temptation comes from God.
#3 Temptation drives Believers away from God, while testing reveals their dependence on Him.
Yours in Christ!
Dr. Quahana
Want to enjoy some of the Scriptures inspiring this entry?
[All Scripture listed is NLT version unless otherwise noted.]
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