Devotions - Prayer
Temptation Our Own Evil Desire!
Paul’s identity was not based upon himself, but upon the person of Jesus Christ. Each and every day we must remind ourselves: It’s not I…BUT Christ.
** “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 3:20
God created and designed us with a desire and the ability to desire but when the enemy tainted it, the original design that God created to glorify Him became our own stumbling block to growth! The Bible says:
“But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust,passions).”. (James 1:14).
God is not tempting us but it is ourselves that tempts ourselves, we draw ourselves away from God’s purpose and will because of our own perverted desires.
Yes the enemy can lure us BUT we will not be enticed if we don’t allow him to entice us.
For because He Himself [in His humanity] has suffered in being tempted (tested and tried), He is able [immediately] to run to the cry of (assist, relieve) those who are being tempted and tested and tried [and who therefore are being exposed to suffering]. (Hebrews 2:18 )
Jesus Himself was tempted in EVERY WAY— because He was full of the Spirit, Jesus didn’t succumb to His carnal desires! Let’s be like Him, always full of the Holy Spirit having divine empowerment from God to withstand temptation!
*Matthew 26:41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”
*We may be able to understand entering into temptation as succumbing to its power. BUT We don’t fall until we give in to it.
People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction (1 Timothy 6:9).
Paul is telling us how, in every age, this subtle peril lays hold of our hearts. *First it comes in the form of simple temptation.
* Open a magazine, and there is a picture of a gorgeous automobile. It makes you drool to look at it.
That is temptation, and that is what we are up against. It creates in us a hunger to have what others have.
It is amazing how easily we can convince ourselves that we, like everybody else, have a right to things.
*But that is not the worst. There is another stage. Paul says that those who want to be rich “fall into a… trap.” Notice where the emphasis is: It is on the Desire to be rich.
It is the love of money, not money, that is the root of all evil.
We hear all the time that money is the root of all evil, but it is not.
* Money is a very necessary commodity in life; it is impossible to get along without using money in one form or another.
It is “the love of money” that the Scripture is talking about, the desire to have more and more of it, the craving for riches, the constant planning of how to get another buck.
You say, “What is a young man with a family supposed to do? Isn’t he supposed to try to provide for them?” Yes, he is, but what is his objective? Is it to earn money, OR is it to be a good, faithful worker, using his gifts and abilities to the Fullest Degree for the Glory of God in the scene in which he is placed?
That is something the world never thinks about.
Paul says that when you fall into temptation and give way to this lust for more things, you create a trap for yourself.
*** By that, he means that your possessions will soon begin to possess you. Everyone who has had any success in obtaining some of the things they desire soon discovers this, because their possessions demand that they take care of them.
Possessions also change your relationship with others. You discover that people are treating you differently because you have something that is a symbol of prestige or status.
People no longer treat you for WHO you are; they are treating you for WHAT you have, so you become suspicious of your friends and your friendships.
All these complications occur when the love of money starts to possess you. That is the trap involved.
God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.(James 1:12-15).
What the Lord has started in you, He will also continue and complete. That is not to say that your success will be automatic; we have to cooperate with what God is wanting to do in our lives. Our faithfulness may always be suspect, but God’s faithfulness is never in question. It is always God’s will to continue and complete the good work He began in us.
In your most recent personal course of corrections– refuse to give into temptation or get discouraged when you don’t see immediate answers or solutions. You are on the right track, when you are Trusting Jesus and following His Leading. Just keep moving forward with patience and obeying the Lord’s voice and His leading. You will see that “Divine Purpose” is being accomplished. You are God’s Masterpiece!!!
*Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
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.
Rise up in faith to know that no weapon formed against you will prosper. It doesn’t matter what the enemy brings against you, YOU belong to the Lord. You will have to take a stand and resist his maneuvers, but the Lord has already given you the power to defeat him soundly. Refuse to allow his tactics to overwhelm you or bring discouragement. It is the Lord’s will that you obtain and maintain the victory. Read 1John 4:4 We fight From Victory-not For Victory.
**Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD.
Look forward, finally, and hope for the coming of the Lord. Your best things are yet to come. The second coming of Christ will soon be here. The time of temptation will soon be past and gone. The judgment and reward of the saints shall soon make amends for everything. REST in the HOPE of that day. Work, watch, and look forward–one thing, at any rate, that day will make abundantly clear. It will show that there was never an hour in our lives in which we had our hearts too thoroughly focused on Christ.
*How do you avoid temptation – “pray”
The Lord’s Prayer says:
*And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:13)
*Prayer reflects the condition of the heart. Prayer is a reflection of the intimate relationship between Father and His children. When we hold the WORD of our Father in our hearts we do not have to speak for Him to hear us.
*Make your temptations a constant focus of prayer.
Thank You, Lord, for the practicality of these words. May they help me correct my viewpoints and resist the badgering, bloated misconceptions of the world around me. Thank you for coming to me and helping me not to fall into temptation. You know my weaknesses and I will come to you for your strength to get through the time of trial. Please remind me to continually pray all day so I will walk in the Spirit and listen to You. I love you with an everlasting heart. Amen.
*Galatians 5:16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. *Revelation 3:10 “Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.
*Hebrews 5: 7 While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. 8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.
15) For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
16) Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
This scripture reminds us how great our Lord is. That as the Son of God he lived a perfect life and died for our sins. What a great God we have. Now when we pray we should first and foremost bring Glory to God our Father. We should then pray for others. THANK YOU JESUS-WE ARE SO honored to have a high priest that has been through ALL the temptations that we have to face!
Read MoreGIVE UP ON MEASURING UP!
“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us”. (Romans 8:37)
The Lord has only one standard. His standard, and it’s a Godly standard. If we compare what we’ve done to others, or what our integrity is, we must measure it to Gods standard. We must always strive to reach Christ’s example. Paul says “follow my example, as I follow Christ’s example.”
“False weights and unequal measures— the LORD detests double standards of every kind”. (Proverbs 20:10)
Let’s be brave enough to share our own experiences of being downcast and wounded. Don’t be afraid. God commands us to love, and anytime we love…we become vulnerable.
* “…so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”2 Corinthians 1:4
Biblical Example ON MEASURING UP!
“The people feared the presence of the Lord . . . and they came and worked on
the house of the Lord of hosts, their God” (Haggai 1:12, 14).
Here in chapter 1 Haggai’s people are unconcerned with God or the things of God. They are wrapped up in Themselves.
*God calls them to repent and put Him first in their lives.
* They choose to heed His call and return to Him.
**How amazing it must have felt to hear the message from the Lord, “I am with you!”. God responded to their obedience. God requires our obedience.
***” Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered”. (Hebrews 5:8).
*Help us Lord to put God first in every area of Our life!!!
*Help us that we will seek to obey not just know God.
After all our hard work, all our
sacrifice and obedience, all our putting God’s interests first, we don’t
measure up!
This is nothing compared to what we once saw. Why struggle, why go
on, when we see so little for all that we’ve done?
A host of God’s people today are “giving up” because they do not think they
will ever “measure up”!
Like the Israelites, they have gone back to God, back to putting Him first, seeking His will, building His house. BUT when they look at their lives, they say,
*I have so little to show for all my struggles!
*I have so little of God’s holiness, so little of His glory in my life.
* Compared to other Christians, I’ll never measure up.
* What’s the use of struggling?
****I’ll never have victory.”
LISTEN to the WORD!
“For the LORD your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’” (Duet. 20:4).
*God sent His precious and only Son to die on Calvary’s tree for you. God redeemed you.
*More than God bringing you out of a watery grave, He delivered you from eternal damnation into glorious communion with Him forever!
God saved YOU! What more could you possibly want?????
*Are you down in the dumps today?
* Do you feel like the victim of a bad situation?
* Do you feel like God has abandoned you?
*Do You feel you do not measure?
Then write down Deuteronomy 20:4 on a piece of paper and meditate on it until you believe it.(“For the LORD your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’”).
I am convinced this is why many devoted Christians give up the fight. They Compare themselves to other believers and become discouraged because they feel hopelessly inferior!
“You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom”.
(Galatians 5:7-8)
*** As we continue to run the race that is set before us, am I fueling myself for the hills that lie ahead? Have I filled my inner man with the spiritual food of God’s word, regular fellowship with His people, and the presence of His Spirit within me?
*Have I refrained from spiritual “junk food” that would provide temporary satisfaction but doesn’t really give me the strength and energy I need?
* Am I really committed to doing this God’s way, or mine?
If you will just stay true to the Lord and not try to measure yourself by
anything except “Your own Love for Jesus”, you can be assured that you are
growing—and God promises to be with you!
The Lord’s discipline is designed for one purpose: for us, his children, to REPENT and to put him FIRST in our lives.
Are you feeling the absence of the Holy Spirit in your life?
Prayerfully consider those areas where you are NOT putting Jesus first, and then adjust your priorities accordingly.
Nowhere in the Bible does God condemn people for longing to be happy.
People are condemned for forsaking God and seeking their happiness elsewhere (Jeremiah 2:13). This is the essence of sin. The Bible actually commands us to delight in the Lord (Psalm 37:4).
Jesus teaches us to love God more than money because our heart is where our treasure is (Matthew 6:21).
Paul wants us to believe that gaining Christ is worth the loss of everything else (Philippians 3:8) and the author of Hebrews exhorts us to endure suffering, like Jesus, for the joy set before us (Hebrews 12: 1-2). Examine the Scriptures and you’ll see this over and over again.
I will not be confined by my circumstances. Though mountains and giants be before me, God strengthens me. For it is “not by power, nor by might, but by My Spirit, says the Lord” that the mountains of my life become plains. I am more than a conqueror through Him (Christ Jesus) who loves us.
Psalms 139:
1 OLORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Lord help me to be more than just someone who knows you, but help me be a person that obeys you. I’ve read your Word and from it I have gained much knowledge about what you desire from me…help me live by and obey what I know. If only I was as good at obeying as I am about knowing. Thank you for being so Patient and Gracious with me. I would have given up on me by now, Your mercy is new every morning. Help me to show you the love you have shown me by a life of obedience and dedication to you. Help me to do the giftings you have given me to glorify You-verses Measuring myself by others giftings. We need the whole Body and help me see my part for Your Glory and my Joy Amen.
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10.
(Today read Colossians 2— God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In Jesus lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge-Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking-These worldly rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. )
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