Thursday the 17th

James 1: 13-14

 

¹³When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.

 

Remember that old saying “it’s not you….it’s me”? Well in this case it really is you! God allows things into our life, and why not? He did give us free will. While your parents might have stopped you from sticking a fork into an electrical outlet when you were a child, well….. God will let your evil desires lead you. It is free will, that must be what you want right? Here is where many of us lose focus on just how God works in our life. If you want to run wild, and hang from the chandeliers, you go right ahead, there is nothing to stop you, but you. Just don’t blame the Lord for putting that desire into your heart. There is a growing trend in our culture to excuse ourselves of everything, and place the blame onto a scapegoat. God does not serve that purpose in our life. The Lord is our anchor, our foundation, Christ died so that we all might live, but His plan is for us to live a life full of love of God and community. That being said it is easy to see that the one who created us, the one who died for us would never lead us down a path that would destroy us. SO that temptation is not placed there by God, it comes from the very human tendency to return to our comfort zone, the old pair of shoes is always more comfortable than the new ones, nothing fits like a pair of well worn jeans, and no sin calls louder than the sin from our old lives. Just like the old shoes and the old jeans, we have to put our old lives in the trash. While it might have been easier to live in it from an earthly perspective, that life is no longer useful to you, it is old and worn out, your new life will take you the rest of the journey. Just don’t be surprised when you feel that temptation to sneak out to the trash can and pull it out creeps in to your heart! The pangs of temptation are not from God, they are from your old life, the one that was led in darkness, the old life full of all of that old pain, the old despair, and the old selfishness. Recognize it for what it is, and make the choice to leave it in the trash can. The Lord understands what we fight against, he understands far better than we do, however he will not stop you from making that choice. We can take heart in knowing that as we are reminded in 1 Corinthians 10:13” 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.” don’t let yourself be drug away by your temptations, you can withstand, you can be more than conquers, we are children of God, he does not tempt us, he will not stop us, but he will ensure that we always have a way out, the question is will you take it?

 

Peace,

Brian