Monday the 9th

James 1: ¹³ When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Temptation, it strikes us all, and James is correct when he points out that God does not tempt. It is a common though for people to think. Today we still hear the same statement, “why is God tempting me?” I believe the better question is why would God tempt me? If we think of Job, it was not God that afflicted Job, it was the devil. When we think of Christ, was it His own Father that tempted Him? Of course not, it was the devil that approached Him out in the desert. It is the devil that seeks us out, and tempts us even to this day. Nothing has changed on that front! The devil plants a seed of doubt, or a seed of envy, desire, or scorn….and off we go! Even the devil gets a bad rap on the deal, because while he planted the seed, it is us who took the ball and ran with it. “the devil made me do it” How often have we heard that? If there is one thing to take from this passage, it is that no one can make us do anything. If that were the case then what would be the need of free will? Think of that for a moment, even the devil himself cannot force you to do something, for even the devil cannot interfere with free will. He can tempt, he can offer, he can skew the truth, but force?.........no, he cannot force me to do anything. If that were the case would God not immediately excuse my actions, since I truly did not have control, or choice in the action?

No, we are, …..and I love the way it is phrased here,…. we are dragged away by our own desire. It all starts with a little thought, a little nudge, a little enticement. Seeing the beautiful woman or man) is not the problem, it is the pursuing, and building of an improper relationship that is the failure. It is not wanting a better life that is the problem, it is the lying, the deceit, and the short cuts at the cost of others to get that life that cause the problems. It starts with a thought, and leads us to action, and if we are not careful, that action will lead us to death. So in the end, it is not God, or even the devil that has led us to our demise, we have willingly walked there all on our own. Hard to believe when it is laid out like that isn’t it? No one is left to blame but ourselves. I am sure, like me, that is not what you want to hear, but no matter if we like it or not, we are masters of our own destiny. Where we go, what we will do, how far we will go, all depends on the choices we make, and those choices begin as thought. Who will you allow to dominate your thoughts? Will you fill your head with the Love of Christ, or with the love of this world? Will you listen to the truth found in the Gospels, or will you listen to the lies of the devil? Will you entertain thoughts of success through the Lord, or will you think of ways to lie cheat and steal your way to success? Make no mistake about it, both ways will lead you to what the world defines as successful. I know people who have found great success with the Lord at their side, and those who have gotten there by a darker path. On the outside they might look the same at first glance, but in the end……the true end…..their measurement of success will be quite different, and one will be found wanting, while the other will be found complete…..the path you choose, comes down to your thoughts. Which will you feed, which will you deny? Temptation comes in as a whisper, it leaves as a storm. I am sure many of you have already seen this, but it goes to show the importance of your thoughts.

Be careful of your thoughts, for your thoughts become your words. Be careful of your words, for your words become your actions. Be careful of your actions, for your actions become your habits. Be careful of your habits, for your habits become your character. Be careful of your character, for your character becomes your destiny.

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

www.psalm22.net

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com