Now is my day.
My chance to obey.
And not just to say,
“He is my lord”.
~
Were I to die now,
Temptations abound!
Though I be nowhere
To be found.
~
To the work then go I.
Using care what I spy.
To keep my soul’s eye
Fixed firmly on Him.
By His Grace
Tag Archives: temptation
Success of Enticements
The world demands that Christians be demure and live in obscurity. Look how they threaten. Look how they isolate and murder our brothers. Look again, and see how effective their tactics are.
As it was in the beginning, so it is to this day. There are those who profess allegiance to God in their mind, but their thoughts are peniless, homeless vagabonds.
Offer them a house, and they gladly receive. For they have no house of their own.
By His Grace
Pure Water
He lifts the veil, and a man sees. His hand glides through sin to lift it from the man’s face. Forgiveness comes with strength in hand. Compassion is the clothing of the Great Physician.
Pride rests strong on the eyelids of the wicked. Though they try to perceive the holy things of God, their eyes are too heavy to open. Sealed, as if with the dust of sleep, their eyes are stuck shut. But even this their pride cannot perceive.
What does God require of man, that he may open the eyes? Believe. God simply requires that we cast away our own knowledge. He requires that we be willing to learn.
A proud man sees the ways of this world and thinks he knows. In his folly he can produces reason for the things that are. But he cannot produce proof as to why. The sleep of pride restrains his strength. He is blind and cannot walk without stumbling.
But let belief grow. Let a man read the Holy words of God and believe. God reveals in wise measure, according to a man’s willingness. A revealing does come.
God watches the response. Does tiny wisdom retain pride? Or does it produce humility? When the latter is true, roots are set into the soil of eternity that the man may begin to grow.
In his compassion God restrains the unveiling, lest the winds of temptation destroy what is built. As a man sees, he is accountable. As a man knows he must do.
Believe to the fullest you can. Humble yourself as far as you will. You will see a receiving come to you.
Let your roots seek the pure water. Dig and thrust through the water you have found. There is purity to be had. What is pure among men is full of fault before God.
Do you see? Give thanks and search for more. Praise God with your actions. For out the mouth of man comes many beautiful things, even while he himself is full of abhorrent behavior.
He is able to teach and to console. He is able to raise from the dead even while you think you live. And when life comes, he shows us the difference.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
By His Grace
Old Friends?
It came to me in a dream. Was it from the Lord? Let the reader decide.
At a social gathering, I met Bill. I hadn’t seen him for almost 30 years.
I can’t say I was happy to see him, but I was certainly surprised. He was my boss when I used to work the oil rigs.
In the course of a very short conversation, I asked him if there was a place for me on his team. I can’t possibly explain why. At over 60 years old I wouldn’t be much use.
He seemed to be half sincere with his stammering answer. “I’ll see what I can do.” Curiously, all of a sudden, he developed a broken foot. So, understandably, he prepared to leave.
In the process of trying to follow him, I passed by a beautiful young woman I used to know. I didn’t say hi, but I certainly noticed.
At the end the dream I got up and sat in a chair to think. A few moments later I heard the familiar wisdom of God. “They may come around long enough to tempt you back, but they don’t want you.”
When a man faces temptation to join the world in all their extreme folly, it would be good for him to remember, he is of no value to them.
For even if he abandons the Sovereign God in Christ Jesus, he is tainted with some level of holiness. Everything he does and says will contain something of God. I can guarantee you such a man will not be embraced by those of the world, regardless what he does.
Learn to hate temptation. It only tries to manipulate you. It doesn’t care if you live or die. It does not want your friendship. It is absolutely void of the concept of love. And whatever pleasure it apparently gives, is found exclusively in you. There is no such thing as mutual joy in sin.
By His Grace
Reach Deeper
Sometimes I post things I learn. Sometimes I post things I’m being taught. In this post it of the latter.
The world around us is so very demanding. Sleepless nights abound. The body gets weaker. And our resistance to temptation becomes less. It is at these very moments when our strength is shown for what it is. And far too often we find ourselves slipping where we would not have slipped before.
Because I am in the throes of just such a time, I urge us all to consider that the testing of our hearts does not end at the end of any certain moment. We are rightfully expected to endure to the end. This expectation has mercy laced through it. But let us strive hard enough so that we don’t need to rely on the Grace of God to accomplish the things He has put in our hands. What I mean is that we shouldn’t find ourselves coming to Him begging forgiveness because we have sinned. It would be immeasurably better to come to Him to thank Him for having given us the strength to endure.
When you find that temptation is rousing strength within you, reach deeper. Who contends in any sport or business or relationship with half a heart and wins? Those who overcome are those who consider the winning worth everything.
By His Grace.
Ignorance Can Kill
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A little boy lived on a farm. One day he came up to his dad and asked, “Dad, is it ok with you if I steal grandma’s purse?” The dad looked at his boy with a straight face, hiding the amazement within him. “Why would you ask me something like that?” The dad asked. The boy answered, “I was tempted to do it. I think I even want to do it. And I thought I’d ask you if it’s ok.” The boy said.
There are certain things we KNOW God doesn’t want us to do. How often have I found myself pleading and pleading with God to help me resist temptation. I would guess others have also. Here’s the meat of the issue:
Why do we beg for something the Lord has plainly told us is not ok with Him? And why do we beg for strength to overcome? The issue here is the begging. Begging does not have the same strength as a simple belief that God is willing to help. He has promised to give such things to those who love Him. It is not His will that we sin. It is His will to overcome sin.
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.
He wants us to live life full of “wins”. And He is anxious (if that is possible) to see that “Winning attitude” appear in all of His children. Let’s get our head on straight. Are we so immature in Christ Jesus that we can’t make out the difference between temptation and a test?
Words From There 