Encouragement, Obedience, Prayer, Priorities, Righteousness, Sin, Strength, Struggles, Temptation, Victory

Temptation

We can be tempted to pull our attention away from what God wants us to be focused upon. The Apostle Paul dealt with the subject of temptation in 1 Corinthians. The Corinthian church was tempted by many distractions that pulled their attention away from Godly things. Paul had the answer for them, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV)

Paul tells us that we all have temptations. He says temptation is common to man. Our enemy, the Devil, uses temptation to get us to sin. Temptation isn’t the sin, acting on the temptation is the sin. The Corinthian church was dealing with all sorts of things…sexual immorality, gossiping, murmuring, and idolatry, just to name a few. They allowed these sins to distract them from following Jesus. Paul tells them that there is a way for them to escape these temptations. God provides a way for them to keep their focus on living Godly lives. He says that God always gives an avenue of escape from those things, that would turn our hearts away from God. Our job is to be vigilant, listen to what God is telling us, and run away from temptation.

The way to resist temptation is to run…don’t walk…run as fast as you can away from the temptation. The time to fight temptation is not when you are on the brink of acting on it. J. Vernon McGee, in his commentary on 1 Corinthians says, “One of the reasons we yield to temptation is that we are like the little boy in the pantry. His mother heard a noise because he had taken down the cookie jar. She said, ‘Willie, where are you?’ He answered that he was in the pantry. ‘What are you doing there?’ He said, ‘I’m fighting temptation.’ My friend, that is not the place to fight temptation! That is the place to start running.”

The Enduring Word website, in their commentary on this verse, says, “Others before you have found strength in the Lord to overcome your same temptation – and worse. So, you can be victorious – in the strength of Jesus, not in your own strength. We fight temptation with Jesus’ power, like the girl who explained what she did when Satan came with temptation at the door of her heart: “I send Jesus to answer the door. When Satan sees Jesus, he says, ‘OOPS, sorry, I must have the wrong house.’” Send Jesus to the door! I like that! Let Him handle the enemy, and the way of escape will be easier to accomplish.

Things that seem so innocent can keep us from focusing on living a Godly life. It could be something like watching TV, searching social media, or other things that take our time away from Bible reading, prayer, and living in a manner that brings honor and glory to God.

We need to take account of our lives by asking ourselves, “What am I allowing to tempt me from doing what God wants me to do?” Once we take stock of what tempts us to be distracted, then we need to ask God for His help in resisting those temptations and following through in obedience.

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Donna Knuth Rice

I am trying a blog for the first time in my life, and frankly, I feel like I don't have a clue as to what I'm doing! But, here goes. I work at a Christian Television network in the Correspondence Department, where I write letters and emails to our viewers, pray with them for their needs, and send materials they request. I am a Christian. I was saved at the age of 11 during a youth meeting at my church. My pastor led me to the Lord, and to say the least, my life has been an adventure. I am a widow. My late husband, Allen, passed away after 34 1/2 years of marriage. He had been sick the last seven years of his life, and it was a struggle, for him and for me. We met as part of a singing group that was affiliated with a Christian Radio station, and we sang together all through our lives together. We both worked in television and radio all through our married life, mostly for Christian stations. Besides singing I also play flute. I had the luxury of having parents who started out as music teachers...so music was in our house constantly. Some people describe me as being a loud-mouthed lime type...can't disagree with that. I have a tendency to put my foot in my mouth more times than I can count! I also have a tendency to say exactly what's on my mind...which is why I get myself in so much trouble! LOL! Trust me, that's something me and God have been working on for a very long time. I have no children here on earth, although I have a baby in heaven. My baby here is my dog Jack. He's a black lab/ chow mix. He's a big boy....thinks he's a lap dog! Can't think of much else to say. The reason I started this blog is because a few months ago in church, a guest pastor came and delivered a message, and when he asked for those of us who wanted prayer to come forward, I did. When he came to me he asked me if I did any journaling. I told him no 'cause I wasn't very good at it. He told me to start, and prophesied over me that my journal thoughts would impact other people. I wasn't sure just how I was to go about doing this. In fact, I was a little hesitant at first. I started journaling at home, and our assistant pastor's wife asked me to submit something for our Senior newsletter. I didn't the first edition, but something I had heard on Christian radio a long time ago and has stuck with me all these years, came to mind so I submitted an article. That article will be my first post. I don't claim to have all the answers, and my thoughts may seem a little "out there", but I feel God has been prodding me to do this, and so here I am. I hope what I post will bring encouragement, and "Something to Think About".

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