Yesterday, we began looking at the
phrase in the Lord’s prayer, “Lead us not into temptation.” But wait! “God
cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone” Ja.1:13. Instead he guides
us in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake (Ps.23:3). So how can Jesus
have us pray, “Lead us not into temptation?” We learned that it was an old way
of saying, “Lead us away from temptation.” It is acknowledging that I am prone
to wander. I need the good shepherd to lead me. He does so very well when we
read and heed his word. Those who don’t are doomed. Yesterday we looked at 10
points of protection against temptation. Today, we will continue on and look at
points 11-20.
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11.-Remember, you can never
weaken your old sin loving nature. Fasting doesn’t bother it at all. So don’t
get discouraged if when fasting the devil still tempts you. That’s when the
devil tempted Jesus the most. Use God’s word to battle temptation. Jesus quoted
scripture each time he was tempted (Mt.4:1-11). Aren’t you glad you are
meditating on a new verse each day? You’re building up a great arsenal against sin
and Satan.
12.-Know when you are most
vulnerable-HALT. We are often most
vulnerable to temptation when we are Hungry,
Angry, Lonely or Tired. When I
am low on sleep, I get attacked much more in my thought life. Thus, I’ve found
that one of the most spiritual things I can do is take a nap if possible or go
to bed earlier. Our spiritual beings are intricately woven together with our physical beings.
13.-If something indecent comes
on the TV, be quick to change channels. If you are a guest, then close your
eyes or leave the room. “Turn from it” Prov.4:15; 2 Tim.2:19; 1 Pet.3:11. Have
you ever walked out of a movie theater because the movie was trash? Good for
you!
14.-Guard your eyes. Jesus said, “Whoever looks at a woman to lust
for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:28). To
look at a woman who is beautiful is not sinful, it’s normal. Even the writers
of the Bible noted certain women were "very beautiful" (Gen.12:14; 24:16;2 Sam.11:2). But when the look becomes a
long look, trouble is brewing. The lustful look may soon follow. So admit the
obvious and then move on. Change your view. “Do not lust in your heart after
her beauty.” Prov.6:25. Job said, "I made a
covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.” Your body, including your eyes,
belongs to the Lord. So we are to honor the Lord with our bodies (1
Cor.6:9-20). I’ve made it a game of sorts to turn my head away from lewd
billboards, especially when my wife is in the car. I've earned her trust and I never want to lose it, grieve her or my Savior.
15.-Hate what you love. Our
sinful nature loves sinful, evil things. Yet the Bible tells us, “Hate what is
evil, cling to what is good” Rom.12:9. We are to be controlled by our godly decisions,
not our ungodly desires. Thus, I choose to hate what I originally may be drawn
to. Declare what God and your new nature think of that which is seeking to deceive
and destroy you. “I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech”
Prov.8:13. Say such things out loud. "I hate that!" What is expressed is impressed.
16.-Recognize that what we are
first drawn to is often the deceptive and deadly thing. “Each one is tempted,
when by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then when desire
has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives
birth to death” James 1:14-15. Temptation has the seductive lure of a prostitute.
Flee it. I also must accept full responsibility for my actions. It is my own
evil desires that desire temptation. I can’t blame it on my friends, circumstances or my
spouse. “If you were just a better spouse, this never would have happened.” Liar!
17.-Use hand signs as powerful
reminders. Put your hand up as a blinder to guard your eyes when you start to see something
or someone you shouldn’t look at. Touch your wedding ring if you’re married. Pretend you're stabbing it to death (Col.3:5).This may sound silly, but I've often found that introducing a bit of comic relief is quite relieving.
18.-Pray for the person who is knowingly
or unknowingly tempting you. “Lord, I pray that you would clothe her in
holiness. She is someone’s daughter or mother." And pray for yourself, your
spouse or your M3 teammates that they will be led away from temptation.
19.-Thank God for the good
things you already have. Temptation works by making you think how good it would
be to have what you don’t have. So let the temptation prompt you to count your blessings.
It’s well near impossible to tempt a rejoicing, praying, thankful Christian. “Rejoice
always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s
will for you in Christ Jesus” 1 Th.5:16-18.
20. Pray continually (1Th.5:17). As we have seen, prayer is a powerful weapon against temptation. “Watch and pray
so that you will not fall into temptation” Mt.26:41. So pray continually. This
doesn’t mean you are expected to be praying every minute of the day. Often you
need to be concentrating at work for example on things other than prayer. It
means we shouldn’t take a vacation from prayer. It means we should be in
frequent communication with God. Don’t wait until your formal prayer time to
talk to the Lord. We need to turn our temptations into conversations with the
Lord. Seek to cultivate a habit of touching base with God throughout the day.
May our MP3s on our 3x5 cards prompt us to do so all the more. God’s word helps
us to find words to respond to him. It’s also been said, “This book will keep
you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book.” Let’s choose the former.
1.-Once again, there are plenty of passages that have been quoted or referenced. Pick one that especially grabs you, and share your thoughts on it.
2.-Write a favorite portion of the verse you picked on your 3x5 MP3. Then do the Did it.
3. R? (Did you see Sam's from late last night?)
Hey Dave, you said under point 11 that fasting doesn't weaken the flesh at all. But I thought that was one of the reasons people fasted.
I'm sure it is a reason many people set out on a fast. I just know from Scripture and experience that fasting doesn't accomplish that. The confusion comes about because certain versions of the Bible use the same word "flesh" to refer to our bodies (flesh and blood) and to our sinful nature. So some people try to starve the flesh. They may weaken their flesh (body), but not their flesh (sinful nature). The Bible's directives for dealing with the flesh, our old twisted desires, is what we have been enumerating yesterday and today. I don't recall a verse related to fasting that was associated with dealing effectively with temptation. Since we are on the topic of fasting, the emphasis of the New Testament is not on doing without food; it is doing. If you are going to subtract food, please add prayer. If you want to greatly increase your time in prayer and don't think you could fast for very long, consider this when contemplating what to do for a week of fasting. Use your body's natural desire for food to prod you to pray." I will not eat a meal until I pray for 15 minutes or more." Just going without food doesn't make you more spiritual. It may make you more irritable and weak. So if you are going to decrease your food intake, please increase your godly intake of prayer and the word. Just a thought.
Announcements
See you this Sunday at 3:00 sharp for our very important meeting at Jack's home- 10749 Cherrywood Dr. Palos Park.
If you are coming for the 1:00 lunch and DVD Bible discussion group, please RSVP Jack (417-459-8342) so they can have enough food on hand.
Tomorrow you will see our GREAT Scoreboard back up, showing the results from Monday. (We had a break from scoring while you aced the tests Thursday and Friday. Way to go!)
1.-Once again, there are plenty of passages that have been quoted or referenced. Pick one that especially grabs you, and share your thoughts on it.
2.-Write a favorite portion of the verse you picked on your 3x5 MP3. Then do the Did it.
3. R? (Did you see Sam's from late last night?)
Hey Dave, you said under point 11 that fasting doesn't weaken the flesh at all. But I thought that was one of the reasons people fasted.
I'm sure it is a reason many people set out on a fast. I just know from Scripture and experience that fasting doesn't accomplish that. The confusion comes about because certain versions of the Bible use the same word "flesh" to refer to our bodies (flesh and blood) and to our sinful nature. So some people try to starve the flesh. They may weaken their flesh (body), but not their flesh (sinful nature). The Bible's directives for dealing with the flesh, our old twisted desires, is what we have been enumerating yesterday and today. I don't recall a verse related to fasting that was associated with dealing effectively with temptation. Since we are on the topic of fasting, the emphasis of the New Testament is not on doing without food; it is doing. If you are going to subtract food, please add prayer. If you want to greatly increase your time in prayer and don't think you could fast for very long, consider this when contemplating what to do for a week of fasting. Use your body's natural desire for food to prod you to pray." I will not eat a meal until I pray for 15 minutes or more." Just going without food doesn't make you more spiritual. It may make you more irritable and weak. So if you are going to decrease your food intake, please increase your godly intake of prayer and the word. Just a thought.
Announcements
See you this Sunday at 3:00 sharp for our very important meeting at Jack's home- 10749 Cherrywood Dr. Palos Park.
If you are coming for the 1:00 lunch and DVD Bible discussion group, please RSVP Jack (417-459-8342) so they can have enough food on hand.
Tomorrow you will see our GREAT Scoreboard back up, showing the results from Monday. (We had a break from scoring while you aced the tests Thursday and Friday. Way to go!)
