Numbers 25:1, "And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab."
this post will be harsh towards me as I have gotten comfortable. not just where I live but also in my walk with the Father.
the Israelites were only miles away from the Promised Land given to them by God. close enough they could smell the milk and honey. yet we read they chose to abide in Shittim. and who dwelt right beside them? none other than the Moabites (descendants of Lot). the bible says they began to commit sexual immorality with the Moabite daughters. how did this start? they abode! they got comfortable in the wilderness! their guard was let down just long enough to allow a pretty Moabite female to step in and lead them astray.
I’m learning that although God has pulled me out of sexual immorality the temptation to be immoral will never go away. no matter where I go as a son of God the devil will always have a daughter right there to tempt me. this time the Father has opened my eyes to this trick of the devil and showed me my acquired liking for a "Moabite" daughter. it is on the fringe but close enough to smell.
it's time to step away from this temptation for two reasons; #1: it could cost me God’s will for my life and #2: see number one. the only way I am able to resist is with the Father’s help. He has promised He will be there, even when I am uncomfortable.
Showing posts with label temptation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label temptation. Show all posts
5/22/09
5/8/09
a dying habit
old habits die hard. a true-to-form phrase. I’ve realized that the only way for certain old habits to die is to give them completely over to the Lord.the children of Israel was commanded not to defile themselves with the customs within the land of Canaan, Leviticus 18:24 & 25. God was going to destroy the Canaanites simply because of their wickedness. He certainly did not want His children partaking nor acquiring any of the soon-to-be-former inhabitant’s customs.
and how did He want His children to remove themselves from these customs? Verse 30, "Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the Lord your God." it sounds easy enough to keep His ordinance, but that isn’t how you remove yourself. that is found in the last line, "I am the Lord your God."
one can choose to keep God’s commandments. one can choose to not partake in the abominable customs. one can even go so far as to do everything within their power to not defile themselves. but none of that is worth the time and effort if you fail to admit that God is your Lord. choosing to rely on your own strength, and not the Lord’s, will only get you so far away, but not far enough.
last night temptation abounded. and I admit I almost partook of a former custom. so today the Father sat me down and revealed that my will needs to break. God is also my Lord, so my will must conform to His will and His way. I can willfully go either towards Him or away from Him. true this habit is dying but it needs to die in accordance to His will, and not to me just willing to no longer partake in the customs. His will must be complete.
3/20/09
about face
though from a line of soldiers, I have never enlisted in the military. true my father's generation considered it a reasonable duty. mine, well I am a product of the 60's and raised in the 70's so not enlisting was an afront to the system. by the 80's, military service was passe' as the cold war continued. not until the 90's did one realize that military service was an honor and not a duty. today our military is lauded as heroes as daily they put their lives on the line for us. my grateful thank you to our servicemen.
today's post is a continuation of an earlier post (read learning to press below).
I have found the secret to obtaining the prize daily! it begins at I Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” this ALL includes times of temptation. there is no other way to get through them. verse 8, “Be sober, be vigilent; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” if you watch throughout the day you will be aware of those time when the devil has approached you with temptation, and if you brushed them off thats when he's got you. the greater attack will come when you least expect it and then its over. you are his lunch!
now to verse 9, “Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” ahem, you are NOT the center of the universe. the same temptation that you are afflicted with is the same that another brother or sister in Christ is rising above. it is at this time that obedience and submission to God should be first and foremost. not satisfying your flesh, which should be dead. another post for that.
finally in verses 10 and 11, “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be the glory and dominion for ever and ever, Amen.” the only way you become perfect, stablished, strengthened and settled is to submit and allow yourself to be purified by God's fire. He only allows the temptation in order for you to become a stronger Christian. and the only way you can become a stronger Christian is to be purified. one cannot withstand temptation while full of their dead self. God cannot get the glory He is due while Christians are full of themselves.
that's the clincher! God will get glory from you one way or another. it is so much easier to submit and allow yourself to give Him the glory while being purified, than to have Him wrangle it out of you. daily have an about face to the devil and towards God!
today's post is a continuation of an earlier post (read learning to press below).
I have found the secret to obtaining the prize daily! it begins at I Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” this ALL includes times of temptation. there is no other way to get through them. verse 8, “Be sober, be vigilent; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” if you watch throughout the day you will be aware of those time when the devil has approached you with temptation, and if you brushed them off thats when he's got you. the greater attack will come when you least expect it and then its over. you are his lunch!
now to verse 9, “Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” ahem, you are NOT the center of the universe. the same temptation that you are afflicted with is the same that another brother or sister in Christ is rising above. it is at this time that obedience and submission to God should be first and foremost. not satisfying your flesh, which should be dead. another post for that.
finally in verses 10 and 11, “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be the glory and dominion for ever and ever, Amen.” the only way you become perfect, stablished, strengthened and settled is to submit and allow yourself to be purified by God's fire. He only allows the temptation in order for you to become a stronger Christian. and the only way you can become a stronger Christian is to be purified. one cannot withstand temptation while full of their dead self. God cannot get the glory He is due while Christians are full of themselves.
that's the clincher! God will get glory from you one way or another. it is so much easier to submit and allow yourself to give Him the glory while being purified, than to have Him wrangle it out of you. daily have an about face to the devil and towards God!
3/18/09
learning to walk
I don't remember when I learned to walk as a child. my parents and grandparents always said it was after my first younger brother learned. I guess he felt he had to catch up as he was the number two child. anyway, it is fact that I did eventually learn. Freedom! no more being carried, crawling on the ground, or scooting from place to place just to make it through this world. I was officially a biped!
my Christian life has been quite different. mainly crawling, scooting and being carried instead of walking. I was carried the first couple of years. hoping things would change but refusing to trust God to work. I crawled my way through Christian college instead of walking upright. giving the appearance of uprightness but still holding onto sin. lastly scooting from church to church seeking a place to feel “comfortable” in while I held onto my sin. odd how then I never seemed to understand that God was everywhere I was carried, crawled and scooted.
Matthew 14:29 tells of how Peter walked on the water to Jesus, “And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.” many people tend to overlook the fact that Peter actually walked on the water and quickly condemn him for sinking, verse 30. I say, Peter walked on the water! and to whom? to Jesus. if we are ever going to walk in this Christian life is HAS to be to Jesus! there is no other way to make it in this world. sin is everywhere with its baubles of temptation. the devil would love to just dangle something shiny in front of us just so we look away from Jesus. but we must keep our eyes on Jesus so we will be able to walk in His power.
just as my parents had to hold onto me for several months just to keep me upright, God holds onto us. not for a few months or years but for eternity. He is that involved in our lives. He wants us to walk but more importantly He wants us to do it through His power, strength, and love. He knows we can be easily distracted and so with Him going before, He asks us to hold His hands and keep our eyes on Him. that's the only way to walk.
my Christian life has been quite different. mainly crawling, scooting and being carried instead of walking. I was carried the first couple of years. hoping things would change but refusing to trust God to work. I crawled my way through Christian college instead of walking upright. giving the appearance of uprightness but still holding onto sin. lastly scooting from church to church seeking a place to feel “comfortable” in while I held onto my sin. odd how then I never seemed to understand that God was everywhere I was carried, crawled and scooted.
Matthew 14:29 tells of how Peter walked on the water to Jesus, “And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.” many people tend to overlook the fact that Peter actually walked on the water and quickly condemn him for sinking, verse 30. I say, Peter walked on the water! and to whom? to Jesus. if we are ever going to walk in this Christian life is HAS to be to Jesus! there is no other way to make it in this world. sin is everywhere with its baubles of temptation. the devil would love to just dangle something shiny in front of us just so we look away from Jesus. but we must keep our eyes on Jesus so we will be able to walk in His power.
just as my parents had to hold onto me for several months just to keep me upright, God holds onto us. not for a few months or years but for eternity. He is that involved in our lives. He wants us to walk but more importantly He wants us to do it through His power, strength, and love. He knows we can be easily distracted and so with Him going before, He asks us to hold His hands and keep our eyes on Him. that's the only way to walk.
3/1/09
escape equals obedience
temptation. the Bible says that temptation is bound to happen to Christians. I Corinthians 10:13 "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man." if you are never tempted then you probably are not alive.
I love this part of the verse! "But God is faithful," praise Him for being faithful even when we choose not to be, "who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able."
here comes the good part! "But will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it." HALLELUJAH!
God always has a way to escape temptation, but only if you want to escape. He will not force you to escape and He won't even demand it. He does give us the Holy Spirit to convict us that we should escape. that is enough for me. escaping equals obedience. I choose to be obedient no matter the cost!
I love this part of the verse! "But God is faithful," praise Him for being faithful even when we choose not to be, "who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able."
here comes the good part! "But will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it." HALLELUJAH!
God always has a way to escape temptation, but only if you want to escape. He will not force you to escape and He won't even demand it. He does give us the Holy Spirit to convict us that we should escape. that is enough for me. escaping equals obedience. I choose to be obedient no matter the cost!
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