Temptation

Whether you've been saved for 6 minutes or 60 years, all Christian women face temptations in their daily lives. Each individual woman have some temptations that are easily to overcome and others that are terribly difficult to deal with. While we tend to think of sexual temptation first, many women battle laziness, gossip, depression and many varied sins of the flesh.

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. James 1:12-14

Enduring temptation means getting beyond the lust of the flesh at that particular moment without giving in to it. This can be terribly difficult when we're bombarded with images, words and attitudes everywhere we go. Add in the "need" to satisfy a momentary desire and the brain gets overloaded.

There are hundreds of choices to make every day - will I follow what I know God would have me do, or will I stray off and fulfill some temptation in front of me? These decisions can weigh heavily when they affect not only ourselves but those around us.

But the Scriptures say that, despite our weak flesh, there are ways to overcome the temptation of the world.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

God gives us the opportunity to turn our backs on the temptation and walk the other way. It shouldn't be any surprise when we're confronted by our weaknesses, but it takes a conscious effort to look for the way to escape that God has promised.

The greater good that the Lord has planned for us does not include our choosing to go against His commandments. Using His own Word as a weapon against temptation is one of the tools He has provided us in our daily walk. If you've been reading Scripture on a daily basis, you've already stored up hundreds of Scripture that fight the evil of temptation with the voice of truth.

We are never left to fend for ourselves - we serve a faithful God Who desires the very best out of our lives. What seems overwhelming to us isn't even a challenge to our Heavenly Father. Staying close to Him and drawing on His strength and power can give us the confidence we need, and the loyalty to Him, to turn away from those difficult temptations.

Comments

  1. RobinJune 9, 2010 at 7:36 PM

    It's so true that the scripture we read can come back to us when we need it the most! It always amazes me that I can remember verses I never tried to memorize, just at the right moment! Blessings - Robin

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holland Creme - That Amazing White Stuff In Donuts

Image
I remember going to the grocery store every Saturday morning when I was growing up, and my favorite place in the entire store was the donut case. All the glazed, powdered and filled baked goods drew me like a magnet. My favorites, far and away, were the ones filled with that beautiful white, fluffy creme. At the time I didn't know it was called Holland Creme - I just knew it was the most amazing concoction ever. Ever. Here is my version of this sweet treat. You can make your own fried donuts and fill them, or like I did here, you can cut a crevice into store-bought donuts with a knife and fill them with creme in a piping bag. Either way, you're going to love it. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup shortening 1 cup butter 1 Tbsp vanilla 7 cups powdered sugar 1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool complet...
Read more

Recovering An Old Card Table And Making It Usable Again

Image
This card table recover project has been on my to-do list for months. I've been using it as my workspace in the craft room for quite some time, and it sees a lot of abuse. Here it is now, with a neutral cover on it so I can take better pictures for my tutorials. There were dents and dings in the old blue covering from metal tools. And yes, I've used my embossing heat tool on it several times, leaving pretty good scars. The padding underneath the blue cover also made it difficult to keep paper crafts flat when adhering them together, so it was time for something new. That's where a simple vinyl tablecloth comes in handy. The process to recover the table is pretty simple, but I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. I share them with you now. First, don't do this on any surface but a carpet. I tried it on the deck int he sunshine to get better pictures, but all it did was tear up the cover. Second, get a second pair of hands to help you kee...
Read more

Crafts For Teen Girls To Make

Image
In our teen girls Bible study, we're studying our way through the Proverbs 31 woman and it's been such a blessing to me, as I hope it's been to them. Every month we spend an afternoon or an evening together studying Scripture, making something amazing in the kitchen and creating something that corresponds to the verse we're in. Choosing the crafts each time can be a challenge for several reasons. It needs to be something they can completely finish (or do most of) because once they leave they're probably not going to work on it themselves - that's just the nature of teenagers. Remember? It also needs to be a project that keeps they're attention, is age-appropriate and is cool enough that they'll want to keep it or give it to someone special. But hey, no pressure on the Bible study leader, right? Here are just a few of the projects we've done together in the year we've been meeting. * This month's craft will be the adorable cross stit...
Read more