DAY 26 Thinking about My Purpose
POINT TO PONDER: Every temptation is an opportunity to do good.
VERSE TO REMEMBER: “God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” JAMES 1:12 (NET)
QUESTION TO CONSIDER: What Christlike character quality can I develop by defeating the most common temptation I face?
The Christ like characteristic I would love to develope is Self-control. One of the problems I have is lust but as Rick said in the book
"While lust is a deliberate act of the will. Lust is a choice to commit in your mind what you’d like to do with your body. You can be attracted or even aroused without choosing to sin by lusting."
So this temptation Satan is trying to destroy me with, God is using it to develope me. So everytime I choose not to do this I am growing in the character of Christ and developing in his character of self-control.
*Temptation simply provides the choice.
*While temptation is Satan’s primary weapon to destroy you, God wants to use it to develop you. Every time you choose to do good instead of sin, you are growing in the character of Christ.
*To understand this, you must first identify the character qualities of Jesus. One of the most concise descriptions of his character is the fruit of the Spirit: “When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
*This next sentence is one of the most important spiritual truths you will ever learn: God develops the fruit of the Spirit in your life by allowing you to experience circumstances in which you’re tempted to express the exact opposite quality! Character development always involves a choice, and temptation provides that opportunity.
*God uses the opposite situation of each fruit to allow us a choice. You can’t claim to be good if you have never been tempted to be bad. You can’t claim to be faithful if you have never had the opportunity to be unfaithful. Integrity is built by defeating the temptation to be dishonest; humility grows when we refuse to be prideful; and endurance develops every time you reject the temptation to give up. Every time you defeat a temptation, you become more like Jesus!
https://fb.watch/aqpC1aeYOE/
How Temptation Works
It helps to know that Satan is entirely predictable. He has used the same strategy and old tricks since Creation. All temptations follow the same pattern. That’s why Paul said, “We are very familiar with his evil schemes.” From the Bible we learn that temptation follows a four-step process, which Satan used both on Adam and Eve and on Jesus.
Step one Satan identifies a desire inside of you.
It may be a sinful desire, like the desire to get revenge or to control others, or it may be a legitimate, normal desire, like the desire to be loved and valued or to feel pleasure. Temptation starts when Satan suggests (with a thought) that you give in to an evil desire, or that you fulfill a legitimate desire in a wrong way or at the wrong time. Always beware of shortcuts. They are often temptations! Satan whispers, “You deserve it! You should have it now! It will be exciting … comforting … or make you feel better.” We think temptation lies around us, but God says it begins within us. If you didn’t have the internal desire, the temptation could not attract you. Temptation always starts in your mind, not in circumstances. Jesus said, “For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within.” James tells us that there is “a whole army of evil desires within you.”
Step two is doubt. Satan tries to get you to doubt what God has said about the sin: Is it really wrong? Did God really say not to do it? Didn’t God mean this prohibition for someone else or some other time? Doesn’t God want me to be happy? The Bible warns, “Watch out! Don’t let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God.”
Step three is deception. Satan is incapable of telling the truth and is called “the Father of lies.” Anything he tells you will be untrue or just half-true. Satan offers his lie to replace what God has already said in his Word. Satan says, “You will not die. You’ll be wiser like God. You can get away with it. No one will ever know. It will solve your problem. Besides, everyone else is doing it. It is only a little sin.” But a little sin is like being a little pregnant: It will eventually show itself.
Step four is disobedience. You finally act on the thought you have been toying with in your mind. What began as an idea gets birthed into behavior. You give in to whatever got your attention. You believe Satan’s lies and fall into the trap that James warns about: “We are tempted when we are drawn away and trapped by our own evil desires. Then our evil desires conceive and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my dear friends!”
Martin Luther said, “You cannot keep birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.” You can’t keep the Devil from suggesting thoughts, but you can choose not to dwell or act on them.
*While lust is a deliberate act of the will. Lust is a choice to commit in your mind what you’d like to do with your body. You can be attracted or even aroused without choosing to sin by lusting. Many people, especially Christian men, feel guilty that their God-given hormones are working. When they automatically notice an attractive woman, they assume it is lust and feel ashamed and condemned. But attraction is not lust until you begin to dwell on it.
*Instead of condemning yourself with “How could I think such a thought?” treat it as a distraction from Satan and immediately refocus on God.
*Recognize your pattern of temptation and be prepared for it.
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