for thought and meditation on Thursday

[Markopolo]

howdy folks...

Is There Good in Temptation?
By Oswald Chambers

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man… —1 Corinthians 10:13

The word temptation has come to mean something bad to us today, but we tend to use the word in the wrong way. Temptation itself is not sin; it is something we are bound to face simply by virtue of being human. Not to be tempted would mean that we were already so shameful that we would be beneath contempt. Yet many of us suffer from temptations we should never have to suffer, simply because we have refused to allow God to lift us to a higher level where we would face temptations of another kind.

A person’s inner nature, what he possesses in the inner, spiritual part of his being, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the true nature of the person being tempted and reveals the possibilities of his nature. Every person actually determines or sets the level of his own temptation, because temptation will come to him in accordance with the level of his controlling, inner nature.

Temptation comes to me, suggesting a possible shortcut to the realization of my highest goal— it does not direct me toward what I understand to be evil, but toward what I understand to be good. Temptation is something that confuses me for a while, and I don’t know whether something is right or wrong. When I yield to it, I have made lust a god, and the temptation itself becomes the proof that it was only my own fear that prevented me from falling into the sin earlier.

Temptation is not something we can escape; in fact, it is essential to the well-rounded life of a person. Beware of thinking that you are tempted as no one else— what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save us from temptations— He sustains us in the midst of them (see Hebrews 2:18 and Hebrews 4:15-16).

have a great Thursday

[Blackwater]

Temptation is also proof that we're part of Christ's family. Satan doesn't need to tempt those he's already captured - just those in the outlying areas. And temptation is also an opportunity to flex our Christianity, like a muscle, and make it ever more strong. This prepares us for more and bigger temptations. i've been tempted so direly that I wasn't sure I'd be able to resist. It was nip and tuck, but I usually stayed true. Not always, but usually. And those failures on my part taught me some valuable lessons, as giving in to temptation often if not always does. Truly, I am amazed that Christ has held me as firmly as he has in many, many instances. I'm just not that strong, so it has had to be His strength that shores me up when I need it. He takes care of us in many ways, even when we aren't aware it's Him working within us. I'd dare say we don't recognize 1/10th of what He does for us, and with us. Only a truly and fully humble man can see many things that Christ does for us daily.

[Markopolo]

very true Mr. Blackwater

[Wayne Smith]

I have long been amazed by the fact that the book of James tells us that if we submit to God and resist Satan he will flee from us. That is Biblical truth. But it also repeatedly tells us to flee temptation. If Satan himself will flee from me - why do I need to flee temptation?

The answer, once I realized it, is simple. If I don't want it, it's not tempting. Temptation is part of me - and my desires. That means that I have to flee opportunities to be tempted - for specific sin or simply to take the easy way (not God's) way, out. If I don't want it there is no level of temptation.

[USMC87]

Amen to all above!

[Pine Baron]

...lead us not "fall into" temptation, not "from" temptation.