Tempted!

 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.  When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:12-22 NIV

Such rich word from James--reminding us that though many may be tempted to do those things which are not right in God's sight, we do not have to give in and we certainly cannot say--"God tempted us."

We are tempted to given into those things we want to do--right or wrong. If our flesh controls what we do rather than Holy Spirit, then we'll most likely given in to the temptations set before us and the enemy--Satan--knows exactly how we can be tempted, but just like God won't force us to do anything, neither will or can Satan. Our choices determine our consequences.

Some people are tempted by money and obtaining it by any means possible. This temptation is nurtured by greed and desire for power and status and usually ends up leading people to a jail cell for corruption via embezzling, bribery, and illicit deals often conducted in darkness and in secrecy.

Some people are tempted by desire for affection and sexual gratification. This temptation is nurtured by the seeds planted in the mind from pornographic material and dissatisfaction with one's current state in a relationship. When a person won't keep their flesh under control, relationships are shattered, health is risked, and in some cases--people are publicly humiliated because of their lack of control.

Had an interesting exchange with someone on Twitter last night in response to a tweet about Pence saying, he won't be alone with a woman and always requires his wife's presence. Now, while this might sound "holy" to some, it struck me that he doesn't trust himself to not be tempted in an effort to appease his own desires. Since he is supposed to be a Christian, I wonder why he's concerned since Holy Spirit should be guiding all he does. I know some would attempt to apply, "we should avoid the very appearance of evil" to this situation, but I'm having a hard time understanding how a man being alone with a woman or vice versa should be considered evil.

Because of my ministry, I have been alone with men on a number of occasions and I've not been tempted to do anything that would not honor God. In jail ministry, in ministering to veterans as a volunteer chaplain, in business endeavors--whatever situation I found myself in--I knew I could count on Holy Spirit to keep me from falling short.

My point in all this is simply--know yourself and what may tempt you. I'm tempted by cheesecake and so I try staying away from places that sell the best and when I do cave--I only purchase one serving. Money doesn't tempt me and nor does anything that could land me in a jail cell. I know when I pray, God hears and I allow Holy Spirit to do what He does best--keep me in check.

So, if you're tempted to do something you shouldn't--ask yourself why and if professing to be a man or woman of God, submit to Holy Spirit and allow Him to lead in all things.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV

Being Full of the Holy Spirit!

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” The devil led him up to a high place and  showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Luke 4:1-13 NIV

In order to resist the temptation served up by the devil, we have to be full of Holy Spirit, with a heart to hear and obey Him, rather than the dictates of our flesh.

Now, all who have eyes and are being led by Holy Spirit can see through the devil's lies and all of the promises made are crumbling for all the world to see.

God knows our hearts and our motivations. Since He is love, He abhors hate-mongering and fear-mongering and we know--with all the hate demonstrated in this country, that it was the devil who offered the temptation of change through a narcissistic, fear-mongering demon and those who didn't have the spiritual discernment to see it, fell for the smooth talking snake-oil salesman.

But of course there was a specific group targeted to engage their loyalty--the low-educated and the ill-informed--the gullible and it worked. Now, though their hatred of all people who don't look like them was their driving force, they are seeing and will see even more why they were misled.

The media became a pawn in the game of the enemy and he played them like a finely tuned fiddle. Free coverage--never spending his money because that's not his style.

The tax cuts won't help anyone who isn't rich. Another lie perpetuated by the enemy.

The wall won't be built unless the haters volunteer their time to build it and that will be the extent of the jobs provided--manual labor--for their savior knows they don't have the educational ability to do anything beyond that. How do we know? He held a baby in his hands and declared, "he looks like a construction worker," pronouncing the expectation as though that's all the baby can ever hope for.

And for those poor folks who think didn't have healthcare before the Affordable Care Act, they'll be back to square one because no one has a better plan to put in its place.

I've concluded because of what The Lord is showing me that buyer's remorse is rising faster than flood waters and the regret is already real and he has not even been sworn into office. His lawyers are handling the 75 pending lawsuits while he's avoiding any press coverage. And why is he not allowing the press to travel with him? He doesn't want any of his true thoughts and conversations to expose him for the devil he really is. The dictator he plans to be.

And the biggest group who fell for the lies--the Evangelical group who was more concerned about party than country. I'm sure they are really proud of themselves for pushing the enemy down people's throats. If people thought church attendance was bad, they will see--soon enough--the real decimation of trust betrayed. If the church lies to people because they believed the lie--how disappointed is God in those He trusted to hear and obey Him? 

Based upon His Word, I can only conclude that they were not filled with Holy Spirit and therefore did not have the power to resist temptation--the temptation to "have authority over people with Supreme Court Appointments." They forgot, the only authority over anyone's life should be God, not people. But they didn't trust God, to be God!

I will hear and obey and do all within my ability and in His strength to help turn the tide of hatred and bigotry and overt racism that now flows freely, unhinged because Americans elected a madman--who only wants to benefit himself.

So renew a right relationship with God and be filled to overflowing with His Spirit so you can see things through spiritual eyes and not allow the dictates of the flesh to blind you. My hope is in Jesus Christ and I will not be tempted by delusions of grandeur and having authority, not rightfully mine. I will continue to write and say what God is saying to my heart until He returns or I can no longer type.

Avoiding The Pitfalls!

Do not envy the wicked, do not desire their company;for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about making trouble. By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. The wise prevail through great power, and those who have knowledge muster their strength. Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers. Wisdom is too high for fools; in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths. Proverbs 24:1-7 NIV

There are some snares and pitfalls we can avoid in life, IF we simply take the time to think about what we do--BEFORE we do it. This is not a one-time lesson in life, but an on-going life lesson we must learn, if we are to survive to share our testimonies of how we overcame.

For teenagers--the path to adulthood is an obstacle course--at every turn, they must watch for the snares and pitfalls that are waiting to keep them from enjoying success as an adult. Those snares and pitfalls come in the form of "wrong" friends and giving into the influence that peers force upon others--if they want to be "cool."

Being "cool" is not always the best route to take to navigate high school or in some cases--middle school. For the peer pressure comes earlier and earlier and even in some elementary schools--kids are pressured to join in or be square.

I've been there, but I was considered square because I wasn't interested in doing anything that could get me in trouble with my mother. "Back in the day" as some would say, at 14 years-old, I had the responsibility of taking care of my brothers and sister after school. It was my responsibility to make sure dinner was cooked (meat, vegetables and a starch), everyone ate, and kitchen cleaned before my mother got home from work. When things went wrong at home and she wasn't there, I handled it--from the ninth--through eleventh grades--I ran the house. My mother worked two jobs to support us and even though she wasn't around much, she had instilled a fear in us that made sure we didn't get into trouble. But then, I was raised in a community of less than 200 people and everyone knew everyone's business, so there was little chance of getting away with anything.

That's not the case today. Kids have greater obstacles to withstand if they're strong enough and wise enough to stand up to their peers. The experimentation with drugs and sex can be overwhelming and the temptation to great to resist, but we must teach them how and show them by example--how to win in life. It's not easy, but it is necessary. The first obstacle we must teach them to overcome is how to survive in a drug-culture in the schools. Drugs are prevalent everywhere--and it doesn't matter if it is an affluent or an impoverished community--the more access to money kids have, the greater the likelihood that kids will move from the cheap drugs to the more expensive ones.  But illegal drugs--are bad news--for everyone and we see the results from the crime in the streets, to the overdoses in the hospitals.

So, while we're praying for them to successfully navigate the murky waters of temptation, we must also teach--and re-teach  them how to be confident enough in who God has called them to be, that they can resist the temptation of the evil set before them, and not be concerned about what others think.

Lord, be merciful unto us as leaders in churches, parents, and school administrators and give us wisdom--abundantly--so we can help our children live and succeed as You would have them to do.

Appearances Matter!

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:21,22 KJV

If we care about what others think and we should--to a point--but more importantly, we should care about what God thinks about what we do. People tend to judge "what they see" without considering other factors, but God knows--our thoughts and our hearts--and certainly our intent.

With all of the uproar and media attention spotlighting --any person or place at any time--it would be the height of foolishness to attempt to do anything that is remotely wrong. Common sense--exercised far too little--needs to be exercised in all we do. Just one false move--or seemingly false move can create chaos and confusion and lead to the demise of jobs and reputations.

Why do we do it? We forget that appearances--matter to all who are looking and sometimes, those appearances, color perceptions. This is why it is important for all Believers to know that others watching us, will judge us--rightly or wrongly--and determine whether we are credible or not.

Unless The Lord directs our steps into certain venues--we should avoid them so they won't taint our testimonies. Not one Believer should ever be seen in a strip-club, a drug house, or entertaining the moguls of ungodliness in any venue.

Not one Believer should ever put themselves into a position to be falsely accused of anything--adultery, fornication, theft, mismanagement or any other thing that could deter the unbelieving from making a decision for Christ.

If we do all things--with the understanding that God sees and knows all and we care about what He thinks of us--we can avoid the pitfalls and snares that the enemy sets for us, but allowing Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts and we obey.

For every foul-mouthed individual out there (and there are many), we tend to judge presumptuously, but judgment is the end result for we know that corrupt communications, corrupt good manners. A person may be a "good person" but if they cannot control their mouths--some of us will never know it.

I'm guilty of assessing situations and coming up with the wrong answers. And because of my assessments of people, I tend to stay away from certain groups because I care what God thinks about me--I'm avoiding the appearance of evil. However, I have also concluded that just because I find myself in the presence of people who do not know--how God wants them to live--I do not have to become like them in order to be a light to them. After all, it is not my job to judge people (I can judge sin as can all Believers and we should) and therefore, if I remove myself from every situation in which people are involved, I limit opportunity for God to rise in me for them to see Him.

When we're not sure of what we should do, we should seek God--prayerfully and know that He is faithful and just and will never steer us in the wrong direction. If we end up on the wrong path trying to do the right thing, we need to seek the right path and get back to where God would have us.

And here is the most important thing to remember, "If we only do the right thing, we never have to worry about doing the wrong thing."  In the greater scheme of life, appearances do matter, so we must watch what we say and do.

It Is Written!

"It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "
"It is also written:'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "
"Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' "
Matthew 4:4, 7, 10 NIV

Three times, Jesus told Satan who was trying to entice Him by engaging Him in nonsensical conversation and behavior. Tempting him to be a magician--"turn these stones into bread." Tempting Him to destroy himself to prove himself--"throw yourself down" from the highest point of the temple. Tempting Him by offering what was not his to give--"All this I will give you if you bow down and worship me." Satan was offering Jesus that which was already His.

And because Jesus knew who He was--confident in His role determined by the Father, He didn't argue with Satan; He simply said, "it is written."

Now, there was an assumption here on the part of Jesus and that was--Satan's ability to read with understanding. Most educators know that not everyone who claims to know how to read, actually read with understanding. Some people are simply word-callers--they recognize and can sound out the words, but they do not understand the relationship between words in order to comprehend the context of what is being said.

The most tragic part of assessing a person's ability to understand what is written is to determine that though many adults claim to read, they lack comprehension skills. And this is why--many are combative, angry, and irritable--they lack understanding and if we lack understanding, our confidence level sinks.

In order to know how to effectively avoid engagement with those who would attempt to deter us from destined path, we need to know what God says about us and the only we can know that is to get into His Word and seek Him for understanding. Then, when the enemy comes to tempt us, we can say, "It is written" for we have read what was written and understand it.

Having read instructions, directions, and even for entertainment, we can build our confidence in the knowledge that we comprehend and this strategy is useful in all walks of life. This is why having a paper trail--written communication--in business engagement is crucial. People forget, but if they attempt to say they were not informed and it was written, they have no argument.

So, let us endeavor to negate argumentative situations--no matter who instigates them by countering with, "It is written" and leaving it alone.

Yield Not To Temptation!

"When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;" (James 1:13 NIV).

And then James goes on to say that we are tempted by our own lusts (evil desires) and when one yields to the temptation, they yield to sin.

Some years ago, Flip Wilson used the phrase, " the devil made me do it" in his comic routine.  Many thought this was funny, especially within the context used. However, it is misleading. The devil does not make anyone do anything, any more than God will make anyone do anything. The devil tempts people to do evil and because they have evil desires, they give in to the temptation.

The enemy uses people to tempt others to land into the lake of fire with him. He influences people to murder, molest, abduct, coerce, mangle, manipulate, lie, cheat, steal, cuss, and commit all manner of disastrous acts that lead people deeper into the pit of no return. But they could not be tempted if the desire to do those things were not already present. Those desires begin with thoughts and if the thoughts are not changed, rapidly, they intensify until the thoughts are acted upon and havoc reigns.

If we want to avoid being tempted--by anything or anyone, we have to change our thought patterns before they become acts that cannot be reversed.

Some might say--they are stronger than that--they don't have to give in. I would encourage all to reflect upon the world events, historically, and recently, that have led to escalated violence and people being killed. All of the acts--began with a thought and thoughts ran rampant--completely unchecked until they became acts.

For change to occur in the world--it must begin with change in every individual's way of thinking--in a positive manner so we can all live in peace, without the threat of continual violence.

Perhaps, we should all lobby legislators to change the way they think--putting people first--above their own personal agendas. And then we should pray--in the privacy of homes and other personal space--and then "out loud" so the enemy will know what we're doing and put him on notice.

Don't allow the evil thoughts and desires to become acts of disaster and then try to claim--God tempted you to do it. He did not. The Word from God will only encourage us to live according to what God says--so we can live to see the promises fulfilled in our lives and to see our future--a future to prosper us and not harm us.

The devil doesn't do anything he was not created to do--and neither should we. We were created to be a praise unto our God and to give Him glory. Let's do it!

The Things He'll Do!

"And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them" (Isaiah 42:16).

God lets us know that no matter what our condition has been, He will change it for our good, because of His love for us.

The blind (physically and spiritually) have difficulty navigating known ways; especially if they cannot anticipate obstacles or barriers. Through Isaiah, God promises to bring the blind by a way they have never known and they will not stumble because of unknown barriers or obstacles. When we allow God to lead us--in life--no matter what happens, we will not stumble, but find our way.

He will make darkness "dissipate" because of the Light of His love and we will be able to see clearly where we are headed. The Light of His love will warm our hearts and open our "spiritual" eyes so we can see what is ahead of us.

However the crooked the path may have been that would cause us to stumble and fall, He will make it straight. The path of temptation to do what is wrong, always twists and turns and makes it seem impossible for us to get back on the right path, but God--who loves us without measure--will straighten the pathway and make sure we stay on it because He never leaves us.

Through Holy Spirit--we are given guidance and direction to help us navigate the paths of life without stumbling because He is our promise--our comforter, always with us. These are things God says He will do for those who are blind so they will not be left out of the promise for an eternity with Him.

For those who can see--physically and spiritually--we have no excuse as to why we cannot stay on the path He has set us upon. We can see--when the enemy rises his ugly head and tempts people beyond measure. We can see--the twists and turns in the road that hinder our success when we allow it to do so. We can see the light of day, every day, and any darkness in our lives comes only when we choose to walk in darkness, forsaking the Light.

God has made it clear through His Word what He'll do for us as a demonstration of His love for us: Move darkness out our way, make us the head and not the tail, cause everything we do to prosper when we obey, blessings will overtake us and spill over onto everyone we meet, we will be victorious in all things and the list could go on.  Now the question is--what will we do to demonstrate our love for Him?

Lord, help us to remember how much You love us and create in us a heart of gratitude for all You do.  Help us to stay on the paths You have established for us so we may accomplish all that You have designed for us to do. In Jesus' name we thank You. Amen!