Saturday, December 14, 2019

Understanding Temptation and how to overcome

Understanding Temptation and How to Overcome
When temptation comes your way is when you are tested and you have to overcome in order to continue to walk with the Lord.  The devil will always put tests in your path to try to make you stumble and fall.  Jesus NEVER tests(tempts) with SIN (James 1:13) But he does allow the devil to tempt us and to put things in our path that will either anger us if we let it, cause us to fall into lust if we let it.  All the things of the world are around us that we may be tested and OVERCOME these things that we may inherit eternal life and be with Jesus in the end.  A lot of people think that when you become a Christian, and when you really put your faith in the Lord that temptations will stop being a real temptation.  That is not true, old sins that you used to be led away by will STILL be a temptation to you, no matter how long you pursue the Lord.  But you do get better at resisting the devil, at overcoming and quickly running to the LORD.  You get a whole lot better at resisting, but that doesn’t mean the devil will stop tempting you.  When we were in the world, we would easily just fall into those temptations.  As soon as the devil would give us a certain lust, we would just immediately fall into it, because we were of the world.  But when Jesus called us OUT of the world we learned to overcome, to quickly resist and then to draw close to the Lord and push away the devil that he will flee away from us.  I know some believers, they think that the way to overcome sin is by quoting bible verses, and then they will say that is the way we aught to do it if we want to walk in the newness of life continually.  BUT, reading the bible, quoting the bible, listening to Christian songs, listening to sermons, NONE OF THAT WILL HELP YOU OVERCOME TEMPTATION WHEN YOU ARE REALLY TEMPTED.  I know from personal experience that it JUST WON’T WORK.  I know a lot of Christians will say; “Well, isn’t that what Jesus did, didn’t He quote scripture to the devil…”  Well, the problem with this thinking is, Jesus didn’t JUST quote scripture to the devil, HE RESISTED THE DEVIL.  You can’t just quote scripture to the devil and NOT RESIST the devil.  Just imagine if Jesus were quoting scripture but He was playing the hypocrite, and still eating the bread.  Imagine He said; “Man lives not on bread alone but on the Word of God…”  and then He were to take that stone and eat it and it turned into bread in His mouth… He would be a hypocrite like many of us.  See, many Christians ARE quoting the bible, BUT THEY DON’T RESIST THE DEVIL, so reading the bible and quoting the scriptures, even listening to the WORDS OF GOD does NOT help them overcome because they are NOT RESISTING EVIL, they are giving into their temptation EVERY TIME.  The only way we can overcome our sins is if we stay in PRAYER, if we stay CONNECTED TO JESUS through His Holy Spirit, and if we continually RESIST THE DEVIL.  We have to RESIST when we are tempted and quickly draw close to the LORD.  Like it says in James 4:7-8 “Draw close to the LORD, He will draw close to you, RESIST the devil and he will FLEE from you.”  So, don’t believe anyone that thinks that you can just read the scriptures, just put on a Christian CD in your car or on your IPOD, and you will just stop sinning because you are listening to scriptures, that won’t happen.  I used to read the bible many house of the day, just thinking that I would grow closer to God simply by bible study, that is what I was taught growing up, that we would grow closer to the Lord by reading the Bible, and it didn’t happen for me, and I started to get really irritated, either with myself or with God, just wondering;  “Why is it happening, that I am reading the bible so much, I’m going to church, I’m doing everything that a Christian is supposed to do, but I can’t hear you any better LORD, WHY IS THAT?”  That made me so frustrated that I couldn’t overcome my sins, I couldn’t have clarity when I prayed, and you know, it wasn’t until I REALLY started PRAYING and seeking JESUS that He started to help me see clearly to overcome my sins, to get things that were keeping me bound in the world OUT of my life.  It wasn’t until I had a genuine PRAYER LIFE and was CONNECTED to my Father in heaven, that I started to overcome and grow close to HIM in my relationship.  So, I encourage you, if you want to overcome your sin, if you want to overcome when you are tempted, STAY ON YOUR KNEES IN PRAYER, continue to pray to Jesus, ask Him for the POWER TO OVERCOME and when you draw close to Him, and when you RESIST temptation and evil, when you RESIST satan, Jesus WILL give you the POWER TO OVERCOME.  And don’t stop reading the scriptures, when Jesus gives you a scripture, LOOK IT UP!  When we dwell on the things that the LORD tells us, that is when we will overcome.  But you can’t just be religious.  You can’t just think that you can listen to Christian radio or sermons, that’s never going to do.  You have to be actually be HEARING FROM JESUS, living on His words, denying yourself, picking up your cross, eating HIS FLESH and drinking HIS BLOOD.  If you do that, you will be well on your way on the straight and NARROW path to everlasting life.  May the grace of Jesus be with you.