Glory, honor, fame, fortune, power, these are all temptations valued highly by man’s carnal self, and their control over us can be spiritually devastating, and even bleed over into our physical wellbeing as well. How far would any of us be willing to go for them, or to resist them? Would we abandon our faith for them? Would we drop down on our knees to someone who could give them to us as if they were a god? How do we face such temptation?
When we are faced with temptation of any variety we should realize that no one goes through life without being tempted, and not just once, but many times. The question is never one of whether we will be tempted, but rather, how we will face that temptation and overcome it. Jesus teaches us to fortify ourselves within the armory of scripture.
Satan is a wily sort, and on occasion he is known to use scripture, God’s own Word, against us by taking it out of context, or misrepresenting its interpretation. When Jesus came out of the wilderness we saw Satan tempt Him in just this way, and in similar fashion we see this happening today. Scripture is powerful, and the adversaries of faith attempt to string convenient verses together to undermined the truth in God’s Word. Knowing the Word is our defense against such attack.
Sometimes we are tempted in places that should be safe. Jesus was tempted in His safe place, on the pinnacle of the temple, the house of God, and we can be tempted in our churches as well. Have you ever had a squabble on Sunday morning with someone at church, and found that you couldn’t sleep at all that night... or did you go home smug in the fact that you had really told that so and so a thing or two?
As Christians, we believe that we can identify sin and avoid it, but we aren’t always tempted by obvious sin; many times we are confronted by things that we might be inclined to rationalize , and that are less obvious. There is a fine line between conversation and gossip, or stretching the truth and telling an outright lie. How well do we identify and resist such subtle sins?
Do you ever separate yourself spiritually from your physical life and become immersed in your faith? Fasting is one of those denials of self that when used properly will heighten our spiritual concentration by placing our body under subjugation to God in a very real way. By causing ourselves to suffer in this way we feel a constant reminder to pray and worship... it focuses us heart, soul, mind, and strength, on our God. This is one of the few acts we perform that brings all of these to bear at once.
Sometimes our spirit leads us into a vulnerable place; one in which we find ourselves alone, and being tempted, or tested. We often experience this when God is teaching us, or preparing us for something new; perhaps a calling. It can happen in those times when we are about to be lead into a new ministry... or God is preparing us to be stretched in some way. Have you ever found yourself experiencing a spiritual wilderness? Are you there now, and don’t really know why?
Trusting in God is not always easy, especially in the quiet times after our prayers have left our lips, and before His answer has become apparent to us, but in those hard times, Oh how our faith does grow. When we allow our hearts to lean on God’s strength, and we set aside our own reasoning, while depending solely on the understanding His Holy Spirit, we find our relief, and our strength abounds in His presence.
We are headstrong in so many ways, and a great deal of the time we insist on going our own way, or doing our own thing, but God’s desire is that we follow His guidance. By blazing our own trail we come to find ourselves seeking His deliverance from various messes we have created, rather than living a peaceful life, and thanking Him for it. Does this sound familiar? Do you seek God’s good counsel, or take your own path?
The love of Christ, we can only think we know it. When we are saved, and first feel it rushing into us with such an amazing force, we are convinced that this torrential flood must be the fullness of His love, but as we grow in faith we realize that the waters slow, and the river deepens. We then get a sense of the fact that there are seas, and oceans, ahead... and we are overcome by the expanse that is His love for us, and the journey ahead.
When we have begun our study of the teachings of Jesus Christ, and the Word of God, have we committed ourselves to obeying and following what we find there by loving them deeply, or do we pursue these things as a matter of curiosity? Are we wanting to have a command of scripture, or to allow it to have command over us? Our motivation in learning determines what we gain by it. So how do we search the Word, and sift through the Gospel? Do we simply gain intellectually, or by a motivation founded in love do we gain eternity?
We pray, and then conclude that prayer by saying “In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen” and we are comfortable in this because we are told specifically to ask in His name, but do we live out our lives in His name? When we do all of the small things that seem to have little to do with our faith, do we do every one of them through Jesus for the glory of God? Each tiny detail of our lives should be performed in such manner and should represent the “unceasing” nature of our faith, in this way, even our almost imperceptible sin should not pass without our notice, and contrition.
Do we take a purely defensive stance against sin as it attacks us? Do we count it as being enough to simply repulse it, and avoid letting it breach our walls? Or, do we make war against it with every resource at our disposal, and rid ourselves of it in body, soul, and mind? There is a word for this in scripture and it is called mortification, which means to subdue or destroy the strength, and function of a sinful desire that is tempting, or attacking us. Do we mortify sin?
Has God finished His creation and turned it loose to play itself out? Is the big picture painted, and now we simply exist within it trying to perceive what it might look like if we could only step back to see it in total as through God’s eyes? Are we merely ants skittering here and there doing our small part, with our only purpose being to play out a part in some divine production? Well friends, God’s creation remains under constant construction, it is meant to be for and about us, and His love for us demonstrates this.
We all wrestle with sin. There is not one of us that sin does not desire to penetrate, and subtly begin to transform into its unholy image. One defect in our armor and we are made imperfect; one small scratch, one tiny sin. If we consider Jesus in light of this we see how amazing His sin free life was, and how astounding His work in us is.