Everyone Is Tempted

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Do not err, my beloved brethren.

                                                                                  (James 1:12-16 KJV)

We all fall prey to temptations from time to times. Call upon the Lord to give you the strength to resist temptations that will in the end harm you or others.

During the season of Lent many people at least attempt to fast. Most of this fasting is pretty minor. We  give up a favorite drink or food and we think that we have done well if we have been able to resist the temptation to partake of whatever it is that we're fasting from. In fact, maybe we have done well because we are so used to caving into every desire that even a little rejecting of a temptation may be a major feat.

We are all tempted to sin every single day of our lives. Every single day of our lives we do yield to some sort of temptation whether it is what we call a white lie or maybe a slanderous word against a neighbor. We sin when we do not trust the Lord to help us resist temptation.

Without trusting the Lord it is really tough to resist temptation. We need his strength to battle the temptations of our own desires. St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians to do battle with all attacks against us (temptations are truly attacks against our own welfare) we must be strong in the Lord. 

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"

                                                                                     (Eph 6:10-18)

Put on the armor of God and stand firm against all attacks of temptation by the power of God's might through the Holy Spirit.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Abominations

 

An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous,
And he who is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked.

                                                        Proverbs 29:27 NKJV

If this proverb is true (and I am quite certain that it is) then it seems to me that there was and always be a division within this country and the world. We are divided in many ways; but, the most glaring of late seems to be between those who want justice for those who have striven to do what is right and those who want to appear righteous in themselves and subvert justice.

God will always know the truth and it is He who will judge each of us on the last day. He will judge those who close their eyes to sin. He will also judge those who have be been falsely accused. And, as our Lord promised those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake will be blessed, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5:10)

In the first letter of Peter, Christians scattered through Roman provinces of Asia Minor are encouraged to remain faithful even in the face of persecution.

And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. ( Pet 3:13-17)

So if the world is divided between those who are justified by the blood of Christ and those who are not; if it is divided between those who persecute and those who are persecuted; who are what are we; abominations to the wicked or abominations to the righteous? Where do we stand: with Christ or against Christ? 

Even as we are all sinners; help us, Lord, to do what is right. Help us to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with our God! (Micah 6:8)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

"I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."  Eph 4:1-3 NIV

I wrote no blog yesterday. The internet and cable television went down late Friday afternoon during a storm. I called it in. At first the man on the other end of the line said since I was the only one who was down in the area they probably wouldn't be able to send a tech out until Tuesday after the holiday; but, he would try to get them to call me Saturday morning (while I was at an appointment) to set up a time for them to come out and fix it. He had walked me through the usual, unplug the modem and plug it back it. I've been dealing with modems for a few years and already had done that; but, I patiently complied anyway, even as I explained that there had just been a bad storm and I was pretty sure I wasn't the only one who had lost their connections in the neighborhood. About an hour later I received a call from some one else from this company telling me that they had just declared an area outage and assured me they were sending out a tech to take care of it. She didn't say when; but, for some reason I assumed that evening. I let my son (who was previously a tech for another company) know that they were coming out. He laughed saying that I would probably have it back up and running the next morning around 10. He was right. The neighbors informed me that the tech had just left when I returned home from an appointment at about 10:15 yesterday morning.

Therefore, I wrote no blog yesterday. If I can't do it early in the morning, I rarely find time during the rest of the day and yesterday was no different. My days tend to be pretty full. There were plenty of other doors that were open; plenty of other directions to go in and to do.

I am getting better at having patience with cable and satellite companies. I have learned to wait on them without getting upset. I did not even roll my eyes; at least not more than once. I don't watch much television so that is never a problem. I have learned to wait on many things. Everything does not always go as I plan. But, life continues. There is no sense getting upset about something so minor and that we have no control over. There are so many things in this world that are so much worse than the internet not working or a television show or a computer game being disrupted. It can even be a good thing when we lose our connection with the world wide web from time to time.

Some of the things that we lose patience with are pretty trivial compared to the troubles others suffer in the world. It would be best to ignore these minor obstacles and just move on past or over them. Don't let them interfere with what God has called you to do. Take advantage of what might seem to be a hindrance; because, it just might be a door opening for you. 

God's Peace - Pr. J