Tag: temptation

Distracted

Do you know what the “Killer P’s” are? Here’s a partial list: Power, position, possessions, prestige, playthings, and occasionally, people.

Why are they the “Killer P’s”? Because these are the things in life that can draw us slowly away from God. This doesn’t always happen. But it can.

They often begin as mere distractions. But these distractions eventually draw us in deeper and deeper. It may be a slow, gradual, almost unnoticeable process. Or they may pull us in dramatically and very, very quickly. But whichever way it goes, the distraction will keep demanding more of our attention, more of our energy, more of our time and more of our resources.

We love the both/and. And we often tell ourselves that accepting the things of this world can be had without sacrificing our relationship with Christ. So we attempt the fence-straddle.

But that distraction just keeps distracting us. It simply keeps drawing us closer and closer. It’s power appears irresistable. It’s force is inexorable.

One day we look back and it’s been a really long time since we last attended church, or participated in a growth group, or served on a ministry team. We can no longer recall when we last received the Lord’s Supper, or thought about our baptism, or read a little section of our Bible.

John could see this process at work in the people he was pastoring at the end of the first century. From a distance, he watched as his beloved brothers and sisters in Christ were being drawn away from their faith in Christ by the killer “P’s” — the killer distractions.

John’s response was to go straight for the heart. Be careful what you love, he told his people, almost as if he had the words of Solomon on his mind: “Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23, NIV). Be careful what you love, because what you love is what you will devote yourselves to.

If you love Jesus, you will “break-up” with the world. But if you love the world, you will at some point “break-up” with Jesus.

Keep in mind, John told his people, one of these objects of your love is only temporary. It’s going to pass away and it’s not going to come back — at least not in its present form.

The other is eternal. Divine. And will never let you down, or let you go.

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15-17, NIV).

Lord, help me to guard my heart. There are many distractions that the world throws at me. Forgive me for the times I have allowed these distractions to draw me away from you. I want to stay focused on what’s truly important. And that is you, Jesus.

Our Bible reading for Tuesday, December 1, is Daniel 7:1 – 8:14, 1 John 2:12-27 and Psalm 136:13-26.

Header image based on "what you are worrying about right now..." by Torley, CC By 2.0

Caving in to Sin: The Devastating Reality of the Christ-Follower

In writing the Romans, Paul made it clear that a Christ-follower is no longer under the control of sin. Jesus has emancipated them from the power and authority of sin. It cannot master them any longer.

But the apostle also made it clear that this is not the same as saying that they have been removed entirely from the reach of sin. While sin can no longer force them to do anything, it is still a powerful influence in a Christ-follower’s life.

That’s just being real!

Sin is still going to present itself to us as the attractive alternative, and constantly try to woo and win us over. Evil is going to be a constant presence in our lives, inviting us to do things that are pleasing only to our selfish, sinful nature — but not to God!

In other words, a Christ-follower is not leaving the battle with sin behind when he or she becomes a Christian. The exact opposite! They are stepping onto the field of battle!

And on that field of battle there will be some victories — all to the glory of God, and only by his power! But because we remain sinful, there will also be frequent failures large and small, and some massive. We can expect these defeats to be hurtful and harmful to others, and self-destructive as well.

Which means, in our struggle with sin, while there will be times when we bask in the glory of Christ’s victory over sin (which is also our victory over sin!), there will also be times when we are left feeling destroyed and decimated. Wretched, as Paul puts it.

Yes, the final victory is already ours. But for the battles along the way? Devastating losses will occur, and not infrequently. Paul says it so beautifully here: We remain wretched sinners, but Christ also still very much remains our Deliverer!

Thanks be to God!

“So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin” (Romans 7:21-25, NIV).

Our Bible reading for Wednesday, July 22, is Hosea 6:1 – 7:16, Romans 7:7-25 and Psalm 88:9b-18.

Lord Jesus, thank you for coming to deliver me from sin, guilt, shame and death. I am a sinner. I am still tempted daily to cave in to sin’s call. Forgive me. And create in me a clean heart. Give me the will and the strength to do your will each day to display my gratitude for your salvation.

Header image based on "Ball and chain" by Thomas Quine, CC By 2.0

Prayer: The Alternative to Spiritual Stumbling

It must have been something important, because Jesus said it not once, but twice.

He told the disciples to pray, so they would not fall into temptation. Jesus knew what was about to come. And he knew his disciples were already exhausted, and their hearts filled with sorrow.

Talk about a set-up for caving when it comes to temptation! But intriguingly, Jesus does not encourage them — in their exhausted state — to take a nap, or get more rest.

That’s the advice I give myself when I’m tired, and hurting, and can see temptation right around the corner: “You just need more rest.” But Jesus doesn’t say that. Instead, he says, “You just need more prayer.” There’s certainly nothing wrong with getting more rest. But it’s prayer that will keep you from falling.

God finds it extremely hard to resist the humble prayers of his hurting children. He is our Father, so it is in his very nature to protect us when we cry out to him.

“Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation.’ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed… When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. ‘Why are you sleeping?’ he asked them. ‘Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation'” (Luke 22:39-41, 45-46, NIV).

Many years later, Paul echoes similar thoughts when he encourages Christians in Ephesus to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:10-11, NIV). Paul closes out this section of his letter with the encouragement to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:18, NIV).

So, do you mind if I ask you a quick question?

Do you have a time set aside sometime in the morning where you honestly face the temptations of the day ahead, calling them to mind one by one, and then asking God in prayer for his protection, trusting that it is in his very nature to protect you when you cry out to him?

If this is not something you have a habit of doing, let me highly recommend it. Because, just like the disciples, what most of us truly need (alongside some time hearing from God by reading our Bible) is simply more prayer time.

And when it comes to beating back temptation, it’s the very same thing… the word, the sacraments, and prayer. These are powerful, because the God we listen to, and the God who listens to us, is far more powerful than any temptation we might face!

Dear Father, hear my prayers. Listen to my cry for help. Beat back the daily temptations that beset me. Some of them are circumstantial and temporary, Lord — and you know which ones I’m talking about. Others are long-standing temptations that I’ve struggled to conquer for almost my entire life. Above all else, Lord, I ask you: Help me to guard my heart, for everything else flows from it (Proverbs 4:23).

Our Bible reading for Friday, April 24, is Joshua 5:13 – 7:26, Luke 22:39-62 and Psalm 50:16-23.

Header image based on "75677464" by Matthew Cua, CC By 2.0