Overcoming Temptation
I had a good chapel time with our middle school students this morning. We were considering James 1:12-18 about overcoming temptation. I won't go into all of the details, but I tried to show them that most people think that the good things in life come through the things that tempt them to fulfill the desires of the flesh. That is Satan's deception. James tells us not to be deceived in that way, because every good and perfect gift comes from God. Therefore, the only way to get the best things in life is to trust the Lord for wisdom and power to overcome the temptations and follow His will. His will never changes, so we can stand on the truth. We need to beware of people who try to make us think that some things are OK now, because the times have changed. God does not work that way at all.
Then, when I left the chapel time and our Tuesday morning prayer time, I went to the jail to visit one of the men I have been helping. It was pretty amazing to me to hear what he had to say. He was attacked by one of his cell mates, who tried to hit him on two different occasions. He missed both times. The great thing was that he did not attack his cell mate. He knew that God was protecting him, and that God wanted him to keep cool and not hit him back. The result was that this man was removed from that cell. He had been praying for that for a month. God answered his prayer, and He did it because he overcame the temptation to fight back, just like Jesus says to do in Matthew 5:39. It was a perfect example of what I had taught the students from James 1. It was also a very good indication that he is growing in the Lord. That is what I have been praying for.
It is always true. We are hurt by giving in to temptation on any level. We are blessed by God for overcoming it in His way. It is that simple. Do not be deceived by what this world says. God's way is always the best way for us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 15-17 and II Timothy 2.
Then, when I left the chapel time and our Tuesday morning prayer time, I went to the jail to visit one of the men I have been helping. It was pretty amazing to me to hear what he had to say. He was attacked by one of his cell mates, who tried to hit him on two different occasions. He missed both times. The great thing was that he did not attack his cell mate. He knew that God was protecting him, and that God wanted him to keep cool and not hit him back. The result was that this man was removed from that cell. He had been praying for that for a month. God answered his prayer, and He did it because he overcame the temptation to fight back, just like Jesus says to do in Matthew 5:39. It was a perfect example of what I had taught the students from James 1. It was also a very good indication that he is growing in the Lord. That is what I have been praying for.
It is always true. We are hurt by giving in to temptation on any level. We are blessed by God for overcoming it in His way. It is that simple. Do not be deceived by what this world says. God's way is always the best way for us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 15-17 and II Timothy 2.