Removing Temptations
We all have problems with temptations. As believers, God gives us the power of the Holy Spirit to resist Satan and His temptations, so that we can live a victorious life. However, we do not want to test God's power, when it is not necessary. We should follow the commands that God gave the Israelites when they were about to enter the land of Canaan. The land was filled with people and other things that would be unnecessary temptations, so they were to remove all of them. (Numbers 33:51,52) Let's use this list to check and see how we are doing and what we need to do now.
Are there people in our lives who lead us away from the Lord? These are the ones used by Satan and his demons to deceive us and to lead us away from living for God. If we recognize people like this in our lives, we need to stop spending time with them or greatly reduce our interaction with them. Of course, I am not talking about people who the Lord tells us to witness to or to minister to for Him. God will keep us from temptation in those cases. I am speaking about those people we encounter who have the ability to lead us from the Lord.
Then, there are other things we need to remove. We should not keep pagan symbols in our homes, because God wants us to be focused on Him alone. The second commandment is to have no graven images, because they attract our attention and lead us from the Lord's true worship. The only way to worship our God is "in Spirit and in truth." That does not include anything pagan. Also, there are sensual things that lead us from God. That is what was associated with the high places in the land of Canaan. We are to "flee sexual immorality," so we must remove anything that lead us in that way. That could include audio, video, or any other temptations toward those things.
If we will do these things and set our hearts and minds fully on the Lord, there is nothing we can't overcome. He is our strength, when we are fully sold out to Him, our Holy Lord.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 35-36 and Deuteronomy 1-2.
Are there people in our lives who lead us away from the Lord? These are the ones used by Satan and his demons to deceive us and to lead us away from living for God. If we recognize people like this in our lives, we need to stop spending time with them or greatly reduce our interaction with them. Of course, I am not talking about people who the Lord tells us to witness to or to minister to for Him. God will keep us from temptation in those cases. I am speaking about those people we encounter who have the ability to lead us from the Lord.
Then, there are other things we need to remove. We should not keep pagan symbols in our homes, because God wants us to be focused on Him alone. The second commandment is to have no graven images, because they attract our attention and lead us from the Lord's true worship. The only way to worship our God is "in Spirit and in truth." That does not include anything pagan. Also, there are sensual things that lead us from God. That is what was associated with the high places in the land of Canaan. We are to "flee sexual immorality," so we must remove anything that lead us in that way. That could include audio, video, or any other temptations toward those things.
If we will do these things and set our hearts and minds fully on the Lord, there is nothing we can't overcome. He is our strength, when we are fully sold out to Him, our Holy Lord.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 35-36 and Deuteronomy 1-2.