2 Samuel 11: 1-5

“Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.2 Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. 3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. 5 The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, I am pregnant.”

Temptations can come at any time, but they are especially dangerous in periods of weakness because that’s when we’re more prone to yield. The Scriptures are filled with descriptions of men and women who sinned against the Lord in moments of vulnerability. These true stories are given to us for our instruction so we can learn from the mistakes of others. ( 1 Corinthians 10:11).

While temptations come in a variety of forms, they follow a similar pattern. David’s sin is a good example of this. His eye looked, his mind desired, and his will acted. Resistance is difficult in the best of times, but it’s even more of a struggle during periods of anger, emptiness, idleness, or isolation—and that was the case for David, who should have been in battle instead of in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 11:1). At the end of the day, no matter what’s creating the vulnerability, each person is responsible for his or her own actions.

In times of weakness, remember the acronym “HALT.” Don’t let yourself become too hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. Most importantly, fix your attention on the Lord and draw strength from Him through prayer. Use Scripture to guard your mind, and the Lord will give you victory over temptation.

By Dr. Charles Stanley
Used by Permission

Further Reading

•  Feelings, Forgiveness and Peace | by Dr. Muriel Larson
•  The Power of Forgiveness | by Dr. Henry Brandt
•  Salvation Explained

The post Moments of Weakness appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”  1 Corinthians 7:5

Recently we acquired a new puppy. She is cute as a button and full of energy. Puppies are fun, but come untrained, so these past few months we have been training her. She has her own dog crate, where she goes for the night and whenever we are gone or she needs to stay out of trouble.

The problem has been getting her into the cage. When she knows it is time she is hard to catch. Sometimes I wish I had an old-fashioned dog catchers net. But then we figured a better way by putting a treat in the crate so she would go in. We could then shut the door behind her. Now she knows a treat will be there and even when she is far away and we say “kennel up” she will run to it.

Satan is much like that. He baits the trap with goodies for us to follow and sooner or later the door shuts behind us. He uses all types of things…. People, money, power, etc. It is like baiting the mousetrap with cheese.

At some point, we have all fallen into the snares of evil. Oh, the bait looks so good. Surely the world won’t label the traps from Satan, but the Bible will. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 6:9,

“But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.”

Satan’s three greatest temptations are flesh, tempting God and discontentment. Jesus said, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”

Discontentment is a clear pathway for Satan to capture and place you under his command. We live in a world where billions are spent on advertising each year and the main goal is to make you unsatisfied with what you have. Easy credit, keeping up with your next door neighbor and the like are all used by the devil to lead you into destruction and once you get there, he slams the door behind you.

If you are not content, you want to own the whole world, all what is in the world, you are on your way to falling into Satan worship. Whenever you are tempted by good things or bad, ask what Jesus would do.

Temptation is mentioned thirty four times in the Bible and similar words many more. Whenever you are tempted, turn first to the Bible for guidance. It will save you many a heartache.

By John Grant
Used by Permission

John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney

RELATED READING

• Is There Temptation In Your Life?
• God’s Help during Temptation
• Overcoming Temptation
• Temptation

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The post The Trap appeared first on Thoughts About God.

We have to live Biblically in a world or system that is intrinsically corrupt, immoral and un (or even anti) Biblical.

“Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all. In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are.”  Psalm 36:1-2

I have to fight it every day. You see, I don’t have a personal identity crisis. I have a sinful identity crisis. It comes as standard equipment with the human package. Even with Christ in my heart, I still have whispering sin in my head.

As living humans, we are all broken in various ways, absent Christ in our lives and even then sin doesn’t easily surrender.

Psalm 36 does a great job of taking this full circle: The wicked have no fear of God and in their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they are. They make no attempt to turn from evil.

The sinful man listens to himself rather than to God. He convinces himself that sin is what he wants and he orients himself to take advantage of every sinful opportunity. He has no desire nor does he make any attempt to turn from evil.

The mind plots. The will sets the desire. The emotion does not despise evil. Life, like this psalm would be hopeless if it ended here, but it doesn’t have to.

God can rescue man from sin and eagerly awaits every opportunity to do so. His position remains steadfast and he is not blown by the winds of cultural change. His love is as vast as the heavens and His faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. All humanity can find shelter in the shadows of His wings.

Our modern culture has made sin so acceptable that it is becoming politically incorrect to speak out against some kinds of sin. We, as Christians, are drawn to examine our own hearts, lest we are swept away by the sinful culture around us.

The miracle of God’s grace is that our view of sin reveals our view of scripture and my view of scripture reveals my view of myself.

We have to live Biblically in a world or system that is intrinsically corrupt, immoral and un (or even anti) Biblical.

Only with God’s grace can we rise above that. Through Christ alone we can be overcomers. Righteousness equals Jesus Christ and nothing else.

By John Grant
Used by Permission

John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney.

Further Reading

•  The Powerful Reality by Ruth Calkin

•  Stepping Into a Personal Revival

•  Salvation Explained

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The post Sin Whispers appeared first on Thoughts About God.

God wants to make us like Jesus.

You may think that you are tried more than other people are.  If you knew the value of it, you would praise God for the trials that come your way.

It is in the trials that you are purified; it is through the fiery furnace of affliction that God gets you in the place where He can use you.

The person who has no trials and no difficulties is the person whom God dare not allow Satan to touch because he could not stand temptation.

Before God puts you through the furnace of afflictions, He knows you will go through it, and not one single temptation comes to any person more than he is able to bear; and with the temptation, God is always there to help you through.

Abraham was tempted and God helped him through to victory.
God wants to make us like Jesus.

As we look back over our spiritual journey we see that there has been a good deal of our own way, and that the end of our way was the beginning of God’s way.

We cannot enter into the deep things of God until we are free from our own ideas and ways.

How mercifully God preserves us from calamity.

Hebrews 4:16
“Let us therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

There’s no way I can withstand the allure of temptation on my own. My feelings neutralize my resistance. My flesh craves gratification. It’s a war, fought on the battlefield of my soul…my mind, will and emotions.

I win only as my spirit works in partnership with the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 26:41
“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

By Joshua Chin Hong Lim
Used by permission

Further Reading

• Stepping Into a Personal Revival

• Why I need to Press the ‘Reset Button’ 

•  Salvation Explained

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