Temptations Does Not Come from the Lord:

I have been reading and studying the book of James.  I love the book of James.  It is one of my favorite books of the Bible because it gives practical advice to Christians.  One big message in this first chapter was about temptation and where temptations come from.  Sometimes we believe God is the one who gives us temptations to test us.  However, the book of James corrects this information very quickly. 

James 1:13 says,  “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”  To say it simply, God cannot tempt us or test us.  

We really are the ones who are tempted by the things in the world.  We are the ones who may notice certain sins and become more and more obsessed with them.  We are the ones who will also start to fall into sin.  We are the ones who become fascinated with the world in too many ways. 

Part of God’s journey through earth was to showcase his being tempted and yet never falling into this temptation.  He was tempted for forty days and forty nights by Satan with various obstacles and things.  He was even tempted by an everyday staple of food and drink. We as people can often be tempted by food and drink.  We can live in gluttony at times.  Even when we don’t think of food as a temptation, it can have the power if we let it overtake our lives.  

Then there was the temptation of greed and power.  He was told by Satan that everyone could and would worship him as long as He bowed down right there and then to Satan.  He could have control over all things.  It was weird Satan said this because it is something God could and should already have power over all things.  No matter what, Jesus denied all the temptations.  However, through him showing the temptations He experienced, we were able to see how Jesus stayed committed to Christ.  He knew God’s Word so well, which let Him overcome any of the temptations coming His way.  

I love this reminder that God really wants us to be very aware of our temptations we give to ourselves.  This is not again the temptations he gives to us but rather the temptations we make in our mind by falling in love with the items of the world.  

We as a people have always struggled with our temptations. The people of Israel were really bad about falling into adultery for example.  They were always looking at other countries and their gods.  They were always looking at what they were hoping to change and worship on their own.  However, they were really going farther and farther away from the Lord. They were becoming worshippers and adulterers to other gods and not feeling connected with the one who has constantly saved them and given them a new opportunity to live a long and prosperous life.  But God continuously found a way for them to come back to Him.  

One verse I do go to when it comes to fighting temptation is 1 Corinthians 10:13 which says, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”   God will provide help when we are tempted.  He doesn’t want us to fall under the temptation, but rather He wants us to overcome them.  

The challenge for this week is to spend some time in reflection of how you feel most tempted.  What are the things that most captivate you from the world?  What are the ways you are convinced to fall away from the Lord?  Then after you are in reflection, spend some time in prayer to God to pray for both forgiveness from this constant desire or temptation to be taken away from your mind.  

I know something I am tempted by is my thoughts and the way I can think about other people.  I find myself sometimes getting easily frustrated with others or thinking bad thoughts about others, even when I don’t really know them all that well.  I can find myself also getting very impatient with various things.  I really enjoy having plans and sticking to them. It can very much upset me when things don’t go as planned.  I will be in continuous prayer as I seek to conquer the desire to be judgmental and impatient.