Today's reading is intensely personal. Why? Cause, temptation seems to camp at my door.
What James says is so true, I know it's NOT God! It's the evil one for sure. He is cruel. He knows something in me will die if I give into the temptation.
It's not a sin to be tempted. Even Jesus was tempted, yet He did not sin. So being tempted is part of life. It's not "if" I will be tempted, it's "when." The big question is..."What will I do with the temptation?"
The Bible says in James, "...after desire has conceived it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it's fully grown, gives birth to death." The progression is what I observe...
...desire, give into (do) sin, something in me dies...
...desire, give into (do) sin, something in me dies...
...desire, give into (do) sin, something in me dies...
For example, I've shared at church, I have struggled with the sin of gluttony. I love food. So do you right? Well, I love it too much. See, most folks eat to live, for me, in my stupidity and in my sinfulness, I'd live to eat. I had to finally come to the point in my life, where I admitted my sin.
The same is true in the realm of pornography. As a result of seeds that were sown in my life when in Junior High and High School, where I gave into allure and the enticement of looking and viewing porn. It, like food, had a hold on me. Satan knew it. The truth is, participating in the sinfulness of porn causes portions of your marriage to die. So I had to come to point in my life and in my marriage where I admitted my sin.
The application of these verses for me is...yep, I'm tempted. Yep, I've fallen into temptation's trap. Yep, I don't desire to walk down those paths anymore. And yep, Satan, knows I don't desire to...but he knows parts of me still want to...so because I want a GREAT marriage more than I want porn, because I want to physically be fit, not fat. I have to...
First: Admit I've got a problem.
Second: Give the control of my will and my life over to Jesus
Third: Allow others to hold me accountable (even Sue), put boundaries in place,
Fourth: Stay away from situations and circumstances
Fifth: Continuously remember, that the allure and the enticement is NOT BIGGER than Jesus in me
Sixth: Know that in Jesus, I have the discipline, the victory, so live in it! (1 Corinthians 15:57-58)
Where are choosing to give into Satan's temptations? Well, I'm here to tell you...you, too, can be free. I'm praying for you.
Tim Celek
Lead Pastor
The Crossing
thecrossing.com
facebook.com/timcelek
thecrossing.com/3thirty
What James says is so true, I know it's NOT God! It's the evil one for sure. He is cruel. He knows something in me will die if I give into the temptation.
It's not a sin to be tempted. Even Jesus was tempted, yet He did not sin. So being tempted is part of life. It's not "if" I will be tempted, it's "when." The big question is..."What will I do with the temptation?"
The Bible says in James, "...after desire has conceived it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it's fully grown, gives birth to death." The progression is what I observe...
...desire, give into (do) sin, something in me dies...
...desire, give into (do) sin, something in me dies...
...desire, give into (do) sin, something in me dies...
For example, I've shared at church, I have struggled with the sin of gluttony. I love food. So do you right? Well, I love it too much. See, most folks eat to live, for me, in my stupidity and in my sinfulness, I'd live to eat. I had to finally come to the point in my life, where I admitted my sin.
The same is true in the realm of pornography. As a result of seeds that were sown in my life when in Junior High and High School, where I gave into allure and the enticement of looking and viewing porn. It, like food, had a hold on me. Satan knew it. The truth is, participating in the sinfulness of porn causes portions of your marriage to die. So I had to come to point in my life and in my marriage where I admitted my sin.
The application of these verses for me is...yep, I'm tempted. Yep, I've fallen into temptation's trap. Yep, I don't desire to walk down those paths anymore. And yep, Satan, knows I don't desire to...but he knows parts of me still want to...so because I want a GREAT marriage more than I want porn, because I want to physically be fit, not fat. I have to...
First: Admit I've got a problem.
Second: Give the control of my will and my life over to Jesus
Third: Allow others to hold me accountable (even Sue), put boundaries in place,
Fourth: Stay away from situations and circumstances
Fifth: Continuously remember, that the allure and the enticement is NOT BIGGER than Jesus in me
Sixth: Know that in Jesus, I have the discipline, the victory, so live in it! (1 Corinthians 15:57-58)
Where are choosing to give into Satan's temptations? Well, I'm here to tell you...you, too, can be free. I'm praying for you.
Tim Celek
Lead Pastor
The Crossing
thecrossing.com
facebook.com/timcelek
thecrossing.com/3thirty
