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Flee Temptation And Overcome Weaknesses Pt1
James 1:15: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.”
I Corinthians 10:13: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
Don’t get it twisted! Being saved does not exempt you from temptations! While it gives you the freedom to never sin, it does not give you the freedom to deliberately expose yourself to temptations. The scripture teaches us to remove ourselves from temptations. When Jesus taught the model prayer he said “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”, then while in the Garden Of Gethsemane he told his disciples to pray that they enter not into temptation. Yes it is true that when you first receive the Holy Ghost you are so filled that you could literally walk into the flames of temptation and not get burned. However, after that it becomes a battle to maintain that state of holiness on a daily basis. Does that mean that living holy is hard? Of course not living holy is a great and enjoyable life to live. What makes it hard is ignorance and a lack of desire. One of the things some are ignorant of is what temptation truly is. Think about it. Temptation is when you are drawn away by your own lust. Whose lust? YOURS! If it is your lust, then it is something YOU desire! If you desire it, then why would standing there trying to resist it work? THE BIBLE SAYS FLEE! Why? Again, it is because YOU desire it and to stand there attempting to resist something you already want is futile! Get away from it! Don’t be like Samson who lay there in Delilah’s lap knowing that he could not resist her. Unlike Samson Joseph knew that he was in a situation that he could not handle. He didn’t succumb to it instead he escaped and fulfilled his destiny. In the process of avoiding temptations you will have to sometimes lose friends, change locations and associations. Lose them, make changes and move forward. The object is for you to live, survive and thrive! It is time to obey the part of scriptures that teach love from the perspective that says “as you love yourself or as you love your own body.” This is not selfishness it is self-preservation. Over a period of time you will find that these temptations don’t bother you. This doesn’t mean that you are free to expose yourself to them because that will lead you again into bondage. So don’t blatantly expose yourself to temptation.
Copyright 2006
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