Saturday, February 12, 2011

Resist Temptation With God's Help

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will aslo provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

-- 1 Corinthians 10:13

We are all tempted to stray from God's path. All of us. It's part of being human. But temptation doesn't have to turn in to sin. We can resist Satan -- with God's help. That's the key. Learning to ask God for help and then doing what He says.

How many times has God given you a way out of a sinful situation and you've chosen to stay where you are or to give in to sin? Probably more times than you'd like to admit. It happens to all of us. We mean well but life happens and sometimes we just go with the flow, follow our friends and allow the behavior of others to cloud our judgment.

Morning can be awful after a sinful jaunt. Light shines brightly, highlighting the darkness that surrounds us. You might feel dirty. Ashamed. Anger at yourself. Doesn't matter what you did. Sin is sin, whether it's dishonesty, partying, spreading gossip or something else you've fallen into. You knew better and you did it anyway.

How to keep it from happening again is the question you ask yourself? It might mean finding new friends, Christian friends, who not only share your beliefs but st. It might mean joining a Bible study and devoting more time each day to God's Word. It might be learning to stop and listen to that inner voice, the Holy Spirit, who is trying to warn you away from your path.

Nothing we can do will remove temptation from our lives. It is part of living in this fallen world. But we can -- with God's help -- learn to resist Satan's grasp. God always gives us a way out. It's up to us to take it.