Temptations

Luke 4: 13- When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left until an opportune time

Source-Ary Scheffer

Hello everyone, I hope you all are well and you have a great week, if your week is not going well. I pray that you are comforted at this period in your life. I would like you guys who may be troubled in your heart to keep this verse close to you

Psalm 46:10 ''The Lord says,  Be calm and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth''. 

This particular verse has been a source of comfort to me in difficult times. I hope that this verse will comfort you, they way it has helped me so far.

Today's topic is focused on temptation. We all have come across temptations in one form or the other, some simple examples of temptations are: taking something that doesn't belong to you without seeking permission from the owner. However, temptations go way beyond this regular sins that we are guilty of, temptations are more complex than we think. Temptations may come inform of our weaknesses, family, friends,significant others, situations, trials and so on. Sometimes, temptations may come in form of  a relief of a situation we are going through or temptations may come in a form that will not look wicked to us. A simple definition of temptation is a desire to perform an action that will be enjoyable for a short term but will later regret for various reasons. This definition of temptation has given you an insight of how harmful desires cause us to sin. Most times temptations may seem pleasurable at that particular time of performing the action and later lead to painful regrets and other times temptations appear to be fearful and intimidating to the person being tempted. However, bear in mind that, temptations are desires from our heart but those desires  in our heart are influenced by the devil.

The devil is a character described by most religions to be the personification of  evil and temptation. In Christianity, he is the accuser, tempter and enemy of  God Almighty and the human race. As we all know, he is the one who leads the human race to sin. This knowledge is evident in the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. We all know how the story goes and how Eve fell in to the temptation of the devil and for those readers who don't know the story, you could read [ Genesis 2:4-3:24, in the bible].

Many of us today are in a form of temptation and we don't know how to handle it, sometimes we fall into temptations we never imagined that we will do. Personally, I know how it feels to be tempted, to be weak to the temptation and to suffer the guilt of falling into the temptation. However, we should not be discouraged, for we have a savior and redeemer to pray to , A savior who understands what it means to be tempted and weak. Our savior is Jesus Christ, he was tempted by the Devil three times to go against the Father's will but he didn't give in. If our savior can resist the temptations of the Devil, we too can resist the temptations of the Devil through faith in Jesus Christ. God knows that we are going to be tempted, fall into temptations, make mistakes and sin but he has made it clear that his grace is abundant. His grace is abundant that if it were an ocean, we are all drowning in it, so if you find yourself lost in sin, don't be afraid to speak to God about it, he will provide an escape route from that sin, so that you will be free and give him the thanks and glory.

1 Corinthians 10: 13- ''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 also provide  a way out so that you can stand up under it''

I will like you to know that no trial or problem that has come to you has gone unnoticed by God, some times we face temptations and we quickly pray that God makes it go away but when they temptation is not gone. We begin to lose faith and wonder why God hasn't quickly relieved us of our temptation, I would like you to know that God has heard your prayers but he works at his own time, you may wonder, why should God keep me waiting with this request? but little do you know that he wants to see how much faith you have in him but always remember that God's timing is the best and no matter the type of temptation you are going through, he will save you soon. Most importantly, you cannot overcome temptations on your own, for we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God [see Romans 3: 23].You cannot overcome the temptations of this world on your own because your enemy the Devil, is not flesh and blood, he is  one of principalities and powers in high places, he studies you and discovers which buttons to press that would give him positive results. You can only overcome temptations through faith in Jesus Christ, constant prayers and through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in you to empower you against temptations that torment your weak flesh. 

Ephesians 6:12-  ''For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms''

I would like you readers to understand that, temptations are always going to be there, because the Devil is real, some people see the devil as a fictional character,that is one of the biggest lies the enemy has deceived people with, that  he is not real! he is real. He has caused the destruction of many people and will not relent in destroying God's creations and claiming souls for himself and his dark kingdom. However, some of us who are aware of the Devil's existence are terrified by his temptations. Sometimes, we feel that if we fall into the temptations of the devil, we will not be forgiven by God and other times we take God's mercy for granted. Firstly, the grace and mercy of God is abundant for everybody regardless of your background so there is no need to fear that you will not be forgiven. However, it is not an excuse to sin as you like then  later go and plead for forgiveness, though most Christians are guilty of this behavior.Secondly, I would like you to know that, you should not be afraid of the Devil and his temptations. One prominent tool that the devil and his followers use on people is fear, he puts fear of all kinds into a person's heart. This fear hinders faith in God and leads you towards to sin. Fear creates doubt in our minds of God's promises, fear prevents us from being who God wants us to be, it drives us into sinful habits that we believe will grant us temporary relief which goes along way in separating us from God.

The Devil is not omnipotent or all knowing like God, he is not omnipresent or cannot be in two places at once. A fact that I just realized recently . He doesn't know the hearts and minds of men, he operates by our reactions to certain things and people around us. This fact is evident in the story of Job, he knew that Job was afraid of losing the things that were precious to him but he didn't know that Job had the grace and love of God at heart and will never curse him regardless of the situation  [see in the Book of Job].The devil is a being that is knowledgeable about the universe and human beings, he studies human behavior over the years and knows that temptations to throw at us, that will separate us from God but have you ever thought that he cannot be 100% sure that his arrows will hit you. I recently understood that, the devil uses the trial and error method in temptations. For example: If a voice in your head is telling you to take something that doesn't belong to you, you may decide not to steal but if the devil studies your environment and the people around you, he may use your friends who steal other peoples belongings to persuade you to steal, therefore he was not sure that telling you only in your head was enough but he backs it up with the influence of bad friends. However, the choice is ours, its left for us to decide whether to give in or back out but always remember you cannot overcome temptations on your own, its by God's grace. The devil will always tempt, it is in his nature to kill and destroy [ 1 Peter 5:8- Be alert and of sober mind, your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour]. I will like you to know that no matter how bad the temptation is, you can always trust in God [James 4:7- Submit yourselves to God and resist the devil and he will flee from you] to deliver you. All we need to do is to ask in Lord's name and it will be given. We need to humble ourselves and go before God in prayer, we should table our pain, frustration, feelings, thoughts and desires to God and tell him how much we need his grace to survive the harsh conditions of life. He is the only way towards avoiding a sinful life.

I pray that we as people of God should pray without season and worship God in Spirit and in truth, we should be honest with ourselves and confess our sins before God and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit [ the small voice you hear in your heart]. We should be relentless in faith and prayers just the way the devil is relentless in his evil temptations. I believe that if we have faith in God, trust in his Spirit and pray without season we will overcome the devil and he will grow weary and flee from you. I would like you guys to give  your thoughts in the comment section and if you like to be private, message me on my Facebook Page .

Thanks for reading and have a blessed life.

Best Wishes,
Peace.

Communication with God.

Psalm 46:10 ''Be still and know that I Am God''

Hey everyone, I decided to make a post about this topic because of a photo I came across on Instagram that had this bible verse Psalm 46:10-''Be calm and know that I am God''. The caption of that photo talked about our daily communication with God and how we should have trust in Him. Sometimes when you find yourself doing the same routine everyday, you tend to lose interest and zeal towards that activity especially when there is no motivating factor.For instance, if you pray daily and the constantly ask for protection for your loved ones, there would be a day when you will feel tired about asking for this particular request.However, you may feel that there is no need to pray because God knows all your desires, thereby he would simply answer them because he loves you while other times you will feel that maybe I should constantly repeat words to God in my prayer, so that he can know that you really know want your requests to be answered. This is a basic problem in communication that occurs in our daily life with people, let alone Almighty God but let us reflect on some bible verses concerning these problems.

How to pray

This is a usual problem that most people make mistakes in, sometimes we make series of statements without before reaching our main points in prayer but we forget that one re-emphasised attribute of God is his ''omniscience'', in other words ''ever-knowing''. Before you pray, God knows what you want to say, he knows your heart inside out like it was the back of his palm. Therefore, beating about the bush before making your concrete statement may seem disrespectful but lets just say that we as human have a lot to learn when it comes to communicating with God. In reflection to this problem, let us highlight a verse in the bible that represents what Jesus Christ had to say.

''When you pray, do not use a lot of useless words, as pagans do, who think that their gods will hear then because their prayers are long. Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him''- Matthew 6:7-8

Quick and rushed prayers 

Sometimes when we pray, we quicken our words or sermons to finish quick because we have other things on our minds to do but what we forget is that we are not speaking to our parents, friends or boss at work. We are speaking to Our Creator, there should be an application of love, patience and reverence in our prayers to show gratitude of being alive. The book of ecclesiastics spoke about rules and attitudes we as human beings should have towards God and our daily encounters with people.

 '' Think before you speak and do not make rash promises to God , He is in heaven and you are on earth, so don't say anymore than you have to''- Ecclesiastics 5:2

Weariness towards prayers 

There are times were you feel that your requests are ignored or probably you got the unexpected in a situation you thought will be fruitful. Sometimes, when you are going through a situation and you dont understand why it should be you passing through such difficulties, You wonder if God is listening to you because you havent observed any changes in your situation but let us question ourselves, how do we establish a relationship with Our Creator  without the foundation of faith. Faith is the foundation of a relationship with God, you cannot be a christian or in any form of religion without believing that there is a greater being who oversees the universe and created You and I,who will take time out of his schedule to look upon your life and evaluate your present situation.

I will relate this weariness to the Israelites while they were slaves in Egypt, they spent 400 years in a foreign land were they were slaves to the Pharaoh who killed their young males and enforced them to work without rest. They cried out to God  in prayers to deliver them from their torment and after a while of not seeing any changes, some of them despaired in God but  God didn't forget them, he chose Moses [ an Israelite who was taken care of by the Egyptian Princess] to lead them out of slavery, he had his people in mind but looked for the right person at the right time to deliver them from bondage. Therefore, if the Almighty God has heard your cries, tears, requests and complaints about a situation in your life and you feel he hasn't responded you then, please know that he is looking for the right time to see you through your situation.

For more information of the Israelites in Egypt, you could read the book of Exodus in Old Testament, the bible

As a christian, you should try to pray often without any form of discouragement or distraction of difficult situation.

1 Thessalonians 5:17- Pray without ceasing.

Pray without occasion because you dont have an idea how the next hours will be like, you have no idea if you will be hit by a truck or get provoked by a friend or colleague who will lead you to act on your emotions and end up in a guilty position. Being a christian doesn't assure you that no challenges or struggles will come your way or that you automatically become a perfect person, actually it assures you that your struggles will be handled by God at his own time and even if you fail in your ways, you could trust in God to help you out. This is why King David wrote Psalm 46 to encourage himself and his people that be calm and not to panic in the face of problem and bad situations.

Reflecting on: Psalm 46: Be calm and know that I am God-  acts as a reminder for us to know that we cant handle our struggles alone, we should trust God to help us through our life.

Where to pray.

This issue was widely discussed by Jesus Christ who states that while praying, you should go into your room where no one is and pray, then the Father who is ever present would listen to you. Jesus Christ made reference to pharisees who pray standing in the synagogue or street corners to be seen by men, surely they will receive their reward and if you fast wash, your face, feet and be cheerful while fasting. Afterall, you made a choice to do so. He said dont be like the hypocrites who go around with frowned faces so that they could be seen for their actions and be termed 'righteous'.Prayer is a an interaction and communication with God for the purpose of you knowing more about yourself and knowing more about Our creator. Some of us pray as though we deisre our neighbours to see us and give us a good name which is not negative but their intentions are similar to the actions of pharisees of old. Praying in the midst of people is not a bad step, you may be in a place or have an unpleasant feeling whcih you need to pray about but the issue is the intention for praying in public. ARE YOU PRAYING BECAUSE YOU WANT PEOPLE TO HONOR YOU? or YOU ARE PRAYING BECAUSE YOU WANT GOD TO BE HONORED? I think we need to evaluatre our intentions for carrying out certain actions but lest I forget people have individual commitments with the Holy Spirit, so I advice that follow as the spirit leads because he knows the part he has set for you. 

Self-evaluation

As a student of critical thinking, it enables me to ask the question WHY? in the literature and this skill could be applied into our religious lives in the sense of asessing the reasons for certain actions we perform because it is the reason that drives will and the will produces actions .However as a christian, I dont advice you should question God's intentions for your life but my utmost advice is to have faith in your walk with him, it is not easy but its worthwhile.Furthermore, before we carryout any actions in any part of our lives, there is need to question our motives and  examine the consequences that will result from this action.

Conclusion 

I hope this post was helpful to interested readers out there, keep in mind that life is a journey and we all  are on it. Also, I would like you to know that most of the content of this blog are the list of things I have experienced and I think about which I now have the boldness to publish on this blog.

            Thanks for reading and have a blessed life.

Best Wishes,

Peace.