Don’t Take The Bait

We all experience times of temptation in life. Temptations are not always about sexual immorality or lust for money. Temptations come in many forms and the goal of “the tempter” is to get us to disobey or rebel against the truth of God. Temptations can be very subtle and can catch us off guard. Even Jesus was tempted 3 times by satan in the wilderness.  

In Matthew 4:1-11, we see how Jesus responded to the temptation with truth. “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.” 

The devil tries to appeal to our carnal human desires. When we submit ourselves to God and His desires fill our hearts, we are equipped to respond as Jesus did. We will speak the word of God and do the will of our Heavenly Father. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, fill me with Your heart and desires that I would walk in Your ways. Thank you for guiding my steps and keeping me from the snare of the enemy.

Stewardship

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of stewardship is “the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care.” Stewardship has been God’s perfect plan for mankind since the beginning. Genesis 1:26-28 says, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Before the fall, God had made Adam and Eve stewards over creation. His expectation was that Adam and Eve would manage what was entrusted to them and make it flourish and multiply. I believe that this mandate to mankind still remains today. Unfortunately, sin entered the picture and godly stewardship turned into irresponsibiity, greed, covetousness and wastefulness. 

Managing resources wisely is important to God. It’s a reflection of His character and nature. He has unlimited resources and He has shared those resources with us. We have the responsibility to wisely manage what God has put in our hands. Luke 16:10-11 says, “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon (wealth/possessions), who will commit to your trust the true riches?” The manner in which we manage our finances and resources says a lot about our character. How can we be a blessing to others in physical need when we are not faithful with the resources that God has entrusted to us? Many of us want God to do great things in and through our lives but we don’t understand that God cares about our heart and character. He can’t entrust us with more if we squander what He has already put in our hands. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, teach me Your principles of stewardship. Lord Jesus, cleanse my heart of greed and covetousness and the lust for worldly things. Holy Spirit fill my heart with the desire to be a good steward and servant of the Most High.

Faith Without Works

Faith is very simple, according to Jesus, but we tend to make it complicated. Jesus says we just need to believe like a child. In a nutshell, faith is believing God and believing that all He says in His Word is true. The part that complicates it for us is our own carnal nature. We struggle with faith because we all have a fleshly carnal mind to contend with, that constantly rises up against the authority of God. We may not even be consciously aware of it. We have to be vigilant about bringing our mind under the authority of Christ. We tend to go from extremes between doubt and fear to irrational requests that we call “big faith”. When we don’t receive what we asked for, questions start to run through our minds. “Did I not have enough faith?” “Did I not pray enough?” “Did I miss God?”

One thing that I have come to understand is that faith is a journey and a partnership with God. Faith is not simply asking for something and then waiting for it to plop on our laps. Faith is action. It is surrendering to the will of God. It is trusting Him with the outcome as we continue to obey and live out his principles and precepts. ‭‭James‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬-‭17‬ says, “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” 

We can easily miss the obvious when we are waiting “in faith” for God to answer our petition. We can be so consumed with our specific request that we ignore the answers and directions that are already given in God’s Word. The practical application of faith is often ignored. Obeying the principles and precepts of God’s Word is actually putting faith in action. While we are waiting, we pursue godly character and integrity, so that we know God’s heart on a matter. As we put one foot in front of the other in our daily walk with the Lord, we get more clarity about our petitions. How we pray will change as we are led by the Holy Spirit. We will be better prepared to receive and be a good steward of the very thing that we are asking for. Also, our hearts are more aligned with God’s heart and His desires. We develop the fruit of faithfulness. We are less and less ruled by the carnal desires of the flesh and more and more ruled by the Holy Spirit. If our goal is simply to have our prayers answered, we develop tunnel vision and miss the bigger picture of what God is doing.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, fill me with the desires of Your heart. I want to pray according to Your will. Holy Spirit, show me where I need to put my faith in action.

Forbidden Fruit

There are so many things in the world that compete for our attention. Advertisements scream for us to look and lust for what they offer. They provoke us to spend our hard earned money to consume things that are fleeting and temporary. Through psychological tactics, they tell us that we “need” this thing or we “have to have” it. The world system is constantly pulling our focus toward consumerism and attachment to earthly possessions. The Bible says in 1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

It is the same old trick that satan used in the Garden of Eden. He tempts us to think that the forbidden fruit is good. He deceives us into thinking that we have to have this thing, which is actually going to make us miserable or possibly even destroy us. He creates an illusion of this nice shiny object and we are tempted to lust after it. Thank God for filling us with His Holy Spirit of wisdom and discernment. We don’t have to be deceived into eating the forbidden fruit. We can live in the truth of God’s Kingdom and the promises in the covenant of Christ. We have all that we need in Christ. The Lord has and will make provision for all of our needs, financially, spiritually, emotionally, physically, relationally/socially. The lie of the enemy is that we are missing out on something in this world or that we don’t have enough. The truth is that God has promised to care for us and give us what we need. He will satisfy the deepest desires of our hearts if we just surrender to His ways. Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭31‬-‭33‬).

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for filling me with Your Holy Spirit of Truth. I no longer see things through the lust of the eyes but I now see through the eyes of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit fills and satisfies me.

Forgiving Our Enemies

Forgiving our enemies is one of the most difficult things to do as a Christian. Jesus made a point to clearly explain why we need to forgive. Jesus says, in ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭43‬-‭46‬, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”

When we forgive our enemies, we are in alignment with our Holy Father in heaven. While on earth, Jesus’ words and actions were always in alignment with The Father. Through His sacrifice on the cross, we are made to be sons and daughters of the Most High. We are to follow the example of Christ, through the power of His Holy Spirit in us. Jesus modeled forgiveness of His enemies while He was on the cross. In spite of the soldiers mocking and tormenting Him on the cross, Jesus extended forgiveness to them. Luke 23:34 says, ‘Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.”’ The soldiers did not ask for forgiveness. They probably were not even aware that Jesus uttered those words. But Jesus had to remain true to who He was, the sinless Son of God. He could not harbor bitterness and resentment in His heart because that is sin. Jesus promised to send His Holy Spirit after He ascended to Heaven, in order for us to have the power to do what He did, forgive. We have been given the Spirit of sonship, to not only act like a child of God but to be a child of God. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, fill me with the power of Your Holy Spirit to forgive my enemies. This kind of forgiveness does not come from my carnal flesh. It can only come from You. Thank you Jesus for filling me with Your mercy and unconditional love.

Don’t Kill The Messenger

Receiving a message of truth can be difficult sometimes, especially when it calls us to make a major life change.  We may be stuck in unhealthy, or even sinful, habits. God may use someone to speak a word of truth to us after He has made repeated attempts to get our attention. God is very fair and loving. His aim is not to shame us but to heal us. He has gone to great lengths to make a way of salvation and restoration for us but sometimes we just don't get it. When Jesus walked the earth, many people did not see Him as the Messiah, especially the religious people of that time. They found His message to be offensive. Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" (Matthew 23:37). 

Throughout history, God had made attempts, over and over, to save Israel from being destroyed by their own sins. Every time He sent a messenger of truth, that messenger was met with resistance and sometimes even death. The prophet Zechariah is a perfect example. II Chronicles 24:20‭-‬21 says, 'Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He also has forsaken you.” So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord.' I now understand the saying "Don't kill the messenger." Our deliverance can come through a messenger of truth if we are willing to receive and have an open heart. Jesus Himself is constantly trying to get His message of truth to us but sometimes we are not willing. He may send someone to shake us up so we come to our senses. It may even feel offensive. But God is not concerned about our feelings. He is concerned about our soul and spiritual health. The temporary comforts of the flesh will not help us when we stand before God on judgment day and give an account for our lives. 

Prayer 

Heavenly Father, thank You for always correcting me in love. Your desire for my life is for good not evil. Open my ears to hear Your message of truth. 

Shut The Door

We all have weaknesses that plague us in life. The issues of the fleshly carnal nature are something we will contend with until we finally meet Jesus face to face. But we don’t have to be overcome by these weaknesses while here on earth. Jesus made a way for us to take authority over our own flesh by giving us His Holy Spirit, His Word and His blood. ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭6‬ says, “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” When we shut the door, that implies that we mean business with God. It’s one on one with Him and we can be transparent and confess all that plagues us. 

The only way to overcome the flesh is to live in the truth. And the only way to live in the truth is through intimate time with God. Jesus said in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” We need to open the door to Christ and accept His invitation and then shut the door to all other distractions. When we do this, we are allowing the power of God to transform us into the image of Christ. All He is asking for is a willing and yielded heart. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me all that I need to be an overcomer in this life. I accept the invitation of Christ and I open the door of my heart so I can be transformed and renewed.