Good evening everyone and Christs Peace. TEMPTATION S: Proverbs 5: 1-6 -- My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel. Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what youve learned. For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth smoother than oil. But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword. O: Temptation is all around us in the world today as it has been since the beginning of creation. It takes many forms and has impacted all of us in different ways. As in the reading above, God reminds us that wisdom and using discernment is what He calls us to do and they will guide us along the path that He calls us to follow. However, giving in to temptation, immorality, or sin may seem appealing at first but will end in our own destruction and death if we do not turn away from it/them. A: How has Temptation affected you in your past? How does it affect you today? Do you see it in the hardened, angry heart of a family member? Is it present in your workplace? Do you encounter it when you are watching television or see it online? Does a battle rage within you or is it more of a whisper? As we know, the enemy works in many ways to try and separate us from God. To look for ways to increase our doubt, distrust, anger and capitalize on our weaknesses. How does temptation affect you today? AEC -- Application Encouragement Challenge: First, take a long, hard, honest look at the areas of your life where temptation has had, or continues to have, an influence on you. Is it gossip? Deception? Dishonesty? Anger? or Judgment that you struggle with? There are many areas of temptation and the first step is to identify in which area(s) do you struggle? (On a side note, if you feel that you do not experience temptation or are not aware of how it impacts you; I would encourage you to get a second opinion from a trusted source who knows you well. If no one comes to mind, come speak with one of the Pastors or myself.) Second, how have you/do you cope and/or resist these temptations? How successful at keeping these negative influences from affecting you have you been? These are questions that are important for all of us to ask ourselves and commit to the Lord our efforts to improve in these areas. Once identified, we need to ask for Gods help to overcome these temptations and our prayers for such are extremely important for the temptations of our world have overrun many good people...but those that rely on the Lord will renew their strength.... P: Lord, please ...lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil... and guide our steps so that we may choose to walk the straight and narrow path neither straying to the left or to the right being drawn away from you by temptation. May your Grace and loving guidance be with us all the days of our lives and may we look to you continually to be the source of all that we need so that when temptation comes our way, we are able to recognize it for what it is...something to be struck down or avoided. Please bless our hearts and fill them with your love so that there is no room for temptation in our lives. May we in turn, look to bless others in the same way seeking to love and encourage them as you love and encourage us. Amen. Good night all and God Bless!!
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 04:12:33 +0000
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