“My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, ‘Come with us, let us lie in wait to shed blood; Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause; let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole, like those who go down to the Pit; we shall find all kinds of precious possessions, we shall fill our houses with spoil; cast in your lot among us, Let us all have one purse’—my son, do not walk in the way with them, keep your foot from their path; for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.” Prov. 1:10–16 nkjv
Many of us suffer from temptations from which we have no business to suffer. ~ Oswald Chambers
"The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, but the unfaithful will be caught by their lust." Proverbs 11:6
"Hell and Destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied." Proverbs 27:20
Christ, because He was the only Man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only Man who knows to the full what temptation means. ~ C.S. Lewis
Come to Jesus today, turn, trust and invite Him into person as both Savior an Lord. He is the One who knows how to overcome all the lies, the temptations and sins that destroy people.
Everyday people get tempted and deceived by another person or persons. It’s what that person Mr. Lu-Cifer (I mean Satan) and his gang (of fallen angels and some people) are all about. We all need our heavenly Father daily. We all need to repent and believe in the Son. We all need forgiveness and regeneration inside. We all need a right, meaningful relationship with Jesus who is the way the truth and the life. We all need the Holy Spirit too -- God never lies!
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. ~ Jesus
John 16:13 - But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
John 14:17 - that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
John 15:26 - When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,
1 John 4:6 - We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
1 John 5:6 - This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
John 15:1-27 - I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ‘Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.’
John 14:16-19 - I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. read more.
John 16:5-13 - But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?' ‘But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. ‘But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.’
Temptations are never so dangerous as when they come to us in a religious garb. ~ Dwight L. Moody
Temptation is not sin. A man may ask me to share with him the spoils of a burglary, but no one can accuse me of receiving stolen property if I indignantly refuse and keep my doors tightly shut against him.. Hand over to Christ every temptation and care.. Temptation may be a blessing to a man when it reveals to him his weakness and drives him to the almighty Savior. Do not be surprised, then, dear child of God, if you are tempted at every step of your earthly journey, and almost beyond endurance; but you will not be tempted beyond what you are able to bear, and with every temptation there will be a way of escape. ~ F.B. Meyer
What Does Deception Do? It Destroys Trust, Relationships And Lives.
Here Are Seven Things To Think About.. Against Becoming Duped.
The devil has had a lot of years of experience in deceiving people, and in tempting people to go in the wrong direction.. off into destruction.
He's pretty skilled at finding our weakest points and then seducing us with our weaknesses, whether that be in an area of sexual sin, or with sins of anger, or jealousy, or covetousness, or slothful laziness, for boastful puffed up pride, or insecurity, or with worry.
When we are tempted that’s not sin, but it’s sin to yield to this. It’s so important to make a distinction. Temptation comes from the enemy in order to lead you to sin. However, Jesus never ever sinned and yet He experienced temptation from the enemy (See Heb. 4:15). Therefore one of the ways to battle sin is to know how to resist temptation.
1.) PRAY EARNESTLY AS JESUS TAUGHT US, “LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL” (MATT. 6:13).
When Christ’s disciples kept succumbing to sleep while Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told them to “watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Matt. 26:41).
Why pray for help. Apart from God, we have no hope of resisting or overcoming temptation. This is why humble prayer to the Father in the Name of Jesus is so imperative. Praying as Jesus taught us in the Lord’s prayer that God would “lead us not into temptation” is praying for our strength and deliverance from even facing temptation. Regularly praying with other born again believers is a great way to help you be all be strong in the Lord no matter what you each face.
2.) KNOW THE LORD WELL AND YOURSELF TOO -- KNOW WHERE YOU ARE WEAK.
Know the written Word and the living Word of God. And knowing the enemy’s tactics, his ploys, his M.O. and his creepy schemes -- those are crucial aspects of the spiritual warfare. Yes crucial regarding the battles that you and I will face. In the Christian life, we have different enemies (the world system, the fleshly nature and fallen angels who manipulate foolish sinners to do their bidding), one of which is our old corrupt fleshly nature within us (Rom. 7:21-23; Eph. 4:22).
Yes believer, you have the internal foe (the fleshly nature), the external foe (the world system) and the infernal foe (Satan) to reject, to resist, and to disobey.
“But He (God) gives us more grace. This is why it says: ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
James 4:6-8
“For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God? And, ‘If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?’” 1 Peter 4:17-18
I say judge yourself before you need to be judged. Let judgment begin in the house of God--we want to live holy and victorious for God’s glory.
It may seem odd, but we must make a study of our own walk in Christ as to where we could be deceived, tripped up, duped. Where have we been tempted or stumbled and fallen before? Personality, circumstances, disposition, and life experiences are all factors that can make us more susceptible to certain kinds of temptations from the enemy. How can we be on guard for something unless we know what we are looking to overcome?
3.) LEARN TO QUICKLY RECOGNIZE TEMPTATION.
Temptation is, well, very tempting. It’s alluring. It presents something to us as pleasant, true, or both. We want to give in because it presents something to us that pulls on our desires and presents us with something that seems good.
“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” (James 1:14-16)
The problem is that in the moment of temptation, we might not at first recognize that what is before us leads to sin. We can combat this by learning to recognize temptation when it comes along. We can also prevent it by filling ourselves with the things God tells us in his Word are good and fruitful things (1 Tim. 6:11). We need to faithfully sit under the teaching of the Word so we can get better and better at discerning when we are being tempted.
4.) TAKE PREVENTATIVE EDIFYING SPIRITUAL ACTION.
If you know certain situations will bring you into temptation (like going into a bar, or going online by yourself, or watching certain movies (there’s not that many good ones anymore), or being around certain lost or worldly religious or carnal people, etc) take preventative actions and avoid those places, people and situations. Remember to run. Remember Joseph who quickly fled from Potiphar’s wife when she tried to seduce him, we must sometimes simply run away or avoid the things that tempt us.
5.) KNOW AND QUOTE SCRIPTURE SO THAT YOUR EARS CAN HEAR WHAT’S REALLY SO. GET THE TRUTH DEEP INTO YOUR HEART.
When Jesus was tempted by the devil, the devil quoted the Bible to Jesus hoping to trick him by sounding good and pious. Jesus’ response was to quote Scripture right back at the devil, showing the devil’s twisted and wrongful use of God’s own words (Matt. 4:5-7). The Word is also called the “sword of the Spirit” by Paul (Eph. 6:17), and we can use it to battle those things that tempt us.
6.) REST UP SO YOU CAN BE VIGELENT AND ALERT.
We are more susceptible to temptation when we are exhausted. When we are tired we are weakened and so more vulnerable to the deceptions of the devil. Rest is very important for our spirituality, and we must be extra vigilant when are tired, asking the Lord for extra strength to resist temptation.
7.) REMEMBER TO LOOK TO JESUS, TO CALL OUT TO HIM.. WHO WILL MAKE A WAY OF ESCAPE FOR YOU.
God never allows you or me to be tempted beyond what we can take but always provides us with a way out.
"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 endure it.” (1 Cor. 10:13)
He also gives us himself without limit to call upon his strength for resistance and endurance. “God has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Josh. 1:5; Heb. 13:5). He also gives us his church, a community of fellow fighters, to help us in our battles.
The devil visits idle men with his temptations. God visits industrious men with His favors. ~ Matthew Henry
The riches of His free grace cause me daily to triumph over all the temptations of the wicked one, who is very vigilant, and seeks all occasions to disturb me. ~ George Whitefield
Temptations are an appeal to meet righteous needs in an unrighteous way. ~ William Thrasher
Temptation is the devil looking through the keyhole. Yielding is opening the door and inviting him in. ~ Billy Sunday
Temptations, when we meet them at first, are as the lion that roared upon Samson; but if we overcome them, the next time we see them we shall find a nest of honey within them. ~ John Bunyan
