Day 3 ~ The Truth of Temptation

Day 3 ~ 40 Days with God

No on who is tested should say, “God is tempting me!” This is because God is not tempted by any form of evil, nor does He tempt anyone. Everyone is tempted by their own cravings; they are lured away and enticed by them. Once those cravings conceive, they give birth to sin; When sin grows up it gives birth to death. James 1:13-15 (CEB)

As long as we live in this world we will be tempted, but, as the passage clearly states the temptation to sin does not come from the Father. The temptation comes from desire. Sometimes that desire is already full blown in a person’s heart, while at other times it may be planted in the heart from an external source.

The really weird thing is; often a person is not even aware they have a desire or inclination or proclivity or whatever you choose to call it until the temptation comes. But it (the desire) is there. I don’t believe you can be tempted by something you are repulsed by. You hear so often from so many different people, things like, “I don’t know why I did it,” or “I never even thought of doing ‘this, that or whatever.’”  I believe them. I know from my own personal experiences, I have been tempted to do or try or say things I’d  never given the first thought to.

Don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good gift, every perfect gift, comes from above. These gifts come down from the Father, the creator of the heavenly lights, in whose character there is no change at all. He chose to give us birth by his true word, and here is the result: we are like the first crop from the harvest of everything he created. James 1: 16-18

We have to be diligent in resisting temptation. You can’t dabble in a sinful activity without eventually being swallowed up by it. And if you do, then You did it because you chose to. Period.

God is the Father of Light, of everything good and perfect and wonderful. He chose us, fashioned us by His word and set us up as a peculiar people set apart for Himself.

Christ is the first-fruits of Christians; Christians are the first-fruits of creatures. ~ Matthew Henry

 Tomorrow, Day 4 | Proving Your Faith | James 1: 19-27

Be Blessed!