A Word about How to Deal with Temptation

 

Today I want to share a word about how deal with temptation as I comment on James 1:12-25. Let’s begin by reading verses 12-17:

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.  Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.  

We have all heard it said that there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. In truth, however, there is a third: temptation.

We all will face temptation. We know that Jesus was tempted by Satan, and some of us will remember former President Jimmy Carter’s admission in his infamous Playboy magazine interview that he also, had faced temptation. Because we all will face temptation, we all need to know how to handle it if we are to reach our potential in Christ.

First, we need to understand the source of our temptation. Modern medicine provides for two basic methods for dealing with illness: we either treat the cause or we treat the symptoms. The most effective way is to treat the cause.

So how do you find the cause of an illness? You must find its origin, or the agent of the sickness. The term malaria came from the idea that people became sick because of “bad air.” It was only when Dr Walter Reed was able to confirm the theory of Cuban Dr. Carlos Finlay that mosquitos spread diseases like yellow fever that the true cause of malaria would be discovered.

So, what is the source of our temptation? It isn’t God for God only gives us good things. It also isn’t because, as the comedian Flip Wilson claimed, “The Devil made me do it.” No! It is our own evil that tempts us and because it is evil, we must resist it!

We also need to understand the development of temptation. Why people do evil has puzzled humanity for centuries. Many theories have been advanced during that time, but the best was probably articulated by Dr. David Matza in his book, “Delinquency and Drift.” His theory is that few, if any, people set out to be delinquents, but they just drift into deviance.

This is essentially what James says. An evil idea or impulse or emotion enters our lives. We consider it and ruminate on it. We may reject it at first, but longer we entertain the idea of it, the more it becomes a real possibility. 

Then we taste sin, and it is bittersweet. Sin is an acquired taste, but the more we taste is, the more we come to like it, even though the result of its aftertaste remains bitter. Then, like the potato chip commercial, we can’t eat just one, and we indulge ourselves.

Like the proverbial frog in the kettle that does not realize that the water is gradually getting hotter until it is too late to escape being boiled, we gradually talk ourselves into experiencing hell on earth through our sin. Sin is an example of the saying “give them an inch they’ll take a mile.” If we give sin an inch, it will take our entire lives.

Next, we need to understand the result of temptation. This result is a two-sided coin. There is the result if we yield to sin, and the result if we don’t yield to it.

The result if we yield to sin is not a good one. If fact, our sin produces death:

• Spiritual death
• Physical death
• Emotional death
• Social death

The result if we don’t yield to sin is many, many time better. If we don’t yield to sin we will have life:

• Spiritual life
• Physical life
• Emotional life
• Social life

How we deal with sin is truly “a life-or-death situation!”

Let’s continue in James 1 by reading verses 18-25:

Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.  

Finally, we need to understand how to withstand temptation. The best way to do this is to be proactive instead of being reactive. The saying that “the best defense is a good offense” definitely applies in withstanding temptation. James gave us three easy to understand steps to withstanding temptation.

The first essential step is to become a child of God through Jesus Christ. We must accept His as our Savior and Lord, and receive forgiveness for our sins as well as the filling of the Holy Spirit. Without being a child of God we have no access to the power of God, and without His power we cannot withstand temptation.

The second essential step is to study the Word of God. It is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path and it guides us in the ways of righteousness. Remember, when Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, he replied each time with Scripture. The Word is the Sword of the Spirit, and it is our only real offensive weapon as we put on the Whole Armor of God.

The third essential step is to be about our Father’s business. We need to fill our lives with being laborers together with God, and if we do so, we will have no time for sinning. In verse 27, James even gives us some suggested ministries we can pursue, saying,

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

In conclusion, we might not be able to avoid death and taxes, but, if we follow the guidance of pastor James, we can avoid the corrosive impact of sin on our lives.

Thanks so much for visiting with me today! I'll be back soon with another word from the Bible can share together.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about Turning Trials into Triumph

 

Today I want to share a word about word about turning trials into triumph.

God’s Word is lamp to our feet and a light to our path and it is the best source of wisdom for our everyday lives. Today, let’s explore how to reach our potential in Christ as I share a word about turning trials into triumph as I comment James 1:1-12. This passage reads:

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.  Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

When it comes to the subject of exercise and physical health, we all know what the phrase “No pain, no gain,” means. We cannot grow strong physically unless we exert ourselves and unless we stretch our strength and endurance.

What is true for our bodies is also true for our spirits, at least in the fact that growth only comes after trials and personal effort. Today, James, the half-brother of Jesus and the pastor of the Jerusalem church, the first Christian church, tells us how to take our trials and turn them into triumph.

First, we must learn to count. Counting is an essential basic skill that we teach children early in school. We must be able to count so that we can tell time, count money, and do many other day-in, day-out tasks.

Math skills are becoming more and more important in our high-tech world, but not all areas of mathematics are equally useful in all situations.  Geometry, trigonometry, algebra, and calculus all have special uses for specific requirements. 

In our daily lives these higher forms of math may not apply, so we need to learn to count like God does. James tells us to count trials as useful and to count temptations as beneficial because when we allow God to help us and we grow stronger, we can count it as joy.

We also need to remember that God’s math is always perfect. In John 6:37-40, Jesus said, 

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

Next, we must learn to know. What we believe is important because reality, what we see in the world around us, is filtered through our knowledge. Reality does not impact our lives as much as our perception of reality.

A great example of this is playing peekaboo with a child. Young children who have not yet learned about object permanence will think that their parent has disappeared when a baby blanket is pulled up and their face is covered. Their parent still exists; the children just don’t understand that yet. 

Our beliefs about trials can defeat us and make us miserable. On the other hand, our beliefs about trials can encourage us and make us stronger. This is like football practice: is it torture or is it energizing? We must learn how God uses trials and tribulations to make us stronger, to season us, and to give us endurance.

Trainers often have their thoroughbred racehorses swim in ponds or water tanks to build their endurance and their strength. Instead of throwing us into the deep end of the pool, God uses our daily trials and tribulations to do the same thing.

Third, we need to learn to let growth happen. Growth can be a mixed bag because it can cause stress and confusion from time to time. That’s why we call them “growing pains.” Still, the blessings out-weigh the problems that growth can cause.

Growth requires that we endure the stresses that it causes. We must stay the course and allow God to complete His work in us. Like removing a thumb drive from a computer before it finishes writing a file to it, we will corrupt God’s work of sanctification in us if we give up. 

If we let God have His way, the result of growth is that we will be blessed and honored like a winning athlete, but our trophy will be the crown of life.

Finally, we need to learn to ask God for wisdom. Wisdom is seeing life from God’s point of view, and this is how we must look at trials and tribulations.

We need wisdom, and the way to get it is to ask God. We need to seek His wisdom boldly and confidently, knowing that it will be provided to us liberally when we ask for it in faith.

In conclusion, I recently read an article describing how few Americans exercise regularly. That article also described the physical and mental health issues caused by our lack of exercise. 

The good thing about trials and tribulations is that we don’t have to make any special effort to experience them. We don’t have to take time to go for a walk or for a run. We don’t have to go to the gym or use any exercise equipment. 

No, trials and tribulations come to us, and like times past when most people physically labored for a living, these challenges come our way every day. The issue is not whether we will face trials and tribulations, but what we will make of them, and what we will allow God to make of us through them. In doing this we can turn trials into triumph.

Thanks so much for visiting with me today! I'll be back soon with another word from the Bible can share together.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

Words to the Wise

 

Today I want to share some words to the wise.

God’s Word is lamp to our feet and a light to our path and it is the best source of wisdom for our everyday lives. Today, let’s explore how to reach our potential in Christ as I share some words to the wise while I comment on Proverbs 3:1-12. This passage reads:

My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, or length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;  then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

We are all familiar with the old saying, “A word to the wide is sufficient.” Proverbs is full of words to the wise, and today we want to look at five of them which we find in our Scripture passage for today.

The first word to the wise is “remember.” A good memory is a good thing, but in this case, Solomon is talking about remembering God’s Word.

The Scriptures are our guidebook for life and our map for walking with God. We are to study it and live by it all the days of our lives. To do that we must hide it in our hearts and minds. 

Our culture today rejects God’s Word and anyone who holds a high view of Scripture is described as a “wild-eyed fundamentalist,” but what is the result of remembering the Bible?  Solomon said that when we live by God’s wisdom, we can find favor with both God and man.

The next word to the wise is “trust.” We must live by trust, but in whom should we have that faith? We can’t trust ourselves because we are weak and limited, nor can we trust others because they are the same.  We can’t trust science or technology, either, because they were made by humans.

The only one we can truly trust is God. One of my pastors always said that he hid behind God, because, although our pastor admitted that he would fail us, God never would.

We must trust God, but how? With all our hearts.  Instead of sticking our toe in the water of faith, we heed to dive in headfirst! When we exercise that kind of faith, when we acknowledge Him all the time in all our ways, then He will direct our paths.

The third word to the wise in Proverbs 3 is fear. Today, people are not afraid of much. 

Children are not afraid of their teachers or principals, and criminals don’t fear the police or the courts. Frankly, God is not feared much either, and He is not given the respect and reverence that He is due.

Satan is a roaring lion, but God’s law has teeth. Satan tries to intimidate us, but God is the infinite and omnipotent Lord of the universe. He deserves to be feared.

What happens when we reverently fear God? First, we will depart from evil and its corrosive effects on our lives. Then, we will be healthy in all our ways. Even Christians, who are spared the eternal death that sin brings, must fear God to avoid the human consequences of their sin.

Another word to wise in this passage is honor.

How do we honor people? We give them awards like at the Oscars or like giving a medal in the military. We honor people by giving them gifts and money, too, but the best way to honor them his by giving them our allegiance. 

Solomon instructs us here that we also need to honor God. We honor Him with our allegiance, which also means offering Him our money, time, and effort, and even our very souls. God deserves our honor, and when we give it to Him, we are also blessed beyond our measure.

The fifth and final word to the wise in Proverbs 3 is love. The bottom line is that God loves us, and He cares for us. He wants the best for us, and so He corrects us, and He guides us. It is incumbent upon us to understand His love, accept His corrections, and allow Him to nurture us.

In many ways, God’s love reminds me of a lifeguard. Lifeguards want to safe drowning people, and drowning people need to let them. God loves us, and we should let him!

So, some words to the wise from Proverbs 3: remember, trust, fear, honor, and love. Have we today we have observed made these a part of our daily lives? Solomon would tell us that wise people do!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt