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www.biblegateway.com
Mark 1 v. 13 *part 2* (NLT)
The Temptation of Jesus
13 (in the wilderness, Jesus) was tempted by Satan for forty days.
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Recently, I was introduced to this Pastor in the Bay area of California; Pastor Paul from Enduring Truth. He is hilarious; but most importantly, right on point when it comes to the Word of God. He's on every day at 12:30p on 99.5fm in Cali if you want to check him out.
His current teaching series is: Spiritual Quality Control, and his message today touched upon temptation. There were so many nuggets of wisdom, and in flowing with the Spirit; I'm going to take an extra day with temptation, to share with you what I learned, since it's right on time.
How good it is to serve an "on-time" God!!!! This is definitely a message He wants us to get.
So, temptation...
"The devil will get you to focus on something that God said to leave alone," Pastor Paul said this today and ain't it the truth? These distractions will look good to you too; may even seem right-but be completely wrong. Did you know that satan is a LIAR? He will pervert anything, even God's Word, to get us off track. He wants us to choose the things of this world so that we will confuse what God has called us to do. And if we don't remain close to God, we won't even know it.
I'm using "worldly," "worldliness," and "of this world" a lot. Many of you might not get what that means. So let me set it straight:
Anything that is of the world is against God. It is not according to His Word nor the lifestyle that He has called His children to lead. Plain and simple. There is no in-between to it. There is no middle ground. It's not ok, because my friends accept it. There are no new guidelines just because it's 2009. If we're doing anything opposite of what He instructs in His Word, IT IS AGAINST GOD. Hard to take in right? Because we all do something(s) that doesn't agree with His commands. Some of us, because we just don't know any better. Many of us, we know- but we do it anyway...
The hard thing about "worldliness" is that it is so APPEALING.
It's appealing to make money the most important thing in our lives, because it can bring, fame and power- we believe it alone can fix almost everything.
It's appealing to have sex outside of marriage, because.. "Why not?" You're in love, right? Or "your body 'is calling!' As R.Kelly sang- 'your mind is telling you no, but your body is telling you YES!', and hey, we can't deprive the body of what it needs, right?
It's appealing to get back at the person who hurt us.
It's appealing to get "them," before "they" get you.
It's appealing to talk about someone and someone else's business- with a person(s) who doesn't need to know it (why are we talking about, what we're called to pray for).
It's appealing to be sarcastic and not care whether it has hurt someone's feeling.
It's appealing to cheat, lie and steal- sometimes it's just too easy- so again, "Why not?!"
It's appealing to be angry at someone forever, with the motive of hurting that person by not allowing them into our lives...ha!
It's appealing to get everything off your chest, without even considering if it's the right time to do it.
It's appealing to act without praying, who has the time to stop and pray any way?
It's appealing to put self-first.
It's appealing to "put it in the hands of the universe."
It's appealing to blend in and be included; way more than it is to stand out for what is right and risk people standing against you.
It's appealing to just accept it, even when we know it's wrong.
It's appealing to hope and pray- but do it ourselves because God is taking too long.
It's appealing to be alone, more than it is to fellowship with others on a hard day.
It's appealing to make the outside look phenomenal without building quality inside.
It's appealing to be liked for all the wrong reasons, than for who we really are.
It's appealing to watch it because everyone else is, knowing there are evil spirits attached to the program- and "hey! It's just TV." (God is speaking to me here! Whoa!)
It's appealing to go to church on Sunday, and live any way we please every other day of the week, even Sunday if we need to.
It's appealing to pick and choose from the Word, what we will accept and use in our lives.
It's appealing to seek God as a last resort, if at all.
The list of what is appealing but not of God, can go on and on and on. But know right now, if you have never known before; the appeal is a lie from the destroyer. We cannot afford to be "worldly" any more saints! We're called to live in this world but not to be of this world. We're children of the Kingdom; and when we live like the world-we're missing God's best.
Satan is here to kill, steal, and destroy each and every one of us; and he doesn't need to actually end our lives to do it. All he has to do, is get God out of our focus. And sometimes, for those who don't know the Word nor have a real relationship with God; he will get you to think you're doing it for God, when God NEVER asked you to do it in the first place. Crazy right? Think about all these people who are killing in the name of God. I'm sure they believe they heard God speak, and don't even realize they were listening to satan. Satan knows the Bible, and will point to every scripture that says to kill; taking it out of context and giving it meaning God never intended. THIS IS WHY the details are so important.
God's Word is not a burden, it's freedom. But so many of us believe this lie and choose to not accept all that is in the Bible. We're not here to live a casual, carefree and easy life. A life that caters to ourselves. Nope, that's another lie! Live Your Life for God! Life is not about self, it is suppose to be about God. When we live for God, we live life with a servant's heart- just as Jesus did. He knew He was King, but He choose to be a servant to the people for the Kingdom.
We're not temptation proof, but temptation will always be a part of our lives. God doesn't allow us to be tempted to fail. Number one reason God allows temptation, is to build a solid genuine foundation within each one of us. We're called to flee temptation. "Get out of temptations neighborhood," as Pastor Paul put it. We will unfortunately always tend to sway more towards what is wrong, than what is righteous. We are constantly fighting against our flesh, even as born-again Christians. This is why we NEED God, He alone gives us the victory! If we would just listen, obey and stay alert. He is calling each of us each to raise the level of our walks with Him. God is taking us some where great! But He will not take us into the next direction, until we follow the direction He is giving us now.
As Pastor Paul put it, "God is our life's navigation system. As we keep making the wrong turns or passing them, He is constantly re calculating our routes to get to the divine destination."
Stop falling for and playing with the devil's tricks. God can bring us from where we are to where we ought to be. Will you work with Him or against Him and miss Him?
- ROMANS 8:28-39 (Bonus study)
KNOW WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST!
Stop allowing this world and satan to define and guide you.
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Prayer: Thank You LORD, for the message You placed on Pastor Paul's spirit. When You want to call Your children to action, You don't give just one person the message; You give it to several of Your servants, to prepare the people for what is Yet to come. Thank You for being mindful of us; for not leaving us here to live in ignorance and darkness. Hallelujah for the light! Your intentions for my life is more than just to bless me, but to build quality spiritual material in order to stand the test of time. Thank You for getting us right in order to go out into the world and serve You, represent You and spread Your love. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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"Through God's mercy I have this ministry, I will not lose heart... I do not preach myself, but Jesus Christ as LORD and myself as the servant of the people for Jesus' sake." 2 Corinthians 4:1,5
Scripture from The Bible (biblegateway.com), Prayer from NIV Women's Devotional Bible- Classic Edition.
www.thegoodnews4yourlife.blogspot.com "Providing you with what you already have access to in the most convenient way. So that we all can continue to grow in wisdom & understanding of God." LT
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