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 TEMPTATION

Truth is, sometime down the road or around the corner, we will find ourselves experiencing the pressure of temptation we may have never know. It’s because we live in a world ruled by sin. There is brokenness in others that can and will impact us. There is still residual brokenness in followers of Jesus (Scripture refers to it as “the flesh”) that tries its best to get us to collude with sin to keep it alive. The insidious lie, that we need something more than God has provided or can provide, is the same demonic presumption used every day by satanic forces since the Garden of Eden.

Temptation is not sin. Internalizing, personalizing the temptation and acting on it, is sin. We will be shocked at what we have the capacity to do. God isn’t shocked. He knows exactly what we are capable of: pride, religiosity, fear, unbelief, lust, greed, rage, murder, gossip, malice, sloth, envy, bitterness, resentment, hatred, theft, sexual sin of all sorts, self-righteousness, unforgiveness and the list could go one and on. When attacked, the first tactic of the demonic, it to try and isolate us, as if no one else had ever had their mind, will and emotions attacked in this way…especially no follower of Jesus.

That is a very useful lie that Satan uses. But we know better.

Hebrews 4:14-16 “14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same temptations we do, yet He did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Think on this. The only One who know the full-bore power and deception of temptation is the One Who has resisted it to the Nth degree. Jesus didn’t just face one or two temptations to rely on something, or someone other than God to supply all His needs, He faced all the temptations that could ever be thrown at a human being and never gave in to them. He was bombarded in ways we have never know, because He never capitulated, never gave in.

Jesus understands our weaknesses, fully understands them because He suffered through all that Satan could throw to get Him to doubt the Father’s love and He stood firm in faith. Jesus knows how to help us, regardless of the attack on mind, will, emotion or body. Because we now belong to Him by grace through faith, we can come to Him with whatever is threatening to crush us and we will find His grace to help us in the time of need.

He never abandons us, ever. In fact, He states that He is near to those in need, those who feel weak and unable to stand. Don’t believe the devils’ lies that your weakness is offensive to God. Jesus fully gets it. That is WHY He came, because we will never be our own salvation to any degree in any context!

Tempted? Run to Jesus. “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same temptations we do, yet He did not sin. “



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