The soul of an unregenerate sinner is full of decay and corruption. Degenerate thoughts and ideas penetrate our mind through the things we read, watch and talk about. Sinful desires then display themselves in our thoughts, emotions and actions. We live our life in this dung heap until we allow God to move in and save our spirit and renew our soul (Romans 12:2). As we grow in Christ and remember the degradation of our former lifestyle, we hardly recognize our former self. Old things have passed away, and God made everything new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Our mind begins to meditate
more on eternal issues; and carnal, earthly considerations take a back seat.
The petty issues of life no longer affect us and we wonder why we were ever so
tangled up in them in the first place. We distance our self from the cares of
the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the values of our unsaved friends.
Once in a while, however, something will occur that will drag our thoughts away
from God and back to the worries of life.
Satan comes along with his art of deception and puts doubts in our mind about the truth of God’s Word. The world distracts us with a temptation to sin, to lie about or to take advantage of someone, or to opt out of a commitment we made. Our flesh captures our attention with an opportunity to indulge our self in some unwholesome activity. Each of these enticements comes to cause us to grieve the Holy Spirit and to distance us from our intimate relationship with God.
There is no temptation that
we face that is not common to everyone. God is always faithful to provide us a
way to escape these roadblocks in our walk with Him. He gives us supernatural
power to stand up under the attacks and to walk victoriously through each
inducement to sin (1 Corinthians 10:13).
He simply requires that we look to Him for deliverance. Nothing can ever
separate us from His love (Romans 8:35-36).
The temptation is not the
sin. The first thought comes from Satan. The idea only turns into sin if we
entertain it or agree with it or act on it. There is nothing we can do to
decrease or increase the love, which God has for us. His love is a free gift
and is not dependent upon our behavior. We can grieve Him and break His heart,
but nothing will sever His love for us (1 John 1:9). If we live in habitual sin, however, we belong to
Satan, not to God (1 John 3:8). Our
only hope is to truly repent of our sinful lifestyle and to submit our life and
our will to God (John 3:16-18).
Think about the life of
Israel in the Old Testament. Even in the New Testament, the Israelites rejected
Christ as their Savior. This nation disappointed God a multitude of times, but
God did not go back on His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Romans
11:26). God gives His armor to all of His
Saints to prepare us for battle with temptation (Ephesians 6:10-18). As we put on His armor each morning before any
temptation ever gets a chance to attack us, we walk in victory all throughout
the day.
The
first piece of armor is to accept Jesus as our Savior. He is the Truth, and He
is the belt that holds our life together. Then, we put on the breastplate of
holy living, which protects all of the vital aspects of our life. We walk in
peace, which comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This fully
prepares us to stand victoriously in the Lord and the authority of His power (Ephesians 6:10).
In
addition to all of these protective elements, we hold up the shield of faith in
Christ to stop the fiery arrows of deception and temptation, which Satan shoots
at us throughout the day. We put on the mind of Christ as our helmet (Philippians 2:5). Finally, we take up the
sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. We follow Jesus’ example on the
pinnacle of His temptation, and we quote scripture to Satan when he tries to
deceive us (Matthew 4:8-9; 2
Thessalonians 2:3-4).
Prayer:
Father God, remind us that the only way to withstand temptation and to fully walk in Your Spirit is to read and study Your Word, to spend time communing with and listening to You in prayer, and by trusting in Your Spirit’s guidance moment by moment throughout the day. Help us to die daily to our fleshly desires and to walk in Your Truth as authentic followers of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:31, Galatians 2:20; 3 John 1:4).
Thought for the Day:
If we put on the armor of God every morning before breakfast, God’s Spirit will help us to persevere in holiness throughout the day.
