Something I need everyone to know today is temptation is NOT a sin. You are not sinning if you are being tempted. However, how you decided to deal with the temptation will determine if you fall into sin or not. The devil uses temptation as a tactic of condemnation to make us fall into sin and be bound in it. Like I always remind you guys... there is no condemnation in Christ. Don't fall for it! There's some of us who seem to constantly be in war with temptation. Sometimes we even keep falling into sin and it doesn't seem like we can overcome it. Let me tell you something,1 John 2:2 tells us that Jesus is "the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the world."
Jesus died for that sin already. When it comes to sin there's two parts to it: falling into it or walking away from it. Because we are humans we are prone to fall into sin, it is in our nature. Paul described it best in Romans 7 when he said
"I don’t understand why I act the way I do. I don’t do the good I want to do, and I do the evil I hate. 16 And if I don’t want to do what I do, that means I agree that the law is good. 17 But I am not really the one doing the evil. It is sin living in me that does it. 18 Yes, I know that nothing good lives in me—I mean nothing good lives in the part of me that is not spiritual. I want to do what is good, but I don’t do it. 19 I don’t do the good that I want to do. I do the evil that I don’t want to do. 20 So if I do what I don’t want to do, then I am not really the one doing it. It is the sin living in me that does it.
21 So I have learned this rule: When I want to do good, evil is there with me. 22 In my mind I am happy with God’s law. 23 But I see another law working in my body. That law makes war against the law that my mind accepts. That other law working in my body is the law of sin, and that law makes me its prisoner. 24 What a miserable person I am! Who will save me from this body that brings me death? 25 I thank God for his salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
We were born into sin, therefore we are sinful. As Christians we desire to do good but there's bad living within us. Imagine your heart, it has an irregular beat that causes you problem after problem but God loves you so much that He offers you his heart- a perfect beating heart with no problems. Yet, sometimes we get so comfortable in our sin and comfortable with our "old heart" we don't want to take the offer of God because we either feel unworthy, scared what our life would be like after we give it up or even scared we will fall back into temptation. But I come to you as reassurance through my own struggles and encounters with God, He never intended for us to live in fear of the future. Proverbs 31:25 says
"..she can laugh at the days to come."
We have been given a joy through the Lord to laugh and rejoice for the future. He didn't give us a spirit of fear but rather a spirit of boldness to look at the future and say "I may not know what you hold for me but I know that my God is strong and has my best interest at hand. He has offered me his heart so that I can overcome temptation and be excited for what He has planned for me in the future that glorifies Him." God has a plan and purpose for your life that involves His heart that he has offered you. You can't pursue this plan or purpose until you have fully turned from your sin. You have to stop living off the beat of your old heart and let your new heart be the beat of your drum.
Romans 8 illustrates a raging war; a war against the spirit and the flesh. The Spirit (the heart offered to you by God) has an agenda of no condemnation. It offers a life that sets you free, a life full of peace, a life that labels us as a child of God and his spirit dwells in us. Most importantly it DOESN'T make us slaves anymore; no more being a slave to sin and fear! Hallelujah!
Now, on the other hand the flesh has an agenda to destroy. Simple as that. It has come to make you have selfish pride and live for your desires for yourself. The flesh is weak, it will fall for anything. It is hostile to God and doesn't want to submit itself to the laws of God because it is comfortable in its sin and doesn't want to surrender itself to a new master- Christ. The flesh cant please God. So today is the day were you decide which team am I on? It has already been set in history that the Spirit will win the war, and yes the flesh may win a couple battles and overcome you but when you are in the Spirit it's easy to stand back up, repent, and fight harder against the devil. I don't know about you but I'm choosing the winning team. The Spirit will have a sweet victory- eternal life in Heaven. I want that! I want to fight for that in this war! That's my motivation everyday... to fight in this war everyday, because everyday I become closer to being with my Savior for life! If that's not enough motivation for you then I don't know what is. If you're choosing to be on the team for the Spirit welcome aboard! Now God has equipped us with a strategy to help fight in this war. He tells us in Ephesians 6:11-20
"11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
My favorite part in this was verse 18. Prayer is key. Whatever you're lacking, pray about it. Whatever you need, pray about it. Whatever you have, pray about it. Pray about any and everything. I hope this has gotten you ready to fight in this raging war. I am here as a fellow warrior to help you get through these hard battles. I am praying for you in those times where you are faced with temptation. I pray you see the way out God has given you. I pray you become a bold mighty warrior in Christ and temptation and sin realizes you are so grounded in your faith that it doesn't even try to bother you anymore. We have been called to be conquers in Christ, therefore we have the power to be victorious in the battles of this raging war!
Stay Blessed!~
"I don’t understand why I act the way I do. I don’t do the good I want to do, and I do the evil I hate. 16 And if I don’t want to do what I do, that means I agree that the law is good. 17 But I am not really the one doing the evil. It is sin living in me that does it. 18 Yes, I know that nothing good lives in me—I mean nothing good lives in the part of me that is not spiritual. I want to do what is good, but I don’t do it. 19 I don’t do the good that I want to do. I do the evil that I don’t want to do. 20 So if I do what I don’t want to do, then I am not really the one doing it. It is the sin living in me that does it.
21 So I have learned this rule: When I want to do good, evil is there with me. 22 In my mind I am happy with God’s law. 23 But I see another law working in my body. That law makes war against the law that my mind accepts. That other law working in my body is the law of sin, and that law makes me its prisoner. 24 What a miserable person I am! Who will save me from this body that brings me death? 25 I thank God for his salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
We were born into sin, therefore we are sinful. As Christians we desire to do good but there's bad living within us. Imagine your heart, it has an irregular beat that causes you problem after problem but God loves you so much that He offers you his heart- a perfect beating heart with no problems. Yet, sometimes we get so comfortable in our sin and comfortable with our "old heart" we don't want to take the offer of God because we either feel unworthy, scared what our life would be like after we give it up or even scared we will fall back into temptation. But I come to you as reassurance through my own struggles and encounters with God, He never intended for us to live in fear of the future. Proverbs 31:25 says
"..she can laugh at the days to come."
We have been given a joy through the Lord to laugh and rejoice for the future. He didn't give us a spirit of fear but rather a spirit of boldness to look at the future and say "I may not know what you hold for me but I know that my God is strong and has my best interest at hand. He has offered me his heart so that I can overcome temptation and be excited for what He has planned for me in the future that glorifies Him." God has a plan and purpose for your life that involves His heart that he has offered you. You can't pursue this plan or purpose until you have fully turned from your sin. You have to stop living off the beat of your old heart and let your new heart be the beat of your drum.
Romans 8 illustrates a raging war; a war against the spirit and the flesh. The Spirit (the heart offered to you by God) has an agenda of no condemnation. It offers a life that sets you free, a life full of peace, a life that labels us as a child of God and his spirit dwells in us. Most importantly it DOESN'T make us slaves anymore; no more being a slave to sin and fear! Hallelujah!
Now, on the other hand the flesh has an agenda to destroy. Simple as that. It has come to make you have selfish pride and live for your desires for yourself. The flesh is weak, it will fall for anything. It is hostile to God and doesn't want to submit itself to the laws of God because it is comfortable in its sin and doesn't want to surrender itself to a new master- Christ. The flesh cant please God. So today is the day were you decide which team am I on? It has already been set in history that the Spirit will win the war, and yes the flesh may win a couple battles and overcome you but when you are in the Spirit it's easy to stand back up, repent, and fight harder against the devil. I don't know about you but I'm choosing the winning team. The Spirit will have a sweet victory- eternal life in Heaven. I want that! I want to fight for that in this war! That's my motivation everyday... to fight in this war everyday, because everyday I become closer to being with my Savior for life! If that's not enough motivation for you then I don't know what is. If you're choosing to be on the team for the Spirit welcome aboard! Now God has equipped us with a strategy to help fight in this war. He tells us in Ephesians 6:11-20
"11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
My favorite part in this was verse 18. Prayer is key. Whatever you're lacking, pray about it. Whatever you need, pray about it. Whatever you have, pray about it. Pray about any and everything. I hope this has gotten you ready to fight in this raging war. I am here as a fellow warrior to help you get through these hard battles. I am praying for you in those times where you are faced with temptation. I pray you see the way out God has given you. I pray you become a bold mighty warrior in Christ and temptation and sin realizes you are so grounded in your faith that it doesn't even try to bother you anymore. We have been called to be conquers in Christ, therefore we have the power to be victorious in the battles of this raging war!
Stay Blessed!~
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