Temptation: Flee Do Not Embrace

Temptation darkens the mind when entered into – blinding and preventing us from sound judgments prior capable of. It entangles our affections giving our hearts wrong leanings. And our affections have a strong influence over us – darkening our minds and our understandings from God’s will and ways. God cannot be tempted and neither does He tempt. And it is not only the adversary that tempts, it is also our own evil desires enticing us, luring us as a siren’s song seeking to crash us on the rocks. The wrong desires conceived give birth to sin and when sin is full blown it gives birth to death, James tells us. It all begins in the mind. Setting our hearts and thoughts on this world and not on things above. When our thoughts lead us down these wrong paths – taking us away from the hatred of sin, the fear of the Lord and the sense of the love of God in Christ Jesus – we are easy prey for the enemy and our own foolishness. Remember, we are all about pleasing the flesh – because it feels so right. And in our flesh we are not match for the adversary. It serves us well to remember that heaven is our home, and earth our sojourn. We are passing through. Paul also tells us the mind of sinful man is death but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. Which has a much better ring to it, Amen?
The great news is that God gives us a way out of temptation. While God does not tempt, He is faithful when temptation comes not to allow more than we can bear and to also provide us with a way out that we may be able to stand firm. Always look for the door of escape so that we will stand and not fall. Humpty Dumpty would give us that sound advice as well. Temptation leading us to sin is not our friend rather our enemy seeking to defile our conscious and disquiet our peace. Satan seeks to dishonor God and ruin our souls – he is not our friend either rather our enemy. Take every thought captive making it obedient to Christ and you will be blessed in all you do.