Do you run to, or from, temptation?
16 Jan 26
Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One
Readings:
Genesis 38
Genesis 39
Genesis 40
Matthew 12:22-50
Flee also youthful lusts (2 Timothy 2:22).
Do you run to, or from, temptation?
Judah and Joseph give us contrasting accounts (Genesis 38-39). Judah doesn’t bring praise to God by his choices. He pursues an immoral relationship with a woman who portrays herself as a prostitute (Genesis 38:15-16). Unlike Judah, Joseph has to fight off the advances of a married woman. The Bible describes its characters’ appearance when the story pertains to their looks. Moses writes, “Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance” (Genesis 39:6). He desires to glorify God through holy living. Therefore he replies to Potiphar’s wife, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). Centuries later Paul would write to his young associate Timothy, “Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22). Wise men still know when to run!
Employment Point: Run away from temptation to honor God with your body.
————————-
Reflections
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”James 4:7 NIV
The above devotional reminds me of this verse from James. In James, it is clearly stated that God has to come first. Our submission has to be to the Lord and no one else. If we submit to the wrong authority, we subject ourselves to sin unknowingly and in return open the door to invite the devil into our lives. The submission to our Lord helps us gain obedience to His authority and also victory over our sins. We need to constantly draw on His strength and His grace in order to overcome evil and the sins in our lives.
“Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.”Genesis 39:20-21 NIV
- we saw how Jospeh make his choices and he knew really well how much Potiphar trusted him in everything in his household. Even though Potiphar’s wife tried to tempt him, he chose to flee. We saw how his master’s wife tried to twist the story and make it seem like Joseph’s fault and that he was the one who tried to sleep with her. Joseph ended up in prison but because he chose what is righteous, the Lord continued to be with him, even in the prison cells.
- I am really encouraged and yet also being reminded that doing what is right and fleeing from temptations is what we all should do. Joseph has reminded us that we need to live like God’s children, being aware of consequences and make only wise decisions.
_Father I pray that You guide us with Your wisdom and grant us a contrite heart, choosing only to do the right things and not sin against You in thought, word and deed. Bless us with clean hands and a pure heart as we walk this journey of faith and help us to strengthen our roots in You. In Jesus’s name we ask and pray. Amen_🙏🏻
“Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials:”
Genesis 40:20 NIV
- According to the narrator, this was like when the Lord says when he break the bread and wine give thanks and give to his disciples and telling them. Take, eat and drink and do this as remembrance of Him. Like Joseph reminded the chief cupbearer to remember him when he is restored to his position.
““Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.”Matthew 12:33 NIV
- The words you speak really matter. Joyce Meyer writes, ‘Every word we speak can either be a brick to build or a bulldozer to destroy.’ Whatever is stored up in your heart will sooner or later be expressed by your words. Be careful what you look at, read and think about. Fill your heart with good things and you will think good thoughts, speak good words and bear good fruit.
““When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.””Matthew 12:43-45 NIV
- A demon can only inhabit someone if he finds it empty – that is, without the indwelling Spirit of Jesus Christ. If it is empty, it does not matter to the demon if it is also swept, and put in order. “The devil has no objection to his house being swept and garnished; for a moralist may be as truly his slave as the man of debauched habits. So long as the heart is not occupied by his great foe, and he can use the man for his own purposes, the adversary of souls will let him reform as much as he pleases.” (Spurgeon)
- Therefore it is a reminder to us all that we need to be filled by the Holy Spirit. To rely on Him and not ourselves. To not be an empty vessel ready to be used by the enemy for his own wishes. Guard our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit, always. Jesus is the answer to everything. Hold Him close to our hearts.
“He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.””
Matthew 12:48-50 NIV
- Each and every one of us who are in Christ belongs to this big family. This is like a foretaste of heaven where everyone will live together as a whole body, each and every one a family.
- May we be able to exercise more grace and patience towards all our family members
————————
Tuned In to God
BY OSWALD CHAMBERS
January 16
I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?” —Isaiah 6:8
What does the call of God sound like? There is the call of the sea, the call of the mountains, the call of the great ice barriers. These are calls heard only by the few—by those who have the sea or the mountains or the ice in their blood. So it is with the call of God. His call is the expression of his nature, and only those with the same nature inside them can hear it.
Have we ever heard God calling? His call always comes intimately, through the circumstances of our lives. There is no point asking anyone else about these circumstances; they are strands of our existence that God has woven specially for us.
It is easy—too easy—to miss the call. We have to maintain the profound relationship between our soul and God if we are to hear it. Isaiah was able to hear because, after the tremendous crisis he had been through, his soul, open and raw, was tuned in to God.
Most of us are tuned in only to ourselves; we hear nothing of what God is saying. I have to realize that the call of God is not an echo of my own nature. My likes and dislikes are not part of it. Neither is my temperament. As long as I place concern for myself at the center of my life, all I’ll hear are my own thoughts, echoing back at me.
To be brought into an intimate conversation with God is to be profoundly changed. It is to see with our eyes, hear with our ears, and understand with our hearts all that God is saying (Isaiah 6:10).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
We begin our Christian life by believing what we are told to believe, then we have to go on to so assimilate our beliefs that they work out in a way that redounds to the glory of God. The danger is in multiplying the acceptation of beliefs we do not make our own.
—————————-
Reflections
How do we stay tuned in? First and foremost we ought to come to Lord and be still. Learning to not say anything or say whatever we wanted to say and just keep quiet. Only when we are in stillness and silence will we be able to hear God. Otherwise, our own opinions, judgements, complaints, thoughts, etc. will cloud and blur out God’s voice.
Remember the last time you heard God spoke to you? Was it a long time back or was it recent? What were you doing and in what state of mind were you?
For me, the last time He spoke to me was rather random. He stopped me from saying certain things. Not meant to be said for it is up to individuals to experience and understand. I need to remember not to have any saviour mentality. We are not the saviour and only He is. It is about learning His way and doing things His way even though I do not understand why.
He revealed to me why it was so later on and I realised there are things which are meant to be experienced-like a must, with no escape. And how we respond is how we can come out of that challenge knowing the meaning behind it all. Different people will take different amount of time to process and learn but we just need to continue to trust Him while He is at it.
When He specifically calls us to do something, it will also be super clear, firm, yet gentle. You would not need to doubt if it came from Him because He will make it known. Over time, we will be more and more familiar with His calling and recognise the voice of our shepherd. Meanwhile, let’s continue to go to Him and seek Him always.
Comments
Post a Comment