God's Word on That

  • Being Tempted

    Notice that “evil” is the word “live” spelled backwards. Satan delights in reversing the beauty that God creates. Anything that is evil demeans a person, whereas truthfulness develops a person. Satan will lie and try to make you believe that nothing will ever change – but it always does because that is the nature of this universe.

    Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your door continuously. Temptation today may be just a ripple, but it is tomorrow’s wave and next year’s flood. God has one Son without sin, but He has no children without temptation.

    He was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan (Mark 1:13). Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted (Hebrews 2:18). For we have a High Priest who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

    We have been warned: opposition comes with every opportunity. New level = new devil.

    You know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance (James 1:3). God cannot tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when – by his own evil desires – he is dragged away and enticed (James 1:13-14). Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak (Mark 14:38). Watch yourself or you may be tempted (Galatians 6:1), because Satan is the tempter (1 Thessalonians 3:5), and may tempt you because of a lack of self-control (1 Corinthians 7:5). God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can standup under it (1 Corinthians 10:13)

    Assume responsibility for today and trust God for tomorrow.

    Be careful, temptation is not always obvious.

  • Enjoy the Trip

    “If they would get to know Me,” God says, “they would fall over themselves getting to Me!” Life could become a great romance – a glorious opportunity of seeing wonderful things all the time.

    Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain. You see, the Cross means that our lives are no longer dependent on what we are able to perform.

    You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth by the Master Craftsman! The place to where God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet. Believe it or not, the circumstances of our birth determine much about us. We should receive them with gratitude, and put them in proper perspective and to their best use.

    God gives blessings, but happiness is up to us. Happiness and fulfillment depend not only on how well I plan but also on how I trust in God and cope with things I don’t plan. It has been proven that laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life (though laughing at someone else’s can shorten it).

    Set your mind to be happy for others and trust God with yourself. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. And trust in your Creator who loves you. Faith in God really can change a dull, miserable life into an adventure.

    Let us throw back our heads and run with a passion through the fields of forgiveness and grace! (Steven Curtis Chapman)

    Change requires a process, so set your mind to enjoy the trip!

  • Dark vs. Light

    The power of evil is in the lie. The power of the believer is in the truth. Be strong in scripture to deny deception!

    The devil was a murderer from the beginning. He has never been truthful. He doesn’t know what the truth is. Whenever he tells a lie, he’s doing what comes naturally to him. He is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).

    Satan is a master of the urgent, not the important. Satan’s strategy is to keep us distracted with the urgency of the moment vs. the importance of eternity. One of the marks of maturity is the quiet confidence that God is in control – without the need to understand why He does what He does. When you are down to nothing God is up to something.

    You belong to the day and the light, not to the night and the dark (1 Thessalonians 5:5). Can light have anything in common with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14).

    God said, “Let light shine out of darkness” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Open your eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan’s control to God’s (Acts 26:18).

    Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light. And believe that the night is as useful as the day. I have gained something truly significant that I might not have gained from flawless expositions: shadows have indicated something more about the light.

    What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight (Matthew 10:27).

    We are called out of darkness to shine forth the light.

  • The Tongue of the Learned

    Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you will glorify Me…  Whoever offers praise glorifies Me (Psalm 50:15, 23).

    To Glorify = to reflect credit, praise and honor unto God. O that my praise could be as ceaseless as His bounty!

    Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You, O Lord my Redeemer. I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands (Psalm 63:3-4). I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart. I will glorify Your name forever (Psalm 86:12). I will praise Your name in song and glorify You with thanksgiving (Psalm 69:30). I will celebrate Your abundant goodness, O God, and joyfully sing of Your righteousness (Psalm 145:7). For You, O Lord, have made me glad by what You have done. I will sing for joy at the work of Your hands (Psalm 92:4).

    I will keep my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking lies (Psalm 34:13). I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin. I will put a muzzle over my mouth as long as the wicked are before me (Psalm 39:1), because whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from trouble (Proverbs 21:23). He who guards his lips guards his life (Proverbs 13:3). Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent; and discerning if he holds his tongue (Proverbs 17:28), but the tongue of the wise brings healing (Proverbs 12:18).

    When I speak, I want only to speak the very words of God (1 Peter 4:11). The plans of the mind and orderly thinking belong to man, but from You, Lord, comes the wise answer of the tongue (Proverbs 16:1). Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit (Proverbs 18:21). I love speaking God’s Word and so I will bear much fruit.

    Heavenly Father, please give me the tongue of the learned that I may know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary (Isaiah 50:4).

    Let us give praise to the Lord our God for His many blessings to us.

  • Things To Dwell On

    “I read in a book where a man called Christ went about doing good. It is very disconcerting to me that I am so easily satisfied with just going about.” (Toyohiko Kagawa 1888–1960)

    Time is a vapor. Popularity an accident. Riches take wings. Only character endures. It is a law of personality that you become like that thing you dwell on.

    Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). Your Word is Truth (John 17:17). All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that any man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17). Therefore I discipline my body and bring it under strict control (1 Corinthians 9:27).

    No matter how great the talent or the field of endeavor, unless the individual is personally disciplined, much of the potential will remain just that – potential. Your life either sheds light or casts shadows.

    We must not love in word or speech, but in deed and truth; this is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence (1 John 3:18-19).

    God is goodness and beauty and truth and love. I could do no better than to remind myself of this each day – then I will look for these things around me and know He is near. The secret of a good attitude is to have thoughts that dwell on good things for this reflects God’s character.

    Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise – dwell on these things. Do what you have learned… and the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:8-9).

    Let us dwell on His Word and His nature.

  • Timely Scripture

    With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers and sisters, as an act of intelligent worship, to give Him your bodies, as a living sacrifice consecrated to Him and acceptable by Him. Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God remake you so that your whole attitude of mind is changed. Thus you will prove in practice that the will of God is good, acceptable to Him, and perfect. (Romans 12:1-3 Phillips)

    I am convinced, and I say this as in the presence of the Lord Jesus, that nothing is intrinsically unholy. But none the less it is unholy to the man who thinks it is… You mustn’t let something that is all right for you look like an evil practice to somebody else. After all, the kingdom of Heaven is not a matter of whether you get what you like to eat and drink, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you put these things first in serving Christ Jesus, you will please God and are not likely to offend men. So let us concentrate on the things that make for harmony and on the growth of our fellowship together. (Romans 14:14, 16-19)

    Why all this stress on behavior? Because, as I think you have realized the present time is of the highest importance – it is time to wake up to reality. Every day brings God’s salvation nearer than the day in which we took the first step of faith. The night is nearly over, the day has almost dawned. Let us therefore fling away the things that men do in the dark and let us arm ourselves for the fight of the day! (Romans 13:11-13 Phillips)

    Let us be prepared. We can sense the Day is approaching.

  • We Are Not Alone

    We act as though we were alone in this inner sanctuary, but on the contrary, God is here more intimately than we are ourselves. We fear to have lost God when we are no longer conscious of Him. But in truth, it is our own impatience under trial; it is the restlessness of our hyper-sensitive and self-centered nature that hides Him from our minds.

    Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34).

    There is no escaping sorrows and sufferings, we must bear them with patience.

    In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33).

    The more the flesh is worn away by affliction, so much the more is the spirit strengthened by inward grace. The greater the height we reach in the spiritual life, the heavier we find our crosses. Everything is founded on the Cross and everything depends on our taking up the cross handed to us. Our present difficulties are an essential part of the process of becoming the people God wants us to be. Whatever we are like today – with grace, we will be better tomorrow.

    Believe in Him steadfastly, and everything that challenges you will strengthen you.

    Trust in Him and His presence with you, and trials will make you stronger.

  • A Word on Anger

    The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human can alter his life by altering his attitude (William James). Anybody can become angry – that is easy. But to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose and in the right way – that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy (Aristotle). You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger (Buddha). It seems the only time I open my mouth is to change feet (Anonymous).

    Many people have an opinion on anger and its effects on our psyche. Jesus Himself was angry at times (Mark 3:5), the same as our Father was (Hebrews 3:11). God is not against anger, since it has its purpose. But there is a righteous anger, and a wrong anger.

    Be angry and do not sin (Psalm 4:4). Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and so give the devil an opportunity (Ephesians 4:26-27). Most of the time anger is cruel (Proverbs 27:4), and so the wise man turns from anger (Proverbs 29:8).

    My life is in the hands of any fool who makes me lose my temper (Joseph Hunter). Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it (Seneca). It is not events but our opinions about those events that cause us suffering (Epictetus). The greatest weapon against anger and stress is our ability to choose one thought over another (William James).

    So everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and even slower to anger, for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness (James 1:19-20). [Always remember Jonah’s observation] I knew that You are a merciful and companionate God, slow to become angry, and rich in faithful love (Jonah 4:2). Let us be imitators of God our Father (Ephesians 5:1).

    When we feel anger brewing, let us calm ourselves and pray: What would Jesus do here?

  • Encourage One Another

    There are no hopeless situations, only people who have grown hopeless about them. People inspire others when they see invisible bridges at the end of dead-end streets. A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could.

    Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24). Encourage one another daily as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (Hebrews 3:13). Encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11); encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone (1 Thessalonians 5:14). Let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:25).

    A sincere compliment is one of the most effective teaching and motivational methods in existence. Reach down and lift others up; it’s the best exercise you can get.

    If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make [His] joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose (Philippians 2:1-2).

    May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).

    Encouragement is the easiest way to display God’s love.

  • Delight Yourself In The Lord

    Faith is the only way to approach God. Love is the only way to be sure to obey God. Reverence and delight are the only ways to live close to God.

    I delight myself in my Lord, and He gives me the desires of my heart (Psalm 37:4). My countenance radiates the joy of the Lord, for a happy heart makes the face cheerful (Proverbs 15:13). The light of my eyes even rejoices the hearts of others (Proverbs 15:30), and the cheerful heart has a continual feast (Proverbs 15:15).

    Joy is an essential element to the spirit life. Whatever we may think or say about God, when we are not joyful, our thoughts and words cannot bear fruit. God whispers to us in our pleasures.

    Father, my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips (Psalm 63:5). I speak out in psalms and hymns and make melody with all my heart to You, always giving thanks to You for everything in the name of my Lord Jesus (Ephesians 5:19-20). My happy heart is good medicine and my cheerful mind works healing (Proverbs 17:22).

    Everybody needs beauty as well as bread; places to play in as well as pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul. Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.

    The Lord be exalted! For the Lord God delights in the well-being (health and happiness) of His servants (Psalm 35:27). The Lord delights in His people (Psalm 149:4). Exalt the Lord, O my soul! I rejoice in You always, Father God. And again I say it, I will rejoice (Philippians 4:4). I delight myself in You, O Lord my God (Philippians 3:1). Happy am I because God is my Lord [my God and my Father] (Psalm 144:15). My spirit rejoices in God my Savior (Luke 1:47).

    God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

    Delight in the wonderful creation that God has made for us!