“My parents were alcoholics but I can control my alcohol. One sip a day doesn’t effect me.”
“Just one peek at that porn.”
“No one will know if I cheat on my test.”
“I don’t gossip. I just like sharing with others.”
“I have to lie. No other choice.”
“TV or reading my bible?”
Day in and day out, we face many different types of temptation. Some of us are so caught up in habits that are bad for us and it all started with a temptation.
Temptation is one of the devil’s secret weapons to keep us away from God. And he uses our lust, greed, pride, vanity, and weakness to entice us into temptation.
In my reflection of things that truly tempt me I remember the words of Paul who aptly noted in Romans 7:15 that ““I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”
Tonight as I read Luke 4:2-10 it brought into action the one thing we need to do when faced with temptation.
Every time the devil brought something forward to Jesus in order to “tempt” him, Jesus always responded with “It is written”
It is interesting how the devil caught on and started himself to quote the bible in his temptations… But Jesus in his wisdom still quoted the Word of God.
Jesus could have laughed in the Devils face at his lies. He could have cursed the devil and walk away. No! Jesus didn’t even acknowledge the devil nor did HE call him out. Jesus simply spoke the word that was written in HIS heart.
When I face temptation there are some amazing “go to” verses that I love:
- 1 Corinthians 10:13
- Psalm 50:15
- Hebrews 4:15-16
- Philippians 4:6-7, 13
- Psalm 27:4-6
- Exodus 14:14
- Isaiah 40:29
- Proverbs 13:11
- Matthew 6:31-33
Food for thought: So the next time you find yourself tempted, seek the word of God to respond to that temptation. Do you have some verses that you enjoy going to? Share with me. I would love to know.
Prayer: Blessed father, strong in might and power. The devil is like a prowling lion waiting to devour but your word promises us that he can’t snatch us from your hands. Father, thank you for your assurance that we will never be tempted in such a way that you won’t find a way out for us. We pray for your strength, wisdom and guidance when we are tempted. To your name be all the glory. Amen.
May God’s grace, peace and love be with you.
I enjoyed reading this post. Temptation is so real and most people are too ashamed to talk about it. But the verses that come to my mind when it comes to imperfection is from Philippians 3:12-14. It lets us know we’re not perfect but even in our setbacks we’re still pressing on towards perfection. Thanks for supporting my blog 🙂 Looking forward to reading more.
Quinny to God be the glory. I enjoyed reading your blog as well and absolutely loved your energy and spirit. Keep on shining the beautiful light of Christ.