“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:14 NKJV
If you are like me you have trouble with temptation. The apostle Peter wrote in 1st Peter 5, that, “the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 7:19, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do, but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.”
Jesus set the example for us in the Scripture of how to deal with temptation. When He was being tempted by the devil in the wilderness He quoted from Scripture with every temptation. Whatever the devil threw at Him was turned around and given back to him with the wisdom of God’s Word. And in the Garden as He was preparing Himself for His journey to the cross, He spent His time in prayer.
If you feel discouraged because of a lack of ability to fight off the temptation of sin, it would be a good idea to examine your prayer life and your time spent in God’s Word. The temptation of sin will never cease being a problem as long as we live on this earth, but the tools God has given us are more than enough to hold victory over temptation and sin.
If you truly want to win over sin and temptation, then stop right now and pray for God to lead you to victory today. Ask Him to teach you the discipline of reading His word every morning. Memorize Psalm 119:11, “Your word I have hidden in my heart that I may not sin against you.”
Don’t use the worn out excuse that you don’t have time to spend in prayer, or you don’t have time to read the Bible. We make time for the things that we want to do. Sadly though, Jesus is not very high on our priority list. His answer to winning over temptation is to watch and pray. That doesn’t mean watch TV and pray at every meal.
Paul was right when he wrote of how difficult it was to do the right things instead of practicing evil. But, Paul also wrote in Romans 6:5-7, that when we believe in Jesus our old person dies and we become new:
5 “For, if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.”
Begin to live your life with the freedom that Christ has made for you over sin and temptation. You can be a winner.
Thanks for this one Neil. I am tempted each day as well. Actually, I'm tempted about every 3 minutes. The temptation is not the sin, but giving in to what is being offered is. May God give us the strength to have victory over sin in the name of Jesus.
Ray
John 15:16
Posted by: Ray Earley | 10/03/2011 at 09:22 AM
We so appreciate your site and blogs! I have tried emailing Vicky but apparently she has made the move to Poteau. Also, we have new email address and want you to add it to your list:
stuartsfunnyfarm@wildblue.net
We send our love and prayers to you both,
Carol and James
Posted by: Carol Stuart | 10/03/2011 at 07:16 PM