have you ever been in a place or in a mind set that you KNOW what your doing is right. Your being a person of character and a person of values but all of-a-sudden out of no where you completely slip up? You look back at it and think... "What the Heck!, How did I.... I mean, I didn't even see it coming!"
John 10:10 - The Enemy comes ONLY to steal, Kill and destroy....
Ever wonder why "sin" is so hard to stay away from? It's because its enjoyable!... at least we perceive it to be. The sneaky little creep that the devil (deceiver) is, is going to try his best to make the things that are the most harmful for us seem like the BEST thing at the moment. There is no sense in making sin look unappealing, I mean, he wants to slip us up so he is going to make it look as attractive as possible.
The amazing thing about our Graceful God is that he gives us opportunity after opportunity to avoid the murky messes that the enemy tries to trap us in.
I Corinthians 10:12-13
12. If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. 13. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
Matthew 18:7
7. “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.
James 1:13-15
13. And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong,[a] and he never tempts anyone else. 14. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
Judges 2:2-4
2. For your part, you were not to make any covenants with the people living in this land; instead, you were to destroy their altars. But you disobeyed my command. Why did you do this? 3. So now I declare that I will no longer drive out the people living in your land. They will be thorns in your sides,[a] and their gods will be a constant temptation to you.”
4. When the angel of the Lord finished speaking to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly.
OKAY OKAY! We get it. We are going to face temptation, temptation that will be clear and evident (judges 2:3, Matt 18:7) and temptation that we want to claim to be a "surprise", but sitting here, I can't find a good enough excuse to give for being surprised by Temptation. If you have a relationship with Jesus, then you know right from wrong. Now I will say that we might not all know the In's and outs of what may be right or wrong, but we do know the "conviction" of the Holy spirit and that's what we need to be listening to... How many times have I ignored the Conviction, or the small voice, or my "conscience".... UGH! Looking back I can see time and time again where I know the Holy Spirit was trying to help me out of a poor decision or a bad situation but I just did my own thing.... That is where James 1:13-15 comes in.
Please hear me, Temptation is not BAD! Temptation is inevitable (Matt 18:7). We will all face temptation over and over and over again... a lot of times for the same desires but it is how we treat the temptation that matters. The fault comes in giving into the temptation, that leads to doing the sinful action which in turn binds us to guilt and condemnation from the enemy. That is when we begin to bury the sin, hide it and then falling into it again and again because now we feel too trapped to think that we can, or even have the "right" to get out... But wouldn't you know, Jesus is still right there. Right beside us the whole time just waiting to help us out. We just need to give up trying to do it on our own and ask for help.
Jesus told his disciples in Mark 14:38 to "keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” This scripture is taken from when Jesus and His disciples were praying in Gethsemane just before Jesus was betrayed and arrested.
Why do you think that Jesus wanted them to pray?
I think it was because the relationship that Jesus had with his disciples was so close that he knew that when the solders came to arrest him they would act out in anger and be tempted... which could result in sin....and he knew what they were going to go through in the coming days with all the persecution from everyone.
Our flesh is SO weak! It will take the path of least resistance and more often than not, that path is going to be against the desire of your spirit man/woman.
I implore you to take note of when you are tempted... with little things and big things, and you will see just how strong you really are. There is no sin greater than another. A "little white lie" is just as bad as a sexual sin. So don't let the enemy tear you down when you fall into various temptations. There is no need for you to put your self through "Unnecessary Roughness". Stand up in the authority given to you and the over-flowing grace and walk in the freedom given to you as a benefit of your relationship with Christ.
Update: related scripture
James 1:12-13
12. God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13. And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong,[a] and he never tempts anyone else.
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