The Lust of the Eyes
September 27, 2007 on 5:51 pm | In devotionals | No CommentsFor all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world. -1 John 2:16
Why do we get tempted in our minds? Because it is command central. It is here that we reason. It is here that we intellectualize. It is here that we contemplate. It is here that we dream. It is here that we fantasize. The Bible tells us, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:3–4). That is how Eve was tempted–through the lust of the eyes: Eve, check it out. Have you ever seen a piece of fruit like this? Satan attacked Eve’s mind. The lust of the eyes is mental temptation, temptation that comes through the realm of the mind. As the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). It is in our minds that we can commit horrible sins. We can reach into the past through our memories. We can reach into the future through our imagination. Often, the devil will get us to just think about it: You don’t have to do it. Just think about it. That is all. It doesn’t have to go any further than this. You can handle it.But after a while, thinking about it isn’t enough. After a while, fantasizing about it isn’t enough. We want to take it to the next level. So we start flirting. We start touching. We start tasting. We start playing with it. Then, the next thing we know, we are caught in it.
C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside CA 92514
Our Choice in Life
September 25, 2007 on 11:56 am | In devotionals | No Comments“Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”
-Romans 6:16
As a guest on Larry King Live a few years ago, Billy Graham was asked to comment on the rash of violence on high school campuses as well as other problems in our culture. He said, “One thing that is being missed by many people is the devil is at work.” That is so true. The devil is at work. When you get down to it, it is the only logical and plausible explanation for the madness that humanity is capable of. Just as surely as there is a God in heaven who loves you, there is a devil from hell who hates you. Jesus summed it up succinctly when He said, speaking of Satan, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). There is our choice in life, really: God or the devil. A lot of people say they don’t choose either. But in reality, by not choosing God, they choose the devil by default. There are no other choices. One of Satan’s most brilliant strategies is to convince people he does not exist, when all the while, he is manipulating their lives. Humanity is basically bad. And it is the devil who works through the fallen nature of human beings, getting them to do the evil things that he does. God gives us a choice in life. We are not forced to choose Him. Nor are we forced to choose the devil. But God has given us something called free will. We can choose sin, which leads to death. Or we can choose obedience to God, which leads to righteousness.
C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside CA 92514
Heroes Wanted
September 6, 2007 on 6:00 pm | In devotionals | No Comments“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” -Deuteronomy 31:6
The world has never been more advanced technologically, yet we have never been in worse shape spiritually and morally. It can be frightening to wonder what kind of world we are going to face and what kind of world our children and grandchildren will grow up in. We need courage to live in these days as followers of Jesus Christ. Yet courage seems to be something that is in short supply today. Sometimes we forget what real heroism and real courage really are. We wonder where all the heroes are now. I believe that anyone today who is a true follower of Jesus Christ and will stand up for what he or she believes is a true hero. It takes courage to be a follower of Jesus, to live an uncompromised life, to do the right thing, and to proclaim the gospel. Those who do that are heroes in my book. It takes courage for a young Christian to resist peer pressure and remain sexually pure until marriage and then to be faithful in that marriage. It takes courage for a family to stay together and to resist the temptation to cave in at the first sight of a problem or a challenge to the vows they have made to one another. It takes courage today to be honest and not cheat. It takes courage to follow Jesus. It takes a real man and a real woman to be a follower of Christ. Is this a description of your life right now? Are you someone who fears nothing but sin and desires nothing but God? Have courage. He is with you, and He will not forsake you.
C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside CA 92514
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