ReportWire

Tag: The Lord

  • Temptations Central

    Temptations Central

    [ad_1]

    This thing with Satan is occupying a good part of my biblical studies lately. I’m encouraged to know that God’s plan is pretty precise and obvious to those who are looking for His Word. I was taken with reading Matthew 4: 1-11 regarding the three temptations of Jesus in the desert after 40 days of fasting. When Satan offers Christ ‘all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; I was shocked at the power the devil has to tempt each and every one of us as we operate on what is essentially his turf.

    Remember Lucifer hung out with the Lord in heaven. They were roadies for a while until Lucifer got the big head and was banished to the physical realm. Once Jesus rebuked him for the third time scripture says “Then the devil left Him and angels came and attended Him.” So once Christ withstood temptation, God then delivered unto him all that Satan offered and more.You see that is Christ’s birthright and ours too. So let me get this straight.The devil probably knows the bible better than we do. He understands what tempts us because he knows what pleases God. Remember, they hung out together. Hence I am a much easier target certainly than Jesus Christ was and ruination for me won’t necessarily take the promise of all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. Since I am made in the image of God, perhaps the key to my salvation is surrendering all that I Have and all that I am to Him, He who is my Lord and Savior. By doing so I should be able to put myself into a position to see the devil coming. If I see him coming, maybe I can withstand, for the moment, the need to have my wants and desires satisfied by sacrificing the integrity of my soul for momentary gratification. I understand there is a difference between the temptation to sin and a test of faith. What I’m coming to grips with is how simple it appears to be when looked at from a godly, no spiritual perspective. Once Jesus answered each one of Satan’s successive temptations with Matthew 4:4 “It is (also) written: Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Matthew 4:7 “It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”Matthew 4:10 “Away from me Satan! For it is written ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.”Then the devil left and the angels came.

    The key then is to get on the other side of temptation by walking in the Word consciously enough to understand that just saying no to Satan is an absolute guarantee of getting all that you desire and all that you need in this life. What must be overcome however is to realize just how cunning the devil has become in getting one to realize, to forget, to ignore that he is the source of all temptation. When in doubt, call on the name of the Lord and eventually Satan will be replaced with angels ready to attend you. As Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom and whatever it is that you desire, you will have more…”


    Avatar photo

    A 2019 National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Legacy Award winner, Washington is a communications practitioner in all forms of media for over four decades. He has served on numerous boards in…
    More by James Washington

    [ad_2]

    James Washington

    Source link

  • Condition Critical

    Condition Critical

    [ad_1]

    You know they say an alcoholic has to admit he or she has a problem before he or she can begin any type of real rehabilitation.  How many times have we heard the affected person say over and over again that they really don’t have a problem? They can, in essence, stop any time they want to. It’s just that the ‘want to’ never supersedes the ‘don’t want to. And the ‘I can’t do this by myself’ never seems to surface until that person is face down in the dirt.

    Sometimes, I tend to think that coming to the Lord is much the same. People like me, and maybe you, are sick from the ignorance of the gospel and don’t understand the illness is killing us day by day. We don’t have the knowledge or the faith required to diagnose our problems and like the alcoholic or the addict, we don’t think we have one. We continue to engage in morally destructive behavior and, while ruining our own lives, take a few loved ones along for the nightmare. Unfortunately, many of us can not and will not testify, even after salvation, that we are sick. Not until we are face down in the dirt of life are we able to see the light and recognize that being born again is the only road to health, in this case, spiritual health. My point is simply this. Just like the road to recovery from an addiction is a long and arduous one, so is the road to following Christ. It is neither easy nor straight. Relapse can come from any direction at any time. This ain’t the yellow brick road. My bible says that the cost of following Jesus is an all-or-nothing proposition: once an addict, always an addict, once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic, once a Christian, always a Christian, once saved, always saved.

    “Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Luke 9:58.Those who follow God don’t have it easy. On the contrary, life is extremely hard. Persecution from those haters who refuse to accept you as a Christian is the same as the person who offers the alcoholic a drink and can’t understand why he or she says no. One gets it. One doesn’t.

    [ad_2]

    James Washington

    Source link