“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Cor. 10:13 ESV)

Giving in to temptation!

Over the years, I’ve heard many horror stories of people, some famous and some not, who had given into some form of temptation and got caught, and their lives were ruined. It was painful to watch. Most said they were very sorry they had given into temptation. Some, however, blamed the temptation rather than themselves, saying it was impossible to resist because the temptation itself was too powerful. But is that really true? The answer is both “yes” and “no,” depending on whether you’re a Christian or not.

Getting tempted is not a sin

Everybody experiences temptation from time to time. Even Jesus. Despite the devil's temptations in the desert, he did not give in to them. He used Scripture to overcome the temptations and defeat the devil. (See Matt. 4:1–11).

The power to resist and escape

If you aren’t a Christian, you are powerless, having only yourself to fight temptation. On the other hand, if you are born again, you have the above promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13, which says God won’t allow you to be tempted beyond your capability to withstand it, and God will provide the way of escape.

God will help you

“For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Heb. 4:18)

Therefore

“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:41 ESV)

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 ESV)

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:38-39)

The above passage was a revelation to me!

When I was two years old and my older brother was 4, my mother deserted us without warning. She left us with a stepfather she hadn’t been married to for very long. Soon we were in the welfare system and tossed from one family to the next, and rarely were my brother and I together. It was all very scary, lonely and confusing. It wasn’t unusual to go to bed at night at one place and wake up the next morning in the home of complete strangers. And if I ever thought of my mother, I remembered that she had abandoned us, and I truly believed she had never loved us. By the time I was an adult, I thought everybody I knew would eventually go away, and they usually did.

Then I met Jesus!

After receiving Christ and starting to study the Bible, I soon discovered that God had promised that He would never leave me! This was so reassuring and comforting! Then I met and married a Christian woman who had been raised with loving parents who had always been faithful to God, to each other, and to their children. She was surrounded by faithfulness and never questioned their love. So, when we had children of our own, we made sure they knew we loved them, and we passed along the truths found in the Bible about God’s unconditional love for them, too.

Therefore

“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Heb. 13:5-6 ESV)

“God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19 NIV)

Dealing with vicissitudes

I love the word vicissitudes! I first ran across it in an old TV guide when I was a teenager, explaining what a movie was about. It said, “This movie is about a young man dealing with vicissitudes.” I didn’t understand what that meant, so I looked it up in the dictionary: “Vicissitudes are changes that happen at different times during the life or development of someone or something, especially those that result in conditions being worse.” Simply put, vicissitudes are the ups and downs of life. The word pretty much describes everybody’s condition in the world we live in because everyone must deal with one thing or another in the normal course of life. There are no exceptions. That’s because we all live in a fallen world, in an imperfect body, filled with imperfect things and imperfect people, all as a result of sin. Jesus said it this way: “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 ESV). He gives both the problem and the solution in the same statement, saying that yes, you will face problems in this world, but you can be happy that Jesus has taken care of them for you! And how does He do that, you may ask? He sent the Holy Spirit to help you, and He reminds you of His words and promises found throughout the Scriptures to help you (See John 14:26). 

This changed my life!

When I got ahold of the promises in the Bible many years ago, it changed everything for me. It was like winning the lottery because there are thousands of them in the Bible from cover to cover. No matter what happens in my life, there are multiple promises there to cover it. Therefore, I look them up every day and apply them by faith. The promise at the top, for instance, declares several remarkable truths about God: He does not lie; he is truthful. He does not change his mind; he is faithful. He always does what he says (takes action). And He does what he says (he fulfills his promises). In other words, He is faithful to His word and will help you through your vicissitudes!

 Therefore

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” (Heb. 29:23 ESV)

“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly our under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver,” (2 Cor. 9:7)

As Christians, we can give cheerfully because we know that God will take care of us and reward us abundantly. But we’re not driven to give primarily because of an expectation to receive (2 Cor. 9:6) but because we have already received (John 3:16).

Some Bible examples to follow

·      Give more than just money: In Luke 10:25-37, Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan who gave time, resources, and skill to meet the need of a man who had been left for dead at the side of the road — demonstrating the valuable gifts of mercy, kindness, and hospitality.

·      Give to see the impossible happen: In Matthew 14:14-21, a little boy gave his small lunch of a few loaves and fishes to Jesus, and He used it to feed over 5,000 people — demonstrating that gifts in God’s hands can be divinely multiplied to meet the demands of greater works.

·      Give out of substance, not size: In Luke 21:1-4, Jesus compares the widow’s mite to the rich man’s gift — demonstrating that all gifts are blessed by God and that He sees the significance of a gift even when others don’t.

Therefore

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” (2 Cor. 9:8 ESV)

“Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.” (Prov. 22:9 ESV)

“The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” (Prov. 11:25 NLT)

If you want God’s blessing in your family and in your business, then fulfill the premise of this promise at top and be generous with what your resources.

Do it first and honor the Lord

“Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the first and best part of all your income. Then your barns will be full, and your vats will overflow with fresh wine.” (Proverbs 3:9-10 (GW)

Therefore

“But since you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you — see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” (2 Cor. 8:7)

“Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do.” (Deut. 15:10 NLT)

“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry for help.” (Psalm 34:15 CSB)

When I was a little boy, our cook, Mrs. Cox, baked some cookies and put them in a jar on the kitchen counter. When I thought she wasn’t looking, I took one, hid under the table, and ate it. Later, she said to me, “Why did you take a cookie from the jar without asking me?” I said, How did you know?” And she said, “A little yellow bird told me.” I didn’t realize that she had probably seen me take that cookie. If I had known she was watching, I wouldn’t have taken it. There’s a lesson here.

God is ever-present

Knowing that God constantly has his eyes on you helps you stay out of trouble. And if something should happen to you anyway, you can immediately cry to Him for help.

Therefore

“And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Heb. 4:13 ESV)

“The eyes of the LORD watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the LORD turns his face against those who do evil.” (1 Peter 3:12 NLT)

“I took my troubles to the LORD; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer..” (Psalm 120:1 NLT)

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalms 139:23-24 NIV)

Someone has said, “There are three types of people: 1) Those who make things happen, 2) Those who watch things happen, and 3) Those who stand around and say, ‘What happened?’” I have often found myself in the third category because I didn’t anticipate a problem coming until it suddenly happened. This week, for instance, one of the faucets on the outside of my house was dripping water onto the ground, and no matter how hard I tried to turn off the spigot, it continued to leak profusely. It was beyond my skill level to repair, so I called my son, John, who had previously fixed pipes for me that had frozen and broken during a cold snap. As soon as he looked into it, he found that it had been leaking back into the wall for a while, doing damage. So, he replaced the bad facet, wet insulation, and repaired everything.

This incident reminded me of sin, which often lurks unseen deep within our minds or hearts. The psalmist in the passage at the top recognizes this problem and asks God to “search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” When you seek God this way, He brings help to you where needed, often bringing the perfect Scriptures with solutions to your remembrance.  

Therefore

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Tim. 3:16)

“For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.” (Psalm 63:7)

“And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great.” (Job 8:7)

My how we’ve grown!

While getting together with our family during the recent holidays, Susan and I marveled at how large our family has grown—and is still growing—from just two of us over fifty years ago to having adult children with children who are also growing up with partners of their own to add to our numbers. We feel so blessed to watch it happen! All of this didn’t happen overnight, even though it does feel like it happened in a flash. Life is like that; little things eventually grow into bigger things if we simply keep at it and don’t quit.

New Year’s Resolutions

At the beginning of a new year, it's common to make resolutions such as losing weight, breaking bad habits, and resolving to accomplish big things. But it usually doesn't take long for reality to sink in and old habits to creep back in, and soon they’re abandoned out of discouragement.

It doesn't have to be that way with your relationship with God!

God promises to help you have a growing relationship with Him which will in turn affect every other area of your life in wonderful ways! Look what this verse says about God’s faithfulness to make it happen.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Phil. 1:6 NLT)

“God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.” (1 Thess. 5:24 NLT) 

Therefore

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (3 Peter 3:18 ESV)

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isa. 43:19 ESV)

Happy New Year!

We just ended another year and are now starting a brand new one. Traditionally, the old year is depicted by artists as an old man wearing a banner from last year (he’s old and leaving) and a baby wearing a banner with the date of the new year (he’s new, innocent, and ready to grow into a productive future). Simply put, it’s time to let the past go and start a brand-new future.

No one knows the future accept God

Because God knows the future and what’s going to happen, the better you communicate with Him, the better your future will be! (See Matt. 6:33).

A future and a hope

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer. 29:11 ESV)

New every morning

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lam. 3:22-24 ESV)

Therefore

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” (Isa. 43:18 ESV)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17 ESV)

A Prayer for the New Year

Heavenly Father, praise your holy name. Thank you for the past year and for providing for my every need. As I begin this new year, help me to remember that your kingdom is coming soon and that I must be watching for it. Give me what I need for each day. Help me to have a forgiving attitude toward others in the same way that you have forgiven me. Help me to resist temptation and to be delivered from evil. Give me vision for the future in line with your perfect will. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. In Jesus name, amen.