Fighting Temptation

              I want to talk straight with you, men. We all have temptation, don’t we? It’s real, and it’s ugly. We could try and talk about it and keep the conversation in sterile, general terms, but let’s not do that today. To the women who sneak a peek at this men’s devo to try and figure us out, you may not like all you read, but it is the way it is with us men.

            Our brains can work like a rolodex of images. When we see or are exposed to an image of a woman that stimulates our brain we have the ability to capture that image and file it in our brain forever. We walk around with images of things we have seen or done even from our youth. Some of these images we were just exposed to because we live in a world that is wrong. It could be a billboard, something on TV, something we did not intend to see. Some of these images, though, are in our mind because at times we have chosen to sin. The image was not exposed to us; rather we exposed ourselves to the image. Even moving on from those times in God’s grace and forgiveness we continue to carry those images for the rest of our lives. I think this is why Peter warned us to “abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul” (1 Pet. 2:11). Our minds become the battle field. We don’t need pornography or any other material in order to have X-rated images flowing through our mind. These images can manifest themselves in our minds at the worst times, even in church when we are trying to worship God.

            So what can we do? There is a promise that God gives us regarding temptation and our ability to withstand it. Along with that promise, God gives us the power to stand on that promise. God has given us all we need to live godly lives (2 Pet. 1:3).

The Promise

            God knows how we are tempted. He is the one who wired our brains the way they are. The promise that God makes to us is that he will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle. “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). Do you see the promise in this verse? God is actually involved in your temptation. He is not the one tempting you (James 1:13). But God can be found in the midst of the temptation. He knows about it. His hand is even involved in limiting it. Even if we think the temptation is so strong that we cannot resist, we have no excuse. Not only does God limit the temptation, he also gives us the means to not progress toward sin. He gives us the way out every time. That is the promise.

The Power

            “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,” (Titus 2:11-12). We often think of grace as a onetime thing that we receive from God the grants us the forgiveness of our sins and brings us into a forever relationship with him. That is one operation of God’s grace. But grace does not stop there. It is the grace of God that will train us to live godly lives today. God knows this world. He knows how fallen it is. It is racked with sin. But it is not impossible for us to live godly lives in its midst. The power is in God’s grace.

Stay strong, men.

Pastor Drew

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