Sin
James writes,
“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
James 1:13-15.
All of us from time to time are confronted by temptation. Temptation however does not come from God. All too often we put ourselves in the place of temptation.
My late sister in law was a recovering alcoholic. She, every day of her life she had to over come the desire to drink alcohol. It was a fight she managed to win with the help of God for the last twenty or so years of her life.
She had a two fold strategy first she drew near to God. Everyday she met with God in prayer and asked for strength to go through the day ahead.
The other half of her strategy was to avoid temptation as much as possible. As best as she could she avoided any place where alcohol was being served.
She realized how easy it was for her to fall. She knew any kind of alcohol could cause her to relapse thus she avoided it completely.
We all have our areas that can cause us to sin to fall short of what God would have for our lives. Areas we must avoid.
Sin all too often is a pleasant thing. If it wasn’t why would we bother even trying it. Unfortunately for many slipping into a sinful way is a slow, very pleasant process.
As James says,
“...each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
The best examples of people dragged into sin are those of drug addicts, alcoholics and those into pornography.
It starts with the desire to see what it’s like. But fails to stop there. Instead as my late sister in law would say “one sip leads to an other and before you know it you’ve drunk the whole bottle and want more”.
Sin is not just durgs, alcohol, and porn. It can be anything that pulls us away from God. The apostle Paul writing to Timothy states,
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
1 Timothy 6:10.
Note Paul does not say money is the root of all kinds of evil. It is “the love of money” that causes the problem.
Even something as seemingly inconsequential entertaining and wholesome as a sporting event, the theatre, or a movie, can cause us to stray from God. It all depends on whether or not they cause us to take away from our time with God.
We as Christians need to know where our weaknesses are. We need to do our best with God’s help to avoid what would turn us away from God.
The way I see it we as Christians need to start the day with God. We need to pray and ask God’s direction for our day.
If you’re unsure what to say the Lord’s Prayer is a good example of what to pray. Jesus said,
Jesus through the Lords Prayer shows the disciples and through them us how to pray.
The prayer is a pray that glorifies God. Shows our dependence on God by asking him to supply our daily needs.
It asks God to forgive our sins and reminds us to forgive those who have sinned against us.
It is a prayer for strength asking God to keep us from temptation and the evil one.
We should pray this prayer or one similar in faith. Not simply because we it “feels right”, but because we recognize that we need God in our life every day of our lives.
No Christian is perfect. We all go through temptations and trials big and small.
James states,
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
James 1:2-4.
Temptations and trials may not be to our liking but they can, if we trust in God make us stronger and draw us nearer to God. They can with God’s help make us a better person and strengthen our faith.
Please think about it.
James writes,
“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
James 1:13-15.
All of us from time to time are confronted by temptation. Temptation however does not come from God. All too often we put ourselves in the place of temptation.
My late sister in law was a recovering alcoholic. She, every day of her life she had to over come the desire to drink alcohol. It was a fight she managed to win with the help of God for the last twenty or so years of her life.
She had a two fold strategy first she drew near to God. Everyday she met with God in prayer and asked for strength to go through the day ahead.
The other half of her strategy was to avoid temptation as much as possible. As best as she could she avoided any place where alcohol was being served.
She realized how easy it was for her to fall. She knew any kind of alcohol could cause her to relapse thus she avoided it completely.
We all have our areas that can cause us to sin to fall short of what God would have for our lives. Areas we must avoid.
Sin all too often is a pleasant thing. If it wasn’t why would we bother even trying it. Unfortunately for many slipping into a sinful way is a slow, very pleasant process.
As James says,
“...each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
The best examples of people dragged into sin are those of drug addicts, alcoholics and those into pornography.
It starts with the desire to see what it’s like. But fails to stop there. Instead as my late sister in law would say “one sip leads to an other and before you know it you’ve drunk the whole bottle and want more”.
Sin is not just durgs, alcohol, and porn. It can be anything that pulls us away from God. The apostle Paul writing to Timothy states,
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
1 Timothy 6:10.
Note Paul does not say money is the root of all kinds of evil. It is “the love of money” that causes the problem.
Even something as seemingly inconsequential entertaining and wholesome as a sporting event, the theatre, or a movie, can cause us to stray from God. It all depends on whether or not they cause us to take away from our time with God.
We as Christians need to know where our weaknesses are. We need to do our best with God’s help to avoid what would turn us away from God.
The way I see it we as Christians need to start the day with God. We need to pray and ask God’s direction for our day.
If you’re unsure what to say the Lord’s Prayer is a good example of what to pray. Jesus said,
“Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name,
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation
But deliver us from the evil one.”
Luke 11:2-4 (New King James version)Jesus through the Lords Prayer shows the disciples and through them us how to pray.
The prayer is a pray that glorifies God. Shows our dependence on God by asking him to supply our daily needs.
It asks God to forgive our sins and reminds us to forgive those who have sinned against us.
It is a prayer for strength asking God to keep us from temptation and the evil one.
We should pray this prayer or one similar in faith. Not simply because we it “feels right”, but because we recognize that we need God in our life every day of our lives.
No Christian is perfect. We all go through temptations and trials big and small.
James states,
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
James 1:2-4.
Temptations and trials may not be to our liking but they can, if we trust in God make us stronger and draw us nearer to God. They can with God’s help make us a better person and strengthen our faith.
Please think about it.
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