{"id":4323,"date":"2019-02-27T14:11:30","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T20:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nafwb.org\/?p=4323"},"modified":"2019-02-27T14:11:30","modified_gmt":"2019-02-27T20:11:30","slug":"how-to-beat-temptation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/how-to-beat-temptation\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Beat Temptation"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mike Mounts<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s near midnight. The moonlight\u00a0I casts its reflection on the warm waters of Tampa Bay. There’s a\u00a0gentle southwest breeze. \u00a0A perfect night . . . for fishing. For the\u00a0last four hours I’ve walked the southeast\u00a0side of the Skyway Bridge, trolling\u00a0an eight-inch Cisco Kid up and down\u00a0the bridge, with one thing in mind: land a snook (Florida’s game fish).<\/p>\n

Because of the time, and because\u00a0I was on my honeymoon (l wouldn’t\u00a0recommend this to all newlyweds), I\u00a0needed to leave. But before I left, I\u00a0wanted to make one more cast. Just\u00a0one more trip to the bend and back.<\/p>\n

Then it happened. Something took\u00a0the bait. I felt the strike\u2014looked out\u2014and\u00a0there in the light of the moon,\u00a0jumping out of the water\u2014a snook!<\/p>\n

With my heart in my throat, I began to\u00a0reel, but the fish continued to take line.\u00a0After several minutes, I began to reel in\u00a0the tired fish. Because of his size, I was\u00a0concerned about trying to reel him out\u00a0of the water and up to the bridge. So I\u00a0decided to walk back to my tackle box,\u00a0dragging him through the water.<\/p>\n

I finally made it to my tackle box,\u00a0tightly gripped the rod-and-reel,\u00a0reached into my tackle box and\u00a0pulled out a snitch hook with a long\u00a0nylon rope tied to it. I lowered the\u00a0rope alongside the line, snitched the\u00a0fish and raised him up and over the\u00a0bridge. All 24 pounds and 36 inches!<\/p>\n

Now in today’s no-fault, guilt-free\u00a0world, the snook might claim he’s a\u00a0victim of circumstance. He may blame\u00a0his capture on learned behavior. Perhaps\u00a0he was neglected as a little\u00a0snook, and it’s his way to release pent-up\u00a0anger. Maybe he’s suffering from\u00a0low fish-esteem. Then there’s always\u00a0the old fish-demon behind every rock.<\/p>\n

Assume Responsibility <\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s interesting that James uses a\u00a0fishing term to describe our enticement\u00a0to sin (like baiting a hook) and a\u00a0hunting term to describe the drawing\u00a0us away to sin (the baiting of a trap):\u00a0“But every man is tempted, when he\u00a0is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed,”\u00a0(James 1:14).<\/p>\n

Yes, we’re tempted by Satan and the\u00a0world-system, but how we respond to\u00a0the bait is our own personal responsibility.\u00a0We are drawn away by our own\u00a0lust\u2014our own individual sinful and selfish\u00a0desires. When man sins, he has only\u00a0one person to blame\u2014himself.<\/p>\n

Meditate on God’s Word <\/strong><\/p>\n

While in the wilderness, Jesus\u00a0faced the tempter and resisted him\u00a0through the scriptures. Jesus used the\u00a0Word of God to detect the bait, disarm\u00a0the trap and defeat the tempter.<\/p>\n

The psalmist wrote, “Thy word\u00a0have I hid in mine heart, that I might\u00a0not sin against thee,” (Ps. 119:11). As\u00a0God’s Word fills the mind and controls\u00a0the thinking, we are then equipped to\u00a0apply it in everyday, real-life situations.\u00a0Use “the sword of the Spirit” with precision\u00a0to detect and beat temptation.<\/p>\n

Trust God and Not Yourself <\/strong><\/p>\n

The moment you think you stand,\u00a0look out for the big fall! (1 Cor. 10:12).\u00a0Without God’s saving, sustaining and\u00a0sanctifying grace, we’re no match for\u00a0the world, the flesh, or the devil. When\u00a0our brother or sister lapses into sin, that’s\u00a0prime time to guard ourselves against\u00a0the sin of pride and comparison.<\/p>\n

We’ll say, “Oh, that would never\u00a0happen to me,” or “l would never do\u00a0that.” But Paul said, “Consider thyself,\u00a0Iest thou also be tempted,” (Gal. 6:1).<\/p>\n

Fear the Lord<\/strong><\/p>\n

Solomon wrote, “And by the fear\u00a0of the Lord men depart from evil,”\u00a0(Prov. 16:6). To successfully and consistently\u00a0beat temptation, we must\u00a0live in the awareness of God’s presence.\u00a0He watches and weighs our\u00a0every word, thought, motive, action\u00a0and deed (Prov. 5:21b).<\/p>\n

David wrote, “Stand in awe and\u00a0sin not,” (Ps. 4:4a). A high and holy\u00a0view of God should stop us dead in\u00a0our tracks when we even consider\u00a0sin, let alone commit it. God’s holiness\u00a0is motive for our holiness when\u00a0He says, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.”<\/p>\n

Make No Provision for the Flesh<\/strong><\/p>\n

There was a story told of a little\u00a0boy excited about going to summer\u00a0camp. Because of his recent illness,\u00a0his parents made it clear that if he\u00a0went to camp, under no circumstance\u00a0should he go swimming.<\/p>\n

When he returned from camp, his\u00a0mother found his swimming trunks\u00a0among his dirty clothes. Immediately\u00a0she went to him and asked, “Didn’t\u00a0we tell you to not go swimming?”<\/p>\n

“Mommy,” he said, “l didn’t go\u00a0swimming.”<\/p>\n

“Then why did you take your\u00a0swimming trunks?” she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust in case I was tempted to go\u00a0swimming,” he replied.<\/p>\n

In his case, he did what others so\u00a0often do . . . “make provision for the\u00a0flesh,” (Rom. 13:14).\u00a0You know what your own particular\u00a0weakness is, so don’t feed it. Don’t\u00a0fan the flame. If you’re made out of\u00a0dynamite, don’t stoke blast furnaces!<\/p>\n

Consider the Consequences <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen lust is conceived it gives\u00a0birth to sin, and when sin is finished, it\u00a0gives birth to death\u201d (James 1:15). Sin\u00a0is out for the kill. It will kill our joy and\u00a0testimony. It kills: marriages, families,\u00a0ministries, relationships, jobs and careers,\u00a0even local churches.<\/p>\n

Be Accountable <\/strong><\/p>\n

Because we’re members one of another,\u00a0we must be accountable to one\u00a0another. For instance, we’re called to\u00a0consider one another, provoke one another\u00a0unto love and good works, admonish\u00a0and exhort one another.<\/p>\n

Accountability helps prevent us\u00a0from falling, but if we fall, accountability\u00a0also helps in the purifying\u00a0process (Eccl. 4:9-10).<\/p>\n

Watch and Pray <\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus said to His disciples, “Watch\u00a0and pray, that ye enter not into temptation:\u00a0the spirit indeed is willing, but the\u00a0flesh is weak,” (Matt. 26:41). Watching\u00a0keeps us alert for our adversary, while\u00a0prayer acknowledges our weakness\u00a0and God’s ability.<\/p>\n

In the model prayer, Jesus reminds\u00a0us that our need to confess sin is a constant\u00a0reminder to trust God and not\u00a0ourselves (Luke 11:4).<\/p>\n

Be Filled with the Spirit<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul said, “Walk in the Spirit, and ye\u00a0shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh,”\u00a0(Gal. 5:16). Day by day, moment by moment,\u00a0we are to continually yield to\u00a0the Spirit’s control. Only through a Spirit-filled and scripture-filled life are we\u00a0able to resist and conquer temptation.<\/p>\n

Focus on Christ <\/strong><\/p>\n

Did you know that according to His\u00a0divine power, Jesus has already given\u00a0us all things that pertain to life and godliness?\u00a0(II Pet. 1:3). When we give in to\u00a0temptation, it’s simply our failure to appreciate\u00a0our full satisfaction in Christ\u00a0and apply the all-sufficiency of Christ.\u00a0Temptation is common to us all.\u00a0But, because Jesus Himself felt the\u00a0full force of temptation, He is ever-ready\u00a0and able to run to your cry and\u00a0give you aid (Heb. 2:18, 4:15-16).<\/p>\n

Article adapted from Contact\u00a0<\/em>magazine, July 2002.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mike Mounts It’s near midnight. The moonlight\u00a0I casts its reflection on the warm waters of Tampa Bay. There’s a\u00a0gentle southwest breeze. \u00a0A perfect night . . . for fishing. For the\u00a0last four hours I’ve walked the southeast\u00a0side of the Skyway Bridge, trolling\u00a0an eight-inch Cisco Kid up and down\u00a0the bridge, with one thing in mind: land a snook (Florida’s game fish). Because of the time, and because\u00a0I was on my honeymoon (l wouldn’t\u00a0recommend this to all newlyweds), I\u00a0needed to leave. But before I left, I\u00a0wanted to make one more cast. Just\u00a0one more trip to the bend and back. Then it happened. Something took\u00a0the bait. I felt the strike\u2014looked out\u2014and\u00a0there in the light of the moon,\u00a0jumping out of the water\u2014a snook! With my heart in my throat, I began to\u00a0reel, but the fish continued to take line.\u00a0After several minutes, I began to reel in\u00a0the tired fish. Because of his size, I was\u00a0concerned about trying to reel him out\u00a0of the water and up to the bridge. So I\u00a0decided to walk back to my tackle box,\u00a0dragging him through the water. I finally made it to my tackle box,\u00a0tightly gripped the rod-and-reel,\u00a0reached into my tackle box and\u00a0pulled out a snitch hook with a long\u00a0nylon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4323"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4324,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4323\/revisions\/4324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}