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IMIZAMO YETHU
IN TEMPTATION?
James 1:12-18
Happy is the man who doesn’t give in and do wrong when he is tempted, for afterwards he will get as his reward the crown of life that God has promised those who love him. And remember, when someone wants to do wrong it is never God who is tempting him, for God never wants to do wrong and never tempts anyone else to do it. Temptation is the pull of man’s own evil thoughts and wishes. These evil thoughts lead to evil actions and afterwards to the death penalty from God. So don’t be misled, dear brothers.
But whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God, the Creator of all light, and he shines forever without change or shadow. And it was a happy day for him when he gave us our new lives, through the truth of his Word, and we became, as it were, the first children in his new family.
(The world says happiness comes from pleasure, money, location, job, image and success. These cannot provide lasting happiness, however, because they are temporary and provide no eternal benefits.
Temptation comes from evil desire within, not from God. It begins with an evil thought. It becomes sin when we dwell on the thought and allow it to become an action. Like a snowball rolling downhill, sin’s destruction grows the more we let sin have its way. The best time to stop a snowball is before it is too big or moving too fast to control.
It is easy to blame others and make excuses for evil thoughts and wrong actions. Excuses include (1) it’s the other person’s fault; (2) I couldn’t help it; (3) everybody’s doing it; (4) it was just a mistake; (5) nobody’s perfect; (6) the evil made me do it; (7) I was pressured into it; (8) I didn’t know it was wrong. A person who makes excuses is trying to shift the blame from himself to something or someone else. A Christian, on the other hand accepts responsibility for his wrongs, confess them, and asks God for forgiveness.
People who live for God often wonder why they still have temptations. Does God tempt them? God tests people, but he does not tempt them by trying to seduce them to sin. He allows Satan to tempt them, however, in order to refine their faith and to grow in their dependence upon Christ. We can endure the temptation to sin by turning to God for strength and choosing to act in obedience to his Word.)
Heavenly Father
Stretch out your hand to heal and grant that wonders and miracles
May be performed through
The Name of your holy Servant
Jesus Christ