"By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life..." ~2 Peter 1:3 NLT
God asks us to live after His own heart. Living a godly life isn't always easy, because Satan is out to seek, destroy, and kill. How comforting to know that we can live godly lives by simply relying on the Lord. He has all we need and He will equip us through His divine power!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Resisting Temptation
This world is full of fleshly desires and temptations, and we are all faced with them each and every day. If you are not watchful or you are not on guard, it will be easy to give into the temptation you are faced with. But temptation can be endured and you are completely capable of not giving in to it. Here are some of the temptations we are faced with. We are tempted to:
Date a non-Christian
Lie
Cheat
Steal
Covet
Lose too much weight
Drink Alcohol
Do drugs
Lust
Have sex
Worship other idols…etc
There are so many other forms of temptations; however these are some of the biggest temptations we are faced with, and most of these we are faced with every day. Satan’s most effective way to pull you down is by the deadly pull of compromise. Compromising by having just one drink, taking one hit, missing one day of meals, going on one date with a non-Christian, etc… Satan will try to get you to compromise just a little. These are temptations, and giving into them will result in destruction. Here are six reasons why not to give in:
1. It will break the Lord’s heart.
2. It will hinder your relationship with the Lord.
3. It can ruin the greater plan the Lord wants to bless you with.
4. It will destroy your witness.
5. It will lead to sin.
6. It will rob all of your joy.
I pray that you would choose to not give in to the temptations that come your way. Be a woman after God’s own heart and follow Him, not your fleshly desires. Choose what you know is right, not what is easy. I promise it is never worth giving into temptation. James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation...” You will be blessed because the rest of the verse says, “…for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” Temptation can be endured and the reward is greater than you know! It has been said, “Christians are a lot like tea bags. You don’t know what they are made of until you put them in hot water.” Will you give in to the temptation or will you endure it?
Date a non-Christian
Lie
Cheat
Steal
Covet
Lose too much weight
Drink Alcohol
Do drugs
Lust
Have sex
Worship other idols…etc
There are so many other forms of temptations; however these are some of the biggest temptations we are faced with, and most of these we are faced with every day. Satan’s most effective way to pull you down is by the deadly pull of compromise. Compromising by having just one drink, taking one hit, missing one day of meals, going on one date with a non-Christian, etc… Satan will try to get you to compromise just a little. These are temptations, and giving into them will result in destruction. Here are six reasons why not to give in:
1. It will break the Lord’s heart.
2. It will hinder your relationship with the Lord.
3. It can ruin the greater plan the Lord wants to bless you with.
4. It will destroy your witness.
5. It will lead to sin.
6. It will rob all of your joy.
I pray that you would choose to not give in to the temptations that come your way. Be a woman after God’s own heart and follow Him, not your fleshly desires. Choose what you know is right, not what is easy. I promise it is never worth giving into temptation. James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation...” You will be blessed because the rest of the verse says, “…for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” Temptation can be endured and the reward is greater than you know! It has been said, “Christians are a lot like tea bags. You don’t know what they are made of until you put them in hot water.” Will you give in to the temptation or will you endure it?
Truth About Purity
In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God … we prove ourselves by our purity.—2 Corinthians 6:4, 6 NLT
Purity simply means being righteous in the sight of God; when He looks at you, He sees you as pure. However, we cannot be made righteous by our own strength or will. We are filthy and sinful. Righteousness for us can only come through the cleansing power and covering of Jesus' blood. God promises believers, "Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as whiteas snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool" (Isaiah 1:18 NLT).
Jesus' blood can make us pure; His cleansing makes us white as snow. It doesn't matter who you are or where you have been. The Bible explains that "as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:19).When Adam sinned against the Lord, we were all made sinners; but when Jesus went to the cross, His blood made us righteous and pure in His sight."
So basically I can do whatever I want and as long as I believe that Christ died for me I will be pure?" No.Purity is a byproduct of a right-relationship with Jesus Christ. So you need to: Acknowledge that you are a sinner in need of a Savior, believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sin, surrender to Him, turn from your sin, dig into His Word (the Bible), pray without ceasing, worship Christ for what He has done for you, and purity will be a by-product!
Purity simply means being righteous in the sight of God; when He looks at you, He sees you as pure. However, we cannot be made righteous by our own strength or will. We are filthy and sinful. Righteousness for us can only come through the cleansing power and covering of Jesus' blood. God promises believers, "Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as whiteas snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool" (Isaiah 1:18 NLT).
Jesus' blood can make us pure; His cleansing makes us white as snow. It doesn't matter who you are or where you have been. The Bible explains that "as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:19).When Adam sinned against the Lord, we were all made sinners; but when Jesus went to the cross, His blood made us righteous and pure in His sight."
So basically I can do whatever I want and as long as I believe that Christ died for me I will be pure?" No.Purity is a byproduct of a right-relationship with Jesus Christ. So you need to: Acknowledge that you are a sinner in need of a Savior, believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sin, surrender to Him, turn from your sin, dig into His Word (the Bible), pray without ceasing, worship Christ for what He has done for you, and purity will be a by-product!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Walking Uprightly
“Who may worship in Your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter Your presence on your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts. Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever.” ~Psalm 15 (NLT)
We should desire to live blameless lives and walk uprightly. The way we will be able to do these things is to ask God to fill us with His power to do these things. It is only through Christ that we live blameless lives. Pray that God would strengthen you to walk uprightly and practice these things listed. Then you will never be moved!
We should desire to live blameless lives and walk uprightly. The way we will be able to do these things is to ask God to fill us with His power to do these things. It is only through Christ that we live blameless lives. Pray that God would strengthen you to walk uprightly and practice these things listed. Then you will never be moved!
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