Is Temptation Sin?

“Is temptation sin?” That was a question posed at our marriage conference this week. If a random thought pops into our mind, tempting us towards something that is sin, is the thought sin?

I didn’t have an answer. I mean if I’ve repented of something, maybe a habitual something, & feel like I’ve been totally healed of that something, then if a random thought of that thing flutters to the surface, have I sinned?

As I pondered, the speaker interrupted my thoughts with an emphatic, “No. Jesus was tempted as the Son of Man, but He did not sin.”

We’re not talking about thinking long about the what’s, how’s & outcomes of the temptation, but let’s say you’ve got a big, fat cookie that arrived with your prepaid lunch. You’ve made the decision with the Lord to not eat sweets because you know it’ll steal your focus. Is the cookie before me sin? No. It’s when I come into agreement with eating it that I step over the line & allow it to lead me instead of my Lord.

He spent 40 hungry days in the desert as the Son of Man with no food. Then the enemy taunts him, using the very term of endearment that God did when Jesus was baptized.

Can’t you just see his sneer when he tempts Jesus saying, “if you ARE the SON of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

But Jesus, in all of His brilliance beckons Truth by His side, refusing to come into agreement with the temptation, by quoting Scripture: “Man does not live by bread alone.”

You see, Jesus IS the Son of God, but in this moment, He is also the Son of MAN. He chose to become a man in bodily form for our sakes! If He’d chosen to act as The Son of God for HIS sake, He would’ve shaken off the human condition He’d taken FOR OUR sakes!

Jesus came to live as the Son of Man, so He might experience ALL of the temptations we face, but doing so without fault. Living as a sinless man allowed Him to become the spotless Lamb covering ALL sin for ALL time!

The enemy tempts Him to not trust God & to wield His authority to meet His own needs, but He didn’t. He chose instead to speak Truth & trust God.

The next time a fluttering temptation comes our way, let’s do the same: refuse agreement, speak Truth & trust God!

#OneYearBible

March 20th One Year Bible Readings

NUMBERS 30:1-31:54

LUKE 4:1-30

PSALM 63:1-11

PROVERBS 11:20-21

If The Word of God Needed the Power of the Holy Spirit to Begin His Ministry, How Much More Do We?

I’ve had a song on repeat this week called, “The New Country.” I love lyrics, They sometimes minister to me as much as the Word of God, but for some reason, the understanding of these were just beyond my grasp.

They begin by telling of an old country where roots have grown deep…a  place where it’s joys & it’s pain don’t want you to leave😬

I thought I’d processed through most hurts in my life until last night. We’re at a marriage conference that isn’t just, “6 Ways to a Better Sex Life”, but rather a Holy Spirit-inspired invitation to healing & wholeness!

I know the Word of God, but I can’t say that I’ve made the connection between wielding the Word through the divine power of the Holy Spirit!

This morning as I read Luke 3, something amazing surfaced. It tells how Jesus is about to begin his public ministry, but before he does, it lists His long lineage of the old country. With the past acknowledged, the next chapter begins with a transition: “Then, full of the Holy Spirit…” His ministry begins.

Jesus, the infallible, all sustaining WORD of God is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit! I don’t know how I’ve missed this important piece in the past, but the Holy Spirit was WITH Him, filling Him FULL!

Y’all, the Word, devoid of Spirit, lacks power. The Holy Spirit IS Divine power Who frees us from past hurts so we may step into a new land marked by freedom!

I walked through a LOT of Holy Spirit healing prayers yesterday that kinda felt like being invited unto death. I wanted to know what it was like to be free, but it was hard to leave the familiar comfortability that shame offered. (Weird, right?)

The former ways of thinking about my body & the many mistakes I’d made, marred our marriage & limited my ability to love my husband fully! With the Holy Spirit’s help, I left my life in the old country to enter a new unfamiliar land devoid of the familiarity of past pain. It’s so freeing! I’d no idea what I was missing in my marriage & life!

Y’all if the Word of God needed the Holy Spirit to begin His ministry, how much more do we?

Holy Spirit we invite you in & give You full access to our hearts! Lead us to a new country where Your power lets freedom reign!

#OneYearBible

March 19th One Year Bible Readings

NUMBERS 28:16-29:40

LUKE 3:23-38

PSALM 62:1-12

PROVERBS 11:18-19

Fire Transforms All it Touches into Light. Will You Let the Holy Spirit Touch You?

I read a verse today that could cause fear to rise. I remember when the weight of it fell on me years ago. We were reading through a book together as a small group & it sparked a debate.

It’s spoken by John the Baptist to people who wanted to be baptized to SHOW that they have a repentant heart, but he calls them a brood of vipers because they wouldn’t change the way they lived.

He warns them, “Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe for we are descendants of Abraham.’…The ax of God’s judgement is poised …every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down & thrown into the fire.”

Many questions bubbled in our group that centered on salvation, but the one that caught my eye was this: What does he mean by fruit? The root definition of fruit means everything done in true partnership with Christ.

If I accept Jesus as Savior & allow Him to be Lord, then the fruit of the Holy Spirit will become evident in my life. It has nothing to do with striving & everything to do with dying (to self).

Last night on the way back to our hotel, I felt tempted to anger, but refused to come into agreement with it. I told Markel & we prayed,  cancelling the stupid assignment of the enemy to steal my joy & immediately the darkness lifted. You see, the fruit of the enemy always displaces fruit of the Spirit & vice versa! I cannot be angry AND slow to anger at the same time! 

John baptized with water, but the Holy Spirit baptizes with fire. Fire transforms everything it touches into light. When we allow the Holy Spirit to have His way, our lives are consumed in Christ, the life-giving light of His presence overwhelms ours & the fruit of His Spirit becomes evident!

Father, we don’t want to be like a “brood of vipers” who SAY we are Christians, but not change the way we live. There is much we are facing that causes fear & tempts us to divisive arguments. Holy Spirit, may YOUR fruit be evident in our lives. When darkness dawns our door, help us to kick him to the curb by letting your truth trump temptation. Melt our flesh down, just like metal, that it may be cast into a new mould! Shape us into Your image so we may partner with You & bear Your fruit!

#OneYearBible

March 18th One Year Bible Readings

NUMBERS 26:52-28:15

LUKE 3:1-22

PSALM 61:1-8

PROVERBS 11:16-17