Sweet Temptation?

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV Temptation...Satan has been playing that game for centuries and has he ever gotten good at it! Man however, is still falling for the same old thing. You would think we would catch on at some point, but he keeps dangling the carrot in front of us & we continue to fall for his tricks--pride, fame, wealth, drugs, relationships, etc. The result is ruined lives, fractured families, financial disaster and the like. On our own, we are not strong enough to withstand Satan's attacks--but, if we can overcome our own foolish pride (that Satan plays on so well) & learn to look to GOD & draw from His limitless strength--we can stand strong. Pride is what got Lucifer (Satan) into trouble to begin with. He, who was once a beautiful angel, allowed pride to over take him & thought he could rival GOD. His rebellion ended when he & his followers were cast out of Heaven. Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall" & Lucifer's fall is a perfect example. Since he was forced from Heaven & knows what awaits us there as followers of Christ, it gives him all the more reason to desire to deter us from spending eternity in Paradise. He wants nothing more than to drag as many of mankind into the pits of Hell with him. What can we do? "Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:7b-8a). The closer we grow to GOD, the more distance we put between ourselves & the devil. But, don't be deceived into believing he goes away completely--he doesn't. We must always be on guard & not give him a place to sneak in--if he gets his foot in the door, he will barge right in. When we think we have come so far that we cannot fall, we are setting ourselves up for just that. We must remain humble before the Lord, we must remain pliable in His hands, we must seek Him even in seemingly insignificant matters because He is interested in even the minute details of our lives. If we pray, seek GOD, study His Word so we have the ammunition with which to fight Satan's temptations. "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" James 1:12. Jesus Himself endured temptation, yet remained without sin. When He was at His weakest point, Satan came to Him but He was able to use GOD's Word to withstand. We have GOD's Word available to us, if we will but tap into it, mine out those golden nuggets that will allow us to also stand when temptation comes our way--and come our way it will, it is only a matter of time. We must learn to rely on GOD rather than self if we are going to win the battle against the devil. In the end, we're already told we win. Along with that, we get a heavenly reward, a mansion in glory, a crown of life...why would we not want that? Blessings! Tony

What does it mean to be Free?

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32 NKJV Today is Independence Day, the Fourth of July. It is the day we celebrate our independence from the tyranny & oppression of England. 237 years ago, patriots took a stand and proclaimed liberty. As a result, a great new country was formed. History records that America was settled by people who were in search of religious freedom--Christian people, who desired to worship their Creator in the manner they saw fit without that worship being dictated by the Church of England. These people overcame great obstacles to carve a new nation out of the massive wilderness that was then, these United States. Problems & plagues came their way, yet they stood strong--refusing to waiver in the face of danger, trusting in the will of The One who had brought them to these shores. I looked up the words "freedom" & "liberty" in my trusted Merriam-Webster Dictionary and found their definitions to be the same. Both read, "the quality or state of being free." That prompted my question, "what does it mean to be free?" I suspect individual interpretations of the word "free" vary from person to person. As a Christian, I take my cues from the Bible. I found many references to free, freedom & liberty within GOD's Holy Word. John 8:36 reads, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." Romans 8:2 says, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." Then there are a couple of my favorites, Galatians 5:1, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." and 2 Corinthians 3:17, "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." I've come to the conclusion that freedom doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. Apparently, what I see as a freedom is seen by some as oppression. Because many people no longer wish to live in accordance to GOD's Word, they see GOD's commandments as oppressive & restrictive. Freedom should not & does not mean we can choose to live however we want to. We are still bound by the laws of the land & even moreso by the laws of GOD, because while America's laws may change with the winds of time & supposed progress--GOD's laws never change as stated in Malachi 3:6, "For I am the Lord, I do not change..." However as we have seen in recent years--liberals have pushed through changes in our legal system that 30-50 years ago would never have been allowed. Progress is not always positive. Where are we headed as a nation? Only GOD knows. I don't like everything I see happening to the country I was born in & taught to love, but I know that while the future is a mystery to me--GOD is already there. While I can only look at the present & past, His sight & knowledge extend to infinity. I need only trust Him to use whatever happens to bring about good, even when evil seems to prevail. I pray that we as a people will turn back to GOD & that America will once again be a blessed nation. For what it is worth, those are my thoughts. Blessings! Tony