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