January 2, 2014

From Gary... Bible Reading January 1



Bible Reading 

January 1

The World English Bible

Jan. 1
Genesis 1

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Gen 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God's Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
Gen 1:3 God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
Gen 1:4 God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness.
Gen 1:5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. There was evening and there was morning, one day.
Gen 1:6 God said, "Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."
Gen 1:7 God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.
Gen 1:8 God called the expanse sky. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.
Gen 1:9 God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;" and it was so.
Gen 1:10 God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters he called Seas. God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:11 God said, "Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with its seed in it, on the earth;" and it was so.
Gen 1:12 The earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with its seed in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
Gen 1:14 God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;
Gen 1:15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of sky to give light on the earth;" and it was so.
Gen 1:16 God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars.
Gen 1:17 God set them in the expanse of sky to give light to the earth,
Gen 1:18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
Gen 1:20 God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of sky."
Gen 1:21 God created the large sea creatures, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:22 God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."
Gen 1:23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
Gen 1:24 God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind;" and it was so.
Gen 1:25 God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:26 God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
Gen 1:27 God created man in his own image. In God's image he created him; male and female he created them.
Gen 1:28 God blessed them. God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Gen 1:29 God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.
Gen 1:30 To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;" and it was so.

Gen 1:31 God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

Jan. 1, 2
Matthew 1

Mat 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Mat 1:2 Abraham became the father of Isaac. Isaac became the father of Jacob. Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers.
Mat 1:3 Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron. Hezron became the father of Ram.
Mat 1:4 Ram became the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon. Nahshon became the father of Salmon.
Mat 1:5 Salmon became the father of Boaz by Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed by Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse.
Mat 1:6 Jesse became the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.
Mat 1:7 Solomon became the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam became the father of Abijah. Abijah became the father of Asa.
Mat 1:8 Asa became the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat became the father of Joram. Joram became the father of Uzziah.
Mat 1:9 Uzziah became the father of Jotham. Jotham became the father of Ahaz. Ahaz became the father of Hezekiah.
Mat 1:10 Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh. Manasseh became the father of Amon. Amon became the father of Josiah.
Mat 1:11 Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the exile to Babylon.
Mat 1:12 After the exile to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel.
Mat 1:13 Zerubbabel became the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim. Eliakim became the father of Azor.
Mat 1:14 Azor became the father of Sadoc. Sadoc became the father of Achim. Achim became the father of Eliud.
Mat 1:15 Eliud became the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan. Matthan became the father of Jacob.
Mat 1:16 Jacob became the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Mat 1:17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the exile to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the carrying away to Babylon to the Christ, fourteen generations.
Mat 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this; for after his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
Mat 1:19 Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly.
Mat 1:20 But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take to yourself Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
Mat 1:21 She shall bring forth a son. You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins."
Mat 1:22 Now all this has happened, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
Mat 1:23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son. They shall call his name Immanuel;" which is, being interpreted, "God with us."
Mat 1:24 Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself;
Mat 1:25 and didn't know her sexually until she had brought forth her firstborn son. He named him Jesus. 
 
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From Gary... Bible Reading January 2



Bible Reading   

January 2

The World English Bible


Jan. 2
Genesis 2
Gen 2:1 The heavens and the earth were finished, and all their vast array.
Gen 2:2 On the seventh day God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work which he had created and made.
Gen 2:4 This is the history of the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made the earth and the heavens.
Gen 2:5 No plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain on the earth. There was not a man to till the ground,
Gen 2:6 but a mist went up from the earth, and watered the whole surface of the ground.
Gen 2:7 Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Gen 2:8 Yahweh God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
Gen 2:9 Out of the ground Yahweh God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Gen 2:10 A river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it was parted, and became four heads.
Gen 2:11 The name of the first is Pishon: this is the one which flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
Gen 2:12 and the gold of that land is good. There is aromatic resin and the onyx stone.
Gen 2:13 The name of the second river is Gihon: the same river that flows through the whole land of Cush.
Gen 2:14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel: this is the one which flows in front of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
Gen 2:15 Yahweh God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Gen 2:16 Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
Gen 2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it; for in the day that you eat of it you will surely die."
Gen 2:18 Yahweh God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him."
Gen 2:19 Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.
Gen 2:20 The man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field; but for man there was not found a helper suitable for him.
Gen 2:21 Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall on the man, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
Gen 2:22 He made the rib, which Yahweh God had taken from the man, into a woman, and brought her to the man.
Gen 2:23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
Gen 2:24 Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.

Gen 2:25 They were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. 

Jan. 1, 2
Matthew 1

Mat 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Mat 1:2 Abraham became the father of Isaac. Isaac became the father of Jacob. Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers.
Mat 1:3 Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron. Hezron became the father of Ram.
Mat 1:4 Ram became the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon. Nahshon became the father of Salmon.
Mat 1:5 Salmon became the father of Boaz by Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed by Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse.
Mat 1:6 Jesse became the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.
Mat 1:7 Solomon became the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam became the father of Abijah. Abijah became the father of Asa.
Mat 1:8 Asa became the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat became the father of Joram. Joram became the father of Uzziah.
Mat 1:9 Uzziah became the father of Jotham. Jotham became the father of Ahaz. Ahaz became the father of Hezekiah.
Mat 1:10 Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh. Manasseh became the father of Amon. Amon became the father of Josiah.
Mat 1:11 Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the exile to Babylon.
Mat 1:12 After the exile to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel.
Mat 1:13 Zerubbabel became the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim. Eliakim became the father of Azor.
Mat 1:14 Azor became the father of Sadoc. Sadoc became the father of Achim. Achim became the father of Eliud.
Mat 1:15 Eliud became the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan. Matthan became the father of Jacob.
Mat 1:16 Jacob became the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Mat 1:17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the exile to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the carrying away to Babylon to the Christ, fourteen generations.
Mat 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this; for after his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
Mat 1:19 Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly.
Mat 1:20 But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take to yourself Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
Mat 1:21 She shall bring forth a son. You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins."
Mat 1:22 Now all this has happened, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
Mat 1:23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son. They shall call his name Immanuel;" which is, being interpreted, "God with us."
Mat 1:24 Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself;
Mat 1:25 and didn't know her sexually until she had brought forth her firstborn son. He named him Jesus. 
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From Mark Copeland... The Christian's Diet (1 Timothy 4:3-5) 




                     "THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY"

                      The Christian's Diet (4:3-5)

INTRODUCTION

1. A feature common to many religions are their dietary restrictions...
   a. Some are known for their vegetarianism (e.g., Hinduism)
   b. Others for their restrictions against certain meats, such as pork
      (e.g., Islam, Judaism)

2. In warning against apostasy, the apostle Paul...
   a. Foretold the rise of doctrines restricting certain foods - 1Ti 4:
      1-3
   b. Described the general principles related to the Christian's diet
      - 1Ti 4:3-5

3. The general principles of "The Christian's Diet" can be stated in
   this way...
   a. All creatures are good (for food) if received with thanksgiving
   b. All foods are "sanctified" by the Word of God and prayer

[The word "sanctified" means to be "set apart, holy".  In what way has
God sanctified all foods, and are there any exceptions to the rule?
First we note that all foods have been...]

I. SANCTIFIED BY THE WORD OF GOD

   A. FOODS DECLARED CLEAN...
      1. By God
         a. At the Creation, God gave His approval to seed-bearing herbs
            and trees - Gen 1:29
         b. After the flood, moving things were approved as food, with
            one restriction - Gen 9:3-4
         c. During the Mosaic period, dietary restrictions were placed
            on Israel - cf. Deut 14:4-21
      2. By Jesus
         a. Jesus kept the Law of Moses while it was still in effect
            - cf. Mt 5:17-19
         b. But His teachings often looked forward to when the Law would
            cease - Mk 7:18-19
      3. By Paul
         a. Paul's views came from the Lord Jesus Himself - Ro 14:14
         b. Thus Christians were free to eat whatever was sold in the
            meat market - 1Co 10:25
      -- The Word of God has thus declared all foods clean; this is the
         general rule

   B. EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE...
      1. Meat sacrificed to idols
         a. Christians were forbidden to eat meat when it was part of
            idol worship, for that would entail fellowship with demons
            - Re 2:14,20; cf. 1Co 10:18-22
         b. But not if sold in the market place and connection to the
            idol lost - cf. 1Co 10:25-28
      2. Blood and things strangled
         a. Gentile Christians were not to eat blood and things
            strangled - Ac 15:20,29; 21:25
         b. The context suggests this may have been out of consideration
            for the sensitivities of the Jewish Christians - Ac 15:21;
            yet cf. Gen 9:4
      3. When eaten with offense (e.g., doubt)
         a. To those who consider something unclean, it is unclean - Ro 14:14
         b. It would be evil to eat that which one thinks is unclean
            - Ro 14:20
         c. Unless one can eat without doubt, it is sinful - Ro 14:23
      4. When eaten to cause offense (i.e., stumbling)
         a. If our brother is grieved or destroyed by our food, it is
            wrong - Ro 14:15-16
         b. It is good to abstain rather than cause a weak brother to
            stumble - Ro 14:20-21; 1Co 8:12-13
         c. Our goal is to glorify God, and cause no offense to man
            - 1Co 10:31-32
      -- All things are lawful, but not all things edify and are
         helpful; we must remember this in regards to our diet - cf.
         1Co 10:23-24

[Thus every creature (i.e., all foods) has been sanctified by the Word
of God; i.e., declared clean.  But we should also stress that which is
emphasized by Paul in our text, that the food we eat is also...]

II. SANCTIFIED BY PRAYER

   A. RECEIVED WITH THANKSGIVING...
      1. Stressed twice in our text
         a. Foods were created by God to be received with thanksgiving
            - 1Ti 4:3
         b. Nothing is to be refused if received with thanksgiving
            - 1Ti 4:4
      2. We should be thankful for everything
         a. We should possess an attitude of gratitude - Ep 5:20; Co
            3:17; 1Th 5:18
         b. Certainly for our daily bread, for which we are to pray!
            - cf. Mt 6:11
      -- When received with thanksgiving offered in prayer, food is
         sanctified

   B. EXAMPLES OF THE RULE...
      1. Jesus offering thanks
         a. When feeding the 4000 - Mt 15:36-38
         b. When observing the Last Passover - Lk 22:15-20
      2. Paul offering thanks
         a. On the ship to Rome - Ac 27:35
         b. A practice alluded to in his writings - Ro 14:6; 1Co 10:30
      -- Paul sought to imitate the Lord, certainly we should imitate
         them both! - 1Co 11:1

CONCLUSION

1. When it comes to "The Christian's Diet", all foods are sanctified
   by...
   a. The word of God
   b. The prayer of the Christian

2. The exception to the rule is when...
   a. Fellowship with idols and demons is indicated
   b. Fellowship with brethren is threatened

Have you given thought to how the food you eat affects your fellowship
with God and others...?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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From Jim McGuiggan... Depression Revisited


Depression Revisited

The author of Lady Chatterly’s Lover (a book that rocked the British literary world many years ago), D.H Lawrence, spoke of one of his characters, Richard Lovatt, saying that he spent his life wrestling with himself and calling it Australia. What do you think he meant by that? He meant that Lovatt lived a restless life without peace and blamed it on where he lived—Australia. But the author knew better. Lovatt’s problem lay within himself and not his surroundings.

Sometimes it’s the case that the environment crushes a spirit and makes life a misery. John Bunyan tells us that even Giant Despair got depressed now and then—on sunny days. Everyone will experience emotional dips and drops but as sure as there are things that can drive us down there are many other things that can raise us up and when those things come we grab them with gratitude and smile again. If a person can’t see the thousand things in his or her life that lift the heart he/she probably won’t see number one-thousand-and-one should it arrive. If the abundance of blessings in our lives isn’t enough to brighten our eyes I’m not sure that our eyes can be lightened by another series of blessings. (I’m not addressing Sudan, Zimbabwe, run-down ghettos or any of those hell-holes where people truly suffer. I’m not even addressing people that endure chronic pain or ceaseless economic pressure, bone-deep betrayal and the like. These too are great sufferers.)

I truly believe that for some of us depression will be our companion all our lives. Chemical or hormonal imbalances, an environment that crushes the spirit, loved ones that keep us down with ceaseless criticism or endless demands, trauma in childhood, and on and on and on. There are such sad souls and they have good reason to be down but there are those of us whose unhappiness comes from our greed and a hypersensitivity that can be corrected with some help and self-discipline. Some lingering unhappiness is associated with our sinfulness. We’re envious of those who got promoted while we didn’t and lose sight of the fact that we are in a job we really enjoyed until X got an upgrade. We’re dissatisfied with our moderate facial appearance or form when we see someone beautiful. We can’t enjoy our degree of intellectual giftedness because some kid we know is a whiz. Ahab owns half of Palestine and feels fine until he sees Naboth’s lovely little plot of land. Off he goes to bed sulking, we’re told, because the man smiled and turned down Ahab’s offer to buy. Those of us who are like that give a bad name to those who have some real grounds for feeling depressed.

Let’s grow up, get over it (whatever "it" is) and be happy!
Spending Time with Jim McGuiggan
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From Ben Fronczek... James (Part 4) TEMPTATIONS



James (Part 4)  TEMPTATIONS

Imagine living with someone who was never even tempted to sin.

In a previous lesson, I mentioned the fact that Jesus had never committed a sin. He was totally sinless; and so I asked you to imagine what it must have been like to grow up with someone like that.  James, and Jude and the rest of Jesus’ brothers and sister must have wondered how Jesus could even do it.

Just like everyone else, I believe that Jesus was tempted by sin, but He personally was not tempted to sin. In other words, its one thing to be exposed to a potential temptation, but it’s quite another thing to be tempted in your heart TO sin, where you actually want to commit the deed. From my understand and based on what I read in James 1, I don’t think Jesus ever had a thought or desire to commit any kind to sin or wanted to yield to any potential temptations that came His way.

Understanding this helped me to understand what James wrote in  
James 1:9 where he wrote, 

“13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;”

God the Father, God the Spirit, nor God the Son have never had a desire to yield to a temptation to do kind of evil. There has never, ever been one inkling, desire, or twinge to do anything evil on His part. And because of that, it is absolutely impossible for Him to tempt anyone of us to do evil. Sin and evil temptations are just not part of His nature.

Why is God like that? Because through and through, God is absolutely pure, 100 percent void of any kind of evil, hence we use the term HOLY. And that’s why we cannot enter His presence dirty and stained by the sins we have committed without first being cleansed by Jesus. (When & where does this happen? When we accept Jesus Lord and allow Him to remove our sin in Baptism See Colossians 2:9-13)

And that’s the kind of brother James grew up with. Not once did Jesus ever seem tempted to sin, nothing evil ever seem like a temptation for Him. His eyes never stared longer than they should have with desire in them for something impure or with lust. It just wasn’t there in Him. Nor did He try to tempt others to do anything wrong. He never tried to get someone else to lie for Him or make up stories that weren’t true. He did not try to get his siblings to take anything or do anything that was inappropriate. Never once did He try to convince someone else to hurt, abuse, or cheat another. It just wasn’t in His nature.

So when James writes, 

13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;” 

he wrote from experience; he never saw his brother do anything like that.

Unfortunately James like each and every one of us was not like Jesus. All of us are tempted to do something inappropriate. Temptation in itself is not bad. But unlike Jesus, we are weak, we look longer than we should, we crave and want when we should walk away, and then we sin.

And even though some of us have been saved from our sinful condition and cleansed by the blood of Jesus, we still have a problem don’t we? We are still weak and feel tempted to sin, and we keep on sinning!   So what can we do?

#1- When tempted – James tells us that we…Should not blame God

Verse 13 says 

“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.”
We humans are pretty good when it comes to the “blame game.” We don’t like to take responsibility for our own failures or sins. We prefer to blame it on someone else. “Well, I would never have smoked had it not been for my dad who smoked.” Or “I remember when my friend took me to a bar and bought me my first beer and that started my drinking problem.”

It’s always easier to blame someone else for our failures than it is to own up to them or admit some kind of error on our part. (Guess it started with Adam 

“The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Genesis 3:12)

A manager of a minor league baseball team was so disgusted with his center fielder’s performance that he ordered him to the dugout and assumed the position himself. The first ball that came into center field took a bad hop and hit the manager in the mouth. The next one was a high fly ball, which he lost in the glare of the sun–until it bounced off his forehead. The third was a hard line drive that he charged with outstretched arms; unfortunately, it flew between is hands and smacked him in the eye.

Furious, he ran back to the dugout, grabbed the center fielder by the uniform, and shouted. “You idiot! You’ve got center field so messed up that even I can’t do a thing with it!”

People also tend to blame God for bad things that happens to them or family members “Well God just created me this way”; but this is incorrect thinking.

God cannot be tempted to sin. Temptation holds no power over Him. And God does not tempt anyone.

OK, if this is true then why are we tempted to sin? It should be obvious to us. It’s because  we live in a messed up, broken, sinful world; but God didn’t mess it up or break it, man did. Mankind chose to give in to our lusts and we sinned. Consequently, there will always be the temptation in this world to sin. BUT IT’S NOT GOD’S FAULT, WHAT HE CREATED HE CREATED GOOD.

To be totally sinless is almost beyond our comprehension. We have sinned so much and so often that we just can’t imagine anyone being without sin. The only ones we can see in this sinless state is a newborn baby.

 C.S. Lewis wrote: “How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets real thing, it is irresistible.”
Have you noticed how irresistible a baby is? I mean, when you see a newborn baby don’t you just want to look at it and/or hold it and cuddle it? Little babies are innocent and pure. That’s probably why Jesus said that we need to become like them.

#2 WHEN TEMPTED TO SIN DON’T BLAME GOD, BLAME YOURSELF
Verse 1:14 & 15 say, 

“but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
Each one is tempted by his own evil desires. Enter the wrong place at the wrong time, and get exposed to the wrong thing and we would all fall into sin because we are weak!

Thomas Boston (a Scottish church leader of the 1600s) wrote: “Temptation is the fire that brings up the scum of the heart.”

 A Reader’s Digest reader wrote: While my wife and I were shopping at a mall, a shapely young woman in a short, form-fitting dress strolled by. My eyes followed her. Without looking up from the item she was examining, my wife asked, “Was it worth the trouble you’re in?”

Each one is tempted by his own evil desires. Your temptation may not be for sexual lust. It may be something else. For example, some people shouldn’t go shopping. Why? Because they are aroused by what they see and when they see that certain something they can’t help but buy it. Some people can’t resist eating certain foods. Some cannot resist certain drinks  The problem of:  “I want” can quickly turn into idol worship. That is, we want that something more than we want to know God and please Him by resisting that something.

I John 2:15-17 

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever..”

Do you hear what John the Apostle is saying here? If you love those evil things then you really don’t love Father God all that much. Sometimes I feel so guilty for I what think and do.
Like Paul said in Romans 7:21-25, 

“I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Most of the temptations that we face in life are summed up there in 1 John… 1- lust for sensual pleasure 2- lust for things pleasing to the eyes (materialistic desires) 3- Pride of being appreciated, praised, or glorified.
But in reality, if there is anything about our lives, our talents, our gifts, our material goods, etc. that appears good or great, it’s because they are a gift from God and He alone deserves the glory!

That’s what James says in verses 16 & 17. He wrote, 

“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”


#3. SO WHEN TEMPTED – TURN TO GOD – LOOK UP
Someone said: “To realize God’s presence is the one sovereign remedy against temptation.”

Practicing the presence of God… realizing that He is with us, by us, even in us can help curb our desire and appetite for that something we should not get involved in or with. We need to recognize that God and His strength and His presence offers us a way to resist or out of temptation to sin!

I Corinthians 10:13 

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.

(Solomon said that there is nothing new under the sun.., in other words God has see it all before. Paul goes on to say…) And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
God will always provide a way out; we just have to chose to go His way rather than the way of temptation. Sometimes this is hard!

A boy by the name of Alexander was trying to save all the pennies he could in order to buy a baseball bat. But he had a hard struggle. One night when he was saying his prayers, his mother heard him say fervently: “O Lord, please help me save my money for a baseball bat. And, God, don’t let the ice cream man come down this street!”

We all need to look up and pray a similar prayer: “Lord, keep so and so away from me. And please keep me away from those things that tempt me. Please help me Lord!”

And I believe that God can help us remove those desires, those temptations from our life. He can even renew us if we let Him, and if we follow His lead and will.

Some time after the conversion of Augustine, he came face to face with the woman who had cause him to sin for many months.  She dragged him deeper and deeper into a sinful relationship until he was finally freed from those bonds by the regenerating power of the cross. Later when he passed her by he could only offered her a formal nod of his head. Once she stopped him and said, “Augustine, don’t know me anymore? See, it is I.”  Looking at her a moment, and knowing that she no longer held him in her evil spell, Augustine replied, “But it is not I.”  God can regenerate us and make us new again.

With God’s help these things won’t haunt you anymore. The Question I have for you today is; ‘Will you let Him help you?’   I hope so. Jesus said, ‘I have come to set 
you free that you may be free indeed.’  John 8.


A few quotes are from a sermon by Steve Shepherd
For more lessons click on the following link: 
http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=56



















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