Temptation

Is being tempted the same thing as giving into temptation?

Matthew 4:1-11 is the story about, Jesus being led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the Devil. Jesus fasted 40 days and nights before the tempter came to Him. So, Jesus was hunnnGry! I know when I don't eat or drink for a minimum of 24 hours, I get a little cranky or okay maybe a lot! As Jesus was hungry and weak he now had some dude, whom one could only assume had bad breath, speaking to Him while challenging Him to take action and rise to the occasion to show He is the Son of God!

How would we react in this situation? Would we go to battle? Would we fight with our bare hand? Would we fight with a weapon? Would we even put up a good fight? How would we fight evil?

One of the many things I love about Jesus here is; confidence and patients in the victory that was and is already won. He denied his flesh that was hungry and weak and stayed strong and focused. To deny your flesh for the glory of God isn’t as easy a people think.

The tempter requested 3 things for our Lord:

1:"If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

2:"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. (off the highest part of the temple) For it is written:
"He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."

3:"All this I will give you (all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor)," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."

Umm…excuse me! Who do you think you are? Satan really tried his best to make Jesus stumble. But the Lord is God! Don’t mess with the best!

What did Jesus do? Did he rise to the occasion and show the Devil, that he could turn stones into bread, because He is the Son of God? No. Did Jesus throw Himself off the building without fear of dying to prove a point? No. Lastly, the tempter offered Jesus what looked like to be everything. Did Jesus want it for himself? No.

If Jesus didn’t fight Satan by showing him He was the Son of God by all the miracles that He could do, how did He fight and win?

Ephesians 6:17b states, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Jesus used scripture to fight Satan off and resist temptation.

How Jesus answered:

1: "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

2: "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test."

3: "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only."

So the Lord fought with the word (sword) of God and Satan fled? Well Satan knows the word of God too, why didn’t it work for him? Well, interestingly enough Jesus obeyed the Word and Satan a fallen angel didn’t.

God wants us to live my faith and not magic. We shouldn’t challenge God for sign’s. We can call God out on His Word because it is the truth, but to challenge the highest of highs, ummm…no! I wouldn’t want to take on that battle. The third answer Jesus gave Satan speaks the strongest to me and I go straight to the first two 10 Commandments. 1st Commandment is, Exodus 20:3 “You shall have not other god before me.” And the 2nd Commandment 20:4 “You shall not make yourself an Idol.”

Being tempted in not sinning, but giving into the temptation is. As I was teaching Sunday school today, I had kids ranging from 4 years to 7 years old. One of the exercises the Lord gave me was to tape a piece of candy to a worksheet that the kids were going to do during story time. When we handed out the worksheets, we told the children they couldn’t eat the candy until we said they could. Going through this story about Jesus and temptation we asked the kids how many of them were tempted to eat the candy before we said they could. Most all of them in 2 different classes raised their hand and said they were tempted but didn’t eat their candy. Then we proceeded to analogize how the Lord didn’t give into temptation and neither did they. They obeyed just like Jesus did!

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man and GOD IS FAITHFUL, HE WILL NOT LET YOU BE TEMPTED BEYOND WHAT YOU CAN BARE. So whether you are tempted by TV, Internet, challenges, money, gossip, relationships, popularity, food (especially Pillsbury doughboy’s gooey yummy hot orange rolls or Ben and Jerry’s), material things or just plain giving into addiction, it is just like 1 Corinthians says, God doesn’t give us more than we can handle. So is being tempted the same thing as giving into temptation? No! Just remember to use your sword (Word of God) and OBEY the Lord.

Just for fun, here are the questions we asked the kids on their worksheet see how many you could get right.


(CLICK ON ME, I WILL ENLARGE!)

It is already OCT 12th!!!

Goodness, time goes by so quickly!

This morning I thought it was Oct 11th. I hated to see if was the 12th.

This morning...what can I say that will make sense? At this point I don't know, I'm cranky and scatter brained. Not cool! It was a struggle to get out of bed with a Christian mind set. Bummer----dude, I know!

So...what to do? What to do? "Open your Bible Goof-ball!" As I am saying this to myself with a rebellious mind, Crazy Cassie!

Deep down in the depths of my conscious mind I know what is really going on, some spiritual warfare handed to me on a silver platter, anyone? But to fight it by myself is insane! That is why we have the Word and fellowship! Sweet! So, I start to read some verses in my Bible, I call on the Lord and later I call a fleshly friend who I think might know me better than myself right now. Thank the Lord for that!

At this point there wasn't anything in my house that wasn't setting off triggers for anger or anxiety! So, I had to step out of my box, pick up my cross and take myself out of the situation/environment that was making me stumble. I had to go somewhere! I ended up going to my favorite coffee shop Simone's in VC.

So, when you call on the Lord you have to have an open mind on what he is saying to you even though you might not want to hear it! Ahhhh!!! In times of stress that is not what you want to think of! Right!?! So some advice...stop thinking of your problems and focus on the Word!

This morning I opened my bible and Romans is where I was led. For some reason Romans 12 was marked by my pencil and schedule for my yearly bible readings. I shove these in my bible with no intent on marking those pages. Ummm...s...certain notes I have in Romans 12 caught my eye. These notes commented on the same problems I was having this morning. I decided to take a detour from my required bible readings and study what God has written and what I have written to myself.

These happenings were a great divine appointment that the Lord comforted me with! Sweet!

First my eyes went to Romans 12:9-12 on Love

9. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Oh boy, straight to the heart! It is so interesting how you can hate to love someone and in the same sick sense love to hate them. And how much you might blame yourself or get frustrated, for them not letting YOU in. So, hate evil and be sincere and cling to what is good. We are all hypocrites, I know I definitely am.

At this point my eyes skipped to verse 20.

20. On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."[e]
21. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Be humbled and walk like Jesus walked. One of my favorite quotes is "Go into the world and preach the gospel, use words if necessary." St. Francis of Assisi

Then my eyes ventured over to verse 2

2. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Okay...honestly! So good!

Romans 12 is meaty, I encourage you to read it over and over and over again.

"Driving away from the wreck of the day...

and I am thinking bout callin on Jesus." One of my favorite lines from a song by Anna Nalick, Wreck of the Day.

In the past 48 hours I have experience a good friends pain and a pain that struck me down awhile ago. Can you guess what it is about? Yes, ladies and gentlemen it is about LOVE, or so what we perceive as love, maybe?

We all have desires, but where do ALL of our desires come from? Well, how I would answer this question is...if our desires abide by Gods law then they are from the Lord. And if we have desires that don't match up with God's plan for our life how do we deal with those? Ugh!

I have explained to many people that if you have a desire for someone and they don't feel the same way, surrender it to the Lord EVERYDAY! Again easier said than done I know. You might have to wake up every morning and pray, Lord please if this desire is not from you take it away and give me the desires of your heart for my life. Be humble and know that he is in control. Important: LET HIM BE IN CONTROL!!! Plus if this person that has favor in your eyes, heart, mind and soul isn't the one that the Lord has chosen for you, just think how much more amazing and in love you will be with the person he does choose.

Desire: A little under 2 years ago I didn't want kids, I really didn't even care if I was ever married. I wanted to work, have fun, travel and yadda yadda yadda, I could always take care of myself and my parents. It is scary now, but back in the day if I ever did get married I would have wanted this scenario; I would want to marry someone who already had kids and was divorced. Crazy! Thinking about it now I cry with thankfulness for what the Lord has taught me through working with children and women at church and having many great conversations about relationships with the opposite sex, who was figuring out a lot of this too at the same time I was. My desires now that I trust in the Lord is to find a person who loves the Lord and wants to have a marriage with ME (very important) and grow in Christ, then having little guys or gals run around if the Lord wills it. A total 180 from 2 years ago.

Right now my ambitions for my friend whom I adore and whom is hurting because someone didn't feel the same way they did, is to restore their a relationship with Christ. When we are hurting we don't think straight or act accordingly. As I was having a time of fellowship with this person, I told them I would pray for trust and strength in the Lord and desires...well they didn't let me get passed that part, till they told me to stop and just pray for trust in the Lord and for the will of their own life. They didn't want anymore desires at the moment.

Our fallen world confuses us on even joys from the Lord. We can have desires in our hearts for people but how far will we take them vs. how far the Lord wants to take them. Again, I know easier said than done and I am speaking from experience. Maybe this person is in your life to drive you crazy and the Lord wants your mind to grow in strength for future Godly relationships or maybe just maybe that future relationship is going to be with that person you have desires for and you both have to grow to a certain places before it happens. Gosh...it could go on and on and on.

Biblically what comes to my mind?

1. Galatians 5:16-18
16. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Let the Holy Spirit be your guide in the way of the desires of your heart.

2. Mark 8:33
33. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."

Pick up your cross everyday and die to self.

3. Psalm 56:4
4. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

Remember it is not about us. Man can't take away our salvation.


So...yeah...maybe there will be more thought on this or maybe not...

Today is a 2 Chronicles 20:17 day.

Oh boy...

2 Chronicles 20:17

17. "You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you."

Funky

I have always had the ability to remember my dreams. Most of the time the promenent ones are very weird. In one night I was able to have 3 nightmares! Crazy! I guess it is a good thing I know how to break down my fears in dreams and pray to God about them.

Last night, I had a dream that the rapture happened and I wasn't raptured. Ummm...excuse me! I started to question why I wasn't taken. Was I not knowledgeable enough about the bible, did I not have enough faith or did I even have faith?

The setting consisted of people, people I didn't know, have never seen just sitting around. We all were hanging out in an old dark abandoned hotel. Getting up and putting aside all my discomforts about not being taken, I had my bible with me so I open it up and start evangelizing to some random guy. He didn't really care or want to understand that there is still hope. To me his soul felt stale inside. This saddened me and added more flaming passion to my evangelism methods because many times in life I felt/feel stale and unsure of my salvation, but I always had/have faith.

As I continued speak to this man, I remember opening up my bible to the book of revelation and reading the part of the rapture that was consisting of that particular moment in time. As I was trying relate the current events to people about what is happening and to have faith, a dog comes up to me and starts to bite my ankle. Okay...where did that come from? Well, interestingly, Saturday there was a dog roaming around the streets in my condo complex. I called the little cutie to come to me and he came running over. Looking at his collar I phoned Troubles Crum's owner and returned him. This was the dog biting my ankle in my dream. Hmmm...

Also another intense thought in my dream was if my friends knew I wasn't in heaven with them or if they were thinking of me? :? Aaaaa...O.k.a.y.

That was as far as I got in my dream. I was woken up by my phone, it was one of my accountability friends that has never called me that early in the moring. Plus I never leave my phone on but I guess last night I forgot to turn it off. Good thing, I didn't want to be a non-raptured citizen for much longer.

Funny thought: If you ever want to get some information out of me that I most likely wouldn't tell anyone, you should ask me when I am half awake and half asleep. My mom tried it on me a while ago and it almost worked. Lol! Most likely I will catch myself before I say anything too serious. :) But it is funny to see people try.

Crazy, crazy dreams...

Thought of the day!

As I was sitting at Simone's coffee shop in VC, an elderly couple came in. They were so cute! As I started to pack up my things to leave, they were getting their ice blended mocha and sitting at a table in front of mine. I am not a stocker of any kind but I had to sit and watch them a little. The husband stared to read his paper as he gave the first sip of the mocha to his wife. They were sharing! How adorable! I guess that is what you HAVE to do when you are married. ;)

Anyways this situation ties in to my readings later on in the day. Ephesians 5, specifically verse 25. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

Even though it was just the first drink and not anything major, it was a representation of his giving, love and patience for is wife. Do you know how many men I have come across that wouldn't give a hoot or think about putting a woman first?

Amazing and merciful!

The Lord is so great to comfort my heart everyday. Many times, more like every time I dig into His word, I am reminded to surrender all. Lately, I have been dealing with a fleshly situation that everyday I should waive the white flag with hast. The Lord, I believe has put a desire on my heart for 2 years plus! Ouch! Everyday I think about this ambition and pray for the Lord to take it away if it isn't from Him. Because sometimes this so-called joy gives me the most pain in life. I always think how can something from the Lord hurt this bad? Well it is all a learning process, and learning is written all over this one.

To suffer is to grow stronger, I can testify to that. As I was doing my study today through the book of Isaiah and Ephesians, I got a clear message that the Lord doesn't stop us from having certain desires, problems, troubles or wants. He could but...no. He wants us to turn to Him in our time of need. The only way to get through these ruff speed bumps in life is to have faith that the Lord will see you through those particular times. The Lord wants our whole hearts. I would rather deal with the life that God gave me with faith in Him, then nothing but my own worldly understanding.