DEALING WITH TEMPTATION BIBLICALLY Part 2

“No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man; and God IS faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted BEYOND what you are able, but with the temptation will provide a way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

When we are facing temptation, we need to remind ourselves that we have a God who is faithful. I like the fact that Paul in his letter to the church at Corinth doesn’t say “He was faithful.” That is true. We can recall in our minds that times that God has proven Himself to be faithful in our lives. But we need to remind ourselves that today if/when we face temptation He is faithful for this moment as well.

Our faithful God knows exactly what you and I can handle and will not allow us to be tempted BEYOND what we are able to bear. I am thankful for that promise, aren’t you? This morning I read these words: “He knows our frame; He remembers we are dust. A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoking flax He will not quench.” (Psalm 103:14; Isaiah 42:3)

The enemy of your soul is a deceiver, conniver, and is on a mission to rob, kill, and destroy (John 10:10) He isn’t all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present, but he and his creepy helpers are very much mindful of our weakness. We need to identify in our lives the times when temptation is the greatest so that we can be keyed into the enemy’s plan. Be aware – He watches for the right timing:

1. Times of temptation can come in cycles. If you track it, you will notice that it tends to happen at certain times of the year or after major events in our lives. For many years I have been recording in my devotionals dates, situations, issues I am facing, staff issues and have now noticed a pattern. There are certain times of the year that I seem to be more vulnerable. I shared this in a message I preached on Sunday, and today in my quiet time, I noted in my Chambers devotional that for three years in a row I was having a pity-party at this time of the year.

We have been working hard to raise some funds from several foundations and each one has turned us down. The most promising one met on Saturday and we were very optimistic about the grant. Yesterday I received word that our gift was deferred to the fall due to the lack of funds. I found myself having a pity-party! Then I read the Word this morning and my devotional literature and was whacked on the side of the head!

2. We often face our greatest temptations after an emotional high or mountaintop experience. I find that my greatest times of temptation occur right after a weekend or conference where we have seen God at work in people’s hearts. Some of you have been on a retreat and God worked in your hearts. You made a commitment to obey God or follow Him in an area of your life, and even on the way home, you experienced temptation.

3. The enemy will often wait to hit us when we are tired, weary exasperated. This is when we need to be on our guard!!!

4. He will wait until our guard is down. The preceding verse says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” Our spiritual pride can be a time to drop our guard. We need to be on our toes at all times.

Are you facing a time of temptation in your life? Don’t yield to it. Get on your knees today and thank God that He IS faithful. He won’t let you be tempted BEYOND what you are able to bear. Can you identify your greatest times of temptation? Think about it.

Great Quote: The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, nobler men and women, or they are making us more critical and fault-finding, and more insistent on our own way. The things that happen either make us evil, or they make us more saintly, depending entirely on our relationship with God and its level of intimacy … When we understand God’s purpose, we will not become small-minded and cynical.” Oswald Chambers

DEALING WITH TEMPTATION BIBLICALLY

“No temptation has OVERTAKEN you but such as is common to man; and God is FAITHFUL, who will not allow you to be tempted BEYOND what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of ESCAPE also, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

I’d like to unpack this verse over the next several days because everyone of us faces temptation. But for men who want to THINK VICTORY! – we can have victory over temptation.Working with men who are bound in addiction, we see the power of temptation sometimes on a grander scale. They are being pulled by the enemy of a daily basis to go back into their sinful lifestyles that brought them to the Colony of Mercy. But every one of us faces temptations. No one is exempt.

What is temptation? Rick Jenner in his book on word studies, Sparkling Gems, says that temptation is “any outside source that appeals to a weakness in your flesh. The appel pulls us like a magnet; it lures us mentally, emotionally, and sensually; it fascinates the imagination; it entices the flesh to take a closer peek. If you don’t stop this process, it will set it’s hook in your soul and haul you right smack in the middle of some kind of sin.”

Temptation is a trick of the enemy that goes right back to the beginning in Genesis 3:6 “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food (the lust of the flesh), and that is was a delight to the eyes (the lust of the eyes), and that the tree was desirable to make one wise (the pride of life) …

I knew a godly man in his 90’s whose life was so immersed by his walk with Christ that you felt like you were in God’s presence when you were with him. He helped a good friend of mine in ministry through a difficult separation that resulted in a divorce. The day after my friend resigned from his church, the three of us were having breakfast. Pastor Conant asked this young preacher if he had faced sexual tempation during the separation. My friend shared that he never faced those issues during the three year period. Pastor smiled and said, “Matt, I prayed such a hedge of protection around you that you couldn’t have gotten your pants down if you tried!”But I will never forget the next comments. Matt said, “Pastor, it must be nice to be at this age when you no longer face these temptations in your life.” This godly man, in his late 80’s responded, “Matthew, I maybe old, but I am not dead!”

Friend, everyone faces temptation. Even Jesus faced it (see Matthew 4)! In fact, that is why He is there, ready to help you live victoriously so that you can overcome temptation. He knows. He understands. He’s been there – done that! – “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18)We all face it. Tomorrow we will look at how to overcome it and live in victory.

Great Quote: Just as worship begins in holy expectancy, it ends in holy obedience. If worship does not propel us into greater obedience, it has not been worship. To stand before the Holy One of eternity is to change. Resentments cannot be held with the same tenacity when we enter his gracious light. As Jesus says, we need to leave our gift at the altar and go set the matter straight (Matthew 5:23, 24). In worship an increased power steals its way into the heart sanctuary, an increased compassion grows in the soul. To worship is to change. Richard J. Foster

Join us this weekend for our Memorial Day Weekend conference which begins on Friday evening. Dr. Richard Allen Farmer will be speaking in the evenings, and Dr. Jim Jeffrey, will speak in the mornings. JAARS will be on campus to talk about mission opportunities as well as offering helicopter rides for our guests on Friday, Saturday and Monday. Check out the website for details: www.americaskeswick.org For information, call 732-350-1187.

LESSON’S FROM THE LIFE OF PETER

“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” 1 Corinthians 10:12

Our pride, even spiritual pride, can get us into trouble if we are not careful. We see someone stumble, fall, and make a stupid mistake, and while we may not say it out loud, have you found yourself saying, “I’d never do anything that stupid!”

I was serving at a large church in Bucks County when the Jimmy Swaggart saga hit the Christian world. I was getting ready to begin a choir rehearsal when one of the men in the choir started to criticize and attack Swaggart. He made the statement, “How could anyone be so stupid?” I remember making this statement: “What he did was wrong. Dead wrong.
But there go I but by the grace of God. Rather than criticize him we should be praying for him.

Peter was the disciple that Jesus renamed, “the Rock.” He is the one that made a critical error after he made the bold statement to the Lord, “Everyone else, Lord, but not me.” And you know the rest of the story.
Peter ends up denying Christ in the garden. Ray Pritchard, in his new book, STEALTH ATTACK – PROTECTING YOURSELF AGAINST SATAN’S PLAN TO DESTORY YOUR LIFE (MOODY), suggests that Peter made a number of mistakes that night:

1. He talked when he should have been listening. At the Last Supper, when Jesus said that all His disciples would desert Him, Peter impulsively blurted out, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.” Within six hours Peter would come to regret those brave words.

2. He didn’t appreciate HIS own weakness.

3. He ignored Jesus’ warning.

4. He followed afar off. He followed Jesus, but at a distance, when he should have been His elbow. In this case, following Jesus afar off only got him into more trouble.

5. He warmed himself by the wrong fire. Peter had no business warming himself in the company of the enemies of the Lord. By consorting with those who arrested Jesus, Peter was placing himself in a position where he would almost certainly be exposed. Peter warmed himself by the wrong fire until things got too hot for him.

6. He was unprepared when the attack came.

7. He compounded his sin by first deceiving, then denying, and finally swearing. But this was inevitable. Peter set himself up for a fall, and when it came, it was a big one. ‘O what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.’ It is interesting to note that Peter fooled only himself. The others never really believed him. They sensed he was lying. Something in his face and the tone of his voice gave him away.”

How about you? Is there an area of spiritual pride in your heart? Are you really listening to what HE wants to say to you when you read His WORD? Are you warming yourself by the wrong fire? Is so, today is the day to make it right. Don’t ignore it – DEAL WITH IT! Learn from the life of Peter.

Great quote: “Keeping the joy of heaven always before you will help you run the race with patience. It will help you endure your scuffles with temptation and affliction. What is more, it will make you reckon also that these afflictions ‘are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.'” (Romans 8:18) – William Gurnall

OUT OF THE WRECK I RISE …

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Romans 8:35

This morning as you turn on your computer to read Freedom Fighters, I am aware of several men and their families that are facing enormous trials and difficulties in their lives. These words are for you this morning, not just from the pen of one of Christianity’s godly devotional writers, but a message from God Himself. May these words of comfort burn into your hearts and minds today:

“God does not keep His child immune from trouble; He promises, ‘I will be with him IN trouble …’ (Psalm 91:15) It doesn’t matter how real or intense the adversities may be; NOTHING can ever separate him from his relationship to God. ‘In all these things we are more than conquerors …’ (Romans 8:37)

Paul was not referring here to IMAGINARY things, but to things that are dangerously REAL. And he said we are ‘super-victors’ in the midst of then, not because of our own ingenuity, nor because of OUR courage, but because none of them affects our essential relationship with God in Jesus Christ. I feel sorry for the Christian who doesn’t have something in the circumstances of his life that he wishes was not there.

‘Shall TRIBULATION …?’ Tribulation is never a grand, highly welcomed event; but whatever it may be – whether exhausting, irritating, or simply causing some weakness – it is not able to ‘separate us from the love of Christ.’ Never allow tribulations or the ‘cares of this world’
to separate you from remembering that God loves you (Matthew 13:22).

‘Shall DISTRESS …?’ Can God’s love continue to hold fast, even when everyone and everything around us seems to be saying that His love is a lie, and that there is no such thing as justice?

“Shall FAMINE …?’ Can we not only believe in the love of God but also be ‘MORE THAN conquerors,’ even while we are being starved?

Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver, having deceived even Paul, or else some extraordinary thing happens to someone who holds on to the love of God when the odds are totally against him. Logic is silenced in the face of each of these things which come against him. Only one thing can account for it – the LOVE OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS. ‘Out of the wreck I rise’ every time.” Oswald Chambers – My Utmost for His Highest

I trust these words this morning will bring comfort to your heart if you are in the midst “of the wreck.” May bring peace and comfort to your hurting hearts.

Great quote: “For your eternal comfort, Christian, you can look forward to a day when there will be a full and final decision in the quarrel between you and Satan. You will see your enemy’s camp completely scattered, with not a weapon left in his hand to use against you. You will tread upon every fortress from which he fired so many shots. You will see them dismantled and demolished until there is not one corruption left standing in your heart for the devil to hide himself in. On that glorious day, the enemy who has made you tremble will be trampled under your feet.” William Gurnall

SIMPLE OBEDIENCE

“ … and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5One of the resources that I use in my quiet time with the Lord is a little devotional book written by Fenelon. It was written over 400 years ago, but his insights are so timely and right on. As I have been meditating on the subject of “taking every thought captive,” his words today were right on:

“Encourage peace. Become deaf to your over-active imagination. Your spinning imagination will harm your health and make your spiritual life very dry. Don’t worry yourself sick for no good reason. Inner peace, and the sweet presence of God, are chased away by RESTLESSNESS. How can you hear God speak, in His soft and tender way, when your hurried thoughts create a whirlwind within? Be quiet, and He will soon be heard. Allow yourself one excess: to be excessively obedient.

You ask for comfort, but you do not see that you have been led to the edge of the fountain and refuse to drink. Peace and comfort are to be found only in simple obedience. Be obedient without a lot of talk about how obedient you are. Your will soon find rivers of living water flowing within you. If you believe much, you will receive much. If you believe nothing, you will receive nothing, and continue to listen only to the stories your empty imagination tells you.

You dishonor true love by supposing that it is concerned about the INSIGNIFICANT things that continually occupy your attention. Satan is transformed into an angel of light. He assumes the form of a legalistic love, and an overly-sensitive conscience. You should know by now the troubles he will lead you into if he convinces you to be a Pharisee. REJECT HIS ADVANCES.If you allow yourself to have only simple and uncomplicated desires, you will be more pleasing to God than if you died the death of a hundred martyrs. Turn your anxieties to the fact that you have delayed in offering this sacrifice of simplicity to God. Can true love hesitate when the Well-Beloved asks?”

Adapted from THE SEEKING HEART – by Fenelon

Are you practicing SIMPLE OBEDIENCE today? That mind of ours can do dangerous things. Today is the day to start taking EVERY THOUGHT captive to the obedience of Christ.

Great quote: “God means what He says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it – no matter what.” Hebrews 4:12 from THE MESSAGE

(The rainbow picture was taken by Bill Pruitt at America’s KESWICK. The rainbow appears to end right at the Colony Chapel.)

Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow” – when you now have it with you. Proverbs: 3:28

Often we put off till tomorrow what we could do today, including helping others. Proverbs 3:28 tells us that we should give to our neighbors now. There should be no delay in doing good whether the request is large or small. We are called to give in various ways. It could be money, time or food. The food we share may be the bread of life – God’s Word. When we give to someone in need God will bless us. In Acts 20:35 Paul tells us – In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” God reminds me of this over and over again.

America’s Keswick asked me to prepare a written testimony of the work the Lord Jesus had done to save me from a life of addiction. I was honored by the request; however, I never expected the inner turmoil that was to come while trying to write my testimony. I struggled with the lies of Satan for two weeks. I questioned God’s strength in my life, the sincerity of my heart to do whatever was necessary to follow Jesus, how others would react and so on. No matter how hard I tried or prayed I could not write the testimony. I had not slept the night before my deadline. I was frustrated and full of doubt. While struggling to get the first paragraph on paper I was interrupted by a man asking me to spend time talking with a new guy coming into The Colony of Mercy. I was irritated and tempted to rush through a quick “Hi, nice to meet you.” Besides, it was my day off. I could talk with the new guy tomorrow.

When I stopped to look up I realized how broken and scared this man was. I laid down my pen to share with him about the love and hope of the new life he could have through Jesus Christ. After we prayed together he had calmed down (so had I). He was called into the building to meet with a staff member. While reflecting on the conversation I began to write my testimony. The words flowed onto the paper with ease and confidence. I knew that God was in control. All of the doubt and lies had vanished. What appeared to me to be an interruption turned out to be a divine appointment with God where he allowed me to join in his work. He allowed me to give and then blessed me with answered prayers. He lifted my faith and gave me the strength I needed to stand firm and glorify him. I praise God for not waiting another day to put the stranger in my life.

Earlier today, a friend stopped by while I was preparing to write this devotional. He asked if I had change for a ten dollar bill. I told him that I did not. He asked if he could borrow a dollar. Without thinking, I told him that I only had one dollar left, but would be getting paid tomorrow. I reached for the bible to read him the verse I had been moved to write about and realized what had just happened. I forgot God’s word that quickly. Before I read the verse out loud I handed him the dollar. He said “I don’t want to take your last dollar.” I assured him I wanted him to have it and I read the verse to him: Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow”- when you now have it with you. My friend said “aaaaaahhhh – practice what you preach, I like it!” He put the dollar in his pocket and we smiled at each other. Later that night someone else read this and gave me a dollar, my friend paid me back as well. God blessed us all through his word.

James 2:14-17 reminds us …”faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Today, will you immediately give to others when they are in need? Will you show up for your appointment with God? Will you allow God to bless you “Sooner or Later?”

Today’s Freedom Fighter was written by Bill Pruitt, a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and the Discipleship Program. Bill is now serving in our internship program working at the Raws Front Desk and in the Dining Room. We praise the Lord for the transformation that is taking place in his life.

GREAT QUOTE: There is nothing that pleases the Lord so much as praise. There is no test of faith so true as the grace of thanksgiving. Are you praising God enough? Are you thanking Him for your actual blessings that are more than can be numbered, and are you daring to praise Him even for those trials which are but blessings in disguise? Have you learned to praise Him in advance for the things that have not yet come?

TAKING EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but DIVINELY POWERFUL for the DESTRUCTION of strongholds. We are destroy speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are TAKING every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians
10:4-5

The battle is being waged in our minds. The thoughts that enter are used by the Enemy to lead us into temptation which left unchecked will result in the carrying out of whatever the mind has been dwelling on.

We need to be taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Notice in the text that the word is an active verb – taking. It isn’t a once and for all act – it is a continuous process.

Several weeks ago a staff member brought us to baby ducks to raise that someone had been given as an Easter present. Softies that we are for God’s creatures, we took them. We set them in a cage inside our larger pen where they lived until they were old enough to mingle with the others.

On Sunday night I decided to let them free so that they could go into the outer pen. We have three other ducks and to my amazement, as soon as they stepped out of the cage the larger Peking duck walked right over, put his webbed foot on the body of the duckling and began to try and break its neck.

As I have pondered this, I think this is a good picture of what Paul admonished us to do in these verses. The world, the flesh, and the devil come at us with thoughts that want to destroy our lives. God’s desire is give us ABUNDANT life. Satan’s desire is to steal, kill and destroy. And one of his ways is to use our thoughts.

A man who THINKS VICTORY knows that every thought that raises up against the knowledge of God, every thought that seeks to rob me of living life the way God intended me to live, every thought that is meant to lead me into sin, needs to be aggressively dealt with. We can’t play or toy with it – destroy it! Take it captive. When they are released in our minds, use the weapons has given – they are DIVINELY POWERFUL FOR THE DESTRUCTION of strongholds.

Don’t let those thoughts out of the cage! But when they do, remember the duck – don’t play with it! Destroy it with the weapons he has given you.

Great Quote: “No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges – always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives.” Oswald Chambers

TAKING EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but DIVINELY POWERFUL for the DESTRUCTION of strongholds. We are destroy speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are TAKING every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians
10:4-5

The battle is being waged in our minds. The thoughts that enter are used by the Enemy to lead us into temptation which left unchecked will result in the carrying out of whatever the mind has been dwelling on.

We need to be taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Notice in the text that the word is an active verb – taking. It isn’t a once and for all act – it is a continuous process.

Several weeks ago a staff member brought us to baby ducks to raise that someone had been given as an Easter present. Softies that we are for God’s creatures, we took them. We set them in a cage inside our larger pen where they lived until they were old enough to mingle with the others.

On Sunday night I decided to let them free so that they could go into the outer pen. We have three other ducks and to my amazement, as soon as they stepped out of the cage the larger Peking duck walked right over, put his webbed foot on the body of the duckling and began to try and break its neck.

As I have pondered this, I think this is a good picture of what Paul admonished us to do in these verses. The world, the flesh, and the devil come at us with thoughts that want to destroy our lives. God’s desire is give us ABUNDANT life. Satan’s desire is to steal, kill and destroy. And one of his ways is to use our thoughts.

A man who THINKS VICTORY knows that every thought that raises up against the knowledge of God, every thought that seeks to rob me of living life the way God intended me to live, every thought that is meant to lead me into sin, needs to be aggressively dealt with. We can’t play or toy with it – destroy it! Take it captive. When they are released in our minds, use the weapons has given – they are DIVINELY POWERFUL FOR THE DESTRUCTION of strongholds.

Don’t let those thoughts out of the cage! But when they do, remember the duck – don’t play with it! Destroy it with the weapons he has given you.

Great Quote: “No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges – always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives.” Oswald Chambers

CHEERFUL OR MISERABLE?

“A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face; a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day. A miserable heart means a miserable life; a cheerful heart fills the day with song.” (Proverbs 15:13, 15 from The Message)

You’ve met them, haven’t you? There are people who look at life with the glass half-empty. Everything is doom and gloom. They immediately see all the negative things about life. Then there are the people who see life with the glass half full. They can see the positive in just about any situation. Which do you like to be around.

I have a core group of staff that meet with me for prayer every morning. One morning I shared with them how depressing it was to meet with them. My personality is far different than theirs, which is not saying it is better than theirs. I would come in excited to face the new challenges of the day and they were either tired, sick, depressed, overwhelmed, and dreading the stuff they had to do. Instead of walking away from this time of prayer energized, it would suck the life out of me.

Miserable people do that – they can drain you and suck the life right out of you. Last week we served 1000 ladies for our Spring Ladies’ Day and we decided to cancel our daily fitness program activities for the seniors in the community who come to use our weight room, pool and gym. One of the men who didn’t see the many signs that had been posted for over a week canceling the program, showed up to swim and he was not a happy camper. In fact, he went off on everybody about how “Keswick is going to the dogs.” When I inquired about him, the team that serve there said, “That’s so-and-so. He’s never happy about anything.”

Several moments later the “herds” of women began to arrive and two ladies pushed their way to the front and demanded that I open the doors. We were planning to open the doors at 7:30 AM which was a half hour earlier than the published time to open them. For ten minutes they whined and complained to wear me out. Finally the one said, “Can you give me your name. I am going to report you to your supervisor.” I showed her my name badge, and calmly stood my ground. I walked through the Auditorium before the program started and these two complainers were on the front row. When they saw me – they came over and apologized profusely. “We opened the Keswick Today and there was your picture. We had no clue you were the President & CEO.” I cracked up!

Whining and complaining will set the whole tone of your day. As you evaluate your heart today are you a whiner? Complainer? Or does the radiance of Christ and what He has done for you permeate your life so that when people encounter you they say, “What’s up with him? How come you are always happy? How come you are always smiling?” Are you miserable or cheerful today? A man who THINKS VICTORY! will be a man filled with joy that is overflowing and joy that will be contagious.

Great Quote: “When your basic belief system about God and yourself is shaky, your day-to-day behavior system will be shaky. But when your belief system is intact and your relationship with God is based on truth, you’ll have very little trouble working out the practical aspects of daily Christianity. Show me someone who knows who they are in Christ and who is filled with the Holy Spirit, as is taught in the first half of the Epistles, and I will show you someone who will instinctively live according to the second half of the Epistles. It will be the ‘natural’ thing to do.” Neil T. Anderson

INSTANT OBEDIENCE

“On that very day Abraham did … as God told him.” Genesis 17:23

One of our Keswick speakers shared this definition of obedience. Let it fasten itself to your heart and mind: “Obedience is doing everything you are told to do IN THE RIGHT WAY (with the right heart attitude inwardly), RIGHT AWAY (immediately) and ALL THE WAY (do a complete job.) — Pastor Tim Shorey — Senior Pastor Trinity Fellowship Toms River

This is an issue that we are working on with our son, Zach. He is a really good kid, but one of the battles we face is in asking him to do something and then having him come back with alternatives rather than doing was he was asked to do. For example, “Zach, take out the trash.” Instead of say, “Yes, I will do that,” we will sometimes get this response, “I have to do this first,” or “Mom told me to do this instead.”

Has God instructed you to do something and you are holding back from being obedient? Are you giving Him alternatives rather than obey? The writer of Streams in the Desert (Mrs. Cowman/Zondervan) writes that “instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is, for DELAYED obedience is disobedience. Each time God calls upon us to do something, He is offering to make a covenant with us. Our part is to obey, and then He will do His part to send a special blessing.

The only way to be obedient is to obey INSTANTLY – “On that very day,” as Abraham did. I know we often postpone doing what we know to do, and then later do it as well as we can. Certainly this is better than not doing it at all. By then, however, it is at best only a crippled, disfigured, and partial attempt toward obedience.

POSTPONED OBEDIENCE CAN NEVER BRING US THE FULL BLESSING GOD INTENDED OR WHAT IT WOULD HAVE BROUGHT HAD WE OBEYED AT THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE MOMENT.

What a pity it is how we rob ourselves, as well as God and others, by our procrastination! Remember, ‘On that very day’ is the Genesis way of saying, ‘Do it now!’Martin Luther once said, ‘A true believer will crucify, or put to death, the question, ‘Why?’ He will simply obey without questioning.’” And I refuse to be one of those who ‘unless … I see miraculous signs and wonders … will never believe’ (John 4:48) I will obey without questioning. Obedience is the fruit of faith; patience is the early blossom on the tree of faith.”

How about you this morning? Are you an obedient child of God? Are you obedient to your employer? Good stuff to ponder as we begin this new week.

Great quote: “Our circumstances are the means God uses to exhibit just how wonderfully perfect and extraordinarily pure His Son is. Discovering a new way of manifesting the Son of God should make our heart beat with renewed excitement. It is one thing to choose adversity, and quite another to enter into adversity through the orchestrating of our circumstances by God’s sovereignty. And if God puts you into adversity, He is adequately sufficient to ‘supply all your need.’ (Philippians 4:19)” – Oswald Chambers

FATHER DAUGHTER NIGHT – Sign up today for our annual Father Daughter Nite at America’s KESWICK. Comedian Gordon Douglas will be our special guest for a fun-filled evening of praise and a time to honor daughters of all ages. Thursday, May 17th at 6:15 PM. Call today to make your reservation for dinner and the program. 732-350-1187.