"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
1 Corinthians 10:13
Many of us remember the part of this verse that says, God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape." But we forget the first part of the verse which is tremendously important: "There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man."
There is nothing wrong with you when you feel tempted. Never let the devil accuse you with that lie. The temptation you face is not new and different. Others are battling the same problem. And God has given you the measure of faith (Romans 12:3) to overcome.
"But," you say, "there have been times when I've experienced a temptation and I gave in to it. Where was the way of escape then? Where was this promise that God would not allow me to be tempted beyond what I could bear?"
God didn't allow you to be tempted more than you could bear; He did make a way for you to escape your temptations. The reason you or I give in is because down deep inside we DESIRE what the temptation offers; and second, we have not rooted and grounded ourselves, by our faith, in Christ. Also, we do not use God's Word. Jesus said to the devil who tempted Him, "Devil, it is written!"
God does provide a way of escape. That is His part. Our part is to cultivate DESIRING His will, making our way and words agree with His way and Word, and putting our faith in the Lord to help us overcome it.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
DISLOCATED LIMBS
"Now the God of Peace, make you perfect in every good thing to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ."
-- Heb 13:20-21.
THE GREEK word here rendered perfect really means "to put in joint, to complete." At creation man's will was intended to discern the Will of God, to say Yes to it, and to pass the divine impulses and commandments to the rest of our humanity. In the past, on board a ship, before phones and radios made it possible for the captain to speak to every part of the ocean-liner, He would quietly utter his orders to a subordinate officer beside him, who in turn repeated them in a loud voice through a speaking-trumpet or tube. That intermediary may represent the will which was intended to receive its directions from the Will of God, and pass them throughout our being. Such was our Lord's attitude throughout His earthly life. He said: "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me"; "I seek not My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me"; "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt."
But in the Fall, the dominance of God's Will and the loyal response of man's will became disorganized; and the human will, instead of functioning in harmony with the Will of God, began to obey the will of the flesh in its grosser or more refined forms. Not what God Wills, but what "I" will, has become the working principle of the great majority. As a result it has come about that the will, by constant misuse, has become dislocated, warped, "out of joint." Tennyson says: "Our wills are ours to make them Thine!" Just so, but they are too stubborn for some of us to manage. Hence the suggestion that we should pass the matter over to the "God of Peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus."
Sometimes when playing football, or on the ice, a player may lose his balance, or be tripped up, and in the fall his shoulder may become dislocated. His arm is still in the body, but out of joint, so that it hangs useless by his side, until the trainer by one strong wrench forces the bone back into its proper place. Is not that true of us? We are in the Body of Christ by redeeming grace, but we need to be set, i.e., to be brought into articulated union with the Will of God in Christ Jesus. Let us humbly ask the great Trainer of souls, by the pressure of His strong and gentle hands, here and now, to joint our wayward wills with the Will of God, and then to work in us and through us that which is well-pleasing in His sight!
PRAYER
Gracious Father! I yield to You my will and desires, my members and faculties, the life of my body, the thoughts of my heart, and the aspirations of my spirit--perfect that which concerns me. AMEN.
-- Heb 13:20-21.
THE GREEK word here rendered perfect really means "to put in joint, to complete." At creation man's will was intended to discern the Will of God, to say Yes to it, and to pass the divine impulses and commandments to the rest of our humanity. In the past, on board a ship, before phones and radios made it possible for the captain to speak to every part of the ocean-liner, He would quietly utter his orders to a subordinate officer beside him, who in turn repeated them in a loud voice through a speaking-trumpet or tube. That intermediary may represent the will which was intended to receive its directions from the Will of God, and pass them throughout our being. Such was our Lord's attitude throughout His earthly life. He said: "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me"; "I seek not My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me"; "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt."
But in the Fall, the dominance of God's Will and the loyal response of man's will became disorganized; and the human will, instead of functioning in harmony with the Will of God, began to obey the will of the flesh in its grosser or more refined forms. Not what God Wills, but what "I" will, has become the working principle of the great majority. As a result it has come about that the will, by constant misuse, has become dislocated, warped, "out of joint." Tennyson says: "Our wills are ours to make them Thine!" Just so, but they are too stubborn for some of us to manage. Hence the suggestion that we should pass the matter over to the "God of Peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus."
Sometimes when playing football, or on the ice, a player may lose his balance, or be tripped up, and in the fall his shoulder may become dislocated. His arm is still in the body, but out of joint, so that it hangs useless by his side, until the trainer by one strong wrench forces the bone back into its proper place. Is not that true of us? We are in the Body of Christ by redeeming grace, but we need to be set, i.e., to be brought into articulated union with the Will of God in Christ Jesus. Let us humbly ask the great Trainer of souls, by the pressure of His strong and gentle hands, here and now, to joint our wayward wills with the Will of God, and then to work in us and through us that which is well-pleasing in His sight!
PRAYER
Gracious Father! I yield to You my will and desires, my members and faculties, the life of my body, the thoughts of my heart, and the aspirations of my spirit--perfect that which concerns me. AMEN.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
RENEWED?
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Ephesians 4:23
In 1 Corinthians 14:15, Paul says he prays both "with the spirit AND with the understanding." This shows us the absolute necessity of joining our spirit and mind as one. The mind is the most difficult part of man to bring into harmony with Christ. The mind has been subject to all kinds of information since childhood and constantly feeds on that information. Even when converted, it is usually the first to lapse away from the spiritual, and therefore must be constantly RENEWED in the spirit by the Holy Ghost and the Word of God. Praying in tongues and the interpreting back to the mind what God's response is (1Corinthians 14:13), and living in the Word of God so that it lives in us, are the two greatest forces I know to be continually "renewed in our mind."
Ephesians 4:23
In 1 Corinthians 14:15, Paul says he prays both "with the spirit AND with the understanding." This shows us the absolute necessity of joining our spirit and mind as one. The mind is the most difficult part of man to bring into harmony with Christ. The mind has been subject to all kinds of information since childhood and constantly feeds on that information. Even when converted, it is usually the first to lapse away from the spiritual, and therefore must be constantly RENEWED in the spirit by the Holy Ghost and the Word of God. Praying in tongues and the interpreting back to the mind what God's response is (1Corinthians 14:13), and living in the Word of God so that it lives in us, are the two greatest forces I know to be continually "renewed in our mind."
Thursday, March 15, 2007
WHOLE PERSON HEALING
And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.
And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
Mar 8:22-25
This story illustrates whole man healing. At the first touch of Jesus the blind man's eyes were opened, but inwardly he had the same old vision. He saw people as TREES walking . . . as objects, meaningless. You can't shake hands with a tree. You can't build a marriage when people look like trees to you. You can't establish right relationships with people when you reduce them to things. With Christ's SECOND touch, the blind man was completely healed in his inner man AND in his eyes. Now he saw MEN clearly. He received whole man healing.
It is possible to feel better in your body and yet not feel better toward people, those you live with everyday. From time to time we all need the second touch of Jesus so that our relationships can be healed, for we are not living with trees (or things). We are living with PEOPLE. The second touch may also be many "second touches," on the general principle that God wants to do the whole job in us--and through us.
And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
Mar 8:22-25
This story illustrates whole man healing. At the first touch of Jesus the blind man's eyes were opened, but inwardly he had the same old vision. He saw people as TREES walking . . . as objects, meaningless. You can't shake hands with a tree. You can't build a marriage when people look like trees to you. You can't establish right relationships with people when you reduce them to things. With Christ's SECOND touch, the blind man was completely healed in his inner man AND in his eyes. Now he saw MEN clearly. He received whole man healing.
It is possible to feel better in your body and yet not feel better toward people, those you live with everyday. From time to time we all need the second touch of Jesus so that our relationships can be healed, for we are not living with trees (or things). We are living with PEOPLE. The second touch may also be many "second touches," on the general principle that God wants to do the whole job in us--and through us.
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