Love you all, praying for you,
Praise God for His Word. He tells us what will come, and what to do. Temptation will come, but what you do – can cut it off, or invite it back. James 4:7 – Resist the devil and He will flee from you. This is a promise from God. The devil comes to tempt you. He wants to steal, kill, and destroy. Temptation is just an invitation to believe something other than what God said - to do something other than what God told you to do, or do something that will disappoint or displease God. It will separate you from Him, it will always leads to death - do not be fooled. The devil will try to steal your peace, steal your joy, cause you to fear or doubt, he will try to enslave you with lust or greed or pride, anything that he can - to keep you from the path that God has for you. Temptation always keeps you from moving forward. The devil wants you going backward. You’ve been there, you’ve done that, you’re not going back! So what is the devil trying to tempt you with today? God said this is how you deal with the devil and temptation – Resist him, and he will flee from you. That’s a promise from God. But if you don’t, he won’t. If you don’t resist the devil – he won’t flee. He will keep hanging around – crouching at your door, desiring to sift you like wheat, so he can rule over you again. God said Resist Him, And after you resist him, Go on your way! Move your feet. Whatever the devil says is a lie. That thing won’t make you happy, whatever it is you are tempted to do. He promises pleasure but it’s just for a moment – it is a façade, it leads to death – separation from your relationship with God, and eventually physical death. How many wives have left their husbands for a better man, or husbands left their wife for a better woman, only to find out (studies prove it) that they are at the same level of happiness or unhappiness that they were before. The devil promises you a whole warehouse of fireworks to sell at the 4th of July – you’ll be rich! Only to find out when you walk in the warehouse – that there is no warehouse! There are no fireworks at all – just a two-by-fours bracing up a false store front and dirt behind it. When it comes to the devil - most people do not resist him – they entertain him. They entertain the thought. God calls this perverse – to think different – than what God said – to turn it over in your mind until you go back to the contrary. God hates it! Perverse lips – say something different than what God says. Watch what you say - don't let your words give credence to a lie. The devil will always bring these opportunities. These invitations to do other than what God said, to say other than what God said. If you don’t resist him, he will just keep coming – because he knows you will eventually fall – it’s just a matter of time. Jesus did the opposite. Jesus resisted him. The temptations Jesus faced were just like us – but far beyond what we will ever face – and the devil waited for his weakest moment. There will be times when you are tempted beyond your physical ability to resist. That’s where the WORD of God is the only strength to overcome – and it will crush the devil under your feet. Satan tempted Jesus far worse than you or I will ever be tempted. The devil offered him another way – than the brutal suffering He knew His Heavenly Father needed for Him to endure – for our salvation, for our hope, so we could be given the power to resist temptation. The devil gave him the easy way out… But Jesus said, ‘It is written, It is written, It is written. And the devil left him, just like God promised. If you resist the devil – he will flee. God promised. He will look for a more opportune time. But there will be none! The more you resist, the stronger you get, the more you obey the stronger you get, and the more you are in God’s Word – overcoming with you testimony with a friend on your Daily Call – walking two by two - the stronger you will get. The more you gather together with other obeyers - in you PiVAT Small Group - the stronger you get. That’s why PRISM is so important. It’s the Word of God that you resist the enemy with. I Cor 10:13 - “No temptation you face is greater than what others have already faced before you.” God said He will never let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. He said but when you are tempted He will always provide a way out. Titus 2:12 – He gives you GRACE to say "No" to ungodly passions and lusts, and anything else that is less than His best for you. His GRACE for you to say no – is infinitely more powerful than this temptation! Take it! Use it! Choose It! Galatians 5:16 - Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts (or the desires) of the flesh (your old nature – controlled by sin, the desire for worldly things). There are some practical ways to walk in the Spirit. Job 31:1 - I made a covenant with his eyes. Proverbs 4:25 - Let your eyes look forward, fix your gaze straight ahead. Look where you are going, where God told you to go, not looking around at everything around you. Genesis 39:12 - Joseph ran! If there’s a place where you are prone to sin. Never go there again. Do not go down the road near her house. Some people and situations, some jobs are not the environment for you. Some books are not for you to read – man’s wisdom, man's ways – the pride of life… Some things are not for you to watch. Some friendships or relationships are not for you. You will never resist the devil if you stay there. The devil and temptation is like the alligator in the pond at the golf course. When it comes out of the water, some people keep looking at it while slowing backing away. That’s fine, but that won’t cut it… Get in the golf cart and MOVE ON to the next hole! That’s why PiVAT and PRISM and your Daily Call are so important – to resist the devil – and walk in the path God has chosen for you. No distractions, no delays. His WORD – is critical – it’s what you resist with… PRISM has to be your habit. You might not need it right now, but you will. It’s gotta be in you! The first thing out of your mouth! The first thing the devil wants to do is separate you from God’s Word. Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life. The Bible says - Jesus is the WORD of God made flesh – God’s Word in human form – that lived among us. If you neglect His Word, you won’t know the right way, you won’t be able to discern truth (it’s what resists the devil), and you won’t know life! Temptation entertained, always leads to death. It’s why PiVAT before dinner is so important. What has God told you to do today? – in this hour? - Right now? Then get going! Do it! Stop looking at alligators. And your Daily Call – God said You overcome by the blood of the lamb and the Word of your testimony. (Revelations 12:11) The more you are in His Word, the more you obey, the more you overcome with your testimony – the stronger you are, temptation becomes of no effect, you are too busy walking in the joy of doing what God told you at the time He said! The joy that His Presence and obedience brings. That’s something worth Praising Him for! The devil is a liar, don’t let him steal your peace, steal your contentment, or your focus or your diligence. Get to doing what God has for you in his hour! It’s where the joy is – it’s how you get to all the GOOD that God has stored up for you. Love you all, dad
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