Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Change”
Our Bible verse for today: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to all humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “You can resist temptation.”
Change is hard. You’ve probably heard the old adage that the only one who likes change is a wet baby. That’s a funny and clever saying and although maybe not entirely true, it’s close. Positive change requires effort and sacrifice and usually, even if we do want the change to happen, we’re still not crazy about the effort required to bring it about. Therefore we’re often faced with the temptation to give in or to give up. We give in and eat that twinkie. Or, we give up and drop out of college. Change is hard and the temptation to give in or give up is real. So what do we do?
In 1 Corinthians 10:13 the Apostle Paul gives insight into a great spiritual truth about temptation and change. He writes that God will never allow us to be faced with a temptation we’re not able to resist. Paul says that with every temptation, God will also provide us with a way of escape so that we don’t have to give in or give up.
The lesson here is that before you give in and eat the twinkie; before give up and drop out of college; before you allow the temptation to deter you from the change and transformation God is trying to bring into your life; go to Him in prayer and ask Him to show you the way of escape from the temptation. It will always be there. The challenge for us is to resist the impulse of the moment long enough to bring God into the situation by means of prayer. If we do that, and if we then wait for Him to show us the way out, we will be a lot more successful at resisting temptation and we will experience a lot more positive change in our lives.
You can resist that temptation – if you ask God to help you.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 