The word temptation has come to mean something bad to us today, but we tend to use the word in the wrong way. Temptation itself is not sin; it is something we are bound to face simply by virtue of being human. Not to be tempted would mean that we were already so shameful that we would be beneath contempt. Yet many of us suffer from temptations we should never have to suffer, simply because we have refused to allow God to lift us to a higher level where we would face temptations of another kind.

A person’s inner nature, what he possesses in the inner, spiritual part of his being, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the true nature of the person being tempted and reveals the possibilities of his nature. Every person actually determines or sets the level of his own temptation, because temptation will come to him in accordance with the level of his controlling, inner nature.

Temptation comes to me, suggesting a possible shortcut to the realization of my highest goal— it does not direct me toward what I understand to be evil, but toward what I understand to be good. Temptation is something that confuses me for a while, and I don’t know whether something is right or wrong. When I yield to it, I have made lust a god, and the temptation itself becomes the proof that it was only my own fear that prevented me from falling into the sin earlier.

Temptation is not something we can escape; in fact, it is essential to the well-rounded life of a person. Beware of thinking that you are tempted as no one else–what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save us from temptations–He sustains us in the midst of them (see Hebrews 2:18 and Hebrews 4:15-16).

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September 17, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Sometimes when I read Oswald Chambers I feel so inadequate. He talks about temptation, and how it can be a good thing, but he does not talk about succumbing to temptation. He writes about the spiritual discipline we need to grow, but he leaves out the “how.” He often talks about how we must serve others, and I find myself just serving myself. He seems to set the bar pretty high for me sometimes.

His devotionals often make me feel “less than”, much like the sermons I grew up hearing. Back then I just gave up and quit trying to be a Christian. If I couldn’t keep all the rules and maintain discipline over my thoughts and behavior then it must not be for me. Maybe all this “stuff” was and is for people that can be disciplined and “good”.

And God says…” No one is good. I don’t grade on the curve. My standards are 100% holiness all the time. You cannot reach that goal regardless of your discipline. You cannot change yourself into the man you need to become……regardless of your study, discipline or self control. You cannot even get a little better.

You can become “good enough” when you let Jesus live through you. You are “good enough” when you allow Jesus to provide 100% of the holiness I require. Does this mean you give up living a “good life”, trying to be a “good person”? Not necessarily. But it does mean that the “good life” you live is a life lived by Jesus through you, and the changes that become a part of your life are brought about by Jesus.

You can “give up” trying to live right and simply allow Jesus to live right through you