{"id":2854,"date":"2010-09-17T06:39:50","date_gmt":"2010-09-17T14:39:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wordpress\/?p=2854"},"modified":"2010-09-18T03:47:52","modified_gmt":"2010-09-18T11:47:52","slug":"2854","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=2854","title":{"rendered":"Is There Good in Temptation? 9-17-2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is There Good in Temptation?<\/h2>\n
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September 17, 2010<\/div>\n
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No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man . . . \u20141 Corinthians 10:13<\/a><\/div>\n
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The word temptation<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n

A person\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Temptation comes to me, suggesting a possible shortcut to the realization of my highest goal\u2014 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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2013what 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\u2013He sustains us in the midst of them (see Hebrews 2:18<\/a> and Hebrews 4:15-16<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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September 17, 2010<\/p>\n

Journal Entry for Today-JDV<\/p>\n

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 \u201chow.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

His devotionals often make me feel \u201cless than\u201d, much like the sermons I grew up hearing. Back then I just gave up and quit trying to be a Christian. If I couldn\u2019t keep all the rules and maintain discipline over my thoughts and behavior then it must not be for me. Maybe all this \u201cstuff\u201d was and is for people that can be disciplined and \u201cgood\u201d.<\/p>\n

And God says\u2026\u201d No one is good. I don\u2019t 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\u2026\u2026regardless of your study, discipline or self control. You cannot even get a little better. <\/em><\/p>\n

You can become \u201cgood enough\u201d when you let Jesus live through you. You are \u201cgood enough\u201d when you allow Jesus to provide 100% of the holiness I require. Does this mean you give up living a \u201cgood life\u201d, trying to be a \u201cgood person\u201d? Not necessarily. But it does mean that the \u201cgood life\u201d 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

You can \u201cgive up\u201d trying to live right and simply allow Jesus to live right through you<\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is There Good in Temptation? September 17, 2010 \u00a0 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man . . . \u20141 Corinthians 10:13 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; […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2854"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2854"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2857,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2854\/revisions\/2857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}