5 steps to avoid temptation

5 steps to avoid temptation

1. Recognize the tendency towards sin (James 1:14 “but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.”)
2. Recognize the way (I Cor 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”)
3. Resist with the word of truth (Heb 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
II Cor 10: 4-5 “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”)
4. Refocus with praise (Psalm 147 “How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!”)
5. Run away and Repent quickly when you fall (1 Cor 6:18 – 20 “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
1 Cor 10:14 “Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.”
I Tim 6:11 “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness”
II Tim 2:22 “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”)

Jesus was tempted as we are tempted now: Heb 4:15 “we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”
Action plan:
1. Analyze you temptation / sin patterns
a. With whom are you tempted to sin (Psalm 141:4 “Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers;”)
b. Where are you tempted (Proverbs 22:5 “In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls, but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.”)
c. When are you tempted to sin
d. Why are you tempted to sin (I Thes 4:8) “Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.”
e. What are the first steps you might take on the path to sin (the thought process – forethought, action etc)
2. Choose scripture verses to read and to mediate (Psalm 119:11 “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”, Joshua 1:8 “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” – eg. Jesus Matt 4:1 -11
3. Spirit is willing – work with the Spirit (Matt 26:41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”)
4. Remember 1 John 2:16, 17 “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

Prayer Power

WHAT HAPPENS IN HEAVEN WHEN WE PRAY?



This is one of the nicest e-mails I have seen and is so true:



I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, 'This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.

I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.


The angel then said to me, "This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them." I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. "This is the Acknowledgment Section, my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed." How is it that there is no work going on here? ' I asked.

"So sad," the angel sighed. "After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments"

"How does one acknowledge God's blessings? " I asked..

"Simple," the angel answered. Just say, "Thank you, Lord. "

"What blessings should they ever acknowledge God for?" I asked.

"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world ' s wealthy. "

"And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity..."

"If you woke up this morning with more health than illness .. You are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day. "

"If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... You are ahead of 700 million people in the world."

"If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world."


"If your parents are still alive and still married ...you are very rare."

"If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair........"

Ok, what now? How can I start?

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.