TEMPTATION

A co-worker asked a friend why he got donuts if he was trying to diet. He said, “Well, I came around the corner where the Crispy Creme shop was, and I told God, if He wanted me to buy some donuts to have a parking spot in the front. On the eighth time around, there it was!”

Friend, don't treat temptation like this. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:22 "FLEE also youthful lusts..." 1 Corinthians 6:18 says, "FLEE fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.” I Corinthians 10:14 declares  "Wherefore, my dearly beloved, FLEE from idolatry. Proverbs 7:6-10 “For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, Passing through the street NEAR her corner; and he went the way to her house, In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.” If you don’t go NEAR, you will not go the way. 

Proverbs 5:2-10 -That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.REMOVE THEY WAY FAR FROM her, and COME NOT NIGH the door of her house: Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger.”

A man advertised for a chauffeur. Three applicants came. His first question was, "How close to the edge  of a cliff can you drive without going over?"

One man said, "A yard." 

Another replied, "A foot." 

The third said, "As far away as possible."

The third man got the job.

Joseph was victorious because he FLED (Genesis 39:12) and did not linger. When faced with temptation don't go around the block and look back at it. Flee it and don't look back.

Don’t see how close you can come to temptation but rather how far you can stay away from it if you want to be a victorious Christian.

NO ACCIDENTS

A rough-and-ready cowboy applied for a large insurance policy. Worried about his life style, the agent was careful and cautious to ask questions to make sure that the cowboy would not take any foolish chances.

"Have you had any accidents?" asked the agent.

"No, not really," he answered. "Come to think of it, though, a rattlesnake bit me and a horse kicked me once."

"Well," questioned the agent, "aren't those accidents?"

"Oh no," he responded. "They did it on purpose!"

There are no accidents in the life of the Christian - only appointments from God to let us know He is with us and working out His will in our lives

Disappointments are His appointments.

Ruth 2:3 - And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her HAP was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.

Ruth's hap was God's map.

JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS

A classic example of jumping to conclusions without all the facts is the following story:

A lady invited her friends to mushroom and steak dinner. When the mushrooms were opened, a slight scum was on the top. Since the quests were expected shortly, the lady suggested to the maid, "Give the dog a little, and if he eats it, it is probably alright." The dog liked it and begged for more, so the dinner was completed and then served to the quest. 

After the main course, the maid hurriedly whispered to the mistress, "Ma'am, the dog is dead." There was no time to lose. Some time later the guest were reclining after the use of the stomach pump. 

The lady asked the maid, "Where is the dog now?" "Out on the front steps, ma'am, where he fell when the car hit him."

The French have a proverb, "If we knew all, we would forgive all." Though that proverb may not be totally true, it does remind us to be slow to judge, because we know in part.

How often do we make rash judgments about others without knowing all the facts.

Proverbs 18:13  - He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. 

DECREASE TO INCREASE

A nearby church called a new pastor. He was well received and in a short time the church began to grow. The attendance at Sunday school and worship services increased beyond expectations. Even the number of people at prayer meeting surprised everyone.

“Congratulations on the way your church is responding to you,” I said after being introduced to him. “What are you doing differently than most other churches to see such growth?”

“I’m decreasing,” was his strange reply.

“Decreasing?” I asked with a question mark on my face.

“Yes,” came his quick reply. “It’s what John said about Jesus: ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.’"

 

Let God do the promoting. It’ll save you a lot of heartache in the long run.