Are My Urges and Desires a Sin?? – TEMPTATION [2]

September 16, 2015August 31, 2016buildafoundation Leave a comment

TEMPTATION … WHAT IT IS, AND WHAT IT IS NOT …

The dictionary’s definition of temptation is an urge or desire to do something, especially something you should not, or a wrong or forbidden pleasure that is enticing.

The Biblical definition of temptation is to entice to sin, to be put to the test. Our sinful nature, as a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, is a person’s tendency or inclination to follow their own self-will vs. following God’s will. – brunstad.org

Temptation is not a sin, in and of itself. It becomes a sin once my sinful thoughts become actions. Committing a sin is something that I choose to do. Sin can not be carried out unless I agree to allow it to. – brunstad.org

SAY…

Along with the word temptation, the word sin comes up quite often. Let’s take a moment to define sin.

Sin is…

Whatever weakens your reasoning
Whatever impairs the tenderness of your conscience
Whatever obscures your sense of God
Whatever takes away your delight for “God’s Ways”

In short, anything that increases the authority of “the flesh” over “the Spirit”, then becomes sin to you, no matter how good it is in itself. – Susanna Wesley, mother of John Wesley

———————————————-

TEMPTATION JUST “FEELS” WRONG —

Why? Because God has put His moral law in every person’s conscience.

Conscience, from the Greek, is translated “moral awareness”, it is the part of the human psyche that induces mental anguish and feelings of guilt when we violate it. And feelings of pleasure and well-being when our actions, thoughts and words are in conformity to our value systems. – gotquestions.org

The conscience…

Reacts when one’s actions, thoughts, and words conform to, or are contrary to, a standard, God’s standard, of right and wrong.
Is individual, and values can be different for every person.
Reliability is based on its formation by God’s Word vs the culture. A weak value system produces a weak conscience, while a strong value system produces a strong conscience, a strong sense of right and wrong.

Sadly, our consciences can become hardened and calloused, no longer feeling anything. A person with a hardened conscience no longer listens to its promptings, and can sin with abandon, delude himself into thinking all is well with his soul, and treat others insensitively and without compassion. – Created in God’s Image by Anthony Hoekema

The conscience acts as a…

Barometer of sorts, used by individuals for self-evaluation

Alarm, warning us that if we choose to continue along a particular line of thought (lust, coveting (desiring what is not ours), sexual sin, etc. we may find ourselves in a dangerous predicament.

HOW CAN BE KEEP OUR CONSCIENCES SENSITIVE TO GOD’S STANDARD?

By applying God’s Word, what we read in the Bible, into our daily lives – Don’t just listen, (or just read – (my add.)), God’s word. You must do what it says. – James 1:22

** KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR MY NEXT POST – WHERE DOES TEMPTATION COME FROM? **

** FOR MORE POSTS ON TEMPTATION SEE LINKS BELOW **

What Gives You the Willies?? – TEMPTATION [1] – http://wp.me/p5nZpi-vx

Where Does My Desire to “Push the Envelope” Come From?? – TEMPTATION [3] – http://wp.me/p5nZpi-ws

Would you like to have a personal/intimate relationship with the God?? Take a look at the tab, The Cornerstone…, in the menu for more info.
If you would like to receive notifications when new posts are published, click on the FOLLOW button in the sidebar. Or if you are viewing from your mobile device, scroll down the page and you’ll see the FOLLOW blog via email button 🙂
It you are viewing with the mobile version, scroll down to the bottom of this page for additional info and pics 🙂
Take a look at the other tabs in the menu for encouragement and inspiration as you continue to BUILD A FOUNDATION!!
A great resource for Bible verses, Bible Topics, Commentaries, etc. – http://www.BibleGateway.com

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. – Matthew 26:41

What Gives You the Willies?? – TEMPTATION [1]

September 9, 2015September 23, 2015buildafoundation Leave a comment

TEMPTATION…

If I’m being honest, just saying the word temptation gives me the willies.

For me, temptation can mean a creepy-looking guy offering me an unknown substance in a dark alley…

or my so-called “friends” tempting me to drink irresponsibly, in the name of fun.

But is this what temptation is?

Is temptation an in-your-face proposal to engage in potentially harmful behaviors?

Or can temptation instead be subtle,

like wanting to tell a white lie to avoid getting in trouble.

Or, not wanting to tell the clerk she gave you too much change back.

Temptation is tricky thing because it has a tendency to sneak up on us.

We might be going along, minding our own business, when BAM!! a SALE!!

All the cute colors, styles, and what a good price 🙂 🙂

So you open your wallet, and it’s empty, no cash 😦

Yeah, but you see that you have a couple of credit cards!! Should you buy, buy, buy?? Or wait??

We’re faced with making decisions throughout the day, every day. Some are easy, and some, not so easy. Some are black and white, whereas, most are gray. In some areas we may be tempted to test the boundaries, in others we are not, and visa-versa.

In this **NEW ** blog series – Temptation – we’re going to be looking at…

— What is, and is not temptation?

— Where does temptation come from?

— Does everyone experience temptation?

— Were any people in the Bible tempted?

— Who or what tempts us?

— What is the harvest (the results) of temptation?

— Is it possible to resist temptation?

We will be answering these questions and more, as we learn how we can recognize and protect ourselves from the temptations that come our way.

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. – Matthew 26:41

** FOR MORE POSTS ON TEMPTATION SEE LINK BELOW **

Are My Urges and Desires a Sin?? – TEMPTATION [2] – http://wp.me/p5nZpi-vY

Would you like to have a personal/intimate relationship with the God?? Take a look at the tab, The Cornerstone…, in the menu for more info.
If you would like to receive notifications when new posts are published, click on the FOLLOW button in the sidebar. Or if you are viewing from your mobile device, scroll down the page and you’ll see the FOLLOW blog via email button 🙂
It you are viewing with the mobile version, scroll down to the bottom of this page for additional info and pics 🙂
Take a look at the other tabs in the menu for encouragement and inspiration as you continue to BUILD A FOUNDATION!!
A great resource for Bible verses, Bible Topics, Commentaries, etc. – http://www.BibleGateway.com

CAUTION, DANGER, STAY AWAY!!! PROVERBS 5 [4]

February 13, 2015February 13, 2015buildafoundation Leave a comment

Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. – 1 Corinthians 6:18

AVOID THE IMMORAL WOMAN
1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
    listen carefully to my wise counsel.
2 Then you will show discernment,
    and your lips will express what you’ve learned.
3 For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey,
    and her mouth is smoother than oil.
4 But in the end she is as bitter as poison,
    as dangerous as a double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
    her steps lead straight to the grave.
6 For she cares nothing about the path to life.
    She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it.
7 So now, my sons, listen to me.
    Never stray from what I am about to say:
8 Stay away from her!
    Don’t go near the door of her house!
9 If you do, you will lose your honor…

Proverbs 5 is titled, Avoid the Immoral Woman. You’ll also notice, throughout chapter 5 that Solomon refers to, my son. Although it appears that the warnings of chapter 5 are just for boys/men, it applies to girls/women, as well. Guys certainly can be smooth-talkers and flatterers in an attempt to seduce (entice into sexual activity) girls – v.3 lips sweet as honey and mouth smoother than oil. But at the same time, girls may choose to dress provocatively in an attempt to seduce guys, leading to sin – But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. – Matthew 5:28

Solomon says again with emphasis in v.8 –
Otherwise, the result – v.9a – You will lose your honor…

The surest way to protect yourself from getting caught up in sexual immorality (sex outside of marriage) is, v.8 – DON’T go near the door of her/his house.

You could take that to mean, in the literal sense, don’t go “home” with them. Or, in the figurative sense, the “door” meaning to approach in conversation, put yourself in a vulnerable position (alone, one-on-one), etc.

Both of the above scenarios are assuming that you have found yourself in a tempting situation. A situation where you suspect the person you are with, or you yourself, may be tempted to be sexually immoral.

Naturally, it is ok to interact with people in a conversation, or hang out at friend’s houses. But, for your own “protection”, and accountability, it’s a good idea to hang out in a group versus one-on-one.

If you would like to receive notifications when new posts are published, click on the FOLLOW button in the sidebar. Or if you are viewing from your mobile device, scroll down the page and you’ll see the FOLLOW blog via email button 🙂
It you are viewing with the mobile version, scroll down to the bottom of this page for additional info and pics 🙂
Take a look at the other tabs in the menu for encouragement and inspiration as you continue to BUILD A FOUNDATION!!

Don’t Become a “Victim” of Poor Choices… – PROVERBS 2:12-15 [3]

December 29, 2014January 27, 2015buildafoundation Leave a comment

Now you are free from the power of sin and have become followers of God. Now you do the things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. – Romans 6:22

12 Wisdom will save you from evil people,
    from those whose words are twisted.
13 These men turn from the right way
    to walk down dark paths.
14 They take pleasure in doing wrong,
    and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil.
15 Their actions are crooked,
    and their ways are wrong.

Wisdom is protective, it will save us, verse 12. One way Wisdom saves us is by protecting us from evil people, as described in verses 12-15.

Evil people’s path:
v.13 – they do not follow the godly path, but dark path
v.14 – they enjoy their ungodly and twisted ways
v.15 – their actions and ways of doing “things” are crooked and wrong

BUT there is help!!

Verse 12 reminds us that applying knowledge (wisdom) protects us from becoming “victims” of poor choices, or falling for unfilled promises of smooth-talkers. Wisdom protects us from people who twist the truth, enticing and tempting us to choose an ungodly path.
These types of people remind me on the serpent in the garden, twisting God’s words and tempting Eve – Genesis 3:1-7, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+3%3A1-7&version=NLT < Or >
A wolf dressed up in sheep’s clothing. – Matthew 7:15 – Looks sweet and safe on the
outside, but is actually very dangerous.

Thankfully God loves us so much that He provides us with help. An escape route when we find ourselves in tempting situations – WISDOM –

REMEMBER:

– The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful.
He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out, provide a way of escape, so that you can endure it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13

– If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. – James 1:5