Temptation And Deception (2)
Many people believe that freedom to act as they choose gives them the opportunity to have the most control over their own lives. In the Garden of Eden story in the Bible, the real reason the first man and woman were deceived into eating the fruit was that they believed that when they had the knowledge of right and wrong, then they would be better able to make their own choices and control their own destiny. How wrong they were and how vulnerable we are when we believe this lie.
The fear of the Lord (respect, awe and submission to God) is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7 NKJV) The devil will tempt us with something appealing to our flesh and then give us reasons why it’s not so bad or why we deserve it. He may even remind us that God will forgive us so why not just go ahead and do it. The devil is always twisting truth but his motive isn’t our good. He simply wants to get us to disobey God. He deceives us with things that appeal to us in the moment, but will never give us the satisfaction we are seeking.
Temptation isn’t just offering something that we want in the moment. The appealing core of temptation is the lie that, free from God we can figure out what is morally good and our actions are acceptable as long as we “don’t hurt anyone else.” Unfortunately, there is no human effort or wisdom that can keep us from harming ourselves and others when we determinedly act on self-will. We will self-destruct in one way or another unless we acknowledge that God made us and knows what we need, and then choose to surrender to His ways.
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. (2 Timothy 3:16 NLT)
Prayer: Dear God, help us to hear the voice of your Holy Spirit who helps us sort truth from lies. Give us the strength to surrender our will and our lives to Your care in every situation. Amen
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