how to handle temptation…

so how do i handle temptation?  how do i say no when i want to say yes?  well, james, being the practical apostle that he is, give us the answer. 

first of all he says be realistic.  be realistic. 

face the fact:  you will be tempted.  even CHRISTians are tempted.  all of us are tempted.  it says in james 1.13 (niv), when tempted...  not if tempted but when tempted.  it’s just like trials, temptations are inevitable.

listen i don’t care how long you have been a CHRISTian, you are going to be tempted.  have you ever heard some pious person say, “i thank GOD that i have never been tempted in 42 years!”  folks, that is what you get when you cross a crocodile with an abolone, a crock of baloney.

everybody is tempted.  you’re tempted, i’m tempted.  everyday we’re tempted.  you never get too old for it.  you never overcome it by getting too spiritual.  everybody’s tempted and the more you grow toward the LORD, the more you are going to be tempted.  it’s a fact of life.  the reality is all of us are tempted.

there is a misconception that says, once you’re born again, you’ve got it all together.  you’ve arrived so you wear a mask and fake it and pretend like, how could anybody do something like that?  we all are tempted.

1 corinthians 10.13 (niv), no temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  that phrase, common to man  means we’re all in the same boat.  we all have the same temptations, the same problems and don’t be surprised, shocked and don’t try to hide it.

some of you are possibly caught in a compromising situation right now but it is liberating to know that other people feel the same way.  we all have the same struggles and problems.

listen it is not sin to be tempted.  it is a sin to give in to temptation.  hebrews 4.15 (niv), JESUS was tempted in all points as we are yet HE sinned not.  HE was perfect.  HE was tempted but HE never gave in. 

it’s a sin to give in to temptation.  there are a lot of CHRISTians who are intimidated by temptation.  they think, “how could i have such a thought?” 

listen, the devil put it in your mind; it’s not your fault.  you are human.  temptation proves you’re human, not that you’re evil.  it’s not a sin to be tempted; it’s a sin to give in to temptation.  the more committed you are the more you’re going to be tempted.

just a thought from the front porch…

real and evident...

i know it’s not something that is easy for some to do but the rewards are so far reaching.  take GODly risks knowing that you may fail but that GOD will never fail you.  that’s an open door faith.

open door faith is the ability to display faith.  and i mean display faith.  look at what joseph does

genesis 41.15 (msg), “i dreamed a dream,” pharaoh told joseph. “nobody can interpret it. but i’ve heard that just by hearing a dream you can interpret it.” joseph answered, “not i, but GOD. GOD will set pharaoh’s mind at ease.”

here joseph is on the edge of his dream.  what an opportunity to promote himself!  he better leave SPIRITuality out of this thing.  pharaoh may not like the god of egypt.  why bring religion into this?  you don’t want to mess the deal up by bringing religion in. 

but here’s joseph, right on the edge of his dream and he says, “i can’t interpret the dream.  it’s the GOD of my fathers.  HE’s the one who can do it.”  that’s part of an open door faith, the ability to display faith.  not just have faith but to display it.   a billboard kind of faith is what i’m talking about.  the kind of faith people can see.  not phony, not flashy – i don’t mean that by billboard.  but real and evident.  and GOD is able to work in our lives when you and i don’t hide our faith.  that was a part of joseph going through this open door.

just a thought from the front porch…

the faith steps for dream to reality…

we do not know how to make the step from dream to reality.  we don’t know what to do when we get right to the edge of our dream.  even if we’ve had the dream for years and years, sometimes, when we get right to that moment when GOD wants to do something, when GOD wants to do the miracle that brings the dream about, often it’s at that very moment that we stumble.  

if you take a close look at joseph's life in genesis 40-41-42, you discover how his faith played a part in his dream becoming a reality.  how do you get dreams to come true?  that’s what we’re asking.  how do dreams come true?  how do dreams happen? 

it’s more than just sitting back and letting GOD’s dreams happen to you. HE’s going to let your faith – HE’s going to demand that your faith – play a part in those dreams happening.  there are some practical faith steps that you and i can see in joseph's life that let us know what to do when we get right to the edge of a dream.  how do you receive a dream? 

first of all.  joseph had wisdom.  he knew the right time to act.  wisdom enabled him to act at the right time.  remember joseph’s in prison and GOD does something. 

genesis 40.1-4 (msg), as time went on, it happened that the cupbearer and the baker of the king of egypt crossed their master, the king of egypt. pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the head cupbearer and the head baker…

these were very high, exalted positions.  it doesn’t sound like much to us but if you had anything to do with food for the pharaoh you were a very trusted person because one of the main ways you could kill a pharaoh in that day was to poison the food.  these were very trusted people.

…and put them in custody under the captain of the guard; it was the same jail where joseph was held. the captain of the guard assigned joseph to see to their needs.

what joseph does in relationship to them is very important.  verses 4-7.  after they had been in custody for a while, the king’s cupbearer and baker, while being held in the jail, both had a dream on the same night, each dream having its own meaning. when joseph arrived in the morning, he noticed that they were feeling low. so he asked them, the two officials of pharaoh who had been thrown into jail with him, “what’s wrong? why the long faces?”

doesn’t that amaze you?  if i were joseph and i saw somebody else unhappy, with all i’d been through, i’d think, “great!  somebody else can be miserable with me!”  but here’s somebody who recognizes somebody else’s need and continues to care for people in prison.  he continues to serve people in prison. 

i think he may have had some wisdom here.  he knew who these people were.  it may be more than just his niceness.  he knew that GOD may be able to use his relationship with them in some way and GOD is going to do that. 

just a thought from the front porch…

running away from reality and responsibility…

one of the most important truths you have to learn in life is it is never GOD’s will for you to run from a difficult situation.  never.  if you do, HE’s going to bring it up again.  HE wants you to learn that HE is sufficient in every situation and if you don't learn it here, HE’ll just provide the opportunity again.

in today’s society, there are plenty of ways to run.  what is your favorite escape?  choose your pleasure.  choose your vice.  there are lots of ways to escape from reality and responsibility today.  GOD says they are all out of HIS will if you’re using them to run.  “i want you to stand strong in quiet confidence and watch me do a miracle.” 

what do i stand firm on?  he tells us in 2 chronicles 20.20 (niv), have faith in the LORD your GOD and you will be upheld.  have faith in HIS prophets and you will be successful. 

do you want to be successful?  you stand on two things: the character of GOD and the word of GOD.  have faith in the word – that’s the character of GOD.  we know who HE is.  we know what HE’s done.  and have faith in what HIS prophets have said – that’s the word of GOD, the 7000 promises.  you stand on those two things.  no problem, no conflict, and no loss.  

so when you’re facing an overwhelming battle and the odds are against you, you turn to GOD first.  you talk to GOD about the situation.  tell GOD how you feel.  you trust GOD to help you and you thank GOD in advance.

notice 2 chronicles 20.21 (nlt), the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army singing to the LORD and praising HIM.  this is what they sang  “give thanks to the LORD for HIS faithful love endures forever.” 

                                                                                                                   

picture this: on one mountain are the three enemy armies amassed to do battle against israel.  three nations of armies.  then there’s the valley where they’re going to do battle.  then there are the lowly israelites.  jehoshaphat says, “we’re going to take you who sing and make a choir out of you and put you in front of the army as you march into battle.”  they’re out there singing “thanks to GOD!  praise GOD!”  the enemy is going, “what is going on?”  the israel army is certainly going, “yeah, what is going on?”  and the choir is saying, “we would like to know what’s going on!” 

there’s a very important truth here.  there’s a symbolism in this.  they were thanking GOD in advance for the victory.  before it even happened, they were thanking GOD in advance.  praise, thanksgiving, is verbalized faith.  if you thank GOD after the fact, that’s gratitude.  if you thank GOD before it happens, that’s faith.  they said, “give thanks.  we thank GOD for the victory

just a thought from the front porch…

arrogant or right…

here is another myth: CHRISTians are arrogant when they say that JESUS is the only way to heaven.

i’d agree that CHRISTians were being arrogant if the truth of the matter were there were many ways to get to heaven and they were just saying, “ours is the best.”  but that’s not what they’re saying.  they’re saying, the truth of the matter is someone has got to pay the penalty for the obvious wrongdoing we committed.  who’s it going to be?  is it going to be us paying in eternity?  or is it going to be JESUS CHRIST, paying as our substitute? 

HE’s the only one qualified by HIS sinlessness and HIS divinity to be our substitute.  that’s reality.  the reality is it’s not arrogant to act upon the evidence.  CHRISTians aren’t being narrow-minded when they say there is only one way to the FATHER. 

analogy:  there was a family who had their first child, a little girl.  shortly after birth the baby developed jaundice.  you may be familiar with jaundice.  it’s a liver disorder that caused the whites of her eyes and her skin to turn very yellow.  the doctor told them that this is a potentially devastating disorder.  but fortunately there is an easy cure for it.  all you have to do to cure a baby of jaundice is put the baby under a special light.  the skin absorbs this light and it stimulates the liver to function properly.  that’s what the doctor told them to do.

now they could have responded by saying, “wait a minute!  that’s sounds too easy!  put her under a light?  how about instead if we just scrubbed her with soap and dipped her in bleach?  i'm sure if we really scrubbed her hard enough we could get her skin coloring back to its normal self.”  the doctor would have said, “you don’t understand.  there is only one way to cure jaundice.”  the parents could have replied, “i don’t like this one way thing.  how about if we just ignore it and pretend that everything’s ok?  and if we sincerely believe that we don't have to do anything then in the end everything’s going to work out?”  the doctor would have said, “you’re going to jeopardize the life of your child if you do that.  there’s only one way to cure jaundice.  you’re hesitant because it sounds too easy.  but look at the credentials on my wall, look at my medical degree.  i studied in medical school.  i’ve cured countless babies of jaundice.  trust me based on my credentials.” 

would anybody accuse those parents of being narrow minded if they trusted that doctor – a doctor with credibility and credentials – when he said there’s only one way, one course of treatment that would cure their little girl?  would it be narrow-minded for them to pursue that course of treatment?  it’s not arrogant to act upon the evidence. 

just a thought from the front porch…

this is real life…

another thing that noah did after he came out of the ark was he got drunk. that’s not how it’s supposed to end! he gets drunk.

genesis 9:20-24 (msg), noah, a farmer, was the first to plant a vineyard. he drank from its wine, got drunk and passed out, naked in his tent. ham, the father of canaan, saw that his father was naked and told his two brothers who were outside the tent. shem and japheth took a cloak, held it between them from their shoulders, walked backward and covered their father's nakedness, keeping their faces turned away so they did not see their father's exposed body. when noah woke up with his hangover, he learned what his youngest son had done. he said, “cursed be canaan! a slave of slaves, a slave to his brothers!”

this is like rocky getting knocked out in the last round! like forrest gump leaving his friend in the jungles in vietnam! like john wayne waving the white flag! but this is real life. it’s not hollywood.

that’s one of the things i like about the bible. it tells us the real truth about GOD’s people. no punches pulled. and when i see this real truth, i know that GOD’s not lying to me about people’s lives. HE’s not painting fairy tales. here’s a man of incredible faith who made an incredible difference and also made an incredible mistake. any of you like that?

just a thought from the front porch…

optimism meets reality…

i would also add that home has something to do with a sense of optimism as well. young children growing up in loving homes where they feel safe and where they feel like they belong, those young children inevitably feel hopeful about the future. life is going to get better.

there's going to be more freedom ahead, more fun in the future, lots more opportunities. what i didn't get for CHRISTmas this year, i might get next year. there's another CHRISTmas always around the corner when you're young.

optimism and hope run high in a warm, well-functioning home. so a sense of belonging and a sense of safety and a sense of optimism capture a good chunk of what it really means to be home.

but what does living in the real world do to our understanding of home over time?

when young people grow up and they leave the cocoon of home and they begin to find their own way in the real world, what happens? sooner or later, they're forced to redefine what a sense of belonging is all about, because as the years go by, relationships change – even the ones you thought were permanent.

the unthinkable happens. parents split up. you weren't banking on that. marriages break up. that wasn't the plan either. loved ones leave or die. and somewhere along life's journey, that strong sense of belonging begins to weaken and crumble, and eventually an honest person wonders if any earthly relationship is going to be capable of offering a permanent sense of belonging.

can i bring it down to the personal level? some of you thought that this CHRISTmas was just going to be just like the last five or ten CHRISTmases, but it didn't turn out that way, did it? for some, there's a husband missing this CHRISTmas; there's a mother who isn't around this year. there may be the piercing pain of a recent death.

this CHRISTmas some of us are going to think a lot about how tenuous relationships really are, how thin a thread a sense of belonging hangs on – how thin the thread is.

you'll also find that the real world does a number on that sense of safety that a true home afforded in our youth.

the real world, if you live in it long, the real world rips the word “safety” right out of our modern-day dictionaries. the homes of our youth may have given us a sense of safety, but it was short lived and it, too, we learn, hangs by a thin thread.

and as for optimism, a guy said, “show me grounds for optimism, any grounds. show me any grounds for believing that by next CHRIStmas we will have a great economy. i wonder if there will be fewer homeless people, less crime and drug use, and more love between people. come on” this guy said, “only ignorant people are optimists. smart people know that the future is bleak.” maybe you're one of those smart pessimists.

friends, the real world has a way of shattering our concept of home. it shatters it. if you live in it long enough, you see those thin threads snap, and our whole concept of home is shattered. i have a sneaking suspicion that part of the pull toward home that many of us feel at CHRISTmas time is really a yearning for that sense of belonging and safety and optimism that we once enjoyed in the homes of our youth. CHRISTmas seems to trigger memories of our childhood for some reason.

just a thought from the front porch…