Lust, Love and 7 Things You Need to Know About Temptation

"They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted." (Hebrews 11:37a)

Are you being tempted? Dictionary.com describes temptation as: "the act of tempting; enticement or allurement."

My Open Bible goes further, saying temptation is: "a testing designed to strengthen or corrupt."

And I guess the main thing I want you to think about before getting to the 7 things you need to know about temptation is that it comes from within, not without.

James says: "But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust." (James 1:14) Do you see that there? Look at the verse again.

And so it's our own lust that is at work during temptation. It's our own lust that entices us. It's our own lust that carries us away.

Lust is not just about sex. Lust is: "a passionate or overmastering desire or craving [for]" power or position or prestige or a person, etc. Lust is the counterfeit of love.

Love chooses for the highest HELP (good) of the object of its affection. Lust chooses for the highest HURT.

Remember that the next time you're being tempted ~ along with the following...

7 Things You Need to Know About Temptation:

1. No one is immune. (Moses, David, Peter all were tempted.)
2. It can last a long time. (Potiphar's wife enticed Joseph for sex over and over and over again.)
3. Giving in can destroy everything. (Samson gave in to Delilah and lost his eyes.)
4. There is a way of escape. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
5. Jesus overcame so that we could, too. (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15)
6. God is sovereign over temptation. (Matthew 6:13a)
7. Talking to somebody can help break its power. (James 5:16; Proverbs 15:22)

You might also be interested in:

• A Prescription for Victory Against Temptation
• The "Big Three" (sins)

Held in His Arms

My kids are almost all grown now. I remember when I used to hold them in my arms (back in the day). I would carry them around (dads, isn't it true?) and wherever it might be. As they got bigger (and heavier), it would hurt my back. ;)

I would hold my kids in my arms in the store. (Not all three of them at once although they would want that.) I would hold my kids in my arms at the park. I would hold my kids in my arms at the pool. I would hold my kids in my arms in the rain and snow. (That's Theresa 12 years ago in the pictures. Click to enlarge. I still call her: "Baby boo." She looks at me quizzically.)

I would hold my kids in my arms at church, at home, when they went to bed, when they had a bad dream, in the day or night, in the front yard or back, when they got hurt, were scared, when their mom was gone from home, when they were happy, sad, felt danger or despair.

I would hold my kids in my arms.

God holds you in His arms, too. (Who needed to hear it?) Let it sink in. #Godislove

"'I have loved you with an everlasting love.'" (Jeremiah 31:3b)

You might also be interested in:

• 10 Wrong Thoughts About God
• Where Does My Help Come From? (chorus)

A Dozen Roses on Valentine's Day (for Kim!)

Message From God (When You're Doubting His Love)

Sometimes we question God's love. (It happens.) The circumstances of life, the burdens, they have a way of weighing us down and causing us to wonder whether God is really for us. (It's true.) I was in Bible school and I wondered if God cared. I wondered if He was even around. (And I was a worship leader after all!) It happens even to ministers and to those who Christ uses. And so I was going to my Friday night outreach ministry where we would share our faith with anyone and everyone who would cross our path. But I was down. I was wondering about God's love. (Sigh) I entered the classroom where we would meet for prayer. It was dark. So I reached for the light to turn it on. And lo and behold, as I flipped the switch, I looked up at the chalkboard in front ~ and I saw it. (Wow) I knew it was God. It was just what I needed at that exact moment. Like a gentle breeze blowing away the fog in the early morning (1 Kings 19:12), so this short phrase written on the chalkboard whisked away my doubts. Written there (I don't know who did it ~ maybe an angel?) were the the words: I Love You. (Jeremiah 31:3)

All You Need is Love - Part 2

In Part 1 of this blog post series I spoke of the Beatles' song: "All You Need is Love," and how many couples believe that's what it takes to stay together: l-o-v-e, love. Yet I suggested that the kind of l-o-v-e, love, that it takes to stay together is different than what many people understand. Many people's understanding of love is that it's based on feelings. And so when the feelings are gone, that's when they're ready to throw in the towel and give up. But the love that makes a marriage go the distance ('til death do us part!) is much different than a feelings-based kind of love. This other love is an unselfish kind. It's a love that's based aside from feelings. And so when the feelings are gone, this love remains. And this love, it says, "You know, I don't care if the toilet paper isn't put on the right way like mom used to do it. I don't care if the toothpaste tube is squeezed from the middle. I don't care if she only wears make-up in public and not around the house. I don't care if I have to search to find his other sock for the umpteenth time." This is the kind of love that enables a marriage to go the distance. It's the love of commitment to your spouse no matter how you feel. "And even if your health is failing. And even if I have to get you in and out of a wheelchair because you're getting older, I'll do it. I'll do it! Because my love for you, honey, has nothing to do with how I feel or if I'm inconvenienced or anything else." This is the kind of love that enables a marriage to go the distance. Those of you who've been married a while know it's true. And it's surprising when you love somebody aside from your feelings - it's surprising how, oftentimes, the feelings, if they've gone, they come back and they're much deeper than before. The Beatles were right. "All You Need is Love" is really all you need in a marriage. We husbands and wives just gotta make sure it's the right kind of love.

All You Need is Love - Part 1

"All You Need is Love." It's the Beatle's song long ago in the 60s. Wasn't it? - those of you who are getting old like me? (Yes, I was around in the 60s!) It's the Beatle's song: "All You Need is Love." And it's true in marriage. All you need is love. And men and women enter into marriage realizing how important love is to making marriage work. And these are "in love." And they know they're "in love." And how do they know they're "in love"? Well, they know it because they feel it. They feel "in love." And when you get around Mr. or Mrs. Right, isn't it true? There are all those goosebumps and chills and light-headedness for some and the hormones start running wild. Amen? And it's love. It's love. It really is! "And I just know it because I have these feelings of love." And then the wedding comes. And the honeymoon. And Hawaii or wherever you're going. And laying on the beach and snorkeling and candlelight dinners. And the Beatle's song, "All You Need is Love." And everything's just going so smoothly. And you're both getting along so well. But then, lo and behold, something happens that you didn't see coming. The first shoe drops, so to speak, as, how many of you know, it always seems to? And the first shoe drops. And you see it. What do you see? You see the toilet paper isn't put on the right way like how mom used to do it back at home when you were growing up. After all, it's supposed to be rolled and coming over the top - right? - and not from under. "Whoever does it from under? Doesn't my wife know anything?" And the feelings of love are fading just a bit after only 24 hours. It happens with some. (How long was it that Britney Spears' marriages have lasted?) But you get back on track despite the toilet paper thing and the feelings of love fading just a bit. You get back on track. And a little while longer passes by in your marriage. And you're living together. And it was the first shoe that dropped a long, long time ago. And now it's another shoe that drops. The difference with this one as opposed to the first one, is this shoe happens to now be the 12,876th shoe that drops. "And you know, I could put up with the previous 12,875 irritations," some husbands and wives have been known to say, "but this is where I draw the line." "And just what's such a big deal with him and - and squeezing the toothpaste tube from the middle? I mean, no one in their right mind ever does it like that." Right? Or ladies, maybe in your house - maybe in your house it's - it's the toilet seat your husband just can't seem to remember to put it down. And, quite frankly, that's the last time you're going for a swim (skinny dipping?), thank you. And the feelings of love again - they're all but gone now after 5 years or 10 or however long it is. "After all, I just don't feel like I'm 'in love' anymore," some husbands and wives have also been known to say. And it's what happens to many marriages that start out so promising and with high expectations. And the problem really isn't that love disappears in these marriages after the many shoes that inevitably drop. The problem, rather, I'm convinced, is that husbands and wives don't have it in mind the kind of love that enables a marriage to go the distance. I'll talk more about it in "All You Need is Love - Part 2" to come soon.