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Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 6 of the Lord’s Prayer Series “Temptation & Evil”  (LISTEN HERE).

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1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Temptations are like test questions.  The question is neutral.  How I answer the question either makes it right or wrong.  So in temptations, the test is will I walk with the Lord in the situation or follow my sinful nature and walk away from the Lord.

When I took tests in school, there were two keys I found to do well.  First, study.  Nothing around putting the time in to prepare for the test.  Second, look for answers. (No, not a cheat sheet) I not only found the challenge to answer the questions correctly, but also realized that often teachers put answers in the test…if you look for them.  Question 12 may be answered in the wording of question 16.  I remember one final in college that was all multiple choice.  There were about 5 questions that I didn’t really know.  I looked at the pattern of answers: A, B, C, D, C, B, A, B, etc.  I was right.  The 5 or so I didn’t know I just followed the pattern and got 100%.

You have to prepare AND look for the way out.

In essence, God is saying, “I’m giving you the answers to get it right every time!”

A good example of preparing for temptation and then finding the way out is in Joseph and his interaction with Potiphar’s wife.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”

8 But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. (Genesis 39:6-12)

The Lord had Joseph on a journey of preparation.  He wasn’t a perfect individual, but the Lord was molding his faith.  In this situation with Potiphar’s wife, he had predecided to honor the Lord.  “How can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”  With the Lord’s help, let’s decide to always honor him.  When temptation comes, we simply echo Joseph’s words, “How can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

Then look for the way out.  For Joseph it was running!  The way out can be removing yourself from the situation.  Have friends that like to drink too much?  Don’t hang out with them.  Tempted to pornography? Set up accountability on your web browser.  Tempted to prided? Have a trusted friend to bounce off your thoughts and interactions.  God puts his Word in our hearts, godly friends in our lives, and his Spirit in our hearts to give us what we need to have to win the victory over sin.

Temptation will come…look to God to pass the test!

Apply: How can you prepare to face temptation?  What is your escape route for temptations that come your way?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for always providing a way out of temptation that comes our way.  AMEN.

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 6 of the Lord’s Prayer Series “Temptation & Evil”  (LISTEN HERE).

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“It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one–the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters is a fascinating insight into the mind of Satan and his tactics to lead a person away from the Lord and into eternal fires of hell.  C.S. Lewis awakens his readers to the reality that Satan and his demons are constantly working to lead a person away from “The Enemy” (God) to the camp of Satan.  Screwtape is the seasoned demon who is training his nephew Wormwood how to be a good demon and find success.

As with all of the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, the short pithy phrase that Jesus taught us has incredible depth and importance for the life of the Christian.  “Lead us not into temptation” is no different.

Martin Luther explained it this way:

What does this mean? God tempts no one. We pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory.

We pray for God’s protection as well as his deliverance.  The success to winning any battle, is to know your enemy.  What are his tactics?  Where does he like to attack?  What does winning look like for them, i.e. what is his objectives?

Some of these tactics are general, but he is good at customizing his attack for you personally.  He knows your weaknesses.  He can leverage your vulnerabilities.

As with all aspects of the Christian faith, Jesus is our Savior and example.  He took on Satan in the desert.  In fact, the Spirit led him into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,

and they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Here’s three observations to consider as you begin your week:

1. God does allow us to be in a place of testing. His goal is always the strengthening of our faith and stronger reliance on him.  Jesus passed this test, as well as no sinning.
2. Satan works on our vulnerabilities, even giving us “spiritual” reasons to justify sinful behavior. We must be aware of our weaknesses and armed with the truth of God’s Word.
3. The defeat of Satan and his temptations is always with the power of God’s truth. His lies will never stand up to God’s truth.

More tomorrow…

Apply: Where are your weaknesses?  I.e., where does Satan find success in leading you to sin?  What truth of Scripture can you memorize to defeat Satan and overcome the temptation?

Prayer: Father, continue to strengthen us in our faith and reliance on you so that at all times we overcome the temptation to sin and walk faithfully with you.  AMEN.

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 5 of the Lord’s Prayer Series “Forgive as We Forgive”  (LISTEN HERE).

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I remember a kid who pushed me up against a fence in gradeschool about 40 years ago and broke the zipper on my jacket.  I remember the event.  I remember the emotion.  I remember the fear.  I remember the anger.

Have I not forgiven him?

Some may say, “Mike, you have to forgive and forget.”

Many use this phrase that I believe is more harmful to the reality of forgiveness than helpful.  I am guessing this concept comes from Hebrews 8:12 which quotes Jeremiah 31:34, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

So, to be Christ-like in our forgiveness, does that mean we need a “DELETE” button in our minds so that forgiveness triggers amnesia for that event and that person?

No.

Our minds, barring a traumatic injury or Alzheimer’s disease (which I wish on no one), remember events of the past…especially traumatic and emotional events.  Our minds do have a coping mechanism that suppresses very painful memories to protect the rest of the mind from those thoughts.  However, I have not come across an exercise to practice forgetting.  The memory is there or it is not.  If a reader knows of research by which I can intentionally erase a memory (hypnosis, maybe?), please share.

Most of the events in our lives that need forgiveness will be hard to forget because there is a strong emotion attached to it.  We WERE hurt.  We WERE abused.  We WERE attacked.  We DID suffer an injustice.

So what does it mean that the Lord “will remember their sins no more”?

The Lord knows everything.  He is choosing to not recall the sins of Israel for the purpose of holding them against them.  Forgiveness wiped the debt so no further payment was needed.

In the era of “keeping a tab” at the local grocery store, the store owner may remember what you purchased because he needed a payment for it.  Once the payment was made, he didn’t have to remember what you purchased because it didn’t matter.  If he threw out the record or his mind naturally forgot, it was OK because the debt was paid in full.

The Lord, while his infinite knowledge could, does not have to remember our sins for the purpose of holding us accountable for them.  In Christ, he has forgiven us.  The debt is paid.

So, while the memory may linger, the memory is no longer attached to a debt.

The kid who pushed me.  I forgive him.  I’m not looking to get even.  If I cross paths with him, I won’t bring it up – and if it comes up, it won’t be with anger, bitterness or a desire to get even.  Forgiveness releases all the negative emotions and hurt, while the memory of the event may linger.

Please don’t burden your mind with forgetting events of the past and equating the reality that you remember what happened with guilt that you haven’t forgiven.  Certainly it is possible that you DO need more strength from the Lord to forgive, release the anger, hurt, and desire to get even.  But when the Lord empowers you to forgive, you can now release the memory as well because there is no debt outstanding.

So forgive and while the memory may linger, there will be no outstanding debt attached to it.

Apply: Perhaps there is a situation of hurt from your past.  What part of that event still needs forgiveness (even if the person is not asking for it)?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for forgiving my sins through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and having no reason to recall my sins to charge them to my account.  Thank you for paying in full for all the debt my sin has incurred.  AMEN.

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 5 of the Lord’s Prayer Series “Forgive as We Forgive”  (LISTEN HERE).

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Forgiveness is a powerful word and concept.

Have you ever thought about what forgiveness really is or means?

We use the phrase often, “God forgives you.” Or “You are forgiven.”  But what does that mean?

Here’s a great verse for today to reflect on what forgiveness really is and means:

Colossians 2:13-14  When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 

God “forgave us all our sins.”

First, when God forgives me he cancels my debt.  When I break the law of God or sin, I create a deficit between me and God.  In fact, a translation of this petition is “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”  We can easily underestimate the debt we incur.  We can easily think, “I will repay it.”  In the parable noted on Monday from Matthew 18, the servant had the equivalent of $4.8 billion dollars of debt…yet he thought he could repay that with a minimum wage job.  It wasn’t going to happen.  Yet the master cancelled the debt.

When Jesus declared “It is finished!” from the cross, he declared to the debt of sin, “It is paid in full.”  The reason that God in Christ could and does cancel our debt is because the payment was made.  “The wages of sin is death.”  Jesus paid the debt of sin with his very life.  For this reason when God forgives us, we have no more debt caused by sin to pay.

Second, when God forgives me, he releases my guilt.  Sin creates guilt.  Guilt is an emotion that weighs on our heart until it is released.  One website (secular) defines it this way:

Guilt is an intense emotion and a moral, ethical and self-conscious feeling characterized by serious self-reflection. It occurs when an individual feels that they have acted against their own personal beliefs & principles or socially accepted moral standards. They also believe that they need to experience serious consequences or responsibility for compromising such moral standards with their conduct. A person can feel guilty for a number of reasons, such as certain thoughts, emotions, behaviors, or actions that they consider are morally unacceptable.  (https://mind.help/topic/guilt/)

Guilt unsettles our heart because we know what we did is culpable before God.  Guilt also triggers fear of consequences for that action.

What does God do when he forgives us? He cleanses us from a guilty conscience as he states in Hebrews 10:21-22:

…since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Finally, when God forgives us there is no more consequence for sin.  Yes, the wages of sin is death.  However, in Christ, here’s the reality: (Romans 8:1-2)

8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death…

No more punishment to fear.

You are forgiven.

Your debt is paid.

Your guilt is gone.

Your punishment is removed.

Apply: What sin and guilt is lingering in your heart?  Write it down.  Then take a red pen and write, “God forgives me.”

Prayer:  Lord, thank you for sending Jesus so you can fully and freely forgive me.  Thank you for paying my debt, removing my guilt and freeing me from the punishment I deserved.  AMEN.

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 5 of the Lord’s Prayer Series “Forgive as We Forgive”  (LISTEN HERE).

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Scarlett Lewis’ son, Jesse, was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the biggest school shooting in U.S. history. At first, she said, she felt like her anger sapped all her strength and energy. She was angry at the shooter and at the mother for unwittingly arming him. But she made a choice to forgive.

She told The Forgiveness Project, “Forgiveness felt like I was given a big pair of scissors to cut the tie and regain my personal power. It started with a choice and then became a process.” She urged mourners at Jesse’s funeral to change their angry thoughts into loving ones, that thereby they might change the world. (read more of her story at https://www.theforgivenessproject.com/stories-library/scarlett-lewis/)

How would you react if your child was one killed senselessly in a school shooting?

Here’s three things about forgiveness:

1. Forgiveness releases anger and bitterness. When I don’t forgive, anger and bitter emotions can ruin us physically and spiritually.  Many would say, “She has a right to be angry.”  We could agree.  The killing of an innocent child is evil.  The consequences are lifelong.  She could be angry that he took her child away, deprived her of future memories, and left a void in their family that can never be filled.  Forgiveness released the anger.
2. Forgiveness is a choice. The only one who can forgive is you. (First the Lord of course.)  A family member can’t forgive for you; neither can a friend or a stranger.  Forgiveness must come from your heart because you are the one who was wronged.  Only you can forgive the one who sinned against you.
3. Forgiveness is a process. While forgiveness happens when you choose to forgive, allowing that forgiveness to remove anger, bitterness, hurt and accept the new normal takes time.  While it can happen overnight, often the larger the injury, the longer the healing.  But forgiveness does initiate that healing.

This articles written about Scarlett do not indicate her faith or reference the forgiveness that Jesus gives.  If she is not a Christian, it speaks to the general benefit of forgiveness to replace hate with love.  However, for the Christian, this journey might look very similar.  The depth of understanding forgiveness and the process to heal after a horrific injustice is magnified under the shadow of the cross of Jesus.

Forgiveness is a challenge.  It is not easy. However, it is the path of a Christian to reflect the forgiveness that we have been shown.

Admittedly, that is easier said than done.  I have struggled with smaller issues to forgive someone, and probably if I am honest there are still situations that reappear that need the power of Christ’s forgiveness to help me fully forgive.

So we continue to seek the Lord’s strength to put into practice Jesus’ words:

Luke 6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. …Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 

Apply: What situation is still “eating you?”  Ask the Lord for strength to forgive and release the anger, bitterness, frustration that situation has been causing.

Prayer: Lord, forgiveness is hard, but the blessing is profound.  Thank you for your forgiveness and we ask your strength to forgive all those who have wronged us.  AMEN.