TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 10
“Keep your heart with
all diligence.” Pr 4:23 NKJV
HANDLING TEMPTATION
We all have our battlegrounds; in some cases they’re things
we surrendered to years ago that now prowl through our innermost thoughts. That’s
why the Scriptures warn, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it
spring the issues of life.” Max Lucado writes: “I’m at a desk in a hotel room
far from home. The voices that encourage are distant; the voices that entice
are near. A placard on my nightstand invites me to the lounge ‘to make new
friends in a relaxing atmosphere.’ Another on top of the TV promises late-night
movies that will ‘make all my fantasies come true.’ In the phone book several
columns of escort services offer ‘Love away from home.’ Voices! Some for pleasure,
some for power. The world rams at your door, Jesus taps. The world promises
fleshly pleasure, Jesus promises us a quiet dinner…with Him: ‘I will come in and
eat with Him, and He with me’ (Rev 3:20 NIV). Which voice will you obey?’ You
ask, “How should I handle tempting situations?” In two ways: First, by filing
your mind with Scripture so that your first response is always, “It is written.”
Second, by keeping your eyes on Jesus. Lesley Durkin writes, “My father used to
put a bit of meat on the floor near his dog and say, ‘No!’ The dog never
touched it. But, he never looked at it either because if he did, the temptation
to disobey would have been too great. He just kept looking at my father’s face.”
Keep your eyes on Jesus. “Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are
never covered with shame” (Ps 34:5 NIV).
Taken from The Word
for You Today devotional
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