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.
I don't think the majority of us realise just how much Satan wants us to fail! He does not want us to be happy, to worship God, to love our husbands, to be honest. Every minute of the day Satan is looking for ways to destroy our faith.
God tells us exactly how to live our lives in the Bible... it is our manual for life.
I think we need a reminder of the 10 commandments taken from Exodus 20:1-17
- You shall have no other gods before me.
- You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
- You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
- Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.
WELL I CERTAINLY DON'T DO ANY OF THAT!!!!! Is that what you are thinking? Are you SURE?
Here are some great questions to ask yourself (taken from Nancy Leigh DeMoss, http://www.reviveourhearts.com/)
- Is your thought life pure?
- Do you find yourself imagining what it would be like to do certain things with certain people?
- Are you careful in relationships with the opposite sex?
- Do you guard your eyes from anything that might tempt you morally?
- Do you secretly wonder what it would be like to have another man’s wife? Or another woman’s husband?
- When you watch or read things—are they pure and lovely? Do you have any secret or private habits that aren’t pure?
"Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one" - Matthew 5:37
God isn't saying MAYBE
God isn't saying "Don't Steal... but taking a few extras minutes for your lunch break doesn't count... or keeping the money you found on the floor... or getting a freebie from the grocery store because the clerk didn't scan it... that's not what I mean!"
He isn't saying "Don't bear false witness against your neighbour... but it's ok to talk about them behind their back! It's ok to make judgments against them... that's doesn't count!!"
Of course he'd not saying "Don't take my name in vain... and of course its ok to deny me when you feel embarrassed! It's ok to use my name as a curse.. that's just the language these days! Everyone is doing it!!"
Have you ever thought of why people use His name in vain? Why don't they say.. Satan! or Hitler! Why would you curse such an amazing, holy, beautiful thing? It just doesn't make sense unless it was Satan's idea.
Please read this chapter.... as I cannot describe everything that I want to say, but God can.
Hebrews 12
God Disciplines His Sons
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."[a]
7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13"Make level paths for your feet,"[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
Warning Against Refusing God
14Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.
18You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned."[c] 21The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."[d]
22But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, 24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."[e] 27The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our "God is a consuming fire."[f]
Wow talk about honesty. You're so right, we do try to say 'oh but this is just a little sin, it doesn't really matter. God didn't really mean what he said. Its the question that led to the very first sin: "Did God really say?" Yes, He did, plain as day in His word. We are without excuse!!! Eeeeeps!!! Thanks for the reminder ;)
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