Psalm 119:9-16

We are constantly under the attack of temptations that seek to draw us into a life of sin and destroy us.  It truly is warfare.  However, we do have a weapon that we can use in order to do combat in this war for our souls.  That weapon is the Word of God.  However, like any weapon, it must be used and used correctly if it is going to be helpful and make us victorious over temptation.  Nations stockpile weapons that they hope they will never use as a deterrent to war.  People carry guns for protection but hope never to have to use it knowing that just by showing the gun it will discourage a would be attacker.  The Word of God is not like one of these weapons.  Holding a Bible in our hands or having one lying open on a table in our homes will do little or nothing to protect us from temptation.  If God’s Word is going to be an effective weapon in our lives we make the following commitments.

WE MUST COMMIT TO THINKING ABOUT GOD’S WORD: Temptation happens in our minds and the battle for victory always takes place in our minds.  God’s Word must be constantly at the forefront of our minds.  There are several ways that this can happen, but if we are going to think about God’s Word we must first of all read God’s Word with careful attention.  Too often we allow our minds to wander when we are reading Scripture.  Careless reading will not fill our minds with God’s Word.  Once we have read God’s Word, we must then meditate on God’s Word and the things that we have learned.  We all have thousands of thoughts throughout the day.  Many of these thoughts are futile and can do great harm to us.  We must purpose in our hearts to intentionally review throughout the day the truths that we have learned from God’s Word.  The memorization of Scripture is another means of making sure that we are thinking of God’s Word.  The discipline of memorizing God’s Word will guarantee that we spend additional time thinking about the Scripture and it will also make the Scriptures available to us in every moment so that we can combat temptations that unexpectedly come our way.


WE MUST COMMIT TO BEING THANKFUL FOR GOD’S WORD: We must learn to look at God’s Word as our most precious possession and take great pleasure in God’s Word.  It should be a delight to spend time in God’s Word, speak to others about God’s Word and then to obey God’s Word.  Pleasure is one of the greatest motivators in our lives.  Se all seek for pleasure and will be guided by those pleasures that are most precious to us.  God’s Word must become our greatest pleasure.  When we start looking at God’s Word as a mere duty instead of a delight, we will quickly stray from it and be negligent of it.  We must learn to keep our attitude towards God’s Word in the proper perspective.  If we are truly thankful for God’s Word we will not forget it and will be quick to obey it and it, in turn, will protect us from falling into temptation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Isaiah 54:1-17

Hope is a wonderful blessing from God, without which we would be vulnerable to all kinds of destructive tendencies in our lives.  Today’s society is marked by depression, anger, fear, anxiety and self-righteousness, in large part, because of the sense of hopelessness that prevails in our culture.  Isaiah writes to a people who are about to be taken into captivity because of their sin.  God knows that they will feel rejected, threatened and hopeless so He reveals His future plans for the nation in order to give them hope in the midst of the coming trial.  Hope is the expectation of good based upon the promises of God.  Many times when our lives are marked by the sins mentioned above it is because we have forgotten or failed to focus upon the promises of God’s Word. THE PROMISE OF GOD: From the very first day that God revealed His plan for the nation of Israel, He promised numerous descendants.  God chose Abraham, not because he was more righteous than any of the other people of his
Read more

1 Timothy 2:11-15

Let a woman learn quietly   with all submissiveness.    I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.    For Adam was formed first,   then Eve;   and Adam was not deceived, but   the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.    Yet she will be saved through   childbearing—if they continue in   faith and love and holiness, with self-control. There is certainly controversy and confusion about this passage in many churches today.  The idea of a distinction between men and women and their roles in the family and church certainly goes against the flow of many cultures around the world.  Some would argue that the literal and plain teaching of this passage is no longer applicable to today’s culture.  However, it is always dangerous to discard biblical teaching or try to interpret Scripture based on the cultures in which we live.  Certainly, the Spirit who inspired this text was aware of the many changes that would occur in future cul
Read more

1 Timothy 1:1-2

Paul,   an apostle of Christ Jesus   by command of   God our Savior and of Christ Jesus   our hope, To Timothy,   my true child in the faith:   Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. The true sign of maturity is multiplication.  Believers, churches, and ministries that do not reproduce are not demonstrating true maturity.  One of the key characteristics we can identify in Paul’s ministry is that he was constantly reproducing godly believers who were faithfully following the Lord.  Evangelism, discipleship, and leadership training are the hallmarks of mature ministers and ministries.   THE APOSTLE: Paul was called by God to be an Apostle.  Though Paul converted after the resurrection and assentation of Jesus, he met Jesus in the road to Damascus and was instructed by Jesus in the desert.  Paul considered himself to be the least of the Apostles because he persecuted the church and did not walk with Jesus on earth like the other Apostles.  However, God had
Read more