Take Heed Lest Ye Fall

1 Corinthians 10:12-13, "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:

but God is faithful,

who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able;

but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

Our sermon this morning was on temptation. Resisting temptation is really hard. One point brought out by Genesis 39 (our text) and my pastor is that we are usually tempted more than once. We say no, and then no the next day and then, I don't think so, until we're worn down and tired and the timing is better for the tempter. Joseph, as a victorious example, said no every day.

Every time I hear a sermon or lesson on temptation I think I should really wear something to remind me, or put up a picture of the crucifixion in my room, or of a scene from Karen Hancock's arena that vividly recalls temptation.

Except this morning we were also in Ephesians. You know chapter 6 that talks about the armor of God? And the armor isn't anything about jewelry or paintings. We protect ourselves from spiritual attack by filling ourselves with the Word of God, with prayer, with salvation and saturating our thoughts with truth. Trust God. Know Him. Be prepared. Practice (pro-actively) righteousness (do-good-ing).

For someone who advocates the biblical solutions over man's innovations, I sure have been confused. So even though I believe in preaching the gospel to myself as Living the Cross-Centered Life advocated, I don't need the crucifix in my room to give me an image. What I haven't been doing when I fall prey to temptation is immersing myself in the Bible, dedicating time each day to spending with God, and going through my day with Him in prayer. Let this be a warning to me.

To God be all glory.