Halloween candy is on sale this week. But before you snatch up your favorite treat, don’t let temptation trick you.

We’ve given Eve a hard time for eating the forbidden fruit, but if it smelled like chocolate, I understand. Somebody knew women who like pottery, love chocolate and placed my favorite bar among housewares. I picked up the 14.1-ounce Swiss Toblerone bar and remembered its smooth taste. “I’ll buy it for you,” my friend said.

“No, thank you!” I said and dropped it. But temptation had taken root. I ambled back to look at the fat grams, 12 grams per serving. Ridiculous. Who stops at one serving? I walked away again.

I discovered this smooth chocolate on a mission trip in Europe. The magic of the Alps wafted through my mind. In those days, you couldn’t find Toblerones in America. I could save it for when I really wanted chocolate.

The check-out clerk said he had never seen such a big chocolate bar. Good, it must be fresh.

How to Protect Yourself from Temptation 

Consider the following when you’re tempted.

Temptations are common. It’s not a sin to be tempted. Enticements to over-spend, to partake of substances we should avoid, or to cave into controlling people or emotions daily spread their nets for us (1 Cor. 10:13). They show up when we least expect it (chocolate in the housewares aisle!). Even Jesus experienced temptation, but He never succumbed.

Temptations lie to us. The Bible calls destructive longings “deceitful desires” (Ephes. 4:22). They make promises they can’t keep. The guy at work promises love but delivers heartache. The debt from overspending outlasts the pleasure of the purchase. They promise, “One time won’t hurt. You’re smart enough to know when to quit.” But the Bible warns of sin’s destructive and addictive nature (James 1:15; Jn. 8:34).

The Bible calls destructive longings “deceitful desires” (Ephes. 4:22). They make promises they can’t keep. #temptation, #RechargeWednesday
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You already know how chocolate works. One serving, the size of a flat dollar bill, puffs up like a sponge in water to the size of a walrus. Every gram of chocolate expands into ten pounds of human fat. If someone can figure out how to pack a thousand photos into a thumb drive, you’d think they could keep chocolate from expanding your hips.

Seriously, having a large bar of my favorite chocolate in my home only tormented me. Wrestling with chocolate reminded me of how consuming temptation can be. To invite temptation in embroils you in a battle you’ll likely lose or wear yourself out fighting.

God provides good gifts for us to enjoy. His gifts aren’t disguised traps that enslave us or deaden our spiritual senses (Rom. 6:16). Saying no may be the most liberating thing we do.

Neil Anderson once said heaven is a place with no bad options. Until then, when temptation knocks, let’s run to the throne of grace. Our High Priest stands ready and able to rescue us from every temptation—and to restore us when we fall.

No matter where our particular weakness lies, I learned avoiding temptation is always better than battling it. Single serving size candy bars work better for me!

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16 NIV).

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Post by: Christy Mobley

The other night I dreamt the house was on fire. I sat straight up in the bed and like a blind person groping for a fire extinguisher my hand fumbled about the bedside table knocking stuff over until…

Ahhh, I found it! Gaviscon.

One swig of the cool-minty-green liquid and the fire was out. At least for the moment.

If you haven’t already guessed, yeah I have that insidious, nasty acid reflux! The term even sounds caustic. Acid. Reeee-flux.

This condition has been a bug-a-boo for me on and off most of my adult life. It was for my dad too.

Thanks Dad! (God rest his beloved soul.)

Lately the fire in my esophagus has been of the three alarm variety.

Why am I telling you this?

If you think it’s because I’m over fifty and over-fifty people talk about their ailments all the time (even though we do), that is not the reason.

Here is the reason:

I know certain foods cause me to have flare-ups. And because I know which ones are the culprits its stands to reason I would want to stay away from said evil. Yes? Why would I want to mess with my menu?

I’ll tell you why.

As I put distance between myself and my last episode of “towering inferno” I start to once again feel confident in my indulging without consequence. And once again I stray into dangerous territory.

I say to myself…

I think I can handle it.

This time will be different.

I’m different.

I’m stronger now.

That one slice of pizza won’t bother me. I mean what’s the harm in a little chocolate or yummy garlic bread or the pesto jam jar from the Nordstrom’s Bazille cafe…

And then as if blindsided, like, oh my goodness I can’t believe this is happening to me again!, I find myself rummaging through the medicine drawer for another Zantac, Tums or Gas-X, to ease the bloat in my gut and the distress in my chest.

Not a pretty picture.

I’m confessing this to you because isn’t this what we do with sin?

We know what our temptations are. We know what gets us into trouble. I don’t need to give you a multiple choice list, you and I both know what our weaknesses are, just as well as I know which foods make me sick.

Somehow when things have been calm for a time, we begin to get proud, telling ourselves, “I can handle this.”  We follow our temptation deeper and deeper into the woods until we are the point of no return. It all feels innocent enough at first, until once again we fall into the pit of uncomfortable consequences.

Oh my goodness, the travesty.

But God in his infinite wisdom and grace knows how we are and has provided tools to help us,—to protect us from ourselves.

1. God gave us memories for a reason and not just pleasant ones. Don’t allow distance to cloud them. Sometimes it is imperative to remember the bad stuff. If we recall the pain of a previous experience, we are less likely to go there again. It’s called wising up.

2. Call out to God for help. His word tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tested beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you an endure it.”

3. Realize we are apt to rationalize our way out of saying no to our temptations. We can deceive ourselves better than anyone else. “The heart is deceitful above all things…”Jeremiah 17:9. Please know I’m preaching to the choir. That’s exactly why I love this verse…such an eye opener.

How many uncomfortable situations will we get ourselves into, how many people will we hurt or how many disruptions will take place in our homes or at work before we learn we will never conquer our weakness by our own power and might?

And how many times will I knock the water glass off the nightstand reaching for the Gavascon to put out the unnecessary fire in my gut?
All because I continue to mess with the menu…

“Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left, keep your foot from evil.” Proverbs 4:26-27

Looking forward, pressing on and seeking God in every bump and twist in the road.

Christy 

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2 Kings 10:31

I sat on the floor of my prayer closet, overwhelmed by God’s mercy and grace. Once again God’s Word met me where I was, filling the places that needed nourishment, healing the wounds in my heart, shining His light in my dark places.

It never gets old.

But it takes a new meaning after a season of gray skies.

I don’t mean a time of sorrow. Oh, I’ve had my share of those, no question. Many were the days where God poured His light in that kind of darkness.

But this was different.

I knew that something was not quite right in my relationship with God. Not that I wasn’t hearing Him, or did not feel His presence.

But something.was.different. And I could not put a finger on it. Or, should I say… I didn’t really WANT to put a finger on it.

Oh, sweet honesty!

Sometimes you just must face it: You are stepping out of His will.

Even if ever so slightly. Still… It is what it is.

Half obedience…

Delayed obedience…

Leaning on our own understanding and acting on reason other than by faith…

And we find ourselves in a season of, not dark, but gray skies.

The rain that usually pours down from Heaven to nourish our souls turns into droplets that can barely quench our thirst. And we look up, wondering why peace is not quite there anymore.

Until God, in His inexplicable mercy, takes us to a character in Scriptures whose decisions wake us up from our slumber. And then, mercy of mercies: We read the end of their story. Either how God came to their rescue… or how they wrecked their lives beyond repair… one decision at a time.

King Jehu.

That was the character whose spiritually defeated life came to my rescue that morning.

Jehu had everything to become a great king in the Northern Kingdom, and from a human perspective, he was indeed a successful king. His family ruled the Northern Kingdom longer than any other. God used him to punish and destroy Ahab and Jezebel’s evil dynasty, and he also obliterated Baal’s worship in the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

When you read Israel’s history for the first time and come across the beginning of Jehu’s account, you have the impression that, finally, after a long history of evil and idolatrous kings, a righteous one would finally sit on the throne.

But Jehu is another example of a life that started well, only to end in mediocrity, spiritual blindness, and, ultimately, defeat.

He destroyed the idols of Baal, but not the golden calves in Dan and Bethel. He went beyond God’s command and led a senseless bloodbath. One decision at a time, this promising king turned away from God’s best by giving in to compromise and falling into temptation. And just like that – a life that would have been crowned in victory and reward left a trail of destruction and bondage.

Because he was devoted to Yahweh only to the point that it served his own interests.

On the surface, Jehu was carrying out God’s command and restoring His land, but in his heart, Jehu’s message to God was clear:

“I’ll give you this much. But not my all.”

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.

Does that pierce the heart of any other honest Christian out there?

Seriously, how many Christians do you know, who started their journey completely dedicated to serving God, not matter what, only to give up in the middle of the way?

How many times have you found yourself judging them for their mistakes, bad decisions or compromise?

I know you have. Guilty as charged here too.

But can I tell you something? Do you know how easy it is to fall away from God’s best for you?

You do it just like King Jehu: One bad decision at a time. One small compromise at a time. One step in the wrong direction at a time. One yes to temptation at a time.

One. Just one time.

That’s what it takes for the devil to take a hold of your heart, make you cling to your golden calves and, before you know it, become so attached to that sparkly idol that you simply don’t want to let it go.

Oh, the golden calves!

Believe me. If you don’t have one, the devil will certainly send one your way, sooner or later. Because if he does not get you to quit while facing a trial, he will send you something to get you to fall into temptation or compromise.

What he will never, ever do, is quit on trying to destroy your testimony and destiny. That, my friend, the devil will never do.

You better not forget that.

But thank God for His mercy and grace, praise Him for not giving up on us.

The story of Jehu was, for me, God’s warning:

“I have a plan for you. Either you are all in, or you are all out. The choice is yours.”

So I ask you…

Do you have a golden calf, secretly hidden somewhere in your heart… or closet?
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Hear the voice of the King who was Almost Great, shouting from the pages of his shattered story:

Take a hammer and destroy that golden calf. Do that before your steps take you so far away from the path Yahweh has for you, that your destiny is but a dream.

The story of Jehu is told on 1 Kings 19:16 – 2 Kings 10:36. He is also mentioned on 2 Kings 15:12; 2 Chronicles 22:7-9 and Hosea 1:4-5.

Feeling tempted to quit your journey of faith? Pressed down by temptation? You need to read this.
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