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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
James 1:13-15
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
People are really good at playing the blame game. Some are experts.
There seems to be a general lack of accountability when it comes to being honest about the true source of our errors when we make them. And so rather than point the finger where it belongs, at ourselves, we instead deflect fault elsewhere. After all, it’s easier to do that than to actually do the work to change and get better at living this thing called life.
In the worse instances of this fundamental flaw in our humanity, we find people accusing God of being the sense of their failures, a completely ridiculous claim when it comes to sinfulness because a God who despises sin and commands His people to avoid it would never then lead people to commit transgressions. Sin is never in God’s nature but it sure is in ours and it’s nothing but sin that would lead us to blame God or anyone else for our own iniquities. The credit for evil and wicked behavior sits solely with the one committing said behavior.
This is what we learn when we look to the scriptures on this matter. In particular, today’s passage from our continued study of James, Chapter 1 shows us the true source of temptation, the temptation that leads us to disobediently and intentionally do wrong before our Lord. Look again at these words here:
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. James 1:13-15
Here we gain affirmation that God is not the starting point for sinful persuasion. The word of the Lord makes it clear that God Himself cannot be tempted by evil any more than He would tempt someone to commit wicked acts.
So where is the problem, if not with God?
We need to only look in the mirror to find the answer.
For the origin of our sin is found within ourselves and our own evil desires.
If we would just stop and do an honest assessment while on the way to committing sin, we would find that in that moment, our wants become greater than what the Lord wants us to do and we find greater pleasure in satisfying those wants than we do in our striving to please the Him. Left unchecked, these selfish, wicked desires start to develop until they have given birth to sin, sin that, if allowed to grow to full maturity, will lead a person straight down the path of judgment and destruction.
Are you struggling with sin in your life right now, seemingly always giving into your temptations?
If so, get on your knees and deny yourself before the Lord, surrendering your selfish desires for His will and way. Repent and confess your iniquities and then ask the Lord to lead you away from your sin and toward His perfect righteousness. Turn away from sin before it’s conceived within you and seek a spiritual rebirth, completely dedicating and devoting yourself to the Lord. Place your fullest focus on Him and your focus will be pulled away from yourself, the true source of temptation.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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