Friday October 21, 2016

 

Throughout this week, I have discussed how it is always easier to see the lack of character in others and hard to see it in our own lives. I have also said that the lack of character in others offends us more than our own lack of character. The truth is that we need to be more concerned with our own lack of character and we need to always be on the look out to spot the lack of integrity in us. It is very easy to discover the areas in which we suffer from a lack of character. All we need to do is to think about the areas in which we are tempted and we will discover those areas in which there is a deficiency or lack of character.

 

What is interesting about temptations is that they really do not take us by surprise. For example, if you have or had a substance abuse problem, finding out that you are tempted by certain substances will not surprise you. If you have a temperament problem, you will not be surprised to find out that certain situations or people cause you to lose your temper. Perhaps your problem is with managing money. It should not surprise you then, that you can be tempted to mishandle finances. Each area in which you can be tempted, reveals an area where there is a weakness of character or where you suffer outright from a character flaw. Everyone has flaws in their character and because of this, we are continuously subjected to temptations. Not only are we subjected to temptations, most of us give in to those temptations more than we are willing to admit. The bad news is that we are never going to be able to beat all of our temptations. The good news is that if we remain connected to Jesus, He will produce in us the necessary character to be victorious in every temptation.

 

John 15:5 NIV

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

 

Apart from Jesus we cannot do anything, much less conquer our temptations. Perhaps this is why the Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. Maybe that is why it says, “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us”. And perhaps this is why the Bible says that we have an overwhelming victory through Jesus. Disconnected from Him we cannot do anything. However, if we remain connected to Him we can conquer over all our temptations and we can become the person we know we should be.

 

On this day, let me leave you with a small but very powerful exercise that if you consistently practice, has the potential to radically transform your life. Every day when you wake up, present your self to God and pray, God I cannot ____________but you can through me. God, today I will be tempted to _________________but I can overcome through your son Jesus.