Road construction is bad. No one can reach their destination in time for anything. All the time, orange barrels block unworked lanes, and the man holding the STOP/SLOW sign is thinking of penguins in Antarctica. So, if possible, most of us avoid these areas like the plague.
Temptations in life are like road works for cars. Better to avoid it altogether than risk life, limb, and sanity. Break down maps and apps to find ways to avoid temptation.
1. Don’t get the ticket – police your thoughts
If you haven’t gotten a ticket in the construction zone, that’s a godsend. Because we all want to do something that guarantees tickets in construction areas.
Jacob says that is the beginning of sin. The first is desire. We want that pleasure, person, or experience until desire overpowers us. And sin is born when you start thinking how to get what you want. And when sin reaches its full growth, it leads to death.
The logical place to break this progression is the beginning of our thoughts. Controlling our thoughts is a moment-to-moment battle. Our human tendency is to form unhealthy patterns in the way we think. by playing.
To avoid this, we need to remove these habits from our minds and replace them with pious thoughts. This is possible, but not easy. It involves memorizing God’s Word so that it will always be available as a substitute for wrong thoughts. It includes an honest prayer life that invites God to correct, teach, and discipline. And we need to surround ourselves as much as possible with music, entertainment, and relationships that glorify God rather than sex, violence, or pleasure.
“Lord, my strength, my redeemer, may the meditation of my heart be acceptable to your eyes.” – Psalm 19:14
2. Find people who follow Jesus, not the crowd
Photo credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Sanja Radin
By and large, the public seems happy to sit in the traffic jams caused by construction projects. By and large, the general public seems happy to get buzzed and high by juggling with their three significant others or betting money on craps at his table. Sin has a good side, even if it is a small one. And if it is the pleasure of sin that our friends, especially our closest friends, are always marching in front of us, then we know that temptation is a constant part of our lives. I forgive you.
But God assures us that sin has a serious downside. A friend who reminds us of the price of sin offers us a means to protect ourselves from temptation. When we choose close friends who walk with Jesus over crowds, we can build each other up and affirm each other’s wise decisions.
“He who walks with the wise becomes wise.” – Proverbs 13:20a
3. Use Temptation Obstacles
Roadblocks are invasive. They are very frustrating when there seems to be no particular reason. But wet concrete looks almost the same as dry concrete, so it’s worth it. Similarly, it is inconvenient to deliberately place obstacles in the path to avoid temptation. But when our goal is to glorify Christ, it is totally worth it.
Different people need different obstacles to protect themselves from temptation.
Most of us are wise to install and use filters on our devices and avoid spending time alone with members of the opposite sex.
Many of us would benefit from having an accountability app on the same device, or communicating our goals in a particular area to others and enforcing them.
Some of us should refrain from intentionally driving by a brothel, casino, or bar.
Others should plan to have someone else check their monthly credit card statement and explain our stewardship.
Setting your phone to allow screen time for a limited amount of time may help many people pursue the things that really matter in their lives.
For those of us who are dating, spending time alone in the car or in each other’s homes may keep us from hitting wet concrete. Avoiding concrete is much easier.
“The wise man foresees evil and hides, but the simple man sees it and is punished.” – Proverbs 22:3
4. Practice running
Basically, nothing is more enviable than an emergency vehicle on a construction site. They get lights and sirens. they get to go faster. And all non-special cars stop at the last minute and get out of the way.
When it comes to temptation, we become emergency vehicles. So don’t get hung up on what you lack or what other cars think. Time to turn on those lights and sirens and run. Running takes practice.
Reading a book with steamy chapters, vulgar language, or ungodly morals? Please dispose of it. Watching a movie that suddenly devolves into a nude scene or a gory mess? close your eyes. walk out. Is everyone at work going out drinking? “I can’t go out drinking with you guys. Would you like to go to the grill instead?” Your date reaches out where you feel too warm.
Your family wants to go to the buffet, but you tend to overeat. Offer to watch the youngest children at home.
Running practice isn’t fun until you win a prize.
“No temptation has come upon you except the commonplace of men. But God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond your capacity, but even with temptation you will be able to endure.” Please make an escape route.” – 1 Corinthians 10:13
5. I Got a Ticket – What Now?
Getting a ticket in a construction zone is the worst. But when you’re pulled over, there’s nothing you can do but lean forward in your seat and wait for the police to hand you a ticket that costs more than your car.
But spiritually, when we sin, there is much more to do than just bending over and waiting. And we have a lot more to do.
beginning, we talk to God and tell Him exactly what we did. I agree with the Lord that it was a mistake and that our actions dishonored the Savior and hurt others.
number two, we accept God’s forgiveness. There is no sin that Christ’s sacrifice was insufficient to cover, nor that Christ’s grace was sufficient to redeem.
The thirdwe ask God to lift us up and show us how to try again.
the 4thwe will go back, ask for forgiveness, and make right what we have wronged.
No one said it was easy. But we can be certain that we were not saved to remain slaves to sin. We have been saved from this power and have become servants of the Most High God, who has promised us victory.
“But thank God that you have wholeheartedly followed the form of the doctrine to which you were handed over, even though you were a slave to sin. It is.” – Romans 6:17-18
Alisha’s latest book, Confessions of an Unmarried Christian:
of Confessions of an Unmarried Christian, Alisha explores God’s design specifically for Christian singleness through entertaining stories and Bible-based truths. She tackles tough questions that the church often ignores. does the church want me? Has God forgotten me? What happens if you don’t get married? Furthermore, she stands up to the church, calling for an adjustment to a couple-centered culture and asking Christians to understand that single brothers and sisters are not only valued by God, but are essential to God’s kingdom. increase.
The single feels like it’s seen through Alisha’s words. They are encouraged to seize their role in the church and inspire the pastoral staff to reinvent the culture of celibacy. It is also a way forward.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/urbazon
Photo credit: ©Kregel Publications/AlishaPlummer
Alisha Plummer I am the author of a new book confession of christian unmarried, Physician Assistant and Writer in the Emergency Department of Rio Rancho, New Mexico. A self-proclaimed “perpetual Christian single,” she is also the church leader for the women and children ministry. Although this is her first book, Alisha has contributed to multiple periodicals and online publications and blogs regularly on her devotional site. pandorasporch.com.
