Ambrose.J. Chakre
…each one is tempted when by his own desire, he is dragged away and enticed. James 1:14
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he enemies which confronts us are not the evil forces alone but we become our own enemy when we pay our tithes and offerings to the world, rather than to God. In the beginning God warned Adam and Eve not to taste the forbidden fruit, but they disobeyed and as a result sin crept into the world and defiled us. If Adam and Eve had truly feared God, they wouldn’t have disobeyed. But in the end their carnal nature got the better of them, and as a result they fell into the pit of uncertainty, confusion and corruption. The funny truth is that we are always quick to blame Adam and Eve for the mess they created, while we forget that we would have been worst than them if we were in their place.If our ancestors had been sensible enough, they wouldn’t have dared desired the forbidden fruit. But the mistake which they committed became a stumbling block to them and to their children in particular. This is the mess which they created and we are also responsible for clearing up the mess which they created. The ultimate stance of our salvation is that, every individual will be responsible for their own salvation. The moment Adam and eve sinned they started blaming each other and Satan but fortunately they did not blame God. We often consider temptation as an offence against God but the truth is that it is not. In fact even Jesus was tempted not only thrice but many times. And the manner in which He overcame all of it is a testimony of how faithful He really is to God.
Whenever the spirits of temptations confronts, we often tend to think that it is God’s way of testing our allegiance to Him. If we tend to agree to what fools says, we only expose our weaknesses and our ignorance of the Word. God wouldn’t have sent Satan to tempt Jesus while He was fasting for forty days because God’s ultimate plan was only to destroy Satan and to rescue us from the dominion of the world ( Galatians 1:4 ). In the beginning God gave us the will to make our own choices but we created our own doom by making the wrong choices. When we make the wrong choice, the blame can only be on us because of the decisions we make. In view of this the Word of God further states “When tempted no one should say, “ God is tempting me”. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when by His own desire, he is dragged away 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 ).
The sins that we commit and the wrong decisions that we make often forces us to wallow in the mud of despair and frustration. The truth is this; we sin because our thoughts are evil. If our eyes are centred on the things of the world, our lives will also reflect the nature of the world. The issue which concerns us is this, as long as we continue to sin, death will reign supreme in our lives. The nature of sin is like this, once we are enticed by it, the demons of it will keep pursuing us to defile us from within. Many believers sins by their actions because they invite sin through their thoughts. The moment we start committing the acts of wickedness, Satan strengthens his base in our lives. The message of the Word is all about God’s love His promises and His ultimate judgment on the sons and daughters of Satan. In view of this every believer should reexamine their own lives that their enemy may not get a foothold in their lives. It is for us to obey the truth if we want to inherit the promises of the truth. I challenge you to be firm in your stance against wickedness that you may one day be rewarded for your courage. This is a test not from God, but for yourselves to prove your allegiance to God. Test it to know it.
