Blog Archives - WELCOME TO THE JOY OF TROY

July 31, 2018

7/31/2018

Temptation                        THE LIGHT THAT DOESN'T BLIND

        But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Prov. 4:18.

    Have you ever wondered why it is that the big sins seem to be overcome more easily than the "little" sins? The answer lies in the fact that we can overcome all sin so long as we are depending upon God's power, and that we cannot overcome any sin when we trust in our own power. But before we are willing to trust to God's power, we must come to the place of distrusting our own power. We find it easier to understand that we cannot overcome on the "big" sins, but much harder to understand that we are helpless to fight the devil ourselves in regard to the "little" ones. It is because we ourselves try to handle the areas of "little" sins that we are overcome.

    Imagine yourself in a dark room, and you have become accustomed to the darkness. There is a closed Venetian blind at the window. If someone were to go to the cord at the side of the blind and yank it up all at once, the sudden sunlight would blind you. God, in His love, opens up the Venetian blind one slat at a time. He does not tell us all that He has to reveal to us at once. He begins with the big issues, the obvious sins. As we learn to trust Him on those, He goes on to the "little" sins.

    If you approach a man on death row and talk to him about salvation, you don't begin by telling him to polish his shoes on Friday night. There is a sequence that God Himself recognizes. In Exodus 23 the Lord is talking about overcoming the enemy for His people. He promises to male all their enemies turn their backs. He says He will send hornets, which are extremely effective weapons! But then He adds, verses 29 and 30, "I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land."

    God knows that if He tried to change us all at once, and reveal to us every weakness that we have at one time, it would destroy us. So He takes it slowly, at a pace that we, in our weakness, can endure. But so long as we continue to seek fellowship with Him day by day, the work that He has started in our lives He will carry forward to completion (Phil. 1:6).

July 30, 2018

7/30/2018

Temptation                        GOD'S LOVE REVEALS OUR WEAKNESS

        But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:4.

    Satan knows that so long as we depend upon God's power and keep our eyes upon Jesus, we are impregnable to his temptations. So he works to distract us and to get our attention focused on ourselves, for if he can do that he can overcome us. The cruel fact is that we often do not know when we have been distracted. Have you ever had the experience of having a meaningful devotional time with Jesus in the morning, and sometime during midday being absolutely vanquished by the enemy on some particular weakness, and you didn't even know at what point you had turned away from Jesus?

    God in His kindness, in His merciful and loving way, is interested in revealing to us how easily we are distracted from dependence upon Him. He helps us realize just as soon as possible that we have been turned from Him, and He wants to help us realize what will keep us from that. So we come to the testing and proving process to reveal to us our characters. James 1:2-4 tells us to greet the testing process with joy, for it brings about growth and patience. God does not bring the temptations and trials, but He is able to use them to reveal to us our need of Him.

    God brings us to one point after another designed to show to us what is in our hearts. This is described in The Ministry of Healing, page 470: "Many who sincerely consecrate their lives to God's service are surprised and disappointed to find themselves, as never before, confronted by obstacles and beset by trials and perplexities. They pray for Christlikeness of character, for a fitness for the Lord's work, and they are placed in circumstances that seem to call forth all the evil of their nature....Like Israel of old they question, 'If God is leading us, why do all these things come upon us?' "

    God's purpose is to reveal to us, step by step, point by point, just where it is that we are tempted to depend upon our own strength, and turn away from His power. As we endure the test and continue to seek the daily fellowship with Him, He will lead us just as fast as possible to the place of total dependence upon Him, and total possession and control by Him, all the time.

July 29, 2018

7/29/2018

Temptation                        THE REAL ISSUE IN TEMPTATION

        The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. Prov. 18:10.

    "Those who realize their weakness trust in a power higher than self. And while they look to God, Satan has no power over them. But those who trust in self are easily defeated."--Ellen G. White, in Review and Herald, Dec. 16, 1902.

    If Satan has no power over us, we will not find the promptings of sin appealing. We are not saying that the sinful nature will be eradicated. But so long as we are in possession of the Holy Spirit, we will not respond to the promptings of sin, even though we are tempted.

    Temptation when you are not finding the suggestion of sinful things appealing, is the temptation to pull away from the control and possession of the heavenly agencies, and depend upon your own strength. This was Jesus' great temptation.

    At those times when we are in the stance of total dependence upon God, we have the victory over all sins. But the growing Christian is easily distracted from that stance.

    Joshua was one of the most godly men who ever lived. He was one of the two, out of the vast multitude, who had enough faith in God to be able to make the trip all the way from Egypt to the Promised Land. He experienced the power of God to such an extent that he could direct his army so that the enemy found them impregnable. By faith they crossed over the Jordon into the Promised Land. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down. But we see Joshua depending upon his own strength to handle the little village of Ai, and his forces were defeated overnight.

    So the growing Christian is easily distracted. "Satan is well aware that the weakest soul who abides in Christ is more than a match for the hosts of darkness....Therefore he seeks to draw away the soldiers of the cross from their strong fortifications."--The Great Controversy, p. 530. James talks about it in James 1:14: Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lusts. And when lust has conceived it brings forth sin, and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. There is a drawing away in temptation that results in temptations for all sorts of other things. But as long as we are in dependence upon God's power we cannot be overcome.

July 28, 2018

7/28/2018

Temptation                        THE SEARCHER OF HEARTS

        The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jer. 17:9

    "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit" (Jer. 17:5-8). Here is a contrast between the one who trusts in the Lord and the one who trusts in flesh, or himself. The book of Psalms says that he who trusts in his own heart is a fool.

    Today's text says that the human heart is deceitful--even as to whether we are trusting in God or in ourselves. Have you ever thought you were trusting in God but discovered that you were trusting in yourself, and you didn't know it until you had a horrible fall, showing how deceitful your heart really was? God, in His kindness, has made provision to search our hearts and test our minds.

    "God leads His people on, step by step. He brings them up to different points calculated to manifest what is in the heart. Some endure at one point, but fall off at the next. At every advanced point the heart is tested and tried a little closer....Here they have opportunity to see what is in their hearts that shuts out Jesus."--Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 187.

    A person who is abiding in Christ's strength experiences the power of God so that sin has no dominion over him. "He [Christ] abides in your heart by faith. You are to maintain this connection with Christ by faith and the continual surrender of your will to Him; and so long as you do this, He will work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure."--Steps to Christ, pp. 62, 63. (Italics supplied.) It is not our part to keep examining ourselves moment by moment to see whether we are abiding in His strength. We may not be able to judge correctly. Our part is to continue our relationship with Christ by faith, through daily communion with Him, and He will bring us the victory.

July 27, 2018

7/27/2018

Temptation                        DOING RIGHT BY NOT DOING WRONG?

        But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. Matt. 5:22.

    One day as I was teaching a college Bible class, I noticed that two of my students on the back row were kissing. I was insulted. I was angry. I lost my temper. In the first place, I didn't think it was a very proper thing for them to do. In the second place, it reflected on my abilities as a teacher. They should have been so fascinated with my presentation that they wouldn't have had time to kiss! In my mind, I went back to where they were sitting and banged their heads together. (It wouldn't have been that easy to do--I mean, there wasn't that much room between their heads!)

    However, I didn't follow through and actually do it. I was tempted. I recognized the temptation. And because I was not depending on God's power at that moment, even though I was right in the middle of teaching a Bible class, I sinned. I consented to the temptation. I thought it was a good idea. I responded to the suggestion in my mind. And I planned it. But I didn't act it. I was able to keep myself from getting violent. In fact, I controlled my temper so well that so far as I know, no one in the class ever knew that I was upset. I didn't follow through on the action because I didn't think the administration would be too impressed with my techniques if they heard about it. And I wasn't sure that it would add to the rapport with the rest of the class. But still I had sinned. In God's eyes, I had banged their heads together! I had not experienced victory, even though I was able to control my external actions.

    When we talk of the necessity for victory to be internal as well as external, in order to be victory at all, we are not encouraging people to go around doing whatever they feel like doing while waiting for God to change the inside. But in a sense, this is probably not a danger anyway, because there are enough self-centered reasons for good outward behavior. If someone is strong enough, he will not choose to end up in jail or ruin his reputation, regardless of the question of victory in God's sight. But it is still important for us to realize that the only victory that is real is that which comes from within. Then we will realize our need of dependence upon Him, which comes as a result of our relationship with Him.

July 26, 2018

7/26/2018

Temptation                        BEING GOOD BY NOT BEING BAD?

        But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her committed adultery with her already in his heart. Matt. 5:28.

    If it is true that the thought and intents of the heart are as much brought into account as the actions, and that when we have inwardly consented to a sin, we have already sinned, whether we ever go ahead and commit the action or not, then why not go ahead with the action? If we have sinned already, and lost the battle, why not follow through with impure actions?

    Well, first of all, there may be some good moral reasons why not to follow through with the sinful action that have nothing to do with God or victory or spiritual life. If we have enough willpower to keep from killing someone we are angry with, we will be able to stay out of jail, and that's a plus. And there would be some real benefits for the person we are angry with, too! There are all kinds of moral benefits to be reaped from positive behavior. But it's still not victory in God's sight. And there is another reason, besides the moral benefits, that make it a good idea not to follow every inward sin with an outward manifestation of it. There is power available to turn back to Jesus and His power before the inner failure is worked out.

    When we understand that we have already sinned when we have given inward consent to wrong, and if we no longer call that victory, then we have the choice of turning to God for repentance before we follow through on the action. We can realize that our eyes have somehow been attracted away from Christ, and will not even attempt to fight the enemy in our own strength, but admit our helplessness and turn to Him.

    For the growing Christian, there may be many times when we will find ourselves depending upon our own strength, and giving inwardly to temptation. Because of the moral benefits to be reaped, we may be forced to grit our teeth and use our own backbone to keep from following internal defeat with external sinning. But we should not call this victory! If we are unwilling to admit that we are walking apart from Christ, it will be much longer before we are willing to turn and come again under His power. But when we admit that we have sinned already, and turn to Him again for repentance, He is able to give it to us.

July 25, 2018

7/25/2018

Temptation                        WHEN TEMPTATIONS BECOME SIN

        But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. James 1:14.

    Jane had a problem with honesty. Or should we say she had a problem with dishonesty? Well, anyway, she was a crook. She was a thief. She was a cheat. But one day she met Someone who had made a thief His last friend on earth, and she began to get acquainted with Him. She was convicted about her stealing, but more than that, she was convicted that she had been living her entire life apart from God. She began to understand something of God's love and acceptance, even for thieves, and she realized her need of Him. She surrendered to Him, and was converted.

    One day Jane was in the grocery store. As she came around the corner by a soap display, she saw that someone had left her shopping cart untended, and her purse was within easy reach, gaping open, with a nice fat wallet right on top. A temptation. Now it is no sin to come upon an unwatched purse. So far, Jane was all right.

    Jane immediately recognized that this was a temptation. She realized that she had an opportunity to steal someone's money. But she still hadn't sinned. Recognizing temptation is not sin. Jesus recognized when He was being tempted, and He never sinned. So she was still all right.

    Now there are only two possibilities of what could happen next in this story. If Jane is depending upon God's power at that moment, and controlled by Him, she will be repulsed by the idea of stealing. She will find it unappealing. And she will be given victory spontaneously at that point.

    If she is depending upon her own power at that moment, however, she will respond inwardly. "What an opportunity!" She will consent in her mind to the temptation. She will probably plan it. "Let's see, is there really no one in sight? Now if I just grabbed it and put it under my coat..." Whether or not she follows through on those plans will depend largely upon how strong-willed she is, and how much self-control she can muster. But she has already sinned, when she consented to it in her mind. Regardless of what action she takes, she has already sinned. True victory comes only from the inside, where God is dwelling, when we are in dependence upon His power instead of our own.

July 24, 2018

7/25/2018

Temptation                        SIN LEADS TO SINS

        Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 1 John 3:4.

    There is a difference between temptation and temptations. It is the same difference as that of sin and sins. Sin is living apart from God. Sins are the results of that--the doing of wrong things, the acts of transgressions. Jesus never lived a life apart from God, although there was evidently some appeal to Him to be independent and trust His own power. As a result of His not living life apart from God, but living a life of constant dependence upon God, sins or temptations had no appeal to Him. He was repulsed by them.

    If we are in total dependence upon God's power at any given moment, and Satan hits us with one of his temptations to sins, we are repulsed by it, just as Jesus was. The victory comes spontaneously, because we don't even find the offer appealing. We don't find the wrong act desirable.

    But when we are depending upon ourselves, we will find ourselves responding to Satan's temptations, at least internally. Temptations come in the following sequence. First, the temptation is presented. There is no sin in being tempted. Then we recognize the temptation, and have a chance to consider it. This still is not sin, for Jesus in the wilderness recognized that He was being tempted, and knew what the issues were.

    The third step in temptations comes only for those who are not depending upon God's power at the time of the temptation. That is, they consent to it in their minds. There is an inward response of "Yes, that sounds like fun!" It's sort of like an inward jack-in-the-box getting its lever pushed, and up pops the little man. But for the one who is in dependence upon Christ, this inner response, this finding the temptation desirable and appealing, does not take place.

    At any time that we give inward consent to a temptation, we have already sinned. Because sins always begin on the inside (whoever hates his brother is a murderer, whoever looks on someone with lust is an adulterer). For the one who is depending upon his own strength, this consent is given every single time. It is only when we are depending upon God's power that we are enabled to have the victory even at the point of desire.

July 23, 2018

7/25/2018

Temptation                        GOD'S LOVING PRESENCE

        He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. John 14:21.

    "As a shield from temptation and an inspiration to purity and truth, no other influence can equal the sense of God's presence."--Education, p. 255. Are you having problems with sin in your life? One of the real reasons behind that could be that you don't sense God's presence, for if we did sense His loving presence, we would have a mighty shield against temptation.

    Perhaps it sounds mystical, ethereal, that Jesus can be more real to us than He was to the disciples when He walked the dusty roads of Galilee. But it is true. John 14:21 makes it very clear that He loves us and will manifest Himself to us. And this sense of His presence is our shield against temptation and sin. As we make the deliberate choice to continue the daily relationship with Jesus, He will then lead us more and more into the constant realization of His presence.

    I used to come home from school and head for the cookie jar. Have you ever done that? (I think they were molasses cookies with wheat germ!) Of course, I'd go for the cookie jar because I was hungry. Now I'm paying for my past because I have children of my own that I have had to try to keep out of the...apple bin! But when Mother was in the kitchen, with her loving presence, I suddenly had no problem keeping out of the cookie jar. However, Mother could be in the kitchen only sometimes. She wasn't there when she was in the basement or out in the yard or upstairs. But God, through His angels and His Holy Spirit, can be everywhere present. There's not a place where we can flee, but God is present there. If only we realized this every moment, it would make all the difference, wouldn't it?

    And it's God's loving presence that is constantly surrounding us. It isn't a condemning presence. Fear will keep you from robbing a bank when the policemen are there. Fear will keep you from impropriety with your friend in the park, when the moon is shining and Father and Mother drive up behind you. Fear will prevent many things. But the presence of God that shields us is His loving presence. It's real. It is the loving presence of Jesus that gives power for overcoming and victory.

July 22, 2018

7/25/2018

Temptation                        STEPS TO VICTORY

        For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. Rom. 8:3.

    Sin is never overcome apart from the faith relationship with Christ. But within that relationship with Him, there are several steps that God leads us through to overcome sin in our lives. The first is to admit that sin is sin. If you have been struggling with a problem, and have had no victory, this could be one of your difficulties. Have you come to the place of admitting that it is sin, or are you still trying to rationalize it? Has the Holy Spirit brought conviction to you on this point, or are you trying to go on what your parents said about it, or what your neighbors or pastor thinks? Victory never comes until we ourselves realize a thing is sin.

    Once we have acknowledged that something is a sin, we must realize that we are helpless to do anything about it ourselves. The strong person may control his outward actions, but he hasn't overcome the sin. Sin is always from within, and is only overcome by God's power.

    When we have come to the point of recognizing sin, and admitting our helplessness to battle with it, we then must realize where the battle is. In Romans 8:3 it says that what the law could no do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. If you are trying to overcome in your own strength, you will find nothing but weakness. But if you come to Christ, and allow His Spirit to work in you, you will overcome. If we direct all of our willpower toward seeking the faith relationship with Christ, we will have none left to fight sin and the devil. And that's how it should be, for Christ has promised to do this for us.

    Another step is to recognize that God does not condemn us. God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world. As we see the love of Jesus, and realize God's loving acceptance of us, it will break our hearts and transform our lives. And, finally, as we see what sin did to Jesus on the cross, this will become a mighty shield from temptation.