God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand!

God will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand! We need to have a battle plan from God to be victorious over the battles we face during this lifetime. Today I want to focus on the temptations we all face each day. It is giving into those temptations that end up putting us in the battles we eventually have to fight. So it is key to understand how to overcome the initial temptations, thus avoid having to spend so much of our valuable life fighting battles in our personal life which keep us from being the productive servants God has raised us up to be. Have a wonderful day in the presence of the Lord. Love you all.

“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” ~1 Corinthians 10:13

Hear this point clearly. If Satan can’t get your soul, his next goal is to at least keep you so busy fighting personal battles. The more time you spend fighting personal battles, the less time you have to serve God. That is why overcoming temptation is so important.

The Bible clearly teaches us that evil comes from our heart. The actual progression is that it starts in our heart, moves to our mind, and is manifested in our actions. That is why “creating a clean heart” is so important. That is why it is important to stay in that deep, intimate, daily contact with the Lord so that what flows from our heart is pure and clean…since that is what dictates our actions.

Temptations flow from the sin and evil still in our heart, and then goes into our mind. It is in our mind that the temptation finds fertile ground to grow. That is why is it so important to “renew our mind”, how important what we put into our mind on a daily basis is. It is in our mind that temptation grows and ultimately manifests itself in our actual conduct.

This scripture is one of God’s special promises. God tells us that He will always provide us a path of escape. That path of escape occurs while the temptation is still in our mind. THAT IS THE TIME WE MUST OVERCOME TEMPTATION. Once we allow it to live in our mind, the die is cast and will ultimately result in our rebellious behavior.

There is not one person reading this that can say God didn’t give you a path of escape. The problem is, you chose to ignore it. Many times, He gives us many chances to escape, but we choose to keep going right through the stop sign, right through the red light, right through the barriers….and then wonder how we could have gotten into such a mess.

To overcome temptation, you MUST use the path of escape God gives you while that temptation is still in your mind. Once you decide not to use that path of escape, it is only a matter of time before that temptation actually results in rebellious conduct.

I love you and care about you. I know so many of you are fighting the battles of life each day.

You are in very difficult situations. My goal is not only to help you overcome those difficult situations, but help you to avoid getting yourself in those circumstances in the future. Jesus loves you so much. Having walked this earth, He understands your weaknesses and has promised to help you to avoid the temptations of this life.

Your intimate daily contact with Him strengthens you, and your love and desire to live for Him give you the motivation to take that path of escape He offers and overcome temptation. You can count on my prayers, that you recognize each day the temptations this life offers and use the tools God has given you to live victoriously.

Think of the incredible peace, joy, and abundance this life can be when we are living for Him, serving Him, and not constantly wrapped up in those personal battles. May you be committed today to take that path of escape he offers the next time you face temptation, and live in the victory Christ won on Calvary!

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Question: “What does it mean to honor my father and mother?”

Answer: Honoring your father and mother is being respectful in word and action and having an inward attitude of esteem for their position. The Greek word for honor means “to revere, prize, and value.” Honor is giving respect not only for merit but also for rank. For example, some Americans may disagree with the President’s decisions, but they should still respect his position as leader of their country. Similarly, children of all ages should honor their parents, regardless of whether or not their parents “deserve” honor.

God exhorts us to honor father and mother. He values honoring parents enough to include it in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:12) and again in the New Testament: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth” (Ephesians 6:1-3). Honoring parents is the only command in Scripture that promises long life as a reward. Those who honor their parents are blessed (Jeremiah 35:18-19). In contrast, those with a “depraved mind” and those who exhibit ungodliness in the last days are characterized by disobedience to parents (Romans 1:30; 2 Timothy 3:2).

Solomon, the wisest man, urged children to respect their parents (Proverbs 1:8; 13:1; 30:17). Although we may no longer be directly under their authority, we cannot outgrow God’s command to honor our parents. Even Jesus, God the Son, submitted Himself to both His earthly parents (Luke 2:51) and His heavenly Father (Matthew 26:39). Following Christ’s example, we should treat our parents the way we would reverentially approach our heavenly Father (Hebrews 12:9; Malachi 1:6).

Obviously, we are commanded to honor our parents, but how? Honor them with both actions and attitudes (Mark 7:6). Honor their unspoken as well as spoken wishes. “A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke” (Proverbs 13:1). In Matthew 15:3-9, Jesus reminded the Pharisees of the command of God to honor their father and mother. They were obeying the letter of the law, but they had added their own traditions that essentially overruled it. While they honored their parents in word, their actions proved their real motive. Honor is more than lip service. The word “honor” in this passage is a verb and, as such, demands a right action.

We should seek to honor our parents in much the same way that we strive to bring glory to God—in our thoughts, words, and actions. For a young child, obeying parents goes hand in hand with honoring them. That includes listening, heeding, and submitting to their authority. After children mature, the obedience that they learned as children will serve them well in honoring other authorities such as government, police, and employers.

While we are required to honor parents, that doesn’t include imitating ungodly ones (Ezekiel 20:18-19). If a parent ever instructs a child to do something that clearly contradicts God’s commands, that child must obey God rather than his/her parents (Acts 5:29).

Honor begets honor. God will not honor those who will not obey His command to honor their parents. If we desire to please God and be blessed, we should honor our parents. Honoring is not easy, is not always fun, and certainly is not possible in our own strength. But honor is a certain path to our purpose in life—glorifying God. “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord” (Colossians 3:20).