When I was in school, each Monday was the start of a new week, and on those Mondays we would start to learn something new from our textbooks. One week it may have been learning how to turn decimals into fractions, or the proper usage of nouns or adjectives, but whatever it was that we had to learn we started to learn each Monday. Throughout the rest of the week we would practice what we had begun to learn, starting by doing simple, more easier questions and problems, to eventually ones that would have been considered quite difficult when we started just a few days earlier.
Then would come Friday. Test day. Because it was on Fridays that we would be tested on what we had learned the past week. Had we learned anything or not? Would we pass the test or would we fail?
That test served as a marker to see if the things that we learned actually made an impact on our lives. When we correctly deciphered that 50% was .50 we showed what we had learned, and we would receive a perfect score. We had passed the test.
The Bible serves as our textbook that has all of that knowledge that we need to know to be obedient to the Lord, and just as in school how we must pass a test at the end of the week to show that we learned something, we too will be tested in our faith in the form of temptations, which, if we overcome, will be rewarded by the Lord.
James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
A temptation is a desire to have or to do something, especially something that is wrong or evil.
It is a good thing to examine your own life to determine what things are a temptation for you, so that you can work on overcoming them. Like studying a textbook, we must study the Bible so that we may learn which things are displeasing to the Lord. Day after day, God’s Word should be stored away in our minds, so that when the time comes that we are tempted we can overcome them.
There may be times that we do fail, not that we want to fail and sin of course, but it might take us a few times before we get it right. We are imperfect, but we strive for perfection. Should we sin we must immediately repent and get right back at it again, applying the armor of the Lord to our soul, strengthening our faith more and more until we no longer fail.
Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Always remember that there is no temptation that we cannot overcome, because God will not let us be tempted in a way that we cannot endure.
1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Temptations are a test which we must all pass if we want to receive the prize which is eternal life. So start studying and gain the knowledge that you need when it is time for you to take your test.
In Christ
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 