27/01/2018
DO WE GET TEMPTED BY GOD? part 1
I'll lift a verse from the prayer template as taught by Jesus Christ in Matthew 6:9-13, we take verse 13......"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen".
Now the question remains, do we actually get tempted by God?, first we begin to understand what temptation really is, according to Merriam Webster, it's describe as thus 'something that causes a strong urge or desire to have or do something and especially something that is bad, wrong, or unwise', now someone will abruptly conclude... "oh God won't cause you to do anything bad or unwise", but the truth is GOD TEMPTS, yeah He tempts.
Genesis 22:1 "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am", this is a story we know so well, from cradle we get taught how God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son and he, not hesitating to hear God the second time or perhaps more clearly as most of us today would do, went ahead to lay his only son for a sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts, we may want to argue that Abraham really believed God won't allow him do that because it's considered murder and not rational, not after all these childless years...this is where mere mortals now advise God on what is right and wrong, too bad, and that really is what God detests, Elohim delights more in your obedience than in your sacrifices, even if we argue on Abraham's foreknowledge of God's change of heart then we're coming close to what i term FAITH, little wonder Abraham was accorded the title 'Father of faith' and you know without faith it's impossible to please God, now understand this, Faith is the oil of temptation, when God tempts you, he does that to test your faith in Him, and naturally we don't have faith in something we didn't accept ab initio, and whatever we accept we love to keep... that is the equation, FAITH, LOVE, ACCEPTANCE 🔁 TEMPTATION, these are like reverse reactions, when you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Savior, loving Him and having faith in Him, then you must show these whole passive attitudes as active because acceptance, love and faith can only be felt and not seen, John chapter 1 admonishes us to let our light shine before men, that light is the light of God, and the light of God in us is Faith, Love and acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior, going down same chapter it made us understand that we can't lit a candle stick and hide it under the table, it means, we can't claim we accept, love and have faith in God without action!, that action is what translated to temptation.
A common analogy is a class setting, perhaps a college or high school, a teacher comes to the class to lecture and elucidate a concept painstakingly so you understand it perfectly, you ask questions and get answers, you inquire and got cleared, a time comes when same teacher who attends to all your questions and puzzles in class suddenly stands to watch you battle with some questions on the examination day without help, you ask for some explanations on that day and receive no answer until the examination is over, then time for scoring, you pass, you get promoted to the next class, you fail, you get retained and subsequently will get corrections once the new session begins, that is what temptation is all about, nothing different, you are the student now, the world is the classroom, God's words and teachings we must learn as His followers, now a time to examine your progress so far as with the class examination, you get tempted, so we shouldn't see temptation as evil, we should rather see it as an avenue to get promoted and listen, just as you don't write exams unduly, God won't tempt you unduly, He won't give you a pathology and pharmacology test in high school...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", so you see, temptations are not bad, they are very good, they are actually provisions for promotion, that is why James 1:2 tells us to count it a thing of joy whenever we face temptations, i personally would be glad to write my professional exams so i get freed from the classroom bugs and get promoted to become a professional!, same with temptation, you get tried and get promoted, in fact verse 12 of same James chapter 1 called a man that faces temptation blessed!, you know why?, after the temptation comes a reward called 'THE CROWN OF LIFE' according to that verse, i know some of us want that crown....just endure that temptation and you will sure get the crown.
...to be continued
In my next teaching on this, I'll demystify the enigma in James 1:13 by the grace of Elohim. God bless you all.
