Audacious Faith

Yes, the devil scares me.

“When tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.” – James 1:13

"How about going to church this morning?"

I don’t have time.

I’m busy.

This is important.

It’ll have to wait.

I don’t feel like it.

I’m tired.

All different answers, but they all mean the same thing. God, you’re gonna have to wait, what I feel like doing is much more important at the moment.

Do you realize that God created you? This life wouldn’t be possible without him. He cares about all of your thoughts and feelings. When you hurt, God hurts. When you’re happy, God’s happy. You were molded by his very hands and you are so precious to him. So important.

So why isn’t he important to you?

Why is it that when we are in need of someone, God isn’t the one we turn to? Why is it we only speak to him when we want something? Why is he always at the bottom of our list? We ARE his list. He has no other priority, yet we continue to push him away.

Satan is in our world right now and we don’t even try to distance ourselves from him. He is doing his best to take you and everyone he can to hell with him. He is beside you at this very moment watching you and trying to get you to do things. He’s probably breathing on your shoulder, can you feel it? That voice that’s telling you to go outside or to go watch TV, the one that’s telling you to stop reading this RIGHT NOW, yeah. That’s him. And he’s pretty good at persuading.

If we know what he’s doing, why aren’t we running? Why aren’t we moving at all? It’s crucial that we do everything in our power to get him out of our minds and out of our lives.

I know it’s hard. It’s so hard. It’s hard to say no to a cigarette, it’s hard not to watch that movie, it’s hard not to give into what your boyfriend has been begging of you. All of those things are so tempting. They seem so great and the world will tell you they are great.

It’s a trick.

“All of you must keep awake. Give strict attention, be cautious and active. Watch and pray that you may not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” - Matthew 26: 41

That’s our warning from God. He’s saying that the devil will tempt us, and he will use the people we love to do it. He may even use people in your very family to do this. Be on your feet. Be ready. Be on your guard when it comes to Satan. He is always trying to trip you up.

Does that scare you? This awful being that hates God and hates everything good is trying to mess you up and take you into the firey depths of hell forever with him. He is trying to make you feel pain and to make you feel like you can never be happy again.

Let me ask this again. Does that scare you? It doesn’t seem like it. We don’t even try to stop him. We just let him.

“But those who crave to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and perishing.” - 1 Timothy 6: 9

Yes. Sin looks desirable. It looks like a good thing from the outside and you will sin everyday. You’re human and sin is inescapable. None of us are perfect and God understands it. He’s a patient God. He loves us when we give him no reason to love us.

That doesn’t make it right. The devil is telling you that sin is okay. It’s not okay to sin.

In fact, sin is the most evil thing on earth. It’s what keeps Satan going. It’s what makes him thrive and grow in our world. That’s worrying to me. It’s scary to think that everyday people are giving into the temptations of the devil and not everyone is caring.  

I want to clarify that God NEVER tempts us. He allows the devil to temp us because he is molding us into the people he wants us to be. He is trying to make us better people, children after his own heart. He’s teaching us. He says in the Bible that he would never tempt us.

“Blessed is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive the victor's crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.” - James 1: 12

So no, God does not tempt us. We tend to blame him but how can we? He would never hurt us.

Some people really do their best to resist temptation and live a Godly life. I love people like that. I love it when people admit to fault and try to learn from their mistakes. If you can’t admit to being wrong, you need to learn to humble yourself.

I was wrong, I’m sorry, can you forgive me.

Learn those words and you will always be forgiven by God. And if you can’t be forgiven by another person, take your troubles to God and he will wipe your slate clean EVERY SINGLE TIME.

You will never mess up to much to go to heaven. As long as you have Jesus in your heart and you genuinely want to be forgiven. That is so simple.

So when we try to push God away, even after he does all of this for us, it makes me sad. I do it, you do it, everyone does it. To deny his word is to deny him. We should never do it. We should always put him first in everything we do.

So next time someone says, “Let’s go to church.” Go and be audacious enough to take someone with you that doesn’t know the Lord.

Remember that every soul you touch is another soul saved from hell.

Author's note:

By the way, I'm tempted every day and I give in really easily. It scares me. It really really does. I guess I just have to give it up to God and know that he keeps loving me throughout all of my oopsie daisy moments. :) You can do anything and he still loves you. Oh, so that's what it means to be loved. Yeah, you've been missing out. :)

-ACertainLady___