temptation

Pride, prideful, temptation, forgiveness, prayer, humility, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Prideful: Resisting Temptation and Following Christ’s Example of Humility

DevotionalsJuly 24, 2019July 13, 2019

To our core, humans find it easy to slip into prideful character traits. We must resist the temptation to wear pride and follow Christ’s example of humility.

My husband and I closed on our first home on June 7. It’s a beautiful fixer-upper, built in 1920. We knew going in this would be a lot of work, but I think we underestimated just how much work.

For weeks now, we’ve been cutting, drilling and demolishing in that house every spare minute we have. It’s been challenging and growing, to say the least. But I knew it would be. I knew we would be exhausted. I knew our communication as husband and wife would be challenged and given opportunity to flourish.

But what I didn’t expect was something inside of me to crawl its way to the surface, revealing an ugly, sinful aspect of my personality: pride.

Doing vs. Hearing

I am a fairly independent creature. I love knowing how to get a job done and then just going and doing it. But I’m also a hands-on learner. Which means in order for the knowledge of how to do something to lodge in my brain, it’s a whole lot easier for me to physically walk through it than it is for me to listen to someone explain how to do it.

Let me tell you, when it comes to renovating a house, there’s a lot I don’t know. My husband has been gracious with me as I learn on the go, but I hate that I have to ask him so many questions. I hate that I have to wait for him to give a direction for certain things like roughing in the electric and creating framing for our new, beautifully-big kitchen window.

But that’s not even where my pride has reared its ugly head. The situations where that sinful little character flaw reveals itself has been in my meeting with contractors. With male contractors, I should add.

Prideful Scream

Now, I’m not the person who is all up in arms over women’s rights. I believe women are equal in intelligence and value to men, that we should have equal opportunity, but I’m not going to be protesting or arguing that the world is out to devalue women.

But what I will take a stand against is men assuming I don’t know what I’m talking about in a male-dominated field. That just gets me! I’ve met with a few different contractors during the day by myself, as I work from home and have the flexibility to do so.

What I’m realizing is that most of these men I speak with give my prideful nature a frustratingly simple path to the surface of my emotions. When they say things like, “You can have your husband call me if he has questions” or, “Do you know what I mean by this?” I simply want to scream.

And those are moments my pride sneers in success as I shrink back in failure.

“What Would Jesus Do?”

Allowing a prideful attitude to take control is something I know saddens the heart of Jesus. I could easily give excuses for why I feel the way I do. But to borrow from the old, Christian phrase, I must ask, “What would Jesus do?”

Jesus, the King of the universe, the One who created heaven and earth with the breath of His lungs and the words of His mouth — this Jesus was mocked, scorned, beaten and put to death. Evil, nasty men hurled insults at Him… At the Son of the Almighty God.

And what did He do? Did He scream back at them? Did He defend His Name and His knowledge and His power? No, He didn’t. Jesus didn’t allow the pride of who He is to tempt Him into sin.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open his mouth.
Isaiah 53:7, NIV

If Jesus didn’t feel the need to defend Himself against His accusers, why should I feel the need to defend my knowledge and experience?

I shouldn’t, is the simple answer.

But it’s never that simple for us mere mortals, is it?

God is Faithful

We can easily say “What would Jesus do?” Yet that’s a phrase easier said than put into practice. But if I desire to look more like Christ each day, if I desire to glorify God with every fiber of my being, then I must set aside the pride that rises each time people assume I don’t know something simply because I’m a woman.

I don’t know what circumstances you face that cause your prideful nature to flood your emotions, but one thing I do know: We can rise above this temptation. We can not only push back our pride, but we can pluck it from the very core of our being.

How? By remembering God is faithful.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13, NIV

Enduring Temptation

God has given us an amazing promise when it comes to the temptation of pride. We can know, because of His faithfulness, He will always provide a way out for us. He will help us to endure the temptation.

But here’s the thing: We have to accept His help. Just because God provides a way doesn’t mean He pulls us kicking and screaming. We must acknowledge His faithfulness, take His hand, and accept His endurance.

We can do this through prayer and through repeating truth whenever faced with a temptation. Instead of allowing instant frustration at these men who assume I’m simply my husband’s puppet in regards to the renovation of our house, I need to ask God for help. I need to praise Him for His faithfulness. And I need to seek the way out that He will provide for me.

Christ’s Humility

I wish I could give you a step-by-step guide to what this looks like. But what I can do is promise you that the more you seek God, and the more you remember Christ’s humility, the more you will begin to reflect His character. And the more you reflect His character, the more your prideful nature will feel foreign and unneeded.

For God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But you must follow His lead when He provides a way out for you. At least that’s what I plan on doing tomorrow when I meet with another contractor. No more prideful screams. I’m following Jesus’ example this time.

The more we seek God, and the more we remember Christ’s humility, the more we will begin to reflect His character. The more we reflect His character, the more our prideful nature will feel foreign and unneeded. Click To Tweet

Emily Saxe was born and raised on the east coast but currently resides in Indiana with her husband. Working as a full-time freelance writer and editor, her heart and her pen are drawn to stories of faith as she helps people share how God is working in their lives. Everyone has a story to tell, and Emily loves helping to give people a voice to share their own story.

Read more of Emily’s articles on her website, To Unearth. You can also find Emily here: Pinterest Instagram Facebook

Evie S.

Sin, sexual sin, grace, desires, holiness, temptation, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Run: Fleeing from Anything that Stimulates Youthful Lusts

DevotionalsApril 3, 2019April 3, 2019

Sin can be sneaky. Especially in our minds. We must run, flee from anything that tempts us into allowing sexual sin power.

As women, we have been really sneaky about making men feel alone in their struggle against sexual sin. I don’t know how it happened, but it seems that men are just assumed to struggle with what they think and watch, but women are given a pass. This attitude has even permeated the Christian world. I’m often shocked by what friends have confessed they watch or read. They imply they’re doing it “for the story,” and lust isn’t something they struggle with.

If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work. Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.

2 Timothy 2:21-22, NLT

I have written before how once we are made aware of something, we tend to see that certain thing everywhere. I am especially sensitive to sexual sin because it’s one I have struggled with a lot in my mind. Sister, I’ve struggled to the point it affected my marriage. Please know my concern in addressing this topic comes from no place of judgment- I have no room to judge. It’s because of my struggle with sexual sin that I want to warn you and ask you to run! Flee!

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.

James 1:14, NLT

There are so many reasons we are tempted into sin, but they always come back to us. We want to do what we want to do. So we justify. “I watch Game of Thrones for the story. I read romance novels to pass the time. I listen to secular music about sex and the secular culture because I need to stay relevant with my kids.” The problem with watching, reading, and listening to what the world is, is that all too soon, we begin to resemble the world and not Christ.

What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

Matthew 18:7-9, NLT

Amazing Grace

These verses are all red letters in the Bible, meaning they are straight from Jesus’ teachings. Make no mistake, Sisters, God does not think sin is funny or okay. We preach a gospel of grace. Praise God for His grace and mercy! None of us can enter into His presence without it. All of us are wretched sinners; I often feel like no sooner do I have victory in one area of my life, another surfaces that’s just as serious. My point is that we must not take advantage of this amazing grace. Repentance means hating our sin enough to turn away from it!

As I write this today, I can be honest and say this area is not completely conquered in my life…perhaps it never will be. However, the more I’m in the Word, the more I pray, the more I fill my mind with Godly music and clean TV shows, the less and less I struggle. The junk I allowed myself to look at and think about, becomes more and more distant in my mind and memory.

Run to God

The key to our struggle against sin isn’t to do it alone and in secret, but to run to our Savior for a way out! I’ve begged Him for a way and the phone has rung, or the baby woke up or my kids came inside for a snack…that is the way out, friends! Stop that thought, take it captive and hand it to God. Get busy serving your family until you are able to think clearly. We must have a practical plan to deal with our struggles, or we are absolutely planning to fail.

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, NLT

Holiness

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5, NLT

The Bible makes no joke about our walk with Christ: it’s a battle, a war, a difficult thing that will absolutely make us realize our need for Jesus and His sacrifice. We cannot save ourselves-everything in our hearts is bent toward evil. Praise the Lord for His Word to guide us, His Holy Spirit to teach us, and His body of believers to help keep us accountable on this journey called life.

If you struggle with sin-your thought life in particular-I urge you to find a Godly mentor you can trust. An older woman in the faith who won’t berate and judge you, but love you and help you! Holiness is a daily decision but also a lifelong destination.

God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor-not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, NLT

The key to our struggle against sin isn't to do it alone, but to run to our Savior for a way out! Praise the Lord for His Word to guide us, His Holy Spirit to teach us, and His body of believers to help keep us accountable. Click To Tweet

eberhard grossgasteiger

cleansing, forgiveness, Oh Lord Help Us, spiritual growth, women of faith, Christian mentoring

Cleansing: The Lord Desires to Repair Us Physically and Spiritually

Devotionals, Stay SaneJuly 31, 2018September 8, 2019

As temples of the Holy Spirit, we need the Lord’s full cleansing. We can stay clean by filling ourselves only with things that nourish our spirit.

If you’re like me, there are problems in your life that you have tried to ignore or tolerate for far too long. We can struggle along with these problems; we can limp through half-hearted attempts at a resolution. Often we ping and pong back and forth between hope and despair that our problems will ever fully be resolved. But if we’ll let Him, the Lord brings us to a point where we finally cry, “Mercy!” That is the point when we choose to face and deal with the problem once and for all. It’s a hard place. But it’s such an important place to get to. It’s where we relinquish our control over the problem and fully put it into God’s hands. Ultimately, it’s the place where we find His physical and spiritual cleansing.

The roots of the problem…

I’ve gotten to this place in my physical health, and the things I’m learning apply to my spiritual health as well. For years, I have struggled with stomach problems. The earliest roots of the problem wind their way back to my preteen and teenage years when I experienced an onslaught of emotional trauma. Over the course of my adolescence, my parents divorced; my dad died of a massive heart attack, and I bounced from one home to another, eventually living with six different foster families by the time I graduated high school.

Throughout all those emotionally unsettling years, my stomach was very upset. Seemingly out of nowhere, I became lactose intolerant; I had severe acid reflux and heartburn. And throughout the years, the problems gradually intensified. I was diagnosed with IBS. More and more foods began to bother me, causing severe abdominal cramping, skin rashes, headaches… You name the gastrointestinal symptom, I’ve had it. Now, before this post starts to sound like a script for all the possible side effects on your average pharmaceutical commercial, let’s take this analogy in a spiritual direction!

I need a cleansing…

I need an overhaul, a cleansing. I’m tired of limping through life, just coping with this problem that has plagued me for decades. And I’m not willing to settle for a partial solution, some band aid prescription that will just tame the symptoms temporarily. I want to get down to the root causes of what’s going on in my system and work to repair and heal all that I can. So, this the point where I turn it over to the Lord.

I know that He can help me to heal, and He’s provided everything I need to heal in His creation. It’s just a matter of my committing to the process and being unwilling to accept anything less that than a full recovery. As such, I’m beginning a six week dietary cleanse, a detox, a resetting of my gut, with the expected end of healing. So, here’s the spiritual tie in. Hopefully it provides some “food for thought.”

What we put into ourselves matters…

With food, when we’re hungry, we can reach for the cookies, or we can opt for a nutrient dense snack. And the effects in our body will reflect the choices we make. When it comes to our soul and spirit, what we feed ourselves matters too. In every moment, there are choices we can make. When I wake up, do I reach for my Bible and journal and get still before the Lord? Or do I grab for my cell phone with my calendar and my to do list? The first choice feeds my spirit with the fortification I will inevitably need throughout the day. The second choice fills me with stress and anxiety over all that I need to accomplish.

When I have a brief span of peace and quiet in the afternoon, do I intentionally reach for an inspirational book or encouraging blog post? Or do I absentmindedly scroll through social media, comparing my life to everyone else’s and feeling like I don’t measure up? When I’m tired at the end of a long day, do I reach for the remote and binge watch some reality tv show where other people are pursuing their creative dreams? Or do I work on a song I’m writing or watch a sermon from a speaker or pastor I like? All of these little choices matter because they have immediate and cumulative effects in my mind, my soul, and my spirit. What am I feeding my spirit?

What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, KJV

Filling my temple…

If I’m filling my temple full of worldly wisdom, carnal desires, and earthly comparison…I’m bringing things into the temple that are not holy and acceptable to the Lord. When I renew my mind with the Word of God, nourish my soul with uplifting music, and keep my mind on things above rather than on things below, I’m filling my temple with things that are life-giving. I’m building my temple up rather than tearing it down. And if what we put into ourselves matters, we know that what comes out will reflect what we have put in.

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Luke 6:45, KJV

Removing the blockages…

I’ve learned something very interesting in my health journey: Even if I’m eating very healthy foods, if I still have underlying issues in my gut, I can’t even absorb the good nutrients that I’m trying to get from the healthy food I’m eating. So, until I fully heal my gut, no matter how healthy I’m trying to be, I will still suffer from the same symptoms.

The spiritual side of this coin looks very similar. Even if we are trying to put the right things into our spirit man, if we still have underlying sin–unforgiveness, resentment, anger, envy–the sermons from church and scriptures from the Bible can’t fully sink in. We must remove the blockages in our spirit that prevent the Truth from fully penetrating our heart.

Just as a detox diet or a cleanse is meant to clear out the garbage lingering in our physical system, when we realize we have unaddressed sin, we have to turn our temple over to the Lord for His complete cleansing. Click To Tweet

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9, KJV

Keeping the temple clean…

And once He has cleansed us, we have to be vigilant to keep our temples clean. So, when I finish this six week reset of my gut microbiome, the goal isn’t to then go out and gorge myself on all the junk food I’ve been craving. The point is to identify and eliminate the foods that hurt me and to only reintroduce the foods that are healthy and nourishing to my system.

And so it goes with our faith walk. We need to pay close attention to the things we’re watching, the relationships we’re maintaining, and the thoughts we’re thinking. If they have been toxic to our faith, we have to identify and eliminate the things that don’t serve us. And once we are fully cleansed, we are better equipped to handle the more difficult things in life because we’re approaching them with a clean heart. Let’s follow the Word’s prescription for the kind of pure, clean diet we need to feed our spirit:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Philippians 4:8, KJV

What kind of diet have you been feeding your spirit lately? Are there things that you need to be cleansed of?

Kumiko SHIMIZU