Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Feeling the Wind of Temptation - December 2, 2009

Good Wednesday morning! I am a little late this morning; I got caught up watching the temperature go down while the sun comes up, not the usual mode of the morning. Yo ho, it's cold out this morning! The cat has snuck into my lap already, must be a bit cool in the house too. :-) Sunday, I learned that God gives us wisdom for the asking, and common sense in our daily lives. Why then do I not feel like I'm getting anywhere? The reason may be that I am looking to a feeling instead of the less emotional evidence around me. Feelings are not good measures of progress. We know this because one day we may feel on top of things and the next that the things are on top of us. However, most of the time the "things" have not changed from one day to the next, only our feelings about them and the self have changed overnight.

Feelings are good when we listen to uplifting music, but not so good when used to measure God's work within us. God didn't ask our feelings for their input when He sent the Holy Spirit to clean up the mess. We are not going to 'feel' cleaner each morning and know that the Holy Spirit did some cleanup work through the night. We also have a bad habit of looking at our temptations and judging our progress by them. "Well, I'm still tempted by lust. When is God going to fix that? How can I get into Heaven with that still around my neck?" Uh oh, we don't get into Heaven by failing to respond to a temptation; we get into Heaven by the blood of Jesus Christ! We still find ourselves trying to earn what has already been given, simply because we don't feel perfect.

We tend to be like the driver who says his car isn't running right because a wind is blowing on the side of it. Sure, if the driver lets go of the steering wheel the car will drift to one side. That doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the car! At times we too will let the 'car' drift too far when the wind of temptation blows. We might even drive into the ditch of sin. Jesus is the best at bringing that car of ours right back to where it belongs. Trust in him, and don't judge by your feelings.

Merry Christmas in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

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