Temptation, The Refinery

WOW, the past six months has simply flown by. Last Friday was time for my vocal cord check-up, as it is every six months, you know the scope up my nose and down my throat thing, and praise God everything looks great. I got to my appointment a little early and just sat quietly in the parking lot for a few minutes unwinding from the 45 mile drive. A pair of birds landed in the grass to my left, a species I don’t recall seeing before. The size of a wren, I could tell they were a couple, though I know little about birds. I do know the male is the colorful one of the two, this one red breasted, not to look good, but to attract the attention of predators, drawing them away from the female. In human life it’s the colorful female which draws men away from other females. Well, just watching the bird couple as they feasted on the tiny flowering “weeds” in the spring-time grass relaxed me so, that my normal apprehension about the appointment I was soon to enter into, had melted away, and it passed quickly. It’s good to “stop and smell the roses”.
A young lady was vacationing in Florida when a little boy approached her, looked up and asked, “Do you believe in God?” In surprise she nodded affirmatively. “And do you always go to church on Sunday?” “Yes, I do”, replied the woman with an inquisitive look. “And read the Bible?” “At every opportunity”, responded the lady. “Well then”, the boy said, “Will you hold my quarter while I go swimming?”
[1 Peter 1: 3-9] No one enjoys being tempted. It’s hard to deal with. Why would you want to be tempted? Why can’t a good Christian live life without temptations? The Bible says we need temptations in our life. Why? To some this may be hard to grasp, that we should enjoy it when we have the opportunity to defeat Satan’s snare, and that we should consider ourselves blessed when we suffer for Christ (James 1:2). Let’s look at it this way. The purest gold, is of course, the most expensive, isn’t it? And how is it made pure? Through fire! A goldsmith will put the gold into fire several times so that the fire will burn away the impurities. The more times the gold goes through the fire, a melting/cooling process, the more impurities are removed and the more pure the gold becomes. This is the same with Christianity. As I endure in my Christianity, with each trial, with each temptation, with each decision I make, I am being refined by God’s Word. As I apply the truths of God to my life, removing worldly thoughts and selfish wants, I become more pure and beautiful in the sight of God. (Read James 1: 12-15) God does not tempt! “…each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.” Dragged away from what? God’s truth! By whom? The evil one! “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” Death is ruin; it is not pure. (Read Isaiah 53) Isaiah writes about the coming Christ. Isaiah tells the Christ will be nobody special, that He will grow-up right under the noses of those looking for Him, but Jesus will be overlooked. (Read John 20: 26-31) Jesus was the one of whom Isaiah wrote. He was not colorful or flamboyant, just a simple man, with all the power and truth of God. Jesus is God. But yet with all that is recorded for you and I, so we might believe Jesus is God, why don’t we use Him as a deterrent to draw Satan away from us? “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” STOP; and look to Jesus, for strength and purity in life.