Lured And Enticed

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It was a normal day, and I was simply minding my own business; doing some research online. And then I saw an object flashing to the right side of the web page. I clicked it, and a page popped up asking my age. I entered ‘27’, which was my age at the time. And straight away, I was ushered into a website, with a whole lot of other pages popping up in my face. I don’t want to recount what the pages contain here, but I am sure that if your work requires you be on the internet often, you might have experienced this, one time or the other. The pages were popping up so fast, I could not continue with the work I was doing. I had to embarrassingly enlist the help of a senior colleague to deal with the melee on my computer screen!

I had this experience a few weeks into my work in an internet company some years back. The internet has evolved, and is more regulated now; so there is more sanity, and they seek your permission before doing certain things.

However, this experience illustrates how easy it is for us to get into trouble. I had no business clicking the object flashing on my page, because it had nothing to do with the work I was doing. But its lure, the image used, and its colour; combined with my youthful curiosity, made me click the object. The book of James has some good advice on the lure into sin.

READ James 1:14-16

Let no one say when he is tempted,
“I am being tempted by God,”
For God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
(James 1:13-15 ESV)

Simply put, we cannot say we are being tempted by God because God cannot be tempted, and He tempts no one. It is interesting to see what the Matthew Henry Commentary says about this statement: This is what it says:

“All moral evil is owing to some disorder in the being that is chargeable with it, to a want of wisdom, or of power, or of decorum and purity in the will. But who can impeach the holy God with the want of these, which are his very essence?”

God transcends the things that lead us to sin: if it’s the desire for wisdom, He already has wisdom; if it’s a desire for power, he already has power. He already has all things we desire, that lead us to sin. He cannot be tempted, and tempts no one. In fact He expects us to ask Him if we need any those things(vv. 5); and even adds all if we seek His kingdom and its righteousness (Matthew 6:33).

From the text, we are told that we are tempted when we are lured and enticed by our own desire; and that desire gives birth to sin, and sin gives birth to death. The use of the expression “desire when it has conceived gives birth” points to a process: a process where a seed is sown, nurtured till maturity, and then delivered like a baby. The sowing (idea, or thought taking root) can be prevented, the nurturing (which is made consciously by scheming and planning) can also be prevented, and finally, the birthing (putting the plan into action) can also be prevented!

We can blame the enemy for planting the seed; but we are completely responsible for nurturing and birthing it.

The enemy sows the seeds. We nurture and birth them, else they simply rot and die.

That is the reason we pay the price, and the reason we should not consider and entertain those seeds.

God help us.

MEMORY VERSE

“Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.”
(James 1:14)

QUESTIONS

What seed has the enemy sown in you: evil desire, unforgiveness, bitterness, vengeance or greed?
Do you know their nurturing, growth and maturity depend on whether you allow them or not?

PRAYER TIP

Father, please help us to identify 
the seed of the enemy, and kill 
them before they even gain root 
in our lives, in Jesus’ name.

CREDITS

MATTHEW HENRY OMMENTARY, “James 1,” https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/james/1.html

URGENT CALL

By nature, we are all sinful, and alienated from God. We ultimately face the wrath of God!

But God in His mercy and love gives us a chance to reverse this trend, join His family, be part of His household, and become His children.

The first step to becoming a member of God’s household is for us to be saved.

Salvation comes through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Personal Savior.

It is a very personal decision. No one can make that decision for you.

If you make that decision today, there will be great singing and rejoicing in heaven; because one new member has joined the family and household of God!

Do you want to make that decision today?

Please visit “The Believer’s Prayer” for

guidance if you want to make that decision.

We will be happy to hear from you through the contact information on that page.

God richly bless you.

SPECIAL GRATITUDE

Thank you for visiting the Testimony Devotional Website.

We would not have gotten here without your prayers, goodwill and overall support. We are grateful, and humbled.

We thank God for counting us worthy to share in His Great Commission; and we thank you for sticking with us through this journey.

God richly bless you.

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