A favorite childhood memory is watching my older brother play with his model trains. One time he and a friend had set train tracks throughout our living room, dining room, and entry, challenging each other to get a specific car to a designated place fastest. I was there with big eyes wishing I could play.

A key in their game was switching tracks to get to the goal.

As I was reading about temptation, I realized that we need to switch tracks to escape temptation.

We ARE able to escape

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Don’t stay in the track of temptation

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. (James 1:13–15)

Switch tracks

Deliberately switch tracks. Stop thinking about the supposed pleasures and remember the consequences of sin.

Leave the room. Leave the situation. Flee. Switch tracks!

Stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about your glorious Lord.

Stop your harmful thoughts and remember the Word of God. Recite verses to yourself.

God is faithful

God is faithful to give you the way of escape. Switch tracks to His path.

There are a LOT of “revenge” messages and fictional stories on the internet (Facebook, YouTube, etc.), at least one advertised “game,” and many news clips of violence, supposedly in retaliation for something.

We long for justice … BUT

Humans long for justice, but even at our best, our attempts to achieve justice are imperfect.

And sin perverts our God-given desire for justice into a vengeful spirit. We are seeing destructive, violent acts where “unfairness” is only an excuse, often a remote pretext. And we see others approve of the violence (Romans 1:32).

God prohibits Vengeance

Revenge is definitely a human (sinful) trait. And we are NOT to do it!

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:30)

Now What?

We are warned that “in the last days difficult times will come” (2 Timothy 3:1ff).

Pray!

Know God will avenge: the day of vengeance of our God (Isaiah 61:2)

O Lord, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth! (Psalm 94:1)

Humble ourselves. We must see our sin and humble ourselves before Righteous, Holy, Almighty God. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Remember God is sovereign. He has a holy plan and He is working His plan. Worship Him.

Resolve to walk in a way pleasing to Him.

~~~

 Father, help! Please help us know that You are in control and have a purpose for this sinful time and that You have a purpose for believers right now. Please help us know how to honor You, how to make Your name known. Thank You that this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that all evil will be destroyed, and that righteousness will prevail. HELP!

God—Father, Son, Holy Spirit—is infinite. We can, and should, work to know Him by diligently searching His revelation in His Word. But He is totally other than us, holy, infinite, self-existent, perfect, and we cannot truly grasp Him.

His greatness is unsearchable.

Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. (Psalm 145:3)

But

But we can, and should, worship Him for what we know and for what we know is beyond us.

For example:

God’s good gifts to us are much more than we can imagine.

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:11)

We are saved during our lives on earth much more than we can conceive.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:10)

God’s grace to us is much more beyond our comprehension.

But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. (Romans 5:15)

Much More

Father, help us understand that You are much more than we can imagine. Help us know You do for us much more than we can know.

Help us worship You in spirit and in truth.

Q: How long, Lord?

A: As long as necessary.

~~~

God is in control of the length of our trials and the depth of our trials. Trials last as long as our loving, sovereign, Savior deems necessary. Trials are as hard as required for His purpose.

Remember and Consider and Pray

Remember God loves you, is making you more in the image of His Son, will glorify you, and will take you home to heaven.

Remember that God has a holy purpose in this trial. His purpose is to sanctify you.

Consider that God is using your trial not only for His work in you, but that also He uses your trial in the lives of others.

God has told you the purpose of your trial. Your trial will:

• Perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you (1 Peter 5:10),
• Produce endurance so that you may be perfect and complete (James 1:3-4),
• Bring about perseverance, proven character, hope (Romans 5:3-4)

Pray for His wisdom in how you should live during this period.

Pray for His strength.

Remember He has given you everything you need for life and godliness. Pray to appropriate His gifts. (2 Peter 1:3)

Pray for understanding. He might tell you specifics of what He is doing to purify you, which could help in your reaction and growth.

Thank Him that He loves you so much He is making you more godly.

~~~

Father, thank You that You are our loving God, working in our lives to make us more like Your beloved Son. Thank You that You are always with us, growing us and helping us walk in a manner worthy of Your great love. Help us praise You during the trials You bring and help us respond in ways that please You.

~~~

“How long?” has been on my mind for some time. See a post from 2015: How Long, Lord?

For me, to live is _____. Fill in the blank!

When I was younger, I might have said alpine skiing, or racquetball, or aviation. But, of course, other priorities were mixed in. Public school, college, graduate school. Husband. Family. Career.

But this is a crucial question, especially for believers. What do I say now? What do you say now?

The apostle Paul said: “For to me, to live is Christ….” (Philippians 1:21)

Challenges!

I started this year with this: “This year, I want to focus on better understanding our holy God. And strive to be more holy myself (gasp).”   (See Holy, Holy, Holy)

Now, and as part of that, I want to be able to say: “For me, to live is Christ.”  (Another gasp.)

Whatever you do

 We are to seek first the kingdom of God. (Matthew 6:33)

We are to make ourselves holy and living sacrifices. (Romans 12:1)

Whatever we do, we are to do it for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

God gave us earthly, temporal commandments

He knows we need food and shelter. He commanded we honor our parents. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are to demonstrate we are Christians by our love for one another. (and more….)

It is possible to ski or play racquetball or fly, or be married or single or widowed in ways that glorify God. I’m sure Paul glorified God with his tent making. Paul was interested in athletics. I’m sure he glorified God when he went to an athletic event.

It’s possible to glorify God as you do your taxes!

For me, to live is Christ

Father, help me make this true.

This post stemmed from horror. (You can pick specifics.)

Evil is wicked, dreadful, revolting, is … What’s more, people are proud of their evil deeds, and people are proud of others’ evil deeds.

And yet we shouldn’t be surprised. The Bible tells us evil will increase. And it is. And it is going to get worse.

BUT!

But God!

There is a righteous Judge who sees everything. A righteous Judge who knows motives as well as thoughts, words, and deeds. A righteous Judge who will act when the time is right.

Almighty God will deal with evil and with wicked people. He will separate the righteous from the unrighteous. He will take the righteous to heaven, and the unrighteous will die in their sins.

Right Now

Right now, He is being patient, not wanting any to perish.

Right now, He has a purpose for those who believe in Christ.

Right now, believers have a charge to fulfill in this wicked world.

Believers’ charge

Right now, we are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves.

We are to prove we are Christ’s disciples by loving one another.

We are to fulfill Jesus’ great commission.

Time is short

For those reading this post who haven’t yet repented and believed in Christ Jesus to save you from your sins: The time is short. Please be honest with yourself. You have sinned against your Creator. You have to repent and turn to Christ. If you do, God will save you. If you don’t, you will die in your sins.

See Praise the Judge.

You* are beloved of God.

(You* here refers to believers who have put their trust in Jesus Christ, who have received Christ as Lord and Savior.)

You* who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ. (Jude 1)

You* are beloved children. (Ephesians 5:1)

You* have been chosen of God, holy and beloved. (Colossians 3:12)

You* are brethren beloved by God. (1 Thessalonians 1:4)

Beloved

Beloved: loved dearly; dearly beloved; esteemed; cherished. “Beloved” is a deep, unconditional love, made by God’s choice (not the loved one’s behavior).

Unfathomable Blessing

God’s love for believers in Christ is beyond comprehension. Almighty God, creator of the universe, chose to love us, and chose to adopt us as His children. The love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is with us every moment of every day. God protects us, guides us, sanctifies us. His love for us will never fail.

~~~

Father, please let us come to know, really know, Your love for us. Help us rejoice in Your love. Help us trust You and Your love every moment.

The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. (John 4:50)

And kept going:

As he was now going down … (John 4:51)

Believe and Do

As we live our lives, the Lord tells us to do something.

Our responsibility is to believe what Jesus said, and start doing what He said.

We have to get started.

And then we have to keep going.

We Don’t Always Start or Keep Going

I certainly can see areas where I don’t start, or delay a start, or fail to keep going.

Here are common examples:

Not starting a daily Bible study or quitting after a short while. There are lots of stories about making a commitment to read the entire Bible in a year and quitting at Leviticus!

Or knowing the Lord wants you change your diet or exercise program and …. Well, you may know that one.

Or …

Reportedly, 80% of New Year’s Resolutions fail by February.

BUT! God started and keeps going

The great news, though, about the Christian life is that God does not give up!

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

Is there something the Lord has told you (me) to do? Start today. And keep going.

~~~

Father, thank You that You never give up on us, never giving up on me. Forgive me for knowing what You want me to do, but failing to start or failing to keep at it. I’m determined to get going and keep going. Thank You that You are with me and for me.

You* are special.

Yep, you*.

You*: This is for believers in Christ, those who have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

You* were chosen by God the Father. (Ephesians 1:4)

You* were justified (declared righteous). (Romans 8:30)

You* were redeemed (saved from the penalty of sin). (Ephesians 1:7)

You* have been adopted by the Father as His child. (Ephesians 1:5)

You* have received the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13)

You* are greatly loved by Almighty God. (1 John 3:1)

You* can go, with confidence, to God’s throne of grace. (Hebrews 4:16)

Your* prayers are heard. (1 Peter 3:12)

You* are being sanctified, being made into the image of Christ. (Romans 8:29)

Through God’s providence, His absolute sovereignty, everything that happens to you* is used to make you more godly, more like Christ. (Romans 8:28)

God is for you*. (Romans 8:31)

Christ will never leave nor forsake you*. (Hebrews 13:5)

You* have obtained an inheritance; you* are a co-heir with Christ. (Ephesians 1:11, Romans 8:17)

You* will be glorified. (Romans 8:30)

You* will spend eternity in heaven. (John 3:36)

Are you* special? Yes! Special indeed.

~~~

You*: You* here refers to believers who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If this isn’t you, PLEASE repent of your sins, and turn to Jesus Christ in belief and trust.

PS: And there is more, of course!

Emotions: Good and Bad

God gave us emotions as part of being human.

Our emotions can help us understand our hearts, comprehend our situation, and lead us to words and actions that please God.

At the same time, our emotions have been corrupted by sin. Our emotions can yank us around, trap us in dark spots, lead to faulty thinking, and result in sin.

Our life-long challenge is to corral our emotions by the word of God, bringing our emotions more and more in line with the truth, God’s truth. The task is to sanctify our emotions.

Emotions arise from thinking, so our minds must be renewed.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind … (Romans 12:2)

Do not be afraid (feeling), He has risen (fact). (Matthew 28:5-6)

Take courage, it is I (fact); do not be afraid (feeling). (Matthew 14:27)

Do not be afraid any longer (feeling), only believe. (Mark 5:36, Luke 8:50)

My soul is bowed down (feeling). But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope (perspective). (Lamentations 3:20-24)

There are two major activities to sanctify our emotions:

First, deliberately learn the Bible and obey what God says. The key to controlling our emotions is to fill our minds with God’s truth. Feed the mind and the emotions will follow.

Second, systematically observe and question your emotions, and challenge the emotions that do not align with God’s word.

The Psalms are a good instructor. Here the Psalmist identifies his emotions, asks why, and moves to the reality of God.  

Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence. (Psalm 42:5)

~~~

Father, help us learn and obey Your word. We know that You made us and that Your way is best. Help us bring our emotions into conformance with Your truth. We want to please You.