Winning Over Temptation

Something that is common to every single person on the planet is temptation. There is not a person who doesn’t know what it is like to struggle to do what we ought and not do what we should not. And there is a lot of advice that gets handed out on the subject as well. There is the whole ‘will power’ thing the world seems to emphasize and we Christians have our own thoughts.

One of the most popular movements in this regard in the past few decades puts the focus on accountability. I think accountability is very important. However, I read a really interesting article today. It was an interview with Dr. Arnold Cole. He is the CEO and Director of Bible Engagement Research for Back to the Bible. Apparently they conducted an extensive study over the course of 4 years that included several surveys with over 40,000 respondents. Some of their findings are quite interesting.

For example:

“Very few respondents said that other people (at 5.5%), accountability relationships (at 2.1%) or church (at just 0.5%) helped them to stand firm against temptation. Three out of four had shared their temptation with another person, but only a tiny percentage named Christian friends as helping them resist temptation.”

I think this would come as a pretty big surprise in light of all of the conventional wisdom about what we need to keep us on the ‘straight and narrow’. So, do you want to know what people identified as the one thing that really did help them live right?

“When asked, ‘What currently helps you win the day spiritually’, Christ-followers named reading the Bible as number one.”

That in itself is pretty significant but there’s more and the more is even more significant:

“For several of the behaviors we examined there is no statistical difference between Christians who read or listen to the Bible two to three days a week and those who do not engage Scripture at all or only once a week! And for those where there is an effect for engaging Scripture two to three days a week, the effect is much smaller than for four or more days a week. So there is a clear crossover point at four days. Those who read or listen to the Bible at least four days a week are 36% less likely to smoke, 57% less likely to get drunk, 61% less likely to use pornography, and 68% less likely to have sex outside marriage.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking that this research has some pretty profound implications. Reading the Bible, even three times a week doesn’t really have a lot of effect on people’s capacity to withstand temptation. But reading the Bible 4 times a week or more has a very significant effect. What’s the message? I guess the old discipline of being in the Word daily is very sound practice for us. It really drives home the urgency of this tried and true devotion to the Word of God and it should certainly challenge us to be setting at His feet each day.

Maybe we need to take a fresh look at Jesus’ prayer to the Father for us:

“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” Jn 17:15-17

Cannibals in Christendom

So, how do you like my new blog page? Pretty neat eh!? I appreciate Geoff finding this avenue for me because it allows me to do my own posting and what not which means I don't have to bug him, accept for some troubleshooting now and then most likely.

It will also allow me, for that reason, to post more often I hope.

Today I wanted to share with you an article that Karen Casey Arneson wrote. I came across it last week and I was wondering if you might want to give it a read and let me know what you think. For my part, I think in the process of her own 'confession' she has highlighted a key area of our lives where we often let sin go - what we say about others when they aren't around to hear it! I think she has written an amazing little piece.

The article is called 'Cannibals in Christendom' and here is the link. Let me know what you think.
Steve

VIRAL

I have a virus, a bad head cold to be more specific. And while I am thankful that it isn’t something more serious, it has got me thinking about how a virus works and what it means for something to be contagious?

It wasn’t that long ago that if someone spoke of a virus they had one thing in mind – the biological type. But with the dawn of the computer age, and more specifically the internet, we now talk about computer viruses. And now it seems we have a whole new usage for the term ‘viral’. The term has been adopted out of the world of biology and given a new assignment. It is now used to refer to pretty much anything that has the ability to replicate or multiply itself through simple exposure. It has become a common way to describe how information, thoughts or trends move throughout our society.

I saw an add the other day for some instructional information on how to produce ‘viral videos’. It is common to hear people speak about something that suddenly ‘went viral’ meaning that it went from being something known only within a small locale or by a limited number of people to suddenly spreading rapidly throughout the world. No surprise that the commercial players are in love with the whole idea.

Between sneezes, I have been thinking about how the gospel is meant to be viral. It is not as much taught as caught. It isn’t just some teaching. It’s way more than that. It is something that happens to us. It is the ‘living’ word that gets inside of us and takes over our systems. And, it is meant to be contagious. Like Jesus said, “Freely you have received, freely give”.

When allowed to move freely, the gospel can have such an exponential effect that it can become almost irresistible, sweeping through whole families and people groups. The problem though, often, is that the things of this world have a way of inoculating us. The Parable of the Sower comes to mind. Jesus said that in some cases, the ‘cares of this world’ and the ‘deceitfulness of riches’ can choke out the life of the seed before it has a chance to really take hold and produce. (see Matt 13)

So what we really need is just even a very small number of people but each with a serious full blown case of the gospel. That kind of infection would cause a serious outbreak of the gospel to spread and before long we would find ourselves in a global pandemic; every tribe, tongue and nation!!!

INOCULATION

It’s been a few weeks now since I’ve done any blogging. Geoff does all the technical work on our website and of course he and his family were enjoying some long overdue time away.

But these are big news days lately eh! … A young woman attacked and killed by coyotes in Cape Breton!... NB Power selling out to Hydro Quebec! … These are both huge stories for sure, but by far the biggest story these days is the H1N1 vaccination campaign.

It really is fascinating to consider how this is all unfolding, with polls showing the nation split right down the middle on the issue. On the one hand you have people who say, “No way! I’m not going to get it. It’s too dangerous and untested, or at least unnecessary.” And on the other hand you have people waiting in line for 6 hours in the cold to get one! It makes for an amazing contrast and really causes you to wonder how public opinion can be so polarized on such an important health issue. And, of course, the reality is that both positions are motivated by fear! I don’t know if FDR’s words - “we have nothing to fear but fear itself” – sit all that comfortably with me, but I do know that sometimes fear can overcome us and prevent us from making the right decision.

I watched the gut wrenching interview with the couple from Toronto who lost their 13 year old son this past weekend. Wow! Talk about courage for them to accept an interview like that only days later to tell their story while their hearts shattered into a million pieces on national television!

And then on the other side are those who are just really suspicious of the whole immunization ‘propaganda’ and have some really serious anxieties about getting the stuff pumped into their arms.

I think I’m somewhere in the middle with a lot of others – conflicted. I hate being confused. It goes against my innate desire to be sure about things. But such is life in this world. There is no shortage of ambiguity in it all.

It does remind me though of how thankful I am that the Scriptures are so clear, both about what will happen if we don’t accept Christ, and what will happen if we do. Some will still choose not to accept Him and probably one of the biggest reasons is fear. It can be a scary thing to turn your life over like that and surrender control. It’s a decision that will set the trajectory of your life and seal your fate forever. It really is a matter of trust. Hopefully though, you will realize that without Christ, you’re not going to make it, as certain destruction awaits all those who are overtaken with the human ‘virus’ of sin.

I am no medical professional and I really don’t know much about immunization or H1N1. I am not qualified to give an opinion on the matter and will have to depend upon other authorities just like everyone else. It seems to me that we are just going to have to trust the best sources we can identify. But I do know that when it comes to our eternal destiny, Jesus is the only hope for survival.

“… to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…” 1Jn 1:12

LIFE'S A CURVE BALL

A young man shopping in a supermarket noticed a little old lady following him around. If he stopped, she stopped. Furthermore she kept staring at him. She finally overtook him at the checkout, and she turned to him and said,

'I hope I haven't made you feel ill at ease; it's just that you look so much like my late son.'

He answered, 'That's okay.'

'I know it's silly, but if you'd call out 'Good bye, Mom' as I leave the store, it would make me feel so happy.'

She then went through the checkout, and as she was on her way out of the store, the man called out, 'Goodbye, Mom.'

The little old lady waved, and smiled back at him.

Pleased that he had brought a little sunshine into someone's day, he went to pay for his groceries.

'That comes to $121.85,' said the clerk.

'What?! How come so much? I only bought 5 items!'

The clerk replied, 'Yeah, but your Mother said you'd be paying for her things, too.'

Life’s a curve ball. You never really know what to expect or where it’s going to go. You can’t really predict a whole lot with a whole lot of certainty much of the time. And it seems like it’s getting even harder all the time. In fact, I’m sure it is. That makes it pretty difficult when you’re making a sincere effort to meet things head on!

So, HOW DO you hit a curve ball?

Practice. There is no substitute for it. And how does that translate into the rest of life? Well, I have a few thoughts. I think that God wants us to be more aggressive sometimes rather than just passive. I know we usually think of faith as a passive thing, but I have been thinking about David the shepherd boy who became a king. It says that when he went out to meet Goliath, he ran towards that mountain of a man.

There is an element of aggressiveness in the whole concept of practicing. When we practice, we aren’t just waiting for life to come at us, we are preparing for it. Rather than just waiting to see what will happen and taking what comes, it would seem that there is a real need to be as prepared as possible. We call it being ‘proactive’. It is also significant that when Saul (the guy who probably should have been taking on the giant) questioned David about his abilities, David cited his experience with both a lion and a bear. And I’m thinking that when he let go with that sling of his it wasn’t the first time he had thrown a rock!

Now, David made it really clear that he was trusting in God the whole time. But trusting in God is not a passive thing and I guess that’s my point. God calls us into the fray and He certainly expects us to be as prepared as possible, all the while putting our trust in Him and not in our own abilities.

So how do we ‘practice’ for what the future holds? The answer lies in the present. If I think that I can live my days with a kind of laissez-faire attitude and then somehow just suddenly be ready in the future for whatever comes I am deceiving myself. Every day in the life of a Christian is like a day in training camp. The battles of the future are being won right now if I will allow God to be my trainer. It is the only hope we have of handling what life might some day throw at us.

Here’s a question for you: What are you doing today to make sure you are ready for the challenges of tomorrow? Because be assured of this - they are coming.

THE HARD THING

I did a series of messages one time a number of years ago based on these words of Jesus - “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

I suspect that there have been as many devotional thoughts and challenges based on those words as probably any in the Scriptures. And deservedly so, for they are weighty words that we need to understand and come to terms with. The thoughts I offered then, and now, are not definitive and certainly not in any way exhaustive.

But they represent an insight that I have personally found helpful so I offer them now to you. What is it that the cross represents in your life and mine? I believe it simply stands for the hard thing, or more specifically, any hard thing that stands between us and the will of God for our lives at any point along the way.

Notice that in Luke’s telling of the account of Jesus’ statement he accentuates the practical nature of the instruction by including the word ‘daily’. This is not something that we may be called on to do someday for Jesus. This is to be an ongoing experience of living for Him.

I really don’t like doing the hard things. As a pastor, a lot of the things I need to do can be pretty mundane. Then, thankfully, there are the things that I get to do that I just really enjoy doing. I naturally gravitate toward those. But then there are those other things; those hard things; the things that cause me anguish and which in my flesh I try and avoid doing. They are the things that cause me to have a sick anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach. But the truth is, those things sometimes (dare I say often?) lie in the path of God’s will for my life too.

What kind of things am I talking about? Well, for me, some of those things would be things like … confronting people or disappointing people, saying ‘no’... saying things that people don’t want to hear… admitting my mistakes and sins… confessing and saying I’m sorry… taking a stand for the side of truth when you’re seriously outnumbered in a public situation… sometimes just being honest with myself and owning my own contribution to a problem can be a very hard thing. Anyway, those are the kinds of things I’m talking about.

I wish they were not part of my calling. I wish we could just do the fun stuff; the easy stuff.

Jesus spoke of His Cross as that for which He came into the world. It was the Father’s plan and destiny for Him. And as such, He pressed forward into it sweating as it were great drops of blood. You and I are also called by God to walk a certain path and He has a certain destiny for each of us as well. And all of us have those hard things in the path. If we are going to follow Him then we must not try and skirt them. We must be willing to move forward into them and through them and do those hard things that lie before us. If we try and forgo them then we will find ourselves out of His will and missing out on the results that God wants to accomplish through our willingness to obey Him in the hard things. And the results are there, believe me. In fact, the results of doing the hard but necessary things in life tend to far outweigh any benefits from doing the things that come easy. But much (I hope not most) of the time we choose the path of least resistance and neither we, nor the world, are better off for it.

I don’t know what some of those things are that you are facing. You need to pray that one through as a believer. But be honest with yourself. Maybe you don’t even need to pray about it because you know. You’ve known for a while now, long enough that you’ve gotten really good at making excuses for yourself. So what do you do.

There is really only one thing you can do. Do the hard thing. Face it head on. Take courage and know that He is with you. He has done the hard thing; the hardest of things. He has led the way before you and is calling you now to walk in it. He will meet you there. That’s His promise to all who will share in His sufferings.

Think about this. If you are not seeing the kind of results in your life that you know you should be seeing, then try asking yourself this question – what necessary painful thing am I avoiding. And learn to ask it often. There is a promised land that God has waiting for you. But you must be willing to take it.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you where ever you go.”

ONE WRONG TURN

George lived 68 years. How much he must have learned over the course of all of those minutes and miles! Just think of it! 68 New Year’s celebrations to ponder over the events of the previous year, more than 3,500 Sunday afternoons to wonder about life, almost 600,000 hours and millions and millions of moments.

George was a farmer. How many things do you learn when you live the life of a farmer? He was well known in the community in which he lived. That’s a lot of living. He owned and ran a local butcher shop. I wonder if he ever cut himself? And he was a volunteer fire fighter. He would have known all about so many of the things that are dangerous in this world. He had a whole lifetime of learning.

But one day George made a mistake. He was riding his tractor in the merge lane and suddenly made a sharp left turn. He didn’t do a shoulder check before he cranked the wheel in that fateful moment of time and so he didn’t see the 18 wheeler behind him heading for the power plant at Point Aconi.

A whole lifetime of learning ended with one simple wrong choice in a moment’s time. George MacNeil from Big Bras d’Or was killed instantly and was pronounced dead at the scene on Friday the 19th of June, 2009 on highway 162 on Cape Breton Island. In the words of one reporter, “He didn’t have a chance.” Maybe he didn’t, but he did have a choice.

When I think back over my 50 years of living and all I have learned... I have distant but vivid memories (that serve me well) of pain from putting my fingers in places they shouldn’t have been, taking chances I shouldn’t have taken, making decisions that I would never make again. I have the benefit of all of that experience.

And I wonder. How is it that a person can live all those years and learn all that he would have learned and make as many decisions as he would have made and then, in a moment of time, make one simple, seemingly little, mistake and it’s all over! It hardly seems fair does it? But that is life, sometimes at least, just totally unforgiving.

And what about me? I still make my share of mistakes. And what about you?

It does point to one profound truth though. Life is often determined by the choices we make, sometimes in little gradual ways and sometimes in big sudden ways. But either way, God has, in His sovereign will, chosen to give us the power of choice. It is both an incredible gift of nobility and a terrifying prospect at the same time. What choices will you and I make today? Choose well my friend. Seek Him.