Tempt Not

SCRIPTURE
Luke 17:1-3
Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves.

OBSERVATION
These are some very challenging words. We can expect to be surrounded by people and things that would tempt us to sin -- that is part of this fallen world that we live in. But, Jesus gives a particularly strong warning to be careful not to be the instigating cause of someone else's sin, especially children. One translation says, “There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting!"

APPLICATION
We must be careful to walk in a way that does not cause others to sin. This is a challenging task. God is watching how my behavior influences others! This means that my life cannot be lived as if God and I are the only ones that matter. I must live life considering how to be a help rather then a stumbling block to others. I am reminded of the verse that warns parents not to frustrate their children. Being a parent, I know am beginning to understand how difficult it is to direct and lead your children without unnecessarily frustrating them.

PRAYER
Lord, help me to walk circumspectly. Make me aware of those areas in my life that might cause others to stumble and help me to remove them immediately! Amen.

Who Gets the Credit?

SCRIPTURE
Genesis 41:16
"I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."

OBSERVATION
The story of Joseph is ripe with God's sovereignty. It is He who promotes and removes. Joseph seems to be aware of this, keenly aware, and he is careful not to take credit for God's work. This is very different from the little by who told his father and brothers that they would one day bow to him.

He has learned that God's gifts are to be used correctly — with prudence and caution and always giving god the credit.

APPLICATION
Remember that God is sovereign and that He is the one in charge of all. Even skills and abilities that I have the tendency to think are my own — they come from God and I must always give Him the credit! Remember, "I cannot do it, but God..."!

PRAYER
Lord, teach me humility that always gives you the credit off the bat!

What's Hiding Under Your Tree?

SCRIPTURE
Genesis 35:4 NIV
So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem.

Luke 14:33 NIV
In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

OBSERVATION
Jacob had a difficult time severing the connection between his families idols and gods. Such was the connection between them that he hid them under the tree at Shechem — with the obvious intent to return and retrieve them at some point in the future.

But he hid them because he was going to worship the living God who he knew was not happy with these things.

Jesus presents us with a similar challenge — to leave all items of worship that are not "true God worship" behind and to sever the connection we have with them.

APPLICATION
It is no easier for us to leave our stuff then it was for Jacob and his family to leave theirs. Yet if we do not, we are simply demonstrating our unwillingness to truly follow Him. We are in effect saying, I'm leaving an exit plan for the future just in case I want to go back to my old ways.

What Jacob should have done, and what we must do, is to destroy all that which is not worthy of Him in our lives.

So we must ask ourselves:
- What am I hiding under my tree?
- What things do I bury and then plan to return to after cleaning myself up to visit with God?
- What exit plans have I made that are simply setting me up for a future fall?

PRAYER
Lord, reveal to me what I have been hiding from you and what exit plans I have made for the future. Give me the strength to remove permanently everything from my life that is not worthy of you.